I watched the tv highlights of Dundee's match v Rangers at Ibronx and it was very noticeable how Adam hardly committed himself to Dundee's collective efforts to subdue Rangers attacks on their defence. On a couple of occasions he ambled out to Dundee's left wing, where he was on his own, while the Dundee defence was being pounded in the players' pen box - highly suspicious and more or less rendering Dundee to be playing with 10 players! I wonder what James McPake, the Dundee manager, made of this meagre contribution by Adam? I know he is a Rangers fan, extreme on occasions with previous vociferous spats v Celtic fans. However, in a competitive footie sense, surely you don't "down tools" when playing v your favourite footie club??? If that is the case, then serious questions must be asked of him as a continuing pro player - not a good watch!!

Doing it all on one thread this season, draw is Monday sometime around 6.45 pm we'll get someone crap and lose it's the future

Then and as it is now


Ewood Park (/ˈiːwʊd/) is a football stadium in the English town of Blackburn, Lancashire, and is the home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club — one of the founding members of the Football League and Premier League. Rovers have played there since they moved from Leamington Road in the summer of 1890. The stadium opened in 1882 and is an all seater multi-sports facility with a capacity of 31,367.[1] It comprises four sections: The Bryan Douglas Darwen End, Riverside Stand (named as such because it stands practically on the banks of the River Darwen), Ronnie Clayton Blackburn End, and Jack Walker Stand, which is named after Blackburn industrialist and club supporter, Jack Walker. The football pitch within the stadium measures 115 by 76 yards (105 m × 69 m).

MANAGER
Coaching career
Once his playing career finished he moved into coaching, starting as a first team coach at Ipswich Town. He had a brief spell as caretaker manager of Ipswich, following the sacking of George Burley and prior to the appointment of Joe Royle.[7]

Hibernian
In May 2004, Mowbray was appointed manager of Hibernian, replacing Bobby Williamson.[8] He gained much acclaim for the job he did, winning the Scottish Football Writers' Association manager of the year award in his first season.[9] Hibs finished in the top four in the SPL in his only two full seasons in charge, which was the first time that Hibs had done this in the top division in consecutive seasons since Eddie Turnbull was manager.

Hibs progressed to the later stages of every domestic cup competition in his tenure and made two appearances in European football. Hibs lost heavily to Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the first round of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup and on the away goals rule to OB Odense in the 2006 Intertoto Cup. During mid-2006, Mowbray was interviewed for the vacant managerial position at Ipswich Town, but he rejected their approach.[10] In September 2006 he signed a 12-month rolling deal with Hibs that was due to take effect from July 2007.[11] Just one month later however, Mowbray moved to West Bromwich Albion.

West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion appointed Mowbray as their manager on 13 October 2006.[12] Mowbray faced the task of returning the Baggies to the Premier League after relegation the previous season.[12] Although he managed to turn around the club's poor away form, an indifferent run of results at home towards the end of the season meant that Albion finished fourth in The Championship table behind Sunderland, Birmingham City and Derby County, and faced the lottery of the Championship Play-Offs. Despite two famous victories over old rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in the semi finals, Albion lost 1–0 to Derby County in the Wembley final.

As a result, during the close season, Mowbray set about restructuring his squad, moving out several of Robson's players for multimillion-pound fees, after press reports of dressing room division.[13]

High-profile players such as Jason Koumas, Diomansy Kamara and Curtis Davies were sold to Premier League clubs for large fees, in addition to the departures of Paul McShane, Nathan Ellington, Darren Carter and Steve Watson. Mowbray replaced them by signing a total of 14 permanent and loan players in the summer transfer window, making an overall profit in the process. His most expensive signings were Chris Brunt from Sheffield Wednesday for £3 million, Leon Barnett from Luton Town for £2.5 million, and James Morrison from Middlesbrough for £1.5 million.[citation needed]

Despite the large changes in his squad, Mowbray won the Championship Manager of the Month award in September 2007, after Albion gained 13 out of the maximum 15 points and climbed to 2nd in the Division.[14]

At the start of 2008, Mowbray's young Albion team topped the table, receiving growing plaudits from the media[15] and supporters alike for their attractive brand of attacking one touch passing football, a reflection of Mowbray's staunch footballing philosophy.[citation needed]

Mowbray guided West Brom to the Football League Championship title, meaning promotion to the Premier League and reached the semi-final of the FA Cup. The semi-final, the first to be played at the new Wembley Stadium, pitted West Brom against Portsmouth, the only remaining Premier League team left in the FA Cup. Portsmouth won the match 1–0 with the only goal of the game coming from Kanu. Mowbray won the Championship manager of the month award for April,[16] as well as the League Managers Association manager of the year award.[17]

After a poor 2008–09 season, West Bromwich were relegated from the Premier League, finishing 20th. Mowbray was still thought highly of by the fans, however, and this was evidenced by them wearing Mowbray masks at their last game of the season.[18] Mowbray left the club for Celtic shortly afterwards.

Celtic

Tony Mowbray as Celtic manager.
On 8 June 2009, it was reported that Celtic had approached West Bromwich Albion for permission to speak to Mowbray about their managerial vacancy.[19] A compensation fee of £2 million was agreed, and Celtic declared Mowbray as their new manager on 16 June 2009.[20] He was unveiled as Celtic manager at a press conference a day later. His coaching team was Neil Lennon, Peter Grant, Mark Venus, and Stevie Woods.[21] On 12 September 2009 was named as the Coach of the Month of August in the Scottish Premier League.

Mowbray was described as "beleaguered" by The Herald after Celtic fell 10 points behind Old Firm rivals Rangers in the SPL title race after a 2–1 home defeat by Hibs.[22]

Mowbray decided to make significant changes to his squad during the January 2010 transfer window, selling Gary Caldwell and Barry Robson, which apparently caused disruption to the team in the immediate aftermath of those deals being completed.[22] Robbie Keane was recruited early in 2010 on a loan deal from Tottenham Hotspur amid great excitement, however further poor results, particularly a record 4–0 defeat by St Mirren, led to Mowbray being sacked on 25 March.[23] It was reported in May 2010 that Celtic had yet to agree compensation with Mowbray and his management team.[24]

Middlesbrough
Mowbray was appointed Middlesbrough manager on 26 October 2010, replacing Gordon Strachan. He lost his first match in charge, 2–1 against Bristol City,[25] but followed this with wins against Crystal Palace and Scunthorpe. Mowbray guided Boro to Championship safety,[26] having joined the club when they were 22nd in the league. The club finished the season well, winning their last four league games and finished 12th in the league table. The same season, Mowbray started giving youngsters a first team place such as Joe Bennett, Luke Williams and Richard Smallwood. Mowbray also started giving Marvin Emnes more playing time after returning on loan from Swansea City.[citation needed]

Middlesbrough began the 2011–12 season well and Mowbray won manager of the month for September.[27] Middlesbrough relinquished the only unbeaten record in the league after a 2–0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in October 2011.[citation needed] After a poor start to 2012, Middlesbrough's form picked up in late February with four wins in five games.[28] Middlesbrough finished 7th in the 2011–12 season, missing out on a play-off place by one position.[citation needed]

After an unbeaten run in October 2012, Mowbray won the accolade of Championship Manager of the Month for that month.[29] On 21 October 2013, it was announced that Mowbray had left the club with immediate effect after a run of two wins in 12 games in the 2013–14 campaign.[30]

Coventry City
On 3 March 2015, Mowbray was appointed manager of Coventry City on a deal until the end of the 2014–15 season.[31] With the club facing the possibility of relegation to the fourth-tier for the first time since the late 1950s, Tony Mowbray's initial brief was to keep the club in the third-tier. A final day victory away at Crawley Town was enough for Mowbray to secure League One football for the Sky Blues for the 2015–16 season.[32]

Following protracted negotiations at the end of the season, Tony Mowbray agreed to sign a two-year contract extension to remain as Coventry City manager.[33]

Mowbray resigned from Coventry City on 29 September 2016 after a string of results without a win.[34]

Blackburn Rovers
On 22 February 2017, Mowbray was appointed head coach of Blackburn Rovers on an 18-month contract, effectively lasting until the end of the 2017–18 season.[35] Despite an improvement in form that offered some hope of survival, Blackburn were relegated to League One at the end of the 2016–17 season.[36]

Mowbray signed a new contract that would keep him at the club until 2019, with an option of a further 12 months after that as well.[37] Under his managership, Blackburn won promotion back to the Championship after a single year in League One.[38] Their promotion was assured on 24 April, after a 1–0 away win against Doncaster Rovers.[39]

In the 2018-19 season Mowbray led Blackburn to a final finish of 15th in the Championship. In the EFL Cup they reached the third round before being eliminated at AFC Bournemouth. In the FA Cup Blackburn were eliminated in the third round after extra time in a replay against Newcastle United.

In the 2019-20 season Mowbray secured an 11th place finish in the Championship. In the EFL Cup they reached the second round before defeat at Sheffield United. The club were beaten in the third round of the FA Cup at fellow Championship side Birmingham City.

The 2020-21 season will be Mowbray's fourth full season as manager of Blackburn Rovers

LAST TIME OUT



FORM GUIDE

PLASTICS 13 PNE 11

FAMOUS BLACKBURN PERSON

ME

Born in Blackburn famous but dead



Minna Grey (1868 in Blackburn, Lancashire – 1935) was an English actress of the silent era


PNE Team News

In his pre-match press conference, Frankie McAvoy said that there are a few injury concerns heading into the weekend which would be assessed on Thursday and Friday.

The head coach is hopeful that Patrick Bauer will be back available for this one, having missed the weekend's game against Fulham through injury.

Those who Frankie will not have ready for selection include goalkeeper Declan Rudd and Josh Murphy.

The Opposition


In his fifth season at Ewood Park, Tony Mowbray is the man in charge of Blackburn Rovers, who sit fifth in the Championship table heading into the weekend.

They should be in confident mood, too, having lost just once in their last seven league games, albeit that defeat was the 7-0 thrashing at home to Fulham.

Mowbray could be without Belgian international goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski for this fixture, with the shot-stopper recently sent for a scan on his lower abdominal, which forced him off in the last game against Stoke City.

Key Stats



Since that defeat to Fulham at the beginning of November, Rovers have gone the last four unbeaten, with three wins, nine goals and ten points in that time.

Their main man so far this term has been Ben Brereton Diaz, having scored 16 goals in his 20 Championship games, as well as scoring often on the international stage with Chile.

North End have had a good record over Blackburn in recent years on their home patch, with the last defeat at Ewood Park coming in January 2001.

Our Last Meeting


Our last game against Rovers came back in February, when Alex Neil’s side took three points back to Deepdale.

Greg Cunningham opened the scoring with a stunning strike against his former side, before Liam Lindsay then doubled PNE’s lead.

The home side pulled one back before the break through Adam Armstrong from the penalty spot, but North End held on in the second half to come out on top.

Man In The Middle


Experienced EFL official Gavin Ward will take charge of this fixture, his second PNE game of the season, with the first being the opening day defeat against Hull City.

Ward has refereed 16 games so far this term – the majority in the Championship – and he’s handed out 63 yellow cards and three red cards in that time.

Steven Meredith and Akil Howson will assist him, with Geoff Eltringham the fourth official.


MACS VIEW

Another local derby and any repeat on the non event at Blackpool will be unacceptable, although the Seasiders is considered the main local event for those of us who had to live through the early Jack Walker time from the South Ribble area this one counts a great deal
After last weeks decent performance we need to build on that plus the win at Boro
Not unsurprisngly we have not sold 7000 tickets getting close to Christmas and lets face it we have had a below par season, 100 % required tomorrow no excuses whatsoever

Getting the 3 pts more important for Celtic than the performance tonight. Celtic doggedly holding on to their one goal lead all the same and 4 pts closer to Rangers again. This was a keenly contested match with Celtic again having enough scoring opps to win it handsomely. But no surprise that the opposition goalie, Gordon, pulling off some excellent saves to maintain his side's interest in the match until the end. Celtic still deserved winners, Kyogo delivering the killer goal that looked marginally offside, although the Hoops incurring a number of injuries tonight - Jota, Ralston and Welsh all replaced due to what looks like muscle probs, a big worry for the manager TBF! Much for Ange to ponder before the next fixture on Sunday.

Well this will be the third match of a testy threesome for Hibs since the end of the international break. And the boys hadn't done too badly until last night when done out of a well-earned draw v Rangers. Now we face the "steelmen". It would be great to pick up the 3 pts. Not easy as M'well attained a good 1-0 result v the Tangerines last night. However, they definitely appear to be "blowing hot n cold" as a team. So we don't know what M'well team will show up for this game. Gotta keep a close watch on Tony Watt who has had a decent season as a striker. More importantly, the guys really need to apply themselves to win this match. Doidgy will return and prob be on the subs' bench. We'll also see who is injured after Wednesday's match at ER Stadium. I hope Nisbet "finds his scoring boots" for this one as I wasn't impressed with his overall contribution last night - too many mispasses and poor touches for my liking and playing more like an inside forward looking for his spearhead partner/striker up front. C'mon Hibs! No complacency please.

GGTTH

Premier League

Sanjay 11pts 2CS 3CR 5GB -3BB 1SB
BBB 10pts 2CS 4CR 0GB -3BB 1SB
Silver 8pts 2CS 2CR -3GB 6BB 1SB
BaggieOne 6pts 1CS 2CR 5GB -3BB 0SB
SCO -1pt 0CS 1CR -3GB 0BB 0SB
AAA -1pt 0CS 1CR 0GB -3BB 0SB
Snooty -2pts 0CS 0CR -3GB 0BB 1SB
Minizin -2pts 0CS 0CR 0GB -3BB 1SB
Derby -3pts 0CS 1CR -3GB -3BB 1SB

Well, I did predict that this would be a tough week (about the only prediction I managed to get right this week). 5 players managed to end the week worse off than they started it and for the first time I can recall, 2 players failed to get a single prediction correct. Just 1 correct bonus (though 2 bonuses were played on the postponed game) and that1 happened to be a maximum.

Top this week is Sanjay with 11 points. Only 3 correct predictions but 2 of them were spot on and the other was a rare correct gamball result, ythough he remains 1 of only 2 players with a negative return from this ball for the season so far. BBB takes second place but will be kicking himself for not playing the gamball as that was one of his 2 correct scores! BBB had a week's best of 4 correct predictions and looks to be mounting a forceful defence of his title. Silver only managed 2 correct predictions but both were correct scores, including his bonus, to give him 3rd, while BaggieOne was the only other player to keep above zero largely thanks to his 5 point gamball.

And then the rest. SCO at least managed to get 1 prediction right and was probably saved from a worse fate by playing his bonus on the postponed game. He was joined on this score by AAA whose decision to once again avoid the gamball saved him from serious embarrassment. Snooty and Minizin failed to pick a single correct prediction, relying on the scoreball for their only positive point. Again, it could have been worse with Snooty another to void his bonus while Minizin chose to avoid the gamball. This left Derby holding up the pack with minus 3 though he did at least get 1 correct result! Sadly this was not enough to offset failures on his gamball and bonus.

Derby 149
BBB 142
Silver 129
SCO 126
Minizin 121
Snooty 116
Sanjay105
BaggieOne 88
AAA 51

Derby retains his overall lead dispite his nightmare week though BBB is rapidly closing in. Silver took advantage of others' failures to climb back to 3rd with SCO and Minizin dropping back a place. No other changes though Sanjay finally climbed above the 100 point mark. A bit of a gap is developing at the top and bottom of the table with a logjam developing in the middle. Short write up this week as I have to get out and enjoy the California sunshine - how's things in the UK? (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

Zin


Championship

Themaclad 6pts 0CS 3CR 5GB -3BB 0SB
Amelia 5pts 1CS 1CR -3GB 6BB 0SB
Salop 4pts 1CS 1CR NPGB -3BB 1SB
Stairs 2pts 0CS 1CR NPGB 0BB 0SB
Dingle 0pts 1CS 1CR -3GB -3BB 0SB
Lady Jane -1pts 0CS 2CR -3GB -3BB 1SB
Zinman -1pts 1CS 0CR -3GB -3BB 1SB
Blue Baggie -2pts 0CS 2CR -3GB -3BB 0SB
Twerton -5pts 0CS 0CR -3GB -3BB 1SB

Ouch!!!! Worst week of the season by far as we nearly all stuck in a performance that has to rank alongside the Latvian women this week!!! A collective total of just 8 points (yes I know it was only 9 games but we all know Burnley would have beaten Spurs anyway.).

Themaclad leads the way on 6 points and was fittingly the only one to score positive points on the Gamball. Amelia is 2nd on 5 points and was one of only 4 players to get a CS. Salop finished 3rd with 4 points, wisely didn't play the Gamball and also got a CS. Stairs in 4th rounds out the potive scores with 2 points, he simply scored on one game and got nothing on the rest!!

Its all downhill from there. Dingle didn't bother the scorers on zero points, Lady Jane and Zinman got -1, both missed on the Gamball and Bonus but did get the Scoreball. Blue Baggie had his worst week of the season with -2 points, he missed on every ball!! At the bottom again is Twerton on -5 points, he managed to get the Scoreball but this only saved him from getting the minimum score possible!!

158 - Blue Baggie
144 - Stairs
126 - Lady Jane
117 - Dingle
115 - Zinman
115 - Salop
91 - Themaclad
89 - Amelia
66 - Twerton

Not much change in the table, Blue's lead shrank by 4 points to Stairs. Salop is now joint 5th with Zinman and nowt else changed. Short write up for me as well this week, but I find myself in the damp cold UK for a week instead of my usual warmer surroundings in LA (it will be 23C with full sun there on Sunday when I get home), so %#*@ off Zinman!!!!!

Cheers
SCO

Aldershot 0-2 Altrincham
Barnet 2-0 Maidenhead United
Bromley 2-1 Wealdstone
Dag & Red 2-3 Grimsby
Dover 0-4 Wrexham
Solihull Moors 2-2 Woking
Weymouth 1-2 Torquay


League Table After Matchday 21

Amelia = 256
Devon = 252
St Charles = 248
Lord Snoots = 246
Dancing = 238
Spireitematt = 212

Barnsley v Huddersfield Town
The Sky Bet Championship
Saturday December 4th - 15:00 ko
at the Old John Smith's Bitter Stadium

Huddersfield Town travel to Barnsley in the People's Republic of South Yorkshire to Oakwell on Saturday afternoon for what will be a tricky test against a struggling opponent. My boss is a knobhead Barnsley fan and he says they're playing some absolute rubbish this season, with no heart, no plan and no direction but down. Luckily for them then that Town are coming to tarn. As we all know, Town have a bad habit of giving poor teams an easy ride, now and historically. It's always been the same and always will be. It's the Huddersfield Town way.

Anyway, talking of struggling, we're struggling a bit ourselves of late. Two straight defeats, away at QPR and last week's shameful display at home to Boro, have put a dampener on our early season good fortune. I say good fortune because really we haven't looked at all like a top 6 side, despite what the league table might suggest. Fortune has deserted us though and so here we are with some hard work to do.

One small crumb off the fortune cookie though happened on Tuesday, when Jordan Rhodes made his long awaited come back by playing 60 minutes for the B team. Could he be on the bench for this one, at the club where he started his footballing life as a 13 year old schoolboy?

Barnsley are on their third manager of the year. Valérien Ismaël was the one who got them to the Play Offs before bogging off to Baggieland in the summer, to be replaced by Markus Schopp. He was dismissed last month though with the home defeat to Hull City being the last straw. And so they now have an unknown Swedish/Iranian bloke in charge, hoping for some new manager bounce. Poya Asbaghi is his name and it hasn't happened yet, following defeats at Fulham and at home to Swansea, so let's just keep that going.

Now for those of you who don't know us, me and Amelia are now residents of S71, having moved to Barnsley six years ago and we're just four miles away from Oakwell. For various reasons though, since moving here from Birstall, we haven't managed to get to see Town play on our doorstep. But we have tickets for this, so see you all there. 

Tickets - 'Ow much?! 
Adults - £28
65s and over - £20
Young adults (19-21) - £20
Juniors (12-18) - £10
Under-12s - £5

The Under-12 price is only applicable when purchased alongside an adult, 65s and over or a young adult ticket.

Should any tickets be available on the day of the game, it will be cash only on the North Stand turnstiles and prices will increase by £2.

Under 12 tickets will not be available on the turnstiles - they need to be purchased in advance from the box office only.

Norman Hunter

Head to Head



Town lead the head to head with 32 wins to Barnsley's 28, with 15 draws.

Last season, they did the double over us, winning 2-1 at Oakwell on Boxing Day, with the Reds getting the winner through Michal Helik in the very last second of added on time, to add to the equaliser he'd scored in the first half. Ramarni Edmonds-Green had put Town in the lead in the 13th minute. In the return fixture in April, the Reds won it 1-0 with a late winner from Daryl Dike.

The game at Oakwell in the previous season was memorable only for the strike from Lewis O'Brien which won Goal of the Season, after they had gone two nil up through Alex Mowatt and Conor Chaplin. Back in October it was Jacob Brown with the consolation after Christopher Schindler and Karlan Grant had put us two ahead.

Back through the mists of time now to our first ever Football League season and match no 10 of our very first league campaign saw our first ever visit to our neighbours at Oakwell. They were by now an established 2nd division team, but a crowd of only 2,000 turned up to see Town win 2-1 in November 1910, with goals from Scotsmen James Richardson and Sandy McCubbin. We completed the double in February with a 2-0 victory at Leeds Road, goals this time from Joe Jee and James Macauley.

We continued in the same division in the rest of the pre war years, maintaining a 100% win record at Leeds Road. We extended that further in the 1919/20 season by beating them 4-1. An own goal from TJ Tindall, one from Sammy Taylor and a couple from Jack Swann gave us a 4-1 win.

And that was it for a few years as we got promoted and spent the next few decades in the First Division. The next game came in the FA Cup 3rd round of 1946/47 and they got their first ever win at Leeds Road in a shock 4-3 scoreline. I don't have a record of their scorers but ours came from Albert Bateman and two from footballing legend Peter Doherty, one of the finest footballers of the time.

Last week's line up at Peterborough:

40 Bradley Collins - Ex Forest Green and Burton goalkeeper.
2 Jordan Williams - Town junior, only played one 1st team game for us.
30 Michał Helik - Polish centre back, scored twice against us last season.
6 Mads Andersen - Danish centre back
5 Liam Kitching - Ex Forest Green defender.
10 Josh Benson - Arsenal junior, had a spell in the PL with Burnley.
17 Claudio Gomes - French kid on loan from Man City.
4 Callum Styles - They paid Bury half a million for him.
44 Devante Cole - Son of Andy Cole
9 Cauley Woodrow - Club captain, ex Fulham striker.
14 Carlton Morris - Norwich junior, had 8 loans before landing in Barnsley in January.

Subs:
1 Jack Walton - Wears number 1 but isn't first choice.
15 Jasper Moon - Young defender who came through the Academy.
21 Romal Palmer - Ex Man City junior
23 William Hondermarck - 21 year old French/Irish midfielder
26 Rémy Vita - French full back on loan from Bayern Munich.
28 Dominik Frieser - Austrian midfielder.
29 Victor Adeboyejo - Ex Leyton Orient striker.

Club connections:

Last season, I did Ernie Hine, Arthur Fairclough, Frank Chivers, Ray Wood, Neil Warnock, Dean Gorré, Jimmy Robson, Jordan Rhodes, Jordan Williams, Andy Ritchie, Bobby Collins and Mel Machin, so if you want to read them, click here https://www.sportsbabble.co.uk/showthrea...#pid201355

So there are plenty more to go at......Ian Banks, John Bettany, Mick Butler, Jacob Butterfield, Jake Charles, Nick Colgan, Martin Cranie, David Currie, Liam Dickinson, Kevin Donovan, Andy Duggan, John Dungworth, Kevin Gallen, Lee Glover, Adam Hammill, Paul Hayes, Kallum Higginbotham, Jack Hunt, Mark Jackson, Antony Kay, Leon Knight, Rob Kozluk, Tony Leighton, Brian Mahoney, Dwayne Mattis, John McCann, Adie Moses, Brendan O'Connell, Fola Onibuje, Bob Parker, Jon Parkin, Andy Payton, Gary Pierce, Graham Pugh, John Saunders, Malcolm Shotton, Mark Smith and Robbie Williams, but I can't be bothered.




Barnsley in popular culture: Well I did Brassed Off, Kes, Charlie Williams and Mr Kipling last time. What we got left? Well there's Dickie Bird. He's still alive. We spotted him in the Wetherby Whaler in Wakefield the other month. When we went back again, they'd dedicated a wall to him with signed photos and a cricket bat. He's got a statue in Church Street, Barnsley. It had to be lifted higher up on a plinth to stop his female fans hanging their underwear on his raised finger.

'ow to get theere an' wheere to sup: The post code for sat nav is S71 1ET. Although for the away fans car park on Queens Road, you need S71 1AN. That car park is quite large and is between the stadium and the Metrodome. It'll cost you a fiver to park there, but if you're a proper tight wad, you can park for nowt in t' tarn on a Saturday, an' it's no' but a ten minute walk to t' ground.

Same with the train station. It's in the town centre and just ten minutes away. So while you're in the tarn, you can marvel at the massive new Glass Works building that's been built over the last couple of years. It's so massive, it overshadows the Alambra Shopping Centre next door. And it's so new, I haven't been in it myself yet. Amelia has and she recommends eating in the Market Kitchen. There's loads of different eateries in here and she says the Meze Turkish Kitchen, the Khio Niew Thai Cafe and the Nero Artisan Pizza are all top notch noshing places. Like I say, it's still new and not everywhere is open yet, though places are opening all the time so have a look at the website. https://theglassworksbarnsley.com/shop/

In the meantime, have a look at this pizza that Chaffers scoffed when she went there last month.




If you prefer the more traditional football match rubbish on offer at Wetherspoons, there's The Joseph Bramah (he was an inventor and locksmith) on Market Hill. It looks small from the outside, but don't be fooled, it's like the Tardis inside. And there's more. Another Wetherspoons. The Silkstone Inn on Market Street, just behind the Alambra. And of course, if you just want to go to the ground and not visit the beautiful town centre, there's beer on sale there as well. If you're on the train, you might get herded up there anyway. If you do, there's a bar at the Metrodome which serves away fans.

The Tardis like Wetherspoons pub

Recent form - last 6 matches:

Town 1-2 Middlesbrough
QPR  0-1 Town
Town 1-0 West Brom
Cardiff 2-1 Town
Peterborough 1-1 Town
Town 1-0 Millwall

Peterborough 0-0 Barnsley
Barnsley 0-2 Swansea
Fulham 4-1 Barnsley
Barnsley 0-2 Hull
Barnsley 2-1 Derby
Bristol C 2-1 Barnsley

Town are 8th in the Championship table with 28 points. Barnsley are 23rd with 12.

Leading scorers:

Terry Terriers:
Danny Ward (4)
Matty Pearson (3)

Toby Tykes:
Cauley Woodrow (3)
Aaron Leya Iseka (3)


December the 4th down the ages: How did we get on in previous matches played on this date?

1909: Sheffield Utd reserves (h) Midland League, WON 2-1 (T. North, Alonzo Drake)
1915: Barnsley (a) Wartime League, lost 1-2 (Rippon)
1920: Bolton Wanderers (h) Div 1, drew 0-0
1926: Manchester Utd (a) Div 1, drew 0-0
1937: Chelsea (a) Div 1, lost 1-3 (George Wienand)
1943: Bolton Wanderers (h) Wartime League, WON 2-0 (Joseph Poole, Billy Price)
1948: Portsmouth (h) Div 1, drew 0-0
1954: Burnley (h) Div 1, lost 0-1
1965: Carlisle Utd (h) Div 2, WON 2-0 (Tony Leighton 2 pens)
1971: Wolverhampton Wanderers (a) Div 1, drew 2-2 (Jimmy Lawson, Terry Dolan)
1976: Southend Utd (a) Div 4, drew 1-1 (Steve Baines)
1982: Plymouth Argyle (a) Div 3, lost 1-2 (Phil Wilson)
1999: Queens Park Rangers (h) Division One (2nd tier), WON 1-0 (Clyde Wijnhard)
2001: Scunthorpe Utd (h) LDV Vans Trophy, WON 4-1 (Danny Schofield 2, Chris Hay, Andy Booth)
2005: Worcester City (a) FA Cup, WON 1-0 (Chris Brandon)
2018: AFC Bournemouth (a) Premier League, lost 1-2 (Terence Kongolo)

Played 16, WON 6, drew 5, lost 5.

Nice to see Alonzo Drake on the score sheet again. He seems to be on every match thread I do. Makes me wonder why we never signed him on when we gained league status. Can't find anything out about the other lad who scored in that game.

George Wienand who scored against Chelsea on this day in 1937, was another footballing cricketer. He was a South African right winger (weren't they all back then ) who played 32 times for the Town, scoring 3 goals, before leaving for Hull City. His most famous match for Town was the 1938 FA Cup semi final v Sunderland at Ewood Park, where he bedazzled the opposition left back as we won 3-1. Some say it was his absence from the Final that cost us our second FA Cup triumph when we got beat by Preston at Wembley.
He also played 18 first class matches for Transvaal, scoring a century once and also taking a ten wicket haul once.

Look at that in 1965. We had two penalties in a game. Two. The last time I can remember us getting two penalties in a match was when Nahki Wells missed them both. 

Steve Baines, who scored at Southend on this date in 1976, was a centre back who kept popping up with some useful goals. After us he went to Bradford City, Walsall and Chesterfield. After retiring he worked in an insurance company in Chesterfield while taking his refereeing exams. He passed and became one of only a small handful of ex pros to become FL referees. He was the most experienced though, having played over 400 league matches. I don't think he ever reffed us.

The 1999 win over QPR took us into first place in what was then called Division One and is now called the Championship, but in all reality is the 2nd division. How did that go? Well, in a couple of years time, we were playing Scunthorpe in the LDV Vans Trophy. 

The 2005 FA Cup match at Worcester was televised live on the BBC. Never before have I witnessed such biased commentary. You could hear the sheer disappointment in the commentator's voice when Chris Brandon scored. Prick! Anyway, that win got us a plum tie away at Chelsea, the one when Gary Taylor-Fletcher scored.

As for the last game on this list. Terence Kongolo! Whatever happened to him? Answers on a postcard please.

Where are you now, Terry lad?

1. Colin Wanker
   
2. Wow Audrey Cool
   
3. Heath Hamper Jobs
   
4. Interphase This
   
5. Karen Overtakes Alf
   
6. A Gays Phobia
   
7. Vernon Davis
   
8. Deadly Rik
   
9. Honky Tanya
   
10. Shamrock Pups
    

I watched Motherwell on telly last night.

How do Motherwell fans stand it?

For Fkkkk's sake why doesn't somebody just shoot the drummer? He, only a man could be that insensitive, must take two thousand off the gate every game.

I mean he's hardly Buddy Rich is he? Or Ginger Baker? Don't opposition clubs complain?

Some foreign clubs have a terwat on a loudspeaker yelling brainlessly throughout. Isn't there a minor club in Turkey or somewhere this idiot could go and support?

Has he released a Christmas album?