Barnsley

 Rob, Barnsley FC Blog for Sport:Yorkshire


Hill's Influence Starting to Show

Nobody ever said that it would be easy to follow another Championship season with BFC.

We experience it almost every season, but the rollercoaster of emotions, thoughts and feelings since the season kicked off at Nottingham Forest has probably surpassed the feeling in most seasons since the dream season in the Premier League.

At the end of it, we come out of the 10 game opening exchanges with; 2 wins, 2 defeats, 6 draws, and ultimately, a lot of hope for what is to follow.

The lasting memory I have of the first 2 home games of the season (I think generally I’ve managed to block most of both games out of my memory, which is a good thing) is walking back to the car with my dad and my brother, doing my utmost to convince them that the season wasn’t a complete write-off already.

The new signings looked lost and a little out of their depth, the system looked disjointed, and we were carved open at will – but it was early days. They had naturally already decided that we were relegated and didn’t stand a chance, but I was adamant in my statement that both Middlesbrough and Southampton would be in and around the top 6 at the end of the season and that we had to give Keith Hill and David Flitcroft a chance to imprint their style on the football club – all was not lost.

     Keith Hill and David Flitcroft’s influence over the Barnsley squad is starting to show.

When I look back at it now, I feel quite smug (and I’ve made it very clear to them too) but at the time, I think I was trying to convince myself just as much as I was trying to convince them. The game against Forest away had given some initial hope. We looked solid; we competed well and came away with a deserved point.

The way that Forest have followed up that opening day draw would suggest we came away with 2 points less than we should have done. The subsequent home games were appalling. Both carried a sense of relief that we hadn’t lost by more. I went on holiday after those games relieved that I was going to get away for a couple of weeks.

Wherever you go though, I think it’s fair to say that you can’t leave your football club behind. I sat in a bar watching ‘Soccer Saturday’ in Tenerife as the game against Reading unfolded. I looked on in disbelief as Luke Steele produced a wonderful performance to save 2 penalties, and almost fell out of my chair as Matt Done gave us a 2-0 lead – wondering just how much Estrella I’d actually drank!

 Following that up with a solid 0-0 against Millwall restored the belief that the squad and the manager were both learning quickly about life in the Championship.

At the home game against Leicester, the over-riding sense that I got inside the ground before kick-off was one of apprehension. Were the 2 positive away results just a flash in the pan? Would the richest club in the Championship just walk onto our patch and roll us over?

Certainly not. We should have won the game, and probably should have won it comfortably. Other than a 30 second switch-off at the start of the 2^nd half, and some brilliant goalkeeping from Kasper Schmeichel, we would have done – and the players have kicked on from there.

The game on Saturday against Coventry was crucial. Lose the game and the results over the 10 game period would have been incredibly poor and the good performances would have been all but forgotten. Fortunately, thanks in no small part to fine performances from Jim O’Brien and Andy Gray – two players who had been the brunt of major criticism last season – we got the result that makes our 7 match unbeaten run look a little healthier. The break comes at a good time – we have a long injury list but not a long-term injury list – many of the names should be available again after the international break.

The honest appraisal of the manager from my point of view would be that he is improving. The tactics in the first couple of home games looked a little lost and Keith has admitted he was a little shell-shocked. The fans were voicing their disapproval, but he’s learned fast and showed some very positive traits.

The one that stands out to me is a lack of stubbornness. If his new signings haven’t worked, he has made the necessary changes. Sir Bobby Hassell has seen off another challenger to the right back position at least at this stage, and Miles Addison was quickly on the bench when a more mobile option became available. The fans are now buying into what Keith is trying to do and that was reflected in the noise from the Ponty End at full time against Coventry.

I have to give mention to the one factor that I think has improved the most in the side and that’s the midfield. The energy and dynamism that has been provided by David Perkins and Danny Drinkwater has turned us into a side that don’t ever look like they are going to roll over. When they can get the ball into the feet of Jacob Butterfield, we look a real threat. Jim O’Brien is also flourishing this season in a team where I think he feels more important than he did last season.

The loan signing of Daniel Drinkwater coincided with Barnsley’s current 7 match unbeaten run.

He seems more confident that his teammates are going to give him the ball, and the two crosses he has produced leading to goals for Andy Gray are some of the best seen at Oakwell since THAT cross by Martin Devaney for Kayode Odejayi against Chelsea. For us to be unbeaten away from home at this stage of the season is practically unheard of.

One man that deserves massive praise is Luke Steele. A goalkeeper who produced the single most unbelievable display I have ever seen at Anfield in the FA Cup, but a goalkeeper who had all too often made crucial mistakes during previous seasons. Since the season started, Luke has been absolutely flawless. His command of his box is massively improved, his distribution is much more measured, and he remains the outstanding shotstopper that repeatedly denied Babel, Benayoun and the rest on that amazing day in the FA Cup.

His understudy David Preece informs me on Twitter that there is no better goalkeeper in the Championship, and I certainly wouldn’t argue with that. If he continues in the form he is showing, there is absolutely no reason why Luke can’t overtake Frankie Fielding, David Stockdale and Scott Loach in the push for duty with England. He has been that good.

When I look at the other South Yorkshire club in the Championship and their drastic change in transfer policy, it only makes me feel a lot more comfortable with the way my own club is being handled at the moment.

My mood heading into the international break is quiet optimism, and if someone offered that to me after the 3-1 defeat at home to Middlesbrough, I think I would have accepted it!

Follow Rob on Twitter @robpick86