Jerseybean

Reading have said no.....https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/domestic-livestream-unavailable-for-royals-meet/

Prior to Saturday JB had gone 12 games without conceding....https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51266153

Jersey Bulls incredible unbeaten run continues, with a 7-2 victory yesterday, it was the first time they have conceded more than one goal.

Reckon MA is rehearsing his lines for the end of window interview......odds on favourites.... Domino effect Knowing our place at the table Got to be right for the football club January is a horrible/hard window Knowing what we need is one thing, getting the deal done is another We have been working 24/7 Got to fit within the project / DNA Several positive references to Steve and Maggie Some nod towards the fans, the media and the speculation A positive bias regardless of what (if anything) happens between now and the window closing

Rumoured to be heading to West Ham as Stoke look to tackle financial fair play regulations and an expensive / large squad

The devils in the detail We run a data-dashboard that’s updated 24/7 We’re focused on what needs to be done As I’ve said before/previously

Just heard O’Neil interviewed pre match, when asked what he’d done to improve things at Stoke....he replied along the lines of, I’ve played a settled team as that breeds familiarity and confidence. Umm interesting.

Well played AppyDAZE, this will be a fun thread...to get things going... ’We are in good shape’

Post-Barnsley, when making reference to Kalas ‘It’s like superman has slept on a bed of Kryptonite for six months’

Second half reflections....in the opening ten minutes Barnsley look neat and direct, Chaplin in particular looking dangerous, while City look like they lack belief/confidence. Barnsley create a couple of great chances and should have scored on 56 minutes. NE then has a good chance from 10 yards which he puts over, when under no pressure (which actually proves to be a rehearsal for what happens later). In a nutshell Barnsley continue to look fluid and we continue to look fragmented! On 61 minutes Barnsley hit the bar, it really does feel like it’s only a matter of time before we concede. To their great credit the City fans are continuing to do all they can to lift the team, even though IMO there’s not much from a City perspective to cheer about. On 70 minutes FD and AW combine well (not something that happens very often) which results in Fammy lofting it into the South Stand from 10 yards. Fammy then tries an overhead kick from a JB long throw. On 75 minutes I’m thinking this could be a repeat of what happened at Shrewsbury, failing to convert our chances and then conceding late on. Certainly it increasingly feels like whoever breaks the deadlock will win this. Then the Barnsley captain, Mowatt, strikes one just wide of Dan Bentley’s left hand post and a collective sigh of relief could be heard throughout the crowd. With just 10 minutes left there’s no sign of Barnsley settling for a point and Brown’s shot from the edge of box also flies past Bentley’s left hand post. LJ decides to introduce CO’D for Pato on 86 minutes. Then out of nowhere Jay DS beats a couple of players on the left wing and finds NE - in exactly the same spot that he blasted over earlier in the half - this time he tucks it away! So a crowd of nearly 20,000 go home having witnessed a City win, although certainly not a convincing City performance. Indeed the 600+ travelling fans will be gutted to not come away with at least a point. My overall impression....as against Wigan a City win, but very much 3 points gained without a great performance....very fine margins! Three points, a home win and for me a feeling of delighted relief.

First half headlines from my perspective. Characteristically sloppy from us in the opening exchanges, especially, yet again, giving the ball to the opposition on 3 or 4 occasions. Which a better team might have made more of. After about 8 minutes we settled down a bit and nearly went ahead from an OG on 10 minutes. Barnsley, were given too much time/space and created a great chance on12 minutes, which Williams blocked. Just a minute later they were again gifted time and space and should have scored, we somehow scrambled it away for a corner. After 15 minutes we had a finely balanced game, we have had a couple of scares and created a few half-chances of our own. Jay DS then had a couple of moments to forget, firstly with a poor back pass to Bentley and then getting easily beaten and giving away a corner, which resulted in Barnsley having a chance which was cleared off the line by AW. On 26 minutes NE sent in a great right footed cross which was headed wide by Fammy. After 30 minutes we still have a finely balanced game, although in terms of clear goal scoring opportunities I think Barnsley have edged ahead. Also most of their balls forward are incisive and causing us more trouble than our balls forward, which IMO tend to be in the hit-and-hope category. Seems to me that the majority of Hunt’s balls forward are played more in hope than expectation. The exception being a good direct ball from him through to AW on 43 minutes. My overall observation, is certainly nothing new....IMO our limited forward options have yet again been fundamentally the key problem. Not only does it mean we don’t have much of a goal scoring threat it also means that our build up play is fragmented and littered with errors. At half time it’s hard to tell which team is in the relegation zone and which has top 6 hopes. Barnsley, as was the case recently against Wigan look much better than their league position suggests. Ref has been pretty good throughout the half as have section 82! Need a much better second half from us if we are going to get anything out of this game.

Audio coverage on Robins TV

Latest news here: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/ashton-gate-stadium-city-fc-3732770

Excellent as always. Re the players ratings....first half they were all (except FD) 3’s for me, overall I’d agree with your ratings, which when compared with those in the EP make sense, the EP ratings were laughable!

I agree. However there are particular times, such as at half time in a game like this, when he has an opportunity to really earn his corn.