[jjamez]

Tarn make the traditional boxing day festive fixture trip, many a mile darn sarf to face the Dingles at Emmerdale Farm Metrodome Arena at Oakwell Stadium. In what is likely to be another christmas special episode with many a twist and turn, maybe a surprise arrival or surprise fatality, the dingles will be looking to use their home advantage and knowledge of the area to their benefit.

In goal is Paddy, he doesn't mind getting dirty, frolicking wit cows ont farm. Int middle o defence are beanpole Marlon- he can handle t'heat o kitchen and dopy dingle Sam- he aint got the brains to go anywhere else. Big bad Butch is the bully at right back, wi son of Charity Noah filling in at left back. Int middle o park is hardman Cain, he don't mind getting his hands dirty and ending careers (and lives) Partnering him is brother to Marlon, Eli, lazy but apt at being a thief, know for stealing the ball. Ont flanks is hot head Arron, sees red a lot. Ont t'other wing another aggressive un in Chas, Arrons mam, with two poachers Shadrach and Zak up top.

We used to watch Emmerdale at home but stopped about 6 years ago or more. Do any of you lot still watch it? are you partial to any other soaps ont telly box? Whats your go to show ont box?



Anyways on to the real deal.

Town head to South Yorkshire to face up against a Barnsley side that in many respects mirror Town in that everything about the two sides place in the table are the same, same points, same goal difference, same wins, draws and losses. The only difference being Town have scored and conceded one more goal than our hosts. How often do you see that, especially in this random and strange season that we are witnessing.

Town come into the fixture on the back of a hard fought victory over promotion chasing Watford, Fraizer Campbell capitalising on good Mbenza pressing and a Ben Foster mistake to fire home his 4th goal of the season. Mbenza played a key role in the second goal, earning the corner, then whipping it in only for Etienne Capoue to slice into his own goal. Town battled away in the second half as Watford started to see more of the ball but did very little with it, although Ryan Schofield made a few point blank saves to prevent Watford from getting back into the game. It marks a substantial difference to the previous weekend where the side was pulverised by a rampant Bournemouth side, who themselves capitalised on our own mistakes. Sandwiched in between was some game against Coventry, which if you slept through, you wouldn't have missed anything whilst you did.



Our hosts come into the game on the back of a 2-0 defeat in Wales against Swansea, Jamal Lowe scored in the opening minutes, whilst Barnsley's Victor Adeboyejo scored an own goal from a Swansea corner. It was a dim end to what had been a successful week for the Tykes, with them racking up two 2-1 wins, the first being on the Saturday away at South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday, Josh Windass scored early on to put Barnsley on the back foot, but goals from Cauley Woodrow and Dominik Frieser turned the tie around. The midweek game saw them host Preston Both Ends and again the Tykes conceded an early goal, Sean Maguire scoring after just 2 minutes, however, second half goals from Alex Mowatt and Adeboyejo gave the reds the three points.

Barnsley began the season like everyone else in, in the league cup, and came out 1-0 winners thanks to a Woodrow goal at home to Nottingham Forest, they'd go on to win 2-0 in the second round away at Middlesbrough, Patrick Schmidt and Jordan Williams netting on that occasion. The cup run ended in the third round as did dreams of a giant killing as they lost 6-0 in the capital against Chelsea.

Their league campaign didn't get off to a good start either, with Barnsley failing to hit the back of the net in the league during September. They started off with a 1-0 loss at home to Luton before finishing with 9 men in a 2-0 defeat down at Reading. The finished the month off with their first point, drawing 0-0 to newly promoted Coventry. October began with the Tykes travelling back up to Middlesbrough for another fixture, in what was Neil Warnocks 1500th as a manager. Barnsley managed to get their first league goal of the season, Woodrow scoring from the spot in the 89th minute, but it was too little too late as Boro got revenge for the league cup fixture, winning 2-1. Next up was Bristol City as they visited Oakwell, Michal Helik opened the scoring for the Tykes in just the 2nd minute but Jack Hunt and Tyreeq Bakinson put the Robins ahead. It seemed like Barnsley were going to suffer another defeat, but in the 12th minute of injury time, Woodrow was again on the spot to secure the unlikeliest of points. They followed that 2-2 draw up with another, this time down in the Potteries against Stoke. Elliot Simoes opened the scoring for Barnsley before the thorn in Towns side Tyrese Campbell levelled things up only for Frieser to hit back straight away. Former Town captain Tommy Smith equalised just after the interval for Stoke who also saw defender Nathan Collins sent off. Another draw soon followed, this time down at Millwall, with both goals of the game coming within minutes of each other. Mowatt scored in the 44th minute for Barnsley before Jake Cooper equalised in injury time of the first half. The Tykes rounded the month off with their first wins of the season, firstly a 3-0 win at home to QPR, Woodrow once again scoring from the spot after Rob Dickie had been given his marching orders, before Connor Chaplin doubled the lead in the 37th minute. It become comfortable in the second half as a Yohan Barbet own goal sealed the 3 points. Wins came like buses for Barnsley as they got their second victory in the league, this time against Watford, Mowatt was once again on the scoresheet with a 25 yard effort that ended Watfords 4 match unbeaten run.

They came back down to Earth with a bang at the start of November as Neil Harris' Cardiff eased past them 3-0, goals from Hoilett and Ralls in the first half before Liverpool loanee Harry Wilson added a third in the second half for the Bluebirds. But the Tykes soon bounced back with their first away win of the season thanks to a 2-0 win over struggling Derby. Barnsley only saw 29% of the ball during the game, but dominated the shots, with Chaplin opening the scoring in the first half before Adeboyejo scored his second of the campaign in the 83rd minute. Another 2-0 victory followed next time out, this time at home to Nottingham Forest, 2 goals in the last 5 minutes was enough for the Tykes as Callum Styles grabbed his first of the season, whilst Woodrow scored once again against Forest. They were unable to keep the run going as League cup semi finalists Brentford rolled in to Town and came away with a 1-0 win thanks to a second half goal from Ivan Toney. They finished November off with a trip over the Pennines to face Blackburn Rovers, Adam Armstrong and Sam Gallagher fired Rovers into a 2-0 lead before a late consolation from Romel Palmer made it 2-1.

December started off with a trip to Birmingham for the Tykes. The blues took the lead midway through the second half thanks to a Scott Hogan goal before Woodrow once again scored from the penalty spot before Styles grabbed a second in the 84th minute to seal the points. Barnsley then suffered a fate not too dissimilar to our own when they played Bournemouth, although the Tykes were at home for this one. The game finished 4-0 with the Cherries scoring 2 in either half, former Town man Phil Billing opened the scoring before Solanke scored just before half time. Diego Rico and Sam Surridge scored in the second half to round of the result. Woodrow scored yet another penalty with Styles on the scoresheet once again as the Tykes secured a 2-1 at home to Wycombe.



As is no surprise, Woodrow leads the scoring charts for Barnsley with 8 goals so far, but he also leads the assists chart too with 4. Styles and Mowatt are both joint second in the scoring chart on 3 apiece whilst Chaplin, Luke Thomas and Callum Brittain are joint second with 2 assists each. In contrast Josh Koroma is still our leading scorer with 6, whilst Campbell is in second on 4. In terms of assists, Toffolo still leads the way with 5, with Bacuna and Mbenza in second on 3.

Speaking of Campbell, in his programme notes, he mentioned that he was going to be getting up at 6 to spend as much time with his family on christmas day as possible, before having lunch and heading off for training, before the side stays in a hotel ahead of the game.

Where is the weirdest place youve been on christmas day? When do you usually wake up for the present opening? Does christmas still have the same magic for you now? Whats your christmas meal look like?

Sprouts yay or nay?



So whats new at Oakwell, well for one there has been a change in manager, with Gerhard Struber leaving to go to the broadway of New York Red Bulls and has since been replaced by former Crystal Palace and Bayern Munich defender Valerien Ismael. His last managerial job came at the helm of Austrian side LASK Linz.

Joining him at the club was Matty James on loan from Leicester City, Callum Brittain joined from MK Dons along with Jack Aitchinson and Isaac Christie-Davies from Scottish minnows Celtic and Liverpool respectively, all on free deals. Michal Helik joined from Polish side Cracovia for 720k whilst Ismael was reunited with Dominik Frieser who joined for the same fee from LASK. The big money signing came in the form of Herbie Kane who joined from Liverpool for 1.2 million.



Leaving the club was Bambo Diaby after he was given a lengthy ban for taking a banned substance, Mamadou Thiam was also released and ended up moving to Belgium. Killian Ludwig left at the end of his loan and back to Salzburg and has since moved on loan to Schalke, whilst Matty Wolfe left on loan to non league Notts County. Toby Sibbick and Cameron Mcgheehan both departed to KV Oostende, which is where Thiam wound up too, with Mallik Wilks turning his loan move from last season at Hull into a permanent transfer. Barnsley have seen another few players leave on loan including Marcel Ritzmaier to Rapid Vienna, Aitchinson moved to Stevenage, with keeper Corey Addai and winger Jordan Green having short spells at Chesterfield and Southend respectively. Elsewhere, Samuel Radlinger moved back to his home town club SV Ried, Dani Pinillios moved to Miedz Legnica of Poland, Aussie Kenny Dougall moved to the gold coast of Blackpool, with the big money moved seeing Jacob Brown move to Stoke for just under 2 million pound.

Whats on your christmas wishlist this year? With the transfer window just around the corner, who do you want Town to sign realistically?



The Town v Barnsley matchup has been one thats been around for many a decade with the first ever fixture between the two sides coming way back in 1910, with Town emerging 2-1 winners. In total Town have won 32, drawn 15 and lost 27. Last season both games finished 2-1 to the home side. In the game at the John Smiths, Chris Schindler scored in the first half before Karlan Grant scored early in the second half. Jacob Brown scored in the 79th minute to ensure a nervy end to the game. The return fixture saw Town put in a poor performance, Mowatt and Chaplin firing the reds into a two goal lead before Lewis O'brien scored a rocket, but it wasn't enough to spark a comeback. In the promotion season, Town met a newly promoted Barnsley side early on in the season at the JSS, Chris Lowe scored his first for the club in the 27th minute, before Alfie Mawson equalised in the 47th, before a rarity in itself, one Mr Johnny Hogg scored a 90th minute winner. In the return fixture, Michael Hefele scored for Town but saw Marley Watkins equalise in the second half.

What games do you remember between the two sides? The one that relegated the Posh? Any others stand out?



Played for both Quiz.

1) Rotund fullback that could sometimes strike the ball sweetly from range or score a delicate free kick. Played 77 times in total for town, 66 for Barnsley, scoring for goals for each
2) Another fullback, joined Barnsley from the continent before moving back to Europe for a short while before coming to town. Never really looked like a footballer, just someone who ran into and through people a lot. Only made 3 appearances for town before moving to a couple of other english clubs, both now defunct. Is now a player manager back on the continent
3) Yet another fullback, came through the town system but never made an appearance for the club. Left for Barnsley when they were relegated to league 1 and has been there ever since
4) Scouse with an addiction to the step over, originally had a loan spell at Barnsley before turning it permanent, before earning a move up the leagues. Never settled up the leagues and came to town on loan before turning that into a permanent deal. Had a second spell at Barnsley where he scored a vital goal. can now be found plying his trade in Ireland
5) Has only had 3 managerial jobs, with Town and Barnsley being two of those. His record at all clubs isnt actually that bad, just the football at times was. Has a face for radio and can often be heard there
6) began his career at Barnsley but never really made an impact there, had a short spell at town. Often found himself as an icon at the clubs hes played for due to how he approaches the game.
7) Began his career down south and scored an own goal on his debut. Gradually made his way up north via the likes of QPR and Yeovil before landing at Barnsley for 3 years. Spent the same amount of time at town before going further north. Now plays back down south again. Was Barnsley captain.
8) Started his career in the north of England, playing the early part of his career at Rochdale before moving north of the border. Made the move back down south to sign for Town but new manager new ideas saw him loaned out to Barnsley. He came back to town but never really featured and was eventually released and moved back to Scotland. Has since played in India but is now in the lower leagues in Scotland
9) An exotic signing for both Town and Barnsley, was at both clubs on loan, played a season at Barnsley and was okay, nothing special. His loan at Town was short as he was poor. Has since played in South America and the middle east. Is still playing in a countries top division, feels like he should be about 40, but is apparently in his early 30s
10) Began his career at town and made 68 appearances in total for the club before moving over the Pennines to Bury. Made just under 100 appearances for Bury before moving to the Tykes where injury ruined his time there limiting him to 4 games. Had two year spells at Walsall and Chesterfield before ending his career at Macclesfield
11) Now playing in Wales, he began his career at home town club Barnsley, playing there for 8 years and making 174 appearances. Moved to Tranmere for a couple of seasons before moving on to Town, originally as a midfielder, finally found himself in the centre of defence. Had his contract terminated at town and moved down south to MK Dons.
12) Began his career at Norwich before moving to up north to Barnsley via Scunthorpe. Had a 2 year spell at Barnsley which included a loan spell at town. He left Barnsley to move back to Scunthorpe where he spent another 3 years. Moved around a few more times, including a 3rd spell at Scunthorpe before finishing the best part of his career at Wycombe. Was playing proper non league until COVID
13) Another fairly exotic player for both Town and Barnsley. Was awarded a national honour in his country. In his playing days he represented town and Barnsley as well as the likes of Blackpool, Ajax and Groningen. His children now play professional football and he is a national team coach

In terms of team news, Town remain without Schindler, Elphick, Stearman and Ward, but Hamer has come back into training and will be pushing Schofield for the number 1 jersey, otherwise it is as you were for Town with no fresh injuries or suspensions.

As for Barnsley they remain without Mike Bahre and Ben Williams as well as Jordan Green whilst Toby Sibbick could return after finishing his loan spell in Belgium. they should have a fully fit squad to pick from barring any late injuries

managers

"Ben Hamer is training with the group and he hasn't had any problems. He is feeling better but isn't 100% yet. Danny Ward will continue working with the Medical Staff, I won't have him until the beginning of 2021."

"There were aspects to improve against Watford both in defence and attack. Every game will give us messages to analyse and work on. If we do this, then we can be stronger after each game."

"Danny Grant is a very young player with a lot of skills. He is a player for the Club to develop and he will need some time to adapt to the league. We will follow his development and as soon as he's ready to help the First Team, he will help us."

"I work every day with Leigh Bromby analysing the squad. We both want exactly the same thing and we understand football the same way. I enjoy my relationship with him and his people."

"Barnsley is a team that has some young players and players with a lot of ambition. They're a very hard working team. They are very aggressive in their pressing with the new coach. They will be one of our hardest tests this year."



Ismael- “We want to make the people happy,” began our Head Coach, who admitted that the experience of training and playing over the Christmas period is a new one for him.

However, it is one which he is planning to embrace: “This is a very important game, so we will train in the morning on Christmas Day. We have to work hard, and our first focus is on performance.”

Having already tasted victory in a South Yorkshire derby with the recent win over Sheffield Wednesday, Ismaël knows the importance of the occasion.

He is keen to stress, though, that the Reds are not treating this game any differently: “The most important thing is to get the three points,” he asserted.



Ones to watch

Alex Mowatt- the former Leeds player has an eye for a special goal, as well as an eye for a goal against town having scored before whilst at Leeds. Is now the captain at Barnsley and has been linked with moves away in the past but seems to be settled at Oakwell and reluctant to move

Cauley Woodrow- Leading scorer, even if most are from the penalty spot. Acts as the focal point for Barnsley's attacks and will look to hold the ball up and bring others into play. Seems like Ismael favours a 3-4-3 formation that soaks up the pressure and breaks, so when he gets the ball plenty of support will arrive quickly.

Connor Chaplin- One of those that will look to join the attack as quick as possible, only has 2 goals and 2 assists so far this term but can also carry that creative spark to bring others into the game.




Xmas themed animagrams

1) Casual Tans

2) Saps Midnight Curd

3) Licking Lost Ref

4) Fraud By Existing Ox

5) A Rainy Wage Man

6) Order The Unshielded Rope Nerd

7) Thermally Cram Sirs

[Lord Snooty]

A Christmas cracker, jjamez.

We used to watch Emmerdale. Stopped about 20 years ago when they had that stupid plane crash that decimated half the village. I see that celebrity Town fan Reece Dinsdale is in it these days.

Anyway, Dingles. That's what we call Amelia's cousin.   Luckily, we haven't had them round for Christmas for a few years now.

And we live in Barnsley, which we locals call t' tarn. So Tarn v Tarn could be a bit confusing.

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And before anybody says owt, there's nowt wrong wi' Barnsley. Mick Buxton's lived here since he managed Town. And if it's could enough for him, it's good enough for anybody.

[Lord Snooty]

1. Robbie Williams
2. -
3. Jordan Williams
4. Adam Hammill
5. Andy Richtea
6. Jon Parkin

[Lord Snooty]

So Carlos and his three coaches have all got new contracts for three years.
Hope we're not having to pay out compensation again when it all goes wrong again.

[theo_luddite]

Top thread jjamez. Like a Christmas buffet, something to go back and nibble on regularly.

Said this afore but I used to camp at a farm where Littondale meets Wharfdale by Kilnsey Crag. The pub by the Crag was closer for staggering back to the tent but up the valley is the village of Arncliffe, the original village used for the outdoor shots when it was Emmerdale Farm. The opening piece had a film taken from a helicopter lifting off the village green and soaring off into the upper reaches of Littondale.

The original "Woolpack", when you went inside the actual pub on the village green, had two barrels of ale on a stand behind the bar. They poured it into a jug and filled your glass from that.

It certainly wasn't Amos and Mr. Wilks behind that bar. Frazer Hines didn't park the Tardis on the village green either. Showing my age now.

The pub is still called The Falcon Inn if you are ever in that corner of The Yorkshire Dales.

[Lord Snooty]

7. -
8. Kallum Higginbotham
9. -
10. Dwayne Mattis
11. Antony Kay
12. Paul Hayes
13. Dean Gorre

[Lord Snooty]

Boxing Day weather forecast from the Barnsley Bird.

https://www.facebook.com/BarnsleyCommuni...5779027648

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Xmas themed animagrams

1) Casual Tans - Santa Claus

2) Saps Midnight Curd - Christmas pudding

3) Licking Lost Ref - Stocking filler

4) Fraud By Existing Ox - Boxing Day fixtures

5) A Rainy Wage Man - Away in a manger

6) Order The Unshielded Rope Nerd - Rudolph the red nosed reindeer

7) Thermally Cram Sirs - Merry Christmas all

[Lord Snooty]

Team unchanged.

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First time since October 2015 that we've had 3 matches with the same starting XI.

[Lord Snooty]

Fair reflection of the score at half time. Although have to say their goal was a foul on Schofield.
A great through ball to Campbell should've put us two up and we should've had a penalty for the foul on him late on, but 1-1 about right.
Good finish by Eddy Green as well.

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Just seen the replay. Hogg with the superb through ball to Campbell. And Sarr pushed Eddy Green into Schofield, so no foul.

[Lord Snooty]

What a sickener! I think Barnsley shaded the second half but what a way to lose it in added time on the added time.

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Where is everybody by the way?

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Town fans complaining it was a foul throw. Maybe, but you never see them given. More bothered about us having a free kick with a minute left and not holding on to the ball.