League Table since Big Val took over....

...is good viewing

 

It certainly does, and just goes to show how far he has brought the team since he took over. The main challenge now is to ensure we keep him.

 

Don't see why we can't keep hold of him as long as we're showing ambition and he's feeling supported.

 

VI comes across as a honourable man, and I think he would like to see how far he can go with this team. I can see him being here for another season as a full season in the championship would be a challenge for him and see what he can accomplish: Barnsley have unearthed a gem in VI.

 

No plan B.

343.

Winner scores first.

Blah blah bloody blah!

Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

 

Not accounting for a vey tough, new year run of games. To lose to, then beat the league leaders. & nobody can tell me Norwich weren’t up for a cup run.
If we didn’t have to square up to big budget, Premier League failures, we’d play a more natural, skilful game. I’d been saying, get safe & take the brakes off. There’s some beautiful football in this team.

 

Unfortunately money and if we don't go up and we lose a few key players in summer mowatt, styles etc he may feel disheartened like other managers have and leave. I don't get too attached to players or coaches anymore.

 

Total underachiever.

 

That's very impressive.

I didn't believe we could perform the way we are doing with the system Val uses. I didn't think any team could. It doesn't look strong enough in the centre of midfield to me. It is, because I've seen it in action, but when I look at the formation it doesn't look like it would be. It also looks like we'd be overrun down the flanks. Again, we're not, but it looks like we should be. There looks to be too many forwards, by a factor of at least one, particularly when we're playing better sides away from home. There isn't, but it looks like there would be. It's less of a problem now after a couple of signings, but the too many forwards thing I thought would hurt us more than most teams who might try this as the forwards we had weren't our best players, yet we were filling the team with them, but it didn't hurt us.

I thought the work that was expected from the players would mean we'd tire in the second half and be conceding goals in the final 10 minutes, but it's the opposition that tire, not us, and we often finish the game the stronger.

I didn't think a team could be as well drilled as we are now. I'd never before seen a team do what we've been doing for the last few games. I couldn't imagine the way we press working so well because I'd never previously seen it work so well.

And we've done all this without a left wing back.

I've seen better football from Barnsley teams. The teams put together by Clarke/Hunter and Wilson/Winstanley were amazing footballers who played amazing football. But I've never before seen us so well disciplined. And I find the football we play really good to watch. I genuinely don't understand Red Rain's complaint that there's no entertainment. There's definitely room for improvement with our finishing, but I find the number of times we win back possession in the opponent's half to be hugely entertaining, not least because it's something I have never seen before by any team at any level in over 40 years of watching the game. We do it more times in a match than many teams do in a season. What's not to like about the opposition sometimes going 20 minutes without getting out of their own half and us winning the ball back in dangerous areas again and again.

 

Were good arent we

 

This with bells on. I had a proper giddy joy at the fact that Chelsea, for all their talent, their money and their coaching, just couldn't cope with us or figure us out for a huge portion of the match.

 

Great summary. I too have had reservations about the style at times, but the results now are too sustained over too long to be any kind of fluke. The bloke's working miracles with the team we have, and it's becoming increasingly fascinating to watch. Who knows how far it can go?

 

Simply simply spot on