Barnsley 0 v 1 Bolton

2-0 win for the mighty whites. You heard it here first.

I it'll just be the same old boring monotonous garbage dished up since Freedman came here. Why on earth do some of you suddenly think it will change, what evidence do you have? The guys is hopeless, the team is hopeless, his signings are hopeless, there is not one thing I can see to make me confident we'll beat any team in this division. Now think about that for one minute and how sad it is to feel like that. With what he inherited that's nothing short of an absolute disgrace. 2-0 to Barnsley and the pain continues. 

Should freedman go if we lose this?

Opposition watch: Barnsley

The Whites will make their first trip across the Pennines this season on Boxing Day to face Yorkshire outfit Barnsley.

It will be the third successive away game for Bolton were they have faced a team whose manager is looking forward to their inaugural home game.

The new man at the helm, Danny Wilson, is back for a second spell in charge at Oakwell after his previous tenure ended in 1998.

A former Tykes striker, Wilson is a cult hero in South Yorkshire after he guided the club to the top flight in the mid-1990s for the first time in their history.

Having taken over from David Flitcroft, Wilson’s Barnsley find themselves bottom of the Championship table with 16 points to their name but remain only three points away from safety.

Barnsley’s last home win in the league came back in October against Middlesbrough, and with two games at Oakwell inside four days, the Yorkshire club will be looking to finish 2013 in style.

Boxing Day’s encounter will be the 38th meeting between the two clubs, with Bolton having the slight upper hand with 13 wins compared to Barnsley’s 12.

The Whites are also unbeaten in the last eight meetings between the teams – a record which they will be hoping to extend come the final whistle on Thursday - with Barnsley’s last league victory over the Whites back in the 1997/98.

Neil Goulding – Barnsley reporter from The Sheffield Star

“Barnsley’s season has so far been one to forget. There have been few highlights for the Tykes but the arrival of new boss Danny Wilson has given the South Yorkshire club a welcome boost ahead of a busy period of festive fixtures.

“Wilson arrived for a second spell at Oakwell and in his first game on charge last Saturday he guided the Tykes to battling point in their derby clash with Leeds United at Elland Road.

“But overall this term the Tykes, who only avoided relegation on the last day of last season, have been struggling badly for form.

“They have only won three times in 21 league outings and a record of a disappointing 11 defeats is the main reason why the club are once again locked in a relegation fight.

“Midfielder Jacob Mellis will definitely miss this one, suspended for one match having collected five yellow cards.

“And Nottingham Forest loan striker Marcus Tudgay is absent as well, missing for the next three matches having been sent-off against Leeds.

“Playmaker Paddy McCourt (hamstring) and leading scorer Chris O’Grady (calf) are both major doubts to play any part.”

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4 players out injured. Gives new boys a chance to shine for the new boss. Could be bad news...

I've said before I struggle to get excited by a win at present, feeling like nothing will improve long term until Freedman changes the system completely.

I don't know what to anticipate. I wouldn't be surprised if we nick it, draw or lose.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] wrote:Should freedman go if we lose this?

Yes.

I have a feeling we will win this one.

My prediction 0-3

BWFC team to face Barnsley: Lonergan, McNaughton, Knight, Ream, Baptiste, Spearing, Pratley, Eagles, M Davies, Danns, Mason

subs: Lee-Barrett, Mills, Medo, Lee, Hall, Beckford, Moritz

Ridiculous that he would leave Moritz out.
Ridiculous that he would leave Mills out.
Ridiculous he has picked Pratley again.
Ridiculous he has picked Mason again.

RESIGN YOU COCKSUCKER!

He hasn't left knight out

Not a fan of that line up.

Not enough up top -it might be difficult to score . Three strikers that we've paid money for(Beckford, N'gog and Davies) omitted, two others we've lent out (Sordell and Eaves). We're playing a rather lightweight up front today. It's looking grim in terms of scoring

Mills been dropped, he was rubbish in the last game.  
Hopefully Knight will not mess up...

Mills is one yellow card away from a suspension so that's probably why he is on the bench.

Mason on his own up front again ploughing a lone furrow?   

Bloody Tinkerman

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] wrote:Ridiculous that he would leave Moritz out.
Ridiculous that he would leave Knight out.
Ridiculous he has picked Pratley again.
Ridiculous he has picked Mason again.

RESIGN YOU COCKSUCKER!

Partly agree Nat.
Moritz should play. What the hell does Mason bring to the table? 
why drop Mills?
Pratley ?well he will put a shift in. disappointed with the selection.

No creativity in the team ....except maybe Mavies.

Pity the poor bastards who have paid money to watch this one.....has 0-0 all over it.

have we got live chat boys

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Half Time and the same utter fucking Garbage, or in Dougie speak a really good performance but we need to take the chances we create, FUCKING TOSSER!!!!!!!!!

A win away for the mighty whites... Dominant in the second half. Ran the show. Could have put it out of sight. Three points. Perfect away result. Clean sheet.
Danns with the goal, we absolutely must keep him. Shame Moritz was dropped.

Only 8 points from the play offs (and 8 points from a relegation spot too)  

We can do this can't we?  The performances would say no, but you never know!  

How did Mark Davies look?

Report: Barnsley 0-1 Bolton

Neil Danns' strike in the last game of his loan spell ensured that Wanderers picked up all three points as they ran out 1-0 winners against Barnsley at Oakwell.

The midfielder struck the decisive goal shortly after the hour mark in a fiercely contested clash in South Yorkshire and despite a late rally from the hosts, the Whites held out for the victory.

Manager Dougie Freedman made three changes to the side which drew with Charlton last time out, with Zat Knight, Darren Pratley and Mark Davies coming into the starting line up in place of Matt Mills, Chung-Yong Lee and Andre Moritz.

The home side began the game with vigour, with Chris O’Grady & Jason Scotland looking dangerous for the Tykes inside the opening stages of the clash with the former flashing a shot just wide of the upright with five minutes gone.

Having found themselves under some early pressure, the Whites were slowly finding their feet in the clash with Joe Mason almost connecting with Alex Baptiste’s downfield pass, but the striker was just short.

It wasn’t long before Barnsley were back on the attack with O’Grady chasing down Kevin McNaughton’s header back to Andy Lonergan, but the Bolton goalkeeper was out quickly to smother the ball.

Wanderers almost stunned the home fans shortly after as Knight, Danns and Chris Eagles all enjoyed chances to hand Bolton the lead from Jay Spearing’s corner which the Barnsley defence failed to clear, but the latter blasted his effort over the bar to bring the Whites’ tirade to an end.

As the half wore on, it was evident to see that Wanderers were settling into the clash with Pratley and Davies proving to be a nuisance for the home side with a number of impressive runs, but the hosts were certainly still looking dangerous on the counter attack.

Wanderers looked to have taken the lead in the 28th minute as Eagles played a superb ball into the path of Pratley, but the midfielder was deemed to have strayed offside by the assistant referee, while Danns forced Luke Steele into a smart save just a minute later with his effort from distance.

As the half time whistle drew near, Bobby Hassell looked to have put the hosts in front with a powerful header, but Lonergan was on hand to palm his effort away and keep the score level.

With confidence growing, Barnsley enjoyed another glorious opportunity to open the scoring as Jim O’Brien unleashed from distance with just three minutes of the half left, but the Bolton keeper pulled off a superb reflex save to deny him.

Not to be deterred however, the Whites almost snatched the lead on the stroke of half time as an unmarked Tim Ream headed goalbound with Pratley’s rebounded effort being cleared away, while the home side enjoyed arguably the best chance of the half as Baptiste denied Peter Ramage from close range.

Having ended the first period high on confidence, Bolton began the second half in a similar manner as Danns flashed a shot just wide of the near post with two minutes gone while Pratley saw his effort deflected behind for a corner which saw Knight head narrowly wide.

After being penned into their own half early on, Danny Wilson's side almost stunned the travelling Wanderers support as Dawson powered downfield, but his final product wasn't enough to test Lonergan who pulled off a comfortable save.

With both sides in the ascendancy and chances going begging, Knight looked to have given the Whites the lead in the 59th minute with his towering header, but Steele was on his guard to push the ball over his crossbar, while Mason saw his looping header collected by the keeper.

With Wanderers undoubtedly on top in the clash, it came as little surprise to those inside Oakwell when Danns curled the ball into the top corner of the net with Steele given no chance at all in the 64th minute.

A lead which the Whites were more than worthy of given their dominance in the second half, it was one which they almost doubled as the on-loan Leicester man chased the ball downfield just moments later, but the Barnsley goalkeeper was out of his goal quickly to scoop the ball to safety.

The home side were visibly stunned to be behind, with Wilson introducing Paddy McCourt into the fold in a bid to find an equalising goal.

The Oakwell faithful were left shouting for a penalty kick with 15 minutes to go as Dawson went down in the area under the challenge of Baptiste, but Andy Haines was unmoved and waved play on.

As the clock ran down, the Tykes were piling forward in their droves with McNaughton being forced to pull off a superb challenge to deny Scotland who had only Lonergan to beat.

Wanderers did enjoy an opportunity to extend their lead and put to bed any hopes of a Barnsley fightback with six minutes to go as substitute Medo unleashed from distance, but Steele was equal to it.

It was all Barnsley as the game headed to its conclusion with Matt Mills thrown into the mix for extra cover at the back, but their efforts were to be in vain as Bolton held out for the win.

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Freedman - Pressure paid off

The Whites secured a hard fought victory over Danny Wilson’s Barnsley on a bitterly cold Thursday afternoon in South Yorkshire.

The game sprung into life in the second half with Bolton keeping a consistent level of pressure on the Barnsley backline and received their just rewards in the 64th minute when Neil Danns curled a spectacular effort beyond Luke Steele from just inside the penalty area.

Speaking after the game, boss Dougie Freedman told the press he was pleased with the spirit shown by his squad and always thought the game would open up in the second half.

“It was a hard fought victory and a well-deserved three points this afternoon. It was a very tough game, Barnsley have recently appointed a new manager and they put up a real good fight.

“I thought the first half was very tight and there wasn’t much in the game but in the second half the game picked up naturally.

“We defended very well and our front players came into their own and we deserved to win the game.

“The game opened up naturally in the second half. We defended very well when Barnsley put crosses into the penalty box and our front players started to come more and more in the match. Our attacking players can be lethal on their day and today they produced.

“Neil Danns took his goal extremely well and it was a great finish but we were sustaining pressure on Barnsley’s goal throughout the second half and it looked very likely that we were going to score.

“We will keep on plugging away, we are showing fantastic spirit but today we played very well from front to back, especially in the second half and we now look towards Sunday’s game at Leicester City.”

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Great goal by Danns.

Nothing better than seeing our fans go crazy when we score. - Great goal by the way.

Cheers for the upload Culcheth. Who's video is it?

Cracking Goal!