BobBev

Season 01 – 2006/2007

Gordon Shepherd was not by nature a generous man. The Chairman of Barnsley Football Club was a self-made millionaire, his considerable fortune a result of many years of hard graft building up his business interests. Buy low and sell high was his philosophy, and most importantly, “keep as much of thy brass in thy own pocket as thee can”. He saw no reason why he shouldn’t apply the same approach to running his football club. He had a particular aversion to spending any of his hard-earned cash on the ridiculous transfer fees that today’s footballers, or more accurately the blood sucking leeches know as agents, demanded. His attitude inevitably led to conflict with both the club’s fans who yearned for a return to top flight football, and the team’s managers who always seemed to be pleading for more and more money to “rebuild the squad”. The Chairman’s intransigence in this matter inevitably led to disagreement with the manager, the result being a remarkably frequent number of resignations from that position and an almost permanent sense of uncertainty around the club.

But now the Chairman was hoping to change all that as he had just appointed a man whom he believed to be the perfect manager for his club. Angus Cohen was a man after his own heart – a Scottish mother and a Jewish father had ensured that Angus shared his new employer’s distaste for parting with the folding stuff and Mr. Shepherd was convinced that a major source of conflict within the cub had now been addressed. The new manager’s brief was simple – having just been promoted from League One, Angus was tasked with keeping the club in the Championship but he should spend as little money doing so as humanly possible.

Angus took charge on 2nd July 2006 and immediately set about evaluating his backroom staff and playing squad. The new manager had inherited Rick Holden as his Assistant and his coaching team included three general coaches along with specialists in goalkeeping, fitness and youth and seemed reasonably capable. He was less enamoured with his remaining staff with just one qualified physio and a skeleton scouting operation. Whilst Angus was more than happy to work within the strict financial controls set down by his Chairman he had no doubt that he would need to scour the country looking for free players so one of his first actions was to look to boost elements of his backroom team.

The club had just under £500,000 in the bank and the weekly salary bill was a shade over £25,000. The Chairman was prepared to allow his manager to almost double the wage bill but was adamant that no transfer or signing on fees would be incurred. There were a total of 45 registered players at the club, including the youth team, and Angus had a programme of several warm-up matches to evaluate his players before the season proper got underway. Irrespective of his final evaluation he wanted to start compiling a shortlist of potential signings so his meagre scouting resources were instructed to get on the road and start tracking down decent players who would be available for no fee.

But it did not take a scouting mission to identify the new manager’s first target as former Everton striker Duncan Ferguson was a well-known figure in the game and was anxious to find a new club after departing Goodison Park. After a short trial period Angus decided to take a chance on the injury prone but aggressive frontman and a deal was struck. The new manager also took steps to improve his backroom team, bringing in two additional physios and strengthening his scouting operation.

A handful of warm up matches brought mixed results but at least served to give Angus a reasonable idea of his preferred starting eleven. It also gave him a clear understanding that his squad lacked depth and he despatched his meagre scouting resources in search of half-decent players who could be obtained without having to part with any of his Chairman’s hard-earned cash. In the meantime the manager took stock of what he had seen during his pre-season preparations.

Goalkeepers
Nick Colgan was the clear choice as Barnsley’s number one. The 32 year old had made eight appearances for his country although he was no longer a regular member of the Irish squad. Welsh youngster Kyle Letheran would serve as his backup but this was one area where Angus felt that he needed more depth.

Defenders
The manager’s starting full backs would be Neil Austin on the right and Paul Heckingbottom on the left with Robbie Williams and Dale Tonge as backups. In central defence he preferred the combination of club captain Paul Reid and Bobby Hassell with Sam Togwell and Antony Kay his second choice. Once again Angus wanted to give himself more options in defence but felt that he had a reasonable backline for the start of the campaign.

Midfield
Irish international Colin Healy would be paired with Brian Howard in central midfield, and although Howard preferred to play wide on the left the manger had limited options in midfield and needed him to play slightly out of position. Scotsman Michael McIndoe got the nod on the left wing with fellow Scot Tony McParland playing on the right. Nicky Wroe and Martin Devaney would provide cover but Angus felt that his squad was particularly weak in this area and wanted to bring in new faces as soon as possible.

Attack
Angus hoped that Tommy Wright and new signing Ferguson would provide an effective pairing up front with Paul Hayes and Marc Richards as alternatives. Former Man United youngster Daniel Nardiello was out of contention recovering from a serious injury but when he was fit he would offer further striking options.

The season kicked off in anger in early August and The Tykes opened with a 2-2 draw at home to Colchester with Scottish winger Michael McIndoe rescuing a point with a goal in stoppage time. A midweek visit from Norwich was next and once again Barnsley scored at the death, Tommy Wright’s second in two games sealing a rather fortunate 1-0 win. Their first televised match of the season took place the next weekend with a Sunday trip to Birmingham. A dreadful 45 minutes saw the visitors reach the break on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline and Angus let his players know in no uncertain terms just how unhappy he was with their display during the break. Suitably galvanised they looked like a different team in the second half, Wright maintaining his goal a game strike rate and Irish wide player Martin Devaney, replacing an injured McParland, netting late on to make the final score somewhat more respectable. They were back in the Midlands the next weekend and a much improved display saw them gain a 1-0 win over Coventry in a very even contest, Devaney the man on target. By that time Angus had added a new midfielder to his squad with the signing of 31 year old Senegalese international Khalilou Fadiga who had been freed by Bolton earlier in the summer. They also triumphed in their next match, a midweek Carling Cup tie at League Two side Lincoln and then ended the month with a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves.

All in all the new manager was pretty satisfied with the start his team had made, a feeling shared by the Board with the Chairman quick to highlight a tidy £350K profit on the month. By the start of September two further players had arrived at Oakwell. Keeper Andrew Moody had been picked up on a scouting recommendation, the 19 year old spotted playing amateur football after having spent a season at Gloucester City. The other new face came in the form of teenage striker Tomas Pekhart who had come in on loan from Tottenham for four months. Touted by some as the next Jan Koller, the 17 year old Czech was a powerful physical specimen and Angus hoped that he would provide an alternative target man to the ageing and injury prone Ferguson up front.

sherm

looks a good start bobbev, always interested to see how your stories pan out. Ill be keeping an eye on this one :thup:

Amaroq

Ooooh, a new BobBev. **bookmark**

BobBev

Thanks for the kind comments chaps.

There was no doubt that the highlight of September was the visit of Watford in the 2nd round of the Carling Cup. Having just obtained promotion to the Premiership through the playoffs the previous season Aidy Boothroyd’s team had begun what was supposed to be a survival campaign with five straight wins and were surprise table-toppers at the time of the tie. After a cagey opening the home side took the lead just before the half hour when Tommy Wright scored his 6th goal of the season. But Watford came back strongly with Ashley Young scoring twice in the closing minutes of the first half. When Marlon King got their third virtually straight from the restart the match looked to be as good as over. But Cohen’s team were far from finished and with the excellent Fadiga prompting from midfield, they pulled a goal back on the hour mark, substitute Pekhart doing the damage. As the match entered stoppage time Fadiga took advantage of a failure in communication between centre back Jay DeMerit and keeper Ben Foster. Having ignored his keeper’s call the centre back’s weak defensive header was picked up by Barnsley’s midfielder who sent the ball into the back of an empty net from some 35 yards out with Foster stranded on the edge of the 18-yard box. Extra time produced more drama with Watford going 4-3 ahead in the 9th minute before Pekhart scored his second goal of the game with ten minutes of the extra period remaining. The Premiership side held their nerve in the dreaded penalty shootout but despite the defeat Angus was delighted with his team’s performance and the contribution of his on-loan striker in particular.

The rest of the month saw Barnsley play half a dozen league games with four wins and two defeats leaving them in 4th place in the Championship at the end of them month. They started with a 1-0 win at Hull, a result that was particularly satisfying for the manager – with the game goalless Angus made two late substitutions, bringing on midfielder Tony McParland and striker Marc Richards, and the two combined to produce the winning goal. Fadiga was absent on international duty for the visit of Southend but the team still came out 2-1 winners. A disappointing 2-0 midweek defeat at Cardiff was followed by a visit from struggling Plymouth, a game that saw Duncan Ferguson break his duck with the only goal of the game. The weekend after the drama of the Carling Cup saw Barnsley scrape a fortunate 1-0 win at home to 4th place Crystal Palace before ending the month losing by the same scoreline at 2nd place Derby, a match in which Angus was short of four first team players including keeper Nick Colgan and key defender Bobby Hassell. The versatile Hassell had probably been the club’s best player this far, a fact reflected in him winning the Player of the Month award for September.

The Chairman expressed his pleasure at a good month, making particular note of another nice profit with over £150K making its way into the club’s bank account. October saw striker Nardiello back in training after his long layoff and Angus named him in his starting eleven in the middle of the month. Unfortunately his return did little to inspire the team and their first three league matches of the month included defeats at home to Stoke and Burnley and a battling goalless draw at Sunderland. Their goal drought ended at Ipswich when Pekhart scored twice and Nardiello got his first of the season but some slack defending allowed the home side to score three as well and another win slipped away. The final game of the month at home to Leicester saw Barnsley’s Welsh striker on target again, his equaliser enough to secure a 1-1 draw and a point. Three points in five games represented a poor return on the month and the team slipped down to 9th place in the Championship but nonetheless the Chairman seemed happy with another nice profit of over £600K for the period.

Barnsley’s downturn in form continued through most of November, the only highlight coming near the end of the month with a very good 3-0 win at home to Luton. The month started with two televised games, the first a narrow 3-2 defeat at leaders West Brom with Pekhart getting both of the Tyke’s goals. A week later the TV cameras were at Oakwell for the visit of rivals Sheffield Wednesday. Sadly both the capacity crowd and the TV audience witness a dour affair with the visitors scraping a 1-0 win. Midfielders Healy and Fadiga both missed the trip to Preston when captain Paul Reid was voted man of the match for his rock solid defensive display in the goalless draw. A few days later Angus finalised the signing of another new player with the arrival of 33 year old Spaniard Jaime Sanchez Fernandez. Known simply as Jaime, the experienced midfielder had been looking for a new club all summer after leaving Spanish side Ferrol. His past clubs included Real Madrid, Deportivo, Racing Santander, Tenerife, Hannover and Albacete and the manager hoped that he would prove to be a wise head as the season progressed. He made a good debut in the win over Luton as Pekhart once again scored a brace to seal three valuable points. Unfortunately the momentum was lost a few days later in another Yorkshire derby, the visit to Leeds ending in a disappointing 1-0 loss.

The month ended with Barnsley holing 14th place in the table and Angus was delighted to see two of his players feature in the monthly awards, Paul Reid and Tomas Pekhart both being recognised for their performances. December brought a little more Christmas cheer to Oakwell, the month beginning well with a 1-0 win at QPR, although Angus would admit that his team were fortunate to get the victory, the only goal the result of a frantic goalmouth scramble and being officially awarded as an own goal. They were two behind at Southampton the next weekend before staging a fightback to secure a useful point. Angus had four of his first team out with injuries for the trip to Norwich and when the home side took an early lead he was concerned that their heads would drop. But three goals in 15 minutes from Daniel Nardiello turned the match around. By the time he scored his hat trick Curtis Fleming had been shown a second yellow card, leaving their hosts a man short. Even the departure of the hat trick hero before half time with an injury failed to disrupt the Tykes, Pekhart scoring again before the break and then substitute Tommy Wright making it five to ensure that the goal that the home side scored just after the restart was no more than a consolation.

Prior to their next match Angus dipped into the loan market once again, taking 18-year-old midfielder Zoltan Stieber from Aston Villa for three months to bolster his creative options. Captain Reid was suspended for the visit of Birmingham and although Fadiga returned to the lineup, Nardeillo and McIndoe were both absent so the 1-1 draw was not a bad result. Angus was so pleased with the contribution of Tomas Pekhart that he tabled an offer to extend the teenager’s loan, Spurs were quick to agree and the young Czech would stay at Oakwell for at least another three months. Barnsley’s only defeat of the month came in a rather insipid 2-1 loss at Colchester on Boxing Day but they bounced back with an excellent 5-0 mauling of Coventry a few days later.

Gennaro08

Again excellent BobBev story brewing. KUTGW as always.

BobBev

Thanks Gennaro

Angus did not particularly relish the Trip to Wolves on New Year’s Day. Firstly the match came just two days after they had last played and secondly he fundamentally disliked having to play on this particular day – probably something to do with the Scottish side of his family. During December teenager Michael Coulson had been called up from the reserves to play on the right flank against Norwich due to injuries to Tony McParland and Martin Devaney and had impressed the manager so much that he kept his place for the rest of them month. He remained on the teamsheet for to trip to the Black Country but was unable to inspire his teammates and they played poorly in a 2-0 defeat. The next weekend brought another away day, this time a trip to Port Vale in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, their reward for a 2-0 win a 4th round tie at home to Aston Villa. They followed this up with a good 2-1 win at home to Hull, Nardiello scoring both goals, to move up to 8th place. Going into their next match at home to bottom club Plymouth, Angus was very confident of a win. Too confident perhaps, as his side slumped to a dreadful 2-0 loss with Nardiello disgracing himself by head butting an opponent and being shown a straight red. The manager laid into his players in the dressing room after the game with his wayward striker also receiving an official warning for violent conduct. For some reason the young Welshman felt that his manager had been harsh in his reaction but the resulting five-match ban showed that the authorities also took a dim view of the event.

All of this was poor preparation for their big cup match at home to Villa, as were injuries to midfielders Fadiga and Brian Howard. Nonetheless his team put in a dogged display. A goal down at the break they found an equaliser shortly after the restart and urged on by captain Reid they held on to force a replay at Villa Park. The Tykes travelled to the south coast for their final game of the month with the scouting team warning of the threat that Southend striker Freddy Eastwood could pose. On balance of play the home side should have taken the points but once again Paul Reid was immense in the centre of defence and a point was secured with a goalless draw.

February arrived with the club in a very respectable 9th place in the division and the Chairman celebrating another profitable month. Angus was also celebrating – Uruguayan international midfielder Omar Pouso having agreed a move to Oakwell at the end of his contract. At that point the 24 year old was on loan at Charlton and although he had seen little competitive action the scouting reports were so positive that Angus offered him a deal anyway. On the pitch the month began with an encouraging 3-2 win at home to promotion contenders Cardiff, Reid, Stieber and McIndoe getting the goals. The FA Cup replay at Villa ended disappointingly, the 4-0 defeat a bitter pill to swallow for Angus after his team’s brave display in the first match. Barnsley’s tough run of games continued with a trip to promotion challengers Crystal Palace, the manager more than happy to return home with a 1-1 draw. They faced their third successive league match against top-five opposition with a visit from Derby and Angus was left contemplating what might have been as the visitors won a thrilling match 4-3. Arsenal youngster Arturo Lupoli did the damage, scoring all four goals as the home defence were simply unable to deal with the talented young striker. A 1-0 defeat at Stoke followed and the month ended with a thoroughly discouraging 2-1 defeat at home to a struggling Sunderland side.

During the month Angus had brought in several unattached players for trials, one in particular impressing enough to be offered a contract. Peruvian international striker Roberto Holsen had made 21 appearances for his country, netting five times in the process, and the manager hoped that his experience would make a difference to his attacking options. The new man played well on his debut at Burnley and was unfortunate not to score as his team strolled to a comfortable 2-0 win. But it was not all good news for Angus as influential winger Michael McIndoe suffered a hip injury in the game and was expected to miss the remainder of the season.

By this point in the season West Brom had established a commanding lead at the top of the table and Premiership football looked to be a foregone conclusion for Tony Mowbray’s team. Barnsley sat firmly in mid table and would require either an unlikely run of wins to feature in the playoffs or a total collapse in form to be drawn into a relegation struggle. Angus sent his team out at Leicester with a game plan designed to stifle the home side in midfield and look to hit them on the break. It worked to perfection with Holsen scoring both goals in the well-worked 2-0 win. He scored two more in their next match as Barnsley shocked league leaders West Brom with a stunning 5-1 win at Oakwell. Teenagers Pekhart and Stieber were also amongst the goals as the home side produced possibly their best performance of the season thus far. By this time the manager had managed to extend both of their loan periods through to the end of the season, much to his relief.

Unfortunately Pekhart suffered a knee injury in training prior to their next game so Nardiello was recalled for the visit of Ipswich. The Welshman scored in the first minute of the game and when Holsen added a second midway through the first half the home side looked to be in good shape. But to Angus’s distress his team contrived to concede three goals in the final 30 minutes to slump to a terrible 3-2 defeat. The manager was struggling to understand how the same team that demolished the champions elect in their previous match could then throw away a winning position three days later. He was still pondering that question when his Chairman, delighted with yet another profitable month, offered the manager a four-year contract which Angus was happy to sign immediately.

April began with a televised local derby at Sheffield Wednesday and no doubt the TV audience enjoyed the resulting 4-3 scoreline. Sadly, Angus did share their pleasure as it was his side that ended as losers, captain Paul Reid dismissed for a petulant kick at an opponent. Another defeat followed a few days later when visiting Preston fashioned a 2-1 win to dishearten the manager even further. With nothing to play for except pride and an improved league position, Angus expected his team to give their all for the remaining few games of the season, especially considering that they were all against teams below them in the table. Instead he watched his side grind out three consecutive 1-1 draws at bottom of the table Luton, at home in a televised derby with Leeds and away at QPR. The final game of the season at home to Southampton could well have made it four in a row but for the heroics of keeper Nick Colgan who kept a clean sheet to give his team a 1-0 win.

Barnsley’s 14th place finish was greeted by the Board as a major success, meeting their requirements for safety combined with financial security proving to be a winning combination. Angus was less happy as he looked back on the season, realising that had he been able to get his team to play more consistently then they could well have been challenging for a possible playoff place.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | West Brom | 46 | 28 | 10 | 8 | 82 | 45 | +37 | 94 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | P | Derby | 46 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 86 | 51 | +35 | 85 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Cardiff | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 76 | 61 | +15 | 76 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Leicester | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 89 | 78 | +11 | 74 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | P | Norwich | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 70 | 55 | +15 | 73 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Crystal Palace | 46 | 18 | 19 | 9 | 61 | 51 | +10 | 73 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Wolves | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 68 | 55 | +13 | 72 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Birmingham | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 58 | 61 | -3 | 69 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Preston | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 63 | 62 | +1 | 65 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th| | Ipswich | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 76 | 70 | +6 | 64 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th| | Stoke | 46 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 50 | 51 | -1 | 62 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th| | Coventry | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 64 | 68 | -4 | 62 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th| | BARNSLEY | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 66 | 57 | +9 | 61 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th| | Sheff Wed | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 62 | 69 | -7 | 59 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th| | Hull | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 63 | 67 | -4 | 58 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th| | Southampton | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 55 | 59 | -4 | 58 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th| | Colchester | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 55 | 65 | -10 | 57 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th| | Sunderland | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 59 | 72 | -13 | 55 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th| | Q.P.R. | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 51 | 57 | -6 | 52 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th| | Burnley | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 53 | 68 | -15 | 49 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st| | Leeds | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 52 | 65 | -13 | 48 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd| R | Plymouth | 46 | 11 | 14 | 21 | 57 | 83 | -26 | 47 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd| R | Southend | 46 | 10 | 14 | 22 | 57 | 77 | -20 | 44 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th| R | Luton | 46 | 9 | 12 | 25 | 48 | 74 | -26 | 39 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

BobBev

Season 02 – 2007/2008

At the beginning of his second season in charge at Oakwell Angus Cohen met with his Chairman to agree on the objectives for the forthcoming year. Mr. Shepherd was still adamant that his manager would not be allowed to pay actual money for new players but he was happy to significantly increase the wage budget. “I don’t mind paying a good wage to those as is working hard for us” was his attitude, “but I’m damned if I’m going to line the pockets of those parasitic agents”. He also agreed to invest funds in improving the facilities at the Youth Academy and was supportive of Angus adding to his coaching staff. The Chairman loved the idea of developing home grown talent that could potentially be sold on for a handsome profit.

During the course of the summer Angus also had to determine which of those players whose contracts were expiring would be offered new deals. In the end he decided that the bulk of the players in that position would be retained, the exceptions being winger Martin Devaney, keeper Kyle Letheran and youngsters Rob Atkinson and Tom Beevor. As well as Uruguayan midfielder Omar Pouso Angus also attracted a couple of other free agents to Barnsley, Finnish legend Jari Litmanen and Watford centre back Malky Mackay. He was aware that bringing in older players was always a risk – after all, big Duncan Ferguson had not proved to be terribly effective last season – but on balance he felt that both players had a lot to offer his team.

Over the summer months the manager had been re-thinking the formation that he wanted his team to play and had decided to experiment with an alternative to the standard 4-4-2 that he had used the previous season. He planned to narrow his midfield slightly and use a holding player in front of the back four. After some work on the training ground he tried this out during some of the club’s pre-season warm up matches to good effect. But as the saying goes the truth of the pudding would be in the eating and the effectiveness of his new approach could only be judged on competitive results.

The season started on a positive note, Michael McIndoe scoring both goals (the second from the penalty spot) in their opener at Wolves. The Scottish winger had been attracting interest from several teams recently and with 12 months left on his contract he had refused to discuss a new deal, preferring to “keep his options open”. As far as Angus was concerned this probably meant that he would be off next summer so he started to take steps to cover for his eventual departure. Lithuanian midfielder Deividas Cesnauskis was in his sights and a deal was struck that would bring the 28-year-old to Oakwell when his loan deal at Hearts expired at the end of next January.

Paul Reid played a captain’s role in the midweek match at Colchester, scoring in the first half and setting a fine example for the rest of his defence to help the team secure a 1-1 draw. The gloss was taken off a decent start to the season when Jari Litmanen suffered a hip injury in training that required specialist treatment and after just two games for his new club the Finn would be ruled out for several months. Roberto Holsen was also in the treatment room for the televised visit of Coventry but despite the enforced changes and the concession of an early goal, Angus was pleased to see his team fight back to record a good 3-1 win.

The team’s brief unbeaten run came to an end with a frustrating 1-0 defeat at home to Watford as the Barnsley attack never got going against a side relegated from the Premiership and amongst the favourites to return to the top flight. A potentially tricky Carling Cup tie at League Two outfit Bury was safely negotiated next, striker Marc Richards scoring both goals to set up a visit from Premiership Reading in the next round. In their next league match a late goal undid an otherwise determined rearguard action at Nottingham Forest and the team suffered a second consecutive 1-0 defeat in the league.

On the final day of the month Angus finalised negotiations with Czech international Patrick Berger who had been released by Aston Villa a few days earlier. He was straight into the starting eleven for the visit of Stoke at the start of September, showing some nice touches in the 1-0 win before running out of steam and being replaced by Colin Healy. There were further injury problems during the next week with Nick Colgan and Malky Mackay joining several of their colleagues in the treatment room and meaning a number of enforced changes for the Tuesday-night trip to Preston. In total Angus has no less than nine of his first team squad unavailable for selection due to a combination of injuries and international call-ups. Striker Marc Richards joined the ranks of the walking wounded after half an hour played but three and a half minutes into stoppage time at the end of the match Omar Pouso headed home a corner to take all three points.

Twice behind at home to Crystal Palace, Barnsley did well to recover on each occasion and force a 2-2 draw, the second equaliser coming just minutes before the end of the game. Next up was a midweek visit from Reading in the 2nd round of the Carling Cup, the Premiership side perhaps fortunate to shade a poor game by a single goal. Angus was fuming at centre back Antony Kay who had received a straight red late on for taking a kick at an opponent, his violent conduct leading to a three-match ban. The following Sunday saw a trip to Brighton for a match played in front of the TV cameras and with his defensive options limited by injures and Kay’s suspension, Angus had to put one of his youth team centre backs on the bench. Much to the manager’s disappointment his team failed to spark and rarely offered an effective attacking threat in a poor 2-1 defeat.

The month ended with a visit to league leaders Everton and Angus had no expectation of taking anything out of a contest with one of the main promotion favourites. By the end of their 4-0 defeat the Barnsley manager was left pondering just how unfair the game of football could be – Pouso left writhing in agony after a thuggish challenge from James Beattie inside the first ten minutes and not even a goal to show for their valiant efforts. The injury to Barnsley’s South American midfielder was not good and the prognosis was at least a two-to-three month layoff, a real blow as he had been very solid guarding the back four. The press reports a few days later that Beattie had suffered a torn hamstring in a routine training exercise gave Angus a modicum of satisfaction, although he later felt a pang of guilt for taking any satisfaction from an injury to another player.

sherm

Still looks good BobBev, although losing Pouso is a blow, he seemed to be doing well for you. Maybe a Play-off spot in the future at Oakwell :thup:

BobBev

Thanks sherm. Pouso had been doing well and he will be missed. It remains to be seen if we can sneak a playoff place though.

Moving into October Angus feared that he was paying the price for putting too much reliance on older players as Berger suffered a back injury and Mackay broke down in training with a bad calf injury. Considering that the club faced a demanding programme of four games in ten days this was not welcome news to the Barnsley manager. The schedule began with the visit of Sheffield Wednesday for a televised local derby. In trouble in the league, the visitors were certainly fired up for the encounter and when they found themselves two goals behind inside the first twenty minutes tempers became frayed. Former Arsenal youth player Frank Simek lost his cool on the half hour and was shown a straight red for his kick at Daniel Nardiello. When Roberto Holsen scored Barnsley’s third before half time the game was won and the home side could pretty much cruise through the second period to gain an excellent 3-0 win. This kick-started a decent run of results although the manager would admit that the football was far from pretty on occasions.

That was certainly the case in their next match at home to Southampton where Nick Colgan made a crucial penalty save early on. The home side failed to register a scoring attempt in the first 45 minutes and the match ended in a classic bore draw. A much-improved performance produced a 1-0 win at Ipswich and captain Paul Reid reached the landmark of his 200th league appearance in the visit of Leicester. Another early penalty was conceded and on this occasion Colgan could not repeat his heroics but fortunately his team recovered to secure a 2-1 win, the three points moving the team to 4th place in the table at month end.

After a 1-1 draw at home to Birmingham they then had to wait almost three weeks for their next match as they had several fixtures cancelled because of international callups. Angus found the resulting fixture congestion hard to understand as they then had to play four games in a week beginning with a visit from Burnley. After a long layoff Jari Litmanen was back in the starting eleven and he scored the opener after just five minutes. The visitors equalised with a rare counter attack on the half hour but the home side scored twice before the interval. Bobby Hassell was enjoying an excellent season in the Barnsley defence and he put them back in front near the end of the half. Holsen then increased their lead in stoppage time to establish a comfortable lead at the break. The home side dominated the second half and Holsen got his second of the game with 20 minutes remaining to underline a fine 4-1 win.

Three days later they were off to Leeds for a Yorkshire derby and Angus was optimistic about getting a decent result as their opponents were immersed in a surprise relegation struggle. Berger replaced Litmanen in midfield and he set up the opening goal for Holsen after half an hour. An own goal in the second half sealed the win and the victory hoisted them up into second place in the league. Just two days later they were off to Hull where Litmanen marked the 400th league appearance of his career with a 2-0 win, Holsen scoring once in each half for the victory. A further two days passed before the visit of Sunderland on December 1st, the same day that Holsen and Hassell were named 1st and 3rd in the Player of the Month awards. An open, attacking encounter saw both sides create a number of chances, few of which were converted, and for a long time it looked as though Holsen’s 21st minute strike would be enough for the home side. But with just three minutes of normal time remaining the visitors scored what most neutrals would agree to be a deserved equaliser.

The club’s punishing schedule continued with a trip to London to face QPR, the 1-1 draw probably a fair reflection of the game. The bad news for Angus was the loss of the in-form Holsen who suffered fractured ribs and would miss several weeks of action. Another road trip followed, although much closer to home as the team travelled to Wigan, a team pushing for promotion. The visitors never featured as an attacking force and suffered a crushing 4-0 defeat, their first reverse in 11 league games. Another tough game followed in midweek with a visit from Cardiff and an exciting encounter looked to be heading the way of the home side thanks to a Litmanen free kick in the first half. But three minutes into stoppage time at the end of the game Cardiff marksman Michael Chopra squared the game to grab a point.

The team headed north next to take on Carlisle and a tight encounter ended 1-0 in favour of the home side, the defeat dropping Barnsley out of the playoff places. During the next few days Angus was approached by winger Michal NcIndoe who was keen to discuss his future, or to be more accurate his lack of a future, at the club. Although stopping short of making a formal transfer request, the 28-year-old Scotsman was insistent on making a move as he felt he had achieved all he could at Oakwell. The manager reluctantly agreed to allow him to make a move if a serious offer came in during the transfer window. The team’s recent mini-slump was arrested with a 3-1 win at home to cellar dwellers Colchester two days before Christmas but then they suffered a 5-1 mauling at Watford on Boxing Day, two players suffering injuries into the bargain. The final game of the year at Coventry was a classic “game of two halves” – 2-0 down at the break they fought back to secure a 2-2 draw. Angus was pleased with the recovery but was nonetheless disappointed that his team had failed to beat a side deep in the relegation dogfight.

BobBev

Despite their recent travails, 8th place in the Championship at the turn of the year certainly exceeded expectations at the club and Angus hoped to regain some momentum with the addition of a player or two to pep up the squad. But first there was the matter of a New Years Day visit by Wolves and the return of Omar Pouso to action. After a turgid first half the game burst into life in the second period, both sides scoring within ten minutes of the restart. When substitute Colin Healy was injured within five minutes of getting up off the bench the manager felt like luck was not on his side. However the unsettled McIndoe scored the winner deep in stoppage time, capitalising on a poor clearance from the visiting keeper to lob the ball home from near the halfway line.

A 3-1 defeat at Ipswich ended Barnsley’s FA Cup run at the first hurdle with the dismissal of captain Paul Reid just after the restart a critical factor in the defeat. During the next few days several new faces appeared at Oakwell as a number of players that Angus had been tracking agreed deals with the club. Young Spanish keeper Jose Ramon had been on the radar since being released by Recreativo and teenage Swedish centre back Anes Mravac was a product of the Malmo youth system and both players had potential for the future. The defence would be stiffened by the arrival of full back Andrew Griffin and centre back Martin Taylor. Griffin had spent ten years in the Premiership with Newcastle and Portsmouth and Taylor also had top-flight experience with Blackburn and Birmingham. But the arrival that excited the manager most was Danish midfielder Rasmus Wurtz who had turned down a new contract at AaB to move to Yorkshire. In addition, a surprise bid of £350K from Sunderland for Neil Austin had been too good to turn down and he made his way to the Stadium of Light.

Unfortunately the Danish international was unavailable for the visit of Notts Forest having been struck down with flu but with Austin gone and Reid suspended both of the club’s new defenders were given an immediate start. Both made reasonable debuts although Angus was disappointed to lose 2-1 after his side had taken the lead in the first half. The next weekend at Stoke his team got off to a nightmare start and within the opening ten minutes they had lost captain Reid to injury and gone behind to an own goal. However they squared the game on the half hour and despite some good chances for both sides there was no further scoring. The diagnosis on Reid was not good – strained knee ligaments that would require up to two months out. Another draw followed in midweek at home to Preston, the home side taking the lead before conceding twice and striking back with a late equaliser. The visit of league leaders Everton promised a tough encounter but the team put in one of their best performances of the season to pull off a surprise 3-1 win, striker Paul Hayes the hat-trick hero and Wurtz making an assured debut.

The month ended with two more new arrivals at Oakwell. Deividas Cesnauskis made his long-awaited appearance to bolster the Barnsley midfield and experienced keeper Steve Harper arrived courtesy of a direct approach by Newcastle who offered the stopper for free. They both made their debut at Southampton in a match that the visitors were very unfortunate to lose with a 1-0 scoreline. Wurtz was then on target twice at Crystal Palace as the visitors came from behind and his second goal in the 89th minute looked like being the match-winner but the home side snatched an even later equaliser. Some uncharacteristically clinical finishing gave the team a fine 3-0 win at home to Brighton in their next match and Angus was fairly content to return from the midweek derby at Sheffield Wednesday with a 1-1 draw. Enough chances were created at home to Ipswich at the weekend to have produced a comfortable win but with his players consistently unable to get their efforts on target Angus was forced to settle for an unsatisfactory goalless draw.

March 1st saw a trip to Leicester and the team returned perplexed at how they had failed to score during an unjust 1-0 defeat. Both keepers excelled but the home goalie in particular pulled off some spectacular saves to give his team the win. Another poor result followed at Birmingham as the team conceded an early goal and then failed to have a single scoring attempt in the first 45 minutes. They conceded again early in the second half before mounting a minor recovery but the late strike from teenager Mark McCusker was merely consolation. The 18-year-old Scots striker, picked up after being released by Hearts in the summer, had been scoring for fun in the reserves so Angus had decided to elevate him to the first team in a desperate attempt to increase their attacking threat. The youngster scored the crucial second goal in the 3-1 win at home to Hull and looked like he would be able to step up to playing at a higher level.

Barnsley then contributed to QPR’s nightmare season with a comfortable 2-0 win at Oakwell in midweek and at the weekend only Magnus Hedman stood between Burnley and a sound defeat, his heroics keeping the game tied at one apiece. Runaway leaders Everton secured promotion with five games to spare with Wigan and Sunderland challenging for second place. Barnsley were now in 7th place and were one of half a dozen teams trying to secure the final playoff slot in the Championship. Skipper Reid was back in action for the visit of local rivals Leeds as Barnsley tried to secure a double over their struggling neighbours, although they were without Wurtz in midfield. Both sides tried to play attacking football and created a number of chances but some wayward finishing saw the game end goalless.

A few days later left back Paul Heckingbottom suffered what proved to be a slipped disc and he was ruled out for the remainder of the season. The club faced a tough conclusion to the season with their first two games in April against the two teams challenging for automatic promotion. Sunderland were first and both keepers excelled themselves, keeping the scoreline blank despite some fine attacking play from both teams. Next up was a visit from Wigan and the team performed well to secure an excellent 2-0 win. However their luck deserted them in their penultimate match at Cardiff in a game of drama and incident. The visitors took the lead midway through the first half but were quickly pegged back and the scores were tied at the break. The home side took the lead within ten minutes of the restart and held on to their lead until late in the game when Martin Taylor headed home the equaliser. With four minutes of stoppage time signalled the visitors pushed on for a winner but were punished with a breakaway goal before McCusker scored his second of the match at the death to secure a point. Barnsley were denied a blatant penalty in the first half and outshot their opponents two to one but it was not to be.

Angus marked his 100th match in charge of Barnsley on the final day of the regular season with a 4-1 win at home to Carlisle, a wonderful way to bring his second season at Oakwell to a conclusion. His team ended in 7th place, just two points outside the playoffs and had they converted just one of the 17 games that they drew then they would be playing for promotion instead of Notts Forest. Angus recognised that his fundamental problem was the lack of a top quality goalscorer as the club’s highest scorer this season was Roberto Holsen with 10 goals. The manager did recognise that the Peruvian had missed swathes of the season through injury and had managed only 20 starts so his goals per game ratio was actually pretty good. Other key performers had included new boys Martin Taylor, Rasmus Wurtz and Steve Harper and established players such as Reid, Hassell and McIndoe, all three of whom were named in the Championship Select at the end of the season.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf| Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Everton | 46 | 31 | 10 | 5 | 92 | 37 | +55 | 103 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | P | Wigan | 46 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 73 | 42 | +31 | 82 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | P | Sunderland | 46 | 21 | 18 | 7 | 79 | 44 | +35 | 81 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Birmingham | 46 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 73 | 55 | +18 | 79 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Leicester | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 69 | 52 | +17 | 76 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Nottm Forest | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 72 | 59 | +13 | 73 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | BARNSLEY | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 66 | 51 | +15 | 71 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Crystal Palace | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 69 | 57 | +12 | 71 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Watford | 46 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 57 | 58 | -1 | 70 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Ipswich | 46 | 17 | 18 | 11 | 77 | 60 | +17 | 69 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Brighton | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 70 | 71 | -1 | 68 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Wolves | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 67 | 62 | +5 | 66 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Cardiff | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 65 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Preston | 46 | 18 | 9 | 19 | 79 | 73 | +6 | 63 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Carlisle | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 54 | 72 | -18 | 62 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Stoke | 46 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 46 | 58 | -12 | 59 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Southampton | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 64 | 71 | -7 | 57 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Burnley | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 52 | 80 | -28 | 49 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Leeds | 46 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 50 | 80 | -30 | 45 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Hull | 46 | 9 | 17 | 20 | 60 | 79 | -19 | 44 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Colchester | 46 | 10 | 9 | 27 | 46 | 74 | -28 | 39 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | R | Coventry | 46 | 10 | 8 | 28 | 41 | 63 | -22 | 38 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | R | Sheff Wed | 46 | 7 | 15 | 24 | 47 | 83 | -36 | 36 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | R | Q.P.R. | 46 | 7 | 14 | 25 | 42 | 69 | -27 | 35 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>