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Sunday December 28th 1997 Barnsley 1 Derby County 0

Watson / Eaden, DeZeeuw, Moses, Barnard / Tinkler, Sheridan, Redfearn / Marcelle (Bullock 75), Hristov (Liddell 60), Ward.

We have the habit this season of not making good starts count and being punished for it later in the game. This looked dead set for today as we once again had most of the possession for the first half. Redfearn my player of the year for 1997, had a good start and hit the bar twice, the first from a wonderful free kick, and the second from a snap shot just outside the box. On another day we may have been two up but it looked as if someone had forgotten to pull the wishbone from the bird this christmas.

No-one really tried to trouble the scorers during the rest of the first half. The second half was a different story altogether. By rights we should have gone one down when a Derby counter attack gave the ball to Carsley just on the edge of the six yard box. He couldn't do anything but score. Somehow the ball landed on his lap and Watson was able to smother it.

Ashley Ward is one of the hardest running players in the history of the universe ever. He nodded a ball onto Liddell down the left hand side, he played it forward to Marcelle who played on his own for a few seconds jinking inside and out of the Derby defenders at the corner of the 18 yard box. He sold one of the most outrageous dummies I have ever seen with his foot reaching for the sky and the ball still motionless. This gave Barnard time to scamper down the outside of Marcelle who backheeled in his path. From here Barnard played the ball hard and low to the near post and up popped Ward to place the ball between Poom's legs. One of the best team goals of the season.

Later on Derby came more into the game. Sturridge had a chance to bring them back level sent clear with just Watson to beat slightly mis-controlled it. This gave Watty his chance and he pounced on the loose ball. A chance sniffed out. What followed seemed absolutely bizarre as the game descended into chaos.

For what seemed like twenty minutes we were shouting for the whistle. Then well into injury time Bullock managed to keep the ball in the far corner of the pitch. Tempers became a little frayed and 3 Derby players were booked one seemed to think he had been sent off and even both Linesmen thought that the game was over at one point. At 4.57pm the whistle was blown and we had won our fifth game of the season to make sure that we are not the worst team to play in the top flight since 3 points for a win were introduced. In the mid eighties Stoke wen't through a season with just 17 points. Next target is Ipswich's 27 points for lowest in the premiership.

We've now a little break for F.A. Cup action and were still bottom, clinging onto the coattails of everyone else down there. We can still do it, and we will still do it. How Coventry can beat Manure is still beyond me but at least we can take comfort in the fact that it's do able at the end of the season.

Friday December 26th 1997 Bolton Wanderers 1 Barnsley 1

Watson / Eaden, DeZeeuw, Moses, Barnard / Tinkler, Redfearn, Sheridan / Marcelle(Liddell), Ward, Hristov (Hendrie).

I walked into the ground from the stairs and I was amazed at the view, I felt I was going to fall onto the pitch. It's the first ground that I've been totally in awe of. Well done Bolton a lot better than that tat you used to play in. Beer was even available for those of us in the Christmas spirit.

The team selection provided a bit of shock but I was impressed with there early commitment. Both Hristov and Marcelle proved a handful for the Bolton defence. It was that man Ashley Ward who created the first chance with an overhead shot which bounced a yard or so wide.

Hristov having his first start since Blackburn had a chance early on it fell to his left foot and he hit the side netting. A few minutes later he looked a shoe in for one. One on one with the keeper he struck it against the inside of the post and it flashed across the goal. Today he wasn't to be denied, Georgi on the spot took advantage of a shot which the keeper couldn't hang onto from Sheridan. In slow motion he dived forward and the ball looped a tiny bit in the air, just enough to make you think it might go over the bar but then the net bulged and we were one up.

After the first thirty five minutes there was only one team in it, then Bolton got a corner. The ball was cleared out, then out of nothing Bergsson hit a shot from a long way out and it just kept going and going, over Watson and into the back of the net. They were back in it. Half time us in-front by a mile, equally in the second half we could have easily lost.

Blake the nemesis of Barnsley caused a few problems, and could easily have had a couple his best chance came when he glanced a header wide from six yards.

Brilliant to be parked really close to the ground, about 50 yards from the turnstile. The closest i've ever been. On the way out this then turned into nightmare as we only finally made it out of the ground after 50 minutes, and that after paying a fiver.

Saturday 20th December Tottenham Hotspur 3 Barnsley 0

Leese / Eaden, Appleby, DeZeeuw, Markstedt (Bullock 46), Moses, Barnard / Tinkler, Redfearn / Liddell (Hristov 60), Ward

"Oh I wish it could be Palace AWAAAAY, The fans are singin andthe band begins to plaaay"

A win today and we would have been closer to getting back amongst the scrap to stay up. At 6 minutes on the watch much of the chance of that happening vanished. Nielson rose to meet a cross and despite the return of Arry and Markstedt from injury he seemed well away from any marker. Never mind the lads have been showing a bit of spirit recently so perhaps we can come back from this.

At 12 minutes Ginola put the game further out of reach and by 18 minutes when he got Tottenham's third the game was practically over.

Once again an opposing striker returns to form against us. Could it be that its our defencive frailties or is it we are just unlucky. You decide. The system we played today seemed to consist of us crowding them out of defence just did us no favours at all. The only thing it did was to bring the opposition attacks more frequantly. We just couldnt get out of our own half.

We wern't completely inept at going forward though, Eaden blazed a shot over the bar and Liddell did head a ball towards goal!

At the half time interval Bullock replaced Markstedt to bring us a bit of attaking flair. It didn't work. He had his usual couple of mazy runs, but their wasn't that many cries of "gooo on Bully" Barnard hit a shot just over the bar. Unfortunately our best chance landed at the foot of a recently introduced Hristov and the ball ballooned over the bar. Tottingham should really have had another when Sinton hit the post late on and on a few occasions my heart was in my mouth at the sloppiness of Leese's kicking as the ball rebounded off an attacking spurs player.

All in all a pretty disapointing game and all too reminicent of Southampton away.

Let me not be too downhearted at this festive time of the year. 14 points at the half way point is definately not enough. But thanks to many of the results around the premier this season we are not completely out of reach and we do still have Everton for company. So "COME OOOON YOUUU REEAAADS" and "Let the bells ring out for Christmas" because after all is said and done "WE ARE PREMIER LEAGUE SAY WE ARE PREMIER LEAGUE"

Saturday December 13th 1997 : Barnsley 2 (1) Newcastle United 2 (1)

Leese / Eaden, Moses, Appleby (Bullock 66), Krizan, Barnard / Bosancic (Sheridan 52), Tinkler, Redfearn, / Ward, Liddell (Hendrie 57)

Two classic strikes to start and end the game gave us a well deserved point, infact it wouldn't have been unreasonable to have had all three points.

The up and ultimately down nature of the last two games gave us a real need to get something from this game, a defeat and we would be cast adrift completely looking bleakly at the christmas period. Redfearn's  early goal went a long way to making any early nerves disappear, but I had a terrible feeling that this game would go the same as other games where we have gone ahead early (Leeds, West Ham, Wimbledon). The goal came from some good interplay between Ward, Liddell and then Redfearn who took the ball and curved it over the keeper into his far corner. Sweet as a nut.

The early fears I had disappeared during most of the first half, Newcastle showed no real attacking flare that they been known for over the last few years. We created many more chances and had the greater of the possession. The best of the other chances landed on the head of Tinkler who flicked on free kick it looked to be just squeezing under the bar until Hislop put up an arm to turn it over.

Either side of the break Keith Gillespie swung the game around in Newcastles favour. His first owed a bit of credit to poor refereeing and slack play from Tinkler. He was caught out by Asprillia who muscled him off the ball, free kick perhaps. This gave the Geordies a break, Asprillia took it on then passed to Gillespie who ran for far too long inside and out of the Barnsley defence, shot low and hard into the corner of the net passed a diving Leese.

Gillespie's second goal soon after the restart came from a pumped forward clearance. Gillespie latched onto it and took it to the right of goal and brought it in towards goal. No challenge could be made and Leese was then left in no-mans land begging to be lobbed, and Gillespie duly obliged.

So far this season John Hendrie hasn't shown anything like the form he had last year. His early games didn't produce any goals then an injury has left him kicking his heals for most of the intervening time. Today he announced his return to the premiership in style. John picked up the ball on the outside corner of the box,  he darted inside to give himself room for a shot then let fly from twenty yards with his left foot. This left Hislop with no chance and the ball took the top corner by storm. "SUPER, SUPER JOHN, SUPER, SUPER JOHN, SUPER JOHNNY HENDRIE"

A winner looked to be in the offing as the crowd wanted blood and to move off the bottom. Terrific stuff it would have been, sadly it didn't happen. We tried but just couldn't produce what was needed. Brilliant stuff none the less and were back on track. Now the next game is another massive one. A win and were back amongst it, defeat and were cast adrift for christmas. One place above where we were last year, but this time "WE ARE PREMIER LEAGUE SAY WE ARE PREMIER LEAGUE"

Monday December 8th 1997 : Sheffield Wednesday 2(1) Barnsley 1(1)

Leese / Moses, Appleby (Bullock 89), Krizan, Eaden, Barnard / Sheridan, Redfearn, Bosancic / Liddell (Hendrie 86) , Ward

Ar*e. And I don't mean nal. What a choker, at the end of this match my guts were on the butchers table and someone was going to be having mad me for tea.

For once we were not the team that started brightly, Wednesday had there fans singin. They scored from a lucky bounce off Booth and Stefanovic made it first to the ball, prodding it past a slow off his line Leese.

Wednesday dropped off their pace a little and this gave the hundred miles an hour reds a chance. Late on in the first half Ward turned his man and was brought down just outside the box. From our vantage point it looked just like a Penalty. It might have with Reddo at the ball. He was due one as he hasn't scored in a while. Boy did he get one today. Redfearn hit it from outside the area to the left of the goal. The ball flew above a Wednesday defender and bounced in off the post. No chance for Pressman the only current Wednesday player to be in the last meeting between us.

Half time came too soon as we put on a bit of pressure. After the break we carried on the same. Four  corners in a row at one point. I had lost count of how many we had in total but nothing at all really came from them. Bosancic had one half chance but that bounced way above the goal.

The Barnsley players ran themselves into the floor. We were crying out for a bit of extra cover in midfield unfortunately it couldn't come on because or substitutes bench consisted of attackers and Watson. It wasn't until after the end of the game that we found out that DeZeeuw and Markstedt failed late fitness tests. Sheridan did a job infront of the back four and his best moment came from a real crunching tackle on Di Canio. Excellent, a bit of steel in the side.

Before the game the crowd was urged by the PA (Loudest i've ever heard by the way) to sing D I CAN IO as in the 70's pop ditty, D I S C O. I thought we might be spared it but alas it wasn't going to happen. Di Canio, the boody baarstard. Why is it every team we play against seems to have a big name that pulls a goal out of nothin. The worst thing though was that he shouldn't have been on the pitch to do anything.

In the first half DiCanio kicked the ball away and abused the linesman. The same in the second half combined with a number of tackles from behind. He was only finally booked when he should have been sent off for raising his hand to Darren Barnard. This booking seemed to spur him on. It wasn't long before he had rounded a couple of players and shot under Leese. It looked to be trickling in over the line but Eaden got to it. With barely a minute left on the clock though he popped up in the luckiest fashion to take a double rebound over twenty yards. He ran onto it and rounded the keeper. Tapped the ball and it was all over. No matter how many times i've watched it since Moses just can't reach the ball to keep it out. aaaaaaahhhh. The air turned blue and I was Gutted.

All in all on reflection and into cliche mode "The lads tried hard and didn't get any luck but you create your own luck in this game. You have to give Wednesday credit as they created most of the best chances so we can't really complain, they could have had more but, we deserved something."

"WE ARE PREMIER LEAGUE SAY WE ARE PREMIER LEAGUE"

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