HarryFromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Tuesday night’s game at Portman Road by delving into their forums.

“I’m ecstatic, what a result”, “That was one huge win and we are back in the mix. If we had lost we were as good as down”, “There’s still a lot of football to be played but these last two performances have been much improved”, “Whatever the outcome this season, this day will not be forgotten.”

Barnsley head into Tuesday’s game two points from safety with a game in hand over fourth-bottom Bolton. Tykes believe they can clamber out of the relegation places after witnessing their side beat Sheffield United 3-2 on Saturday in a Yorkshire derby which saw them fight back from a losing position.

“No more relying on others. That win gives us a chance now”, “We may still go down, but if we show in the remaining games the fight we have against the Blades then it will soften the blow”, “I still feel that survival is a long shot but I’m happy we have managed to win at home against our local rivals.”

“Let’s hope we are looking at a season-defining week”, “There’s absolutely no reason we can’t do what Birmingham have done and win three on the spin”, “Bolton are our target and it really is in our hands now. Before today’s win I thought we were down but it looks like Bolton are buckling now.”

“It is not for the want of trying, but we miss too many chances and opponents seem to score with every shot on target. It’s demoralising as a fan, so it must be worse for the players. It’s sad to say but we have had a relegation feel to us”, “If we go down there are no excuses. We will have deserved it.”

Jose Morais

“Jose is an honest bloke dealing with a below-par squad low on confidence. He handles himself with a calm measured approach that puts the likes of Neil Warnock to shame and is doing his utmost to keep us in this division”, “He deserves a chance in the summer window to bring in his own players.”

“The guy has inherited a terrible squad of players.” The 52-year-old Portuguese arrived at Oakwell in February after predecessor Paul Heckingbottom left the Tykes to manage Leeds. He has previously worked as assistant manager to compatriot Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea.

Morais has worked quickly to assess his inherited squad, using no fewer than 25 different players in his first eight games in charge. Tykes were worried that he was “overcomplicating things with a poor squad of players” but he named an unchanged team, “playing with personality”, against the Blades.

“The standard of football under Jose is much better and we play on the front foot. His management when in a winning position that really raises questions”, “He deserves some credit. He’s positive and carries himself well and tries to talk passionately. He is also proactive and is willing to take risks.”

“I’m thankful we’re rid of Heckingbottom. He’s doing a stellar job at Leeds, isn’t he?”, “Hecky was taking us down and would have been given the boot if he hadn’t jumped ship to Leeds”, “He lost my respect picking a team of players who were ‘good off the ball’. That was just completely defeatist.”

Finding the Right Formula

“It takes time to change a team’s style of play, and to be unable to change personnel or bring in any of his targets makes it doubly tough”, “It’s fine margins. The team aren’t quite good enough but we don’t lose by multiple goals. We have just been let down by having weaker players in key positions.”

“It has been an absolutely abysmal season when we have generally been out of our depth in terms of quality where it matters”, “We’re not great but we’re not rubbish either. Considering where the majority of our players have come from they have made a pretty good attempt to cut it at this level.”

“We seem to have identified our best starting line-up and formation for the squad at Jose’s disposal. Hopefully a bit of continuity will see us put a little run together”, “It’s not the time to mess around with the formation. We’re running out of games and it looks like the players have adapted to it.”

Morais’s starting XI (above) for the last two games has used his preferred shape of four at the back and a midfield three. The manager has been trying to strike the right balance between playing fluid passing football while compensating for weaknesses in a number of positions and areas in the squad.

“We haven’t got a half-decent goalkeeper”, “I can’t believe how many points our goalkeepers have cost us this season. Both of our keepers are poor”, “Our full-backs are poor at closing wingers and wing-backs down”, “Opponents aren’t daft. They will see and expose our weakness at left-back.”

Adam Jackson and Liam Lindsay are seen as competent centre-backs and right-back Andy Yiadom is also regularly praised by Tykes, but the left-back and goalkeeping positions are real worries. Former Town loanee Zeki Fryers, “one of the worst defensive full-backs I have seen”, has the left-back slot.

“Our 4-3-3 system relies on a capable and fluent midfield which we really don’t have”, “We simply don’t have the midfielders to play 4-4-2. We create nothing with a four-man midfield. The strikers haven’t been the issue, it was the formation we played and the lack of creativity from our midfield.”

Morais has struck a good balance in central midfield, where Gary Gardner primarily plays a holding role to complement Brad Potts’s running and the passing of George Moncur. Joe Williams is also an option but his pairing with Gardner is too defensive, being dubbed “the crab twins” by some Tykes.

“I think Oliver McBurnie would do better playing more centrally but this system seems to be the best fit for the players at our disposal.” With the team unable to support a strike pairing, striker McBurnie has switched to the left flank where he has been a goalscoring threat ghosting into the penalty area.

Lloyd Isgrove, a more conventional right winger, has started the last two fixtures while former Town man Kieffer Moore has been widely praised by Tykes for his industry and being “a right nuisance to defenders as a target man” leading the line in the last eight games under the Portuguese manager.

Barnsley 3 — 2 Sheffield United

“What a result! Red Army!”, “I’m delighted, bemused and stunned”, “Congratulations boys. I didn’t expect that fight and guts and I’m so happy to be proved wrong”, “I just realised that is why I love football and I had almost forgot. In 90 minutes I have been through every emotion known to man.”

Gardner put the Tykes ahead on 25 with a powerful drive from the edge of the area but the Blades hit back with goals from John Fleck on 57 and Leon Clarke eight minutes later. McBurnie levelled on 74 from close range and substitute Tom Bradshaw headed in Barnsley’s winner two minutes from time.

“United can stick their chip butty up their a***”, “The key today was when we equalised. No mass celebrations, we just got the ball and bombed back to get kicked off”, “Not only did we win from a losing position, we did it on the back of two substitutions with Hammill’s shot and Bradshaw’s goal.”

Morais’s first two substitutions (above) improved the attacking balance of the team and changed the course of the game. Isgrove was replaced like-for-like by Adam Hamill on the right wing while striker Tom Bradshaw came on for midfielder Moncur to play as an inside forward behind Kieffer Moore.

Barnsley 2 — 2 Bristol City

“We were unlucky not to win that game”, “It was a much-improved display. The crowd really got behind the lads and they responded, but we desperately need wins and we chucked one away again today.” “To lose one lead may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose two looks like carelessness.”

Kieffer Moore put the hosts ahead on seven minutes heading home from a corner but City levelled on 31 from Famara Diedhiou’s curled finish. Potts restored Barnsley’s advantage on 78, firing home from eight yards, but Josh Brownhill equalised again with a stoppage-time looping header.

“We played well, looked organised, kept Bristol to two meaningful attempts”, “We made then look very ordinary, playing a better quality of football with a higher level of commitment than we have seen in months. If we can perform to that standard in the remaining games we won’t be relegated.”

“It really is desperate”, “Don’t we want to win? We snatch defeat from the jaws of victory”, “I take defeats usually with a pinch of salt but Bristol’s second goal was a real gut punch. I was only halfway up Oakwell Lane when my son mentioned that we hadn’t actually lost. It sure felt like a defeat.”

Barnsley 0 — 2 Millwall

“Today was enough to drain the last drop of belief from me. It was an absolute disgrace”, “Millwall never let us settle on the ball, although we didn’t take much easing off it”, “The smell of relegation was writ large all over that game. We were abject. It feels like everyone seems resigned to it now.”

“Probably the easiest three points Millwall will ever win.” Lee Gregory put the Lions in front on 24 minutes when his side capitalised on a loose pass, and Ben Marshall doubled their lead on 63 with a powerful 25-yard strike. The bitterly cold weather matched the Barnsley fans’ gloomy mood.

“Millwall played the game simply. They lack individual quality but are well organised, hard-working and clinical”, “They were strong at the back and experienced up front and unlike us they were great at getting inside the referee’s ear. They were the better side by far and were much more organised.”

Millwall’s industry and physicality put the Barnsley starting line-up (above) under pressure and Tykes described their first-half display as “slow and ponderous”, “power-puff, pedestrian and predictable.” “It was like a 6-3-1 at times with McBurnie and Mamadou Thiam playing as additional full-backs.”

“McBurnie is now in central midfield. What is going on in Morais’s head?” The manager unnerved watching Tykes by finishing the game with a gung-ho and highly experimental 4-2-4 shape (above) including three strikers and two wingers, with midfielder Gardner dropping into the back line.

Goalkeepers and Defenders

“Adam Davies cost us again in the Bristol City game.” The 25-year-old former Everton youth product “is a poor keeper. When he dived to stop their second goal he somehow ended up lower than when he jumped”, “There were two attempts of note he had to deal with all game, he let both of them in.”

Adam Davies

“Davies hasn’t been as good this season as in his previous ones but he’s the best we have got”, “He doesn’t have the attributes. He’s unable to make saves at this level and watches floated crosses go over his head”, “When you need a keeper to make a match-winning save, he seems incapable of it.”

“Andy Yiadom is one of the few players that gives me any hope but he will be gone soon enough and who can blame him.” The 26-year-old ex-Barnet right-back “since the turn of the year has been our most consistent player. If we had 11 men in the team with his ability we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Yiadom is fearless going into challenges and makes goal-saving tackles and clearances”, “He never looks like getting a shot on target, his shooting prowess is chronic”, “He has faffed about and carried less of a threat going forward lately, and his crossing has been poor by his usual high standards.”

“Don’t get me started on Zeki Fryers.” The 25-year-old July signing from Crystal Palace and one-time Town loanee “is the worst defender at the club. He can’t cross, tackle, pass, shoot or head, and he’s scared of the ball. The only decent thing going for him is his pace”, “He’s afraid to use his right foot.”

Zeki Fryers

“We struggle on the left because Fryers doesn’t seem to possess a footballing brain as his runs into blind alleys and poor passes show”, “He often turns down the chance to play a simple five-yard pass to a central midfielder because he’s more comfortable using his left foot to pass back to a defender.”

“Daniel Pinillos isn’t much better than Fryers.” The 25-year-old one-time Forest man “has been awful in a series of games lately. He is so slow”, “He has rekindled my boyhood dream by showing me that at 50 years of age, with a dodgy hip and knee, I still have the pace to play at left-back for Barnsley.”

“Dimitri Cavare is an absolute machine when he motors forward.” The 23-year-old August buy from Rennes “has the makings of a cracking right-back mixed with moments of utter idiotic madness”, “He has good ability but he does seem to be a hot-head”, “He switches off and doesn’t mark his man.”

“Jason McCarthy jogged out casually to stop the cross for Bristol’s second goal and then stopped 15 yards back. Close him down.” The 22-year-old ex-Southampton youth product “made the same error he has made all season”, “He has an incredible engine but he is appalling at stopping crosses.”

“Ethan Pinnock appears so calm on the ball and is not one to panic.” The 24-year-old former Forest Green Rovers centre-back “has been brilliant and chips in with important goals”, “He has a decent touch and his distribution is good. We appear to have uncovered an absolute diamond in the rough.”

“Liam Lindsay very rarely gives the ball away when under pressure.” The 22-year-old June acquisition from Partick Thistle “has the ability to pass and run with the ball more comfortably than the other defenders”, “He’s a sound ball-playing defender when working alongside a no-nonsense partner.”

“Lindsay looks composed on the ball although sometimes he tends to overplay unnecessarily, but he has huge potential”, “He needs to stop panicking and backing off when attackers run at him. He wins his battles and keeps it simple in difficult games”, “I would like him to be taller, he is solid in the air.”

Adam Jackson

“Jackson is our best centre-back.” The 23-year-old former Middlesbrough youth product “is a good old-fashioned no-nonsense defender”, “He’s a young player who could be inconsistent. He had one serious error per game last season but has really improved this year”, “Our best reader of a game.”

“Jackson isn’t a pretty defender but he’s quite effective”, “We look more solid when he plays and he offers a threat from set pieces, He is the closest thing we have to an aerially dominant defender”, “The lad calmly holds that back four together. He reads the game well and gives total commitment.”

Central Midfielders

“Stevie Mallan might as well have been sat with me in the stands during the Millwall game.” The 22-year-old ex-St Mirren man “has been absolutely abject in some games but head and shoulders above the competition for others”, “His incisive passes spread the play and his set pieces create chances.”

“Joe Williams is quite effective at breaking up play, but his distribution is poor and most of his passes are six yards backwards or sideways.” The 21-year-old Everton loanee “tries to get involved and get us forward but he disrupts the rhythm of the midfield. He doesn’t click with any of our midfielders.”

“Williams works his socks off”, “He’s not the complete package by any means but I love his attitude”, “His tacking is okay but he isn’t a midfield enforcer. It’s more about the space he makes for himself and others”, “He’s comfortable on the ball, often wriggling out of tight spaces and building attacks.”

“It has to be one of Gary Gardner or Williams. They are too predictable playing together.” Gardner is on a season-long loan from Aston Villa, with the 25-year-old having had two loan spells previously at Forest. “He diligently carries out his defensive duties, looking to break forward whenever possible.”

“What a hit by Gardner against Sheffield United. In the past it would have gone out of the stands. He has been more attack-minded lately”, “He wins plenty of challenges and rarely loses the ball. He has been trying to get forward a lot more than usual and looking fairly creative when he has done so.”

Brad Potts

“Brad Potts is the lummox that adds muscle and power in midfield.” The 24-year-old August arrival from Blackpool “adds a bit of presence in midfield and his late runs into the box means that he will always get goals”, “He brings something to the team playing from the centre, not from the flanks.”

“Potts is a unit. When he’s running at full tilt I look at my Bovril and expect to see ripples just like in Jurassic Park”, “I like him but I wish he would look up and see what’s happening around him to play the right ball at the right time. Sometimes he holds onto it too long or plays a pass without looking.”

George Moncur

“We look better in the final third when Moncur is on the ball and trying to link up play.” The 24-year-old ex-Colchester man “is good going forward, playing effectively and creating chances”, “He has a good turn of speed and his ball control is excellent”, “Absolute quality played in his proper position.”

George Moncur

“Moncur is arguably our most talented player on the ball. We have been crying out in some games for his creativity”, “He is pleasant on the eye and is often slated unfairly for lacking effort”, “He looks good on the ball and his quick feet set dangerous chances up, but he hasn’t got 90 minutes in him.”

Wingers and Wide Midfielders

“From what I have seen of Connor Mahoney he wouldn’t get in my lad’s U8s side. I have never seen a player with so little interest.” The 21-year-old January “panic buy” loan signing from Bournemouth “plays with no intensity. Defenders easily boss him and moves break down due to his poor touch.”

“Adam Hammill has enthusiasm and passion, and he will put crosses over to good effect.” The 30-year-old former Huddersfield winger previously played for Barnsley between 2009 and 2011. “He is a talisman who should stay part of our club. He struggles with our formation but is a very useful bench option.”

Lloyd Isgrove

“Isgrove give us so much energy and pace.” The 25-year-old signed permanently from Southampton in July having previously played on loan for the Tykes in the 2015/16 League One promotion-winning season. “He isn’t a big strong physical player but his pace and tempo can really trouble opponents.”

Lloyd Isgrove

“Isgrove obviously is rapid but he takes some great positions and wins headers for a little bloke. He pushes the opposition back line deeper”, “He sets the tempo when we play. He has us on the front foot and always presses the opposition”, “He’s small but he packs a punch and runs like lightning.”

Strikers

“I have been watching Mamadou Thiam for seven months and still don’t know if he’s up to it or not.” The 23-year-old August purchase from Dijon “has played over 1,000 minutes here without scoring a goal from open play”, “His build-up play is quite good but he doesn’t ever look like scoring for us.”

“I’m glad Tom Bradshaw got the winner against Sheffield United. He always has a goal in him in the penalty box.” The 25-year-old ex-Walsall man “scored the best tap-in I have ever seen. He looked hungry and scored an incredibly important goal”, “He is prolific when the set-up suits his game.”

Tom Bradshaw

“Once Bradshaw came on against the Blades he was ready to receive Moore’s headers and knock-downs straight away”, “He’s a striker that needs a big target man to feed off, but he will also benefit from creativity behind him in midfield to link play. Without his goals we would be really in trouble.”

“Oliver McBurnie is our best finisher and a decent physical presence.” The 21-year-old January loan signing from Swansea “is our only attacking player who has an acceptable conversion rate of chances for us”, “He has linked up consistently well with Moore, scoring regularly playing as a wide striker.”

“Please keep McBurnie wide on the left. He has scored seven goals all playing in this role. Teams do not now how to mark him, he ghosts in and scores”, “His weakness out wide is his defensive play but this isn’t a priority”, “He looks like he’s strolling around. Everything is deceptively casual with him.”

Kieffer Moore

“Moore dragged us over the line by the scruff of our neck against Sheffield United today”, “He was strong in the air and battered by their defenders”, “Take a bow son, that lad could be an Oakwell legend by the time he’s done here. That was a second man of the match performance in a week.”

Kieffer Moore

“He wins everything in the air, chases lost causes and provides excellent assists.” The 25-year-old signed permanently for the Tykes from Ipswich in January having had a very successful loan spell at Rotherham in the first half of the season. “He’s my kind of player. He’s going to be a legend here.”

“A proper war horse, that lad”, “That lad is immense and has a great work ethic”, “I like the guy, a cult hero in the making and exactly what we have been missing. He is excellent and very effective, a real threat and works his socks off. Centre-halves know they have been in a right game against him.”

“Moore is just what Bradshaw needs as a partner up front. Keegan and Toshack spring to mind”, “His touch can be frustrating but he wins everything in the air and gives defenders a torrid time”, “He is not a finisher, but he runs his blood to water”, “His heroism and determination are second to none.”

Tykes’ Views on ITFC and the Game

“Ipswich is a funny one. If we go there buzzing and full of confidence, which we should, and really attack them then we are more than capable of back-to-back wins”, “They are slap bang mid-table with their manager leaving at end of season. The very embodiment of a team on the beach.”

“Ipswich have failed to score in five of their last six so I think there’s definitely something in it for us. If we get the first goal I can see us getting all three points”, “I agree. Ipswich are there for the taking. The manager is a dead man walking and nothing to play for, this has got to be a great chance for us.”

With their team finally having clicked and with four points taken from two tough games against play-off contenders, Tykes are quietly hopeful of a win. “This is our least hard away game left. In fact, this week [Barnsley are at home to Bolton on Saturday] represents our best two chances of three points.

“We need to go and attack them with Moore and McBurnie. Play on the fact that the crowd will get on their backs and play to our strength, which is not defending deep”, “Hopefully Moore has a point to prove”, “Imagine how fired up he will be at Ipswich. Hopefully he has some gas left in the tank.”

“The first half against Ipswich at home was arguably our best of the season. We should've been out of sight at half-time”, “We were unlucky to lose”, “Mick changed things at half-time and attacked us with Waghorn, McGoldrick, Garner and Sears all on the pitch together. Our soft centre crumbled.”

“I know about Ipswich’s poor run of scoring form at the moment and the fact that Mick is finished with them when the season ends but surely none of us expect Mick to do us any favours, do we? That’s ridiculous to suggest because he has never done that since he left us as a player or manager.”

“Mick seems battle weary. He would have been better jacking in at Ipswich, recharging his batteries for 12 months and coming back to Barnsley”, “I pray he comes home”, “Ipswich pay more in wages than we do and that is one reason why won't come here”, “His next club will be Leeds United unfortunately.”

Websites

The busiest Barnsley message board is the friendly and well-informed The Barnsley FC Fans Bulletin Board. It also has links to news stories from the official club site.

@HarryFromBath

Photo: Action Images

Steve_M added 11:12 - Apr 9 Heckingbottom gets them promoted, has more than half a team sold and some can't wait to see the back of him. Football fans.
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iaintaylorx added 11:29 - Apr 9 Great report, Harry. Few decent players in their squad that I wouldn't mind if we raided, if they get relegated. Bradshaw, Potts and Moncur are way too good for them. They'll be on a buzz after the Sheffield win, but we should be winning this... you'd think anyway, but anything is possible with MM!! Be interesting to see what Moore is like too.
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 11:32 - Apr 9 Maybe after the playoff final 2000 it's time to do them a favour? Actually, another favour since we seem to have sold them their "legend in the making." Anyway, we're unlikely to score statistically, so they can at least hope for a point. Whatever: COYB!
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martin587 added 11:36 - Apr 9 Excellent post once again,Harry.👍
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bobble added 12:13 - Apr 9 so moore will score the winner then..
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Bluejake added 12:37 - Apr 9 “...and opponents seem to score with every shot on target”. You've no need to worry about that with us, we hardly ever get one on target anyway.
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DanFBlue added 13:09 - Apr 9 If they attack us, which they will, they will get 3 points needed for their survival in the Championship. MM , Attack=Make a forceful attempt to score a goal or otherwise gain an advantage against an opposing team1
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LankHenners added 14:56 - Apr 9 Thanks Harry, worried this could be another 'they're scrapping away at the bottom so we can't risk going all out' performance from us which won't be pleasant for anyone involved. Hopefully we might see more of the younger ones get a run out given a few omissions from the U23s today.
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