Barnsley ready to Tyke liberties?Newcastle entertain Barnsley, looking to take one step closer to equalling an unbeaten home record set 103 years ago when we won the First Division.
Three victories on the trot, should have the lads in good confidence although Barnsley can’t be taken for granted with decent scalps in their last two games against Cardiff and Blackpool. And of course they were worthy of the point down at Oakwell, in the reserve fixture when we were ultimately happy with the 2-2 draw.
That was a special day out regardless of the result with 7,000 Mags taking over areas of Barnsley town centre, and enjoying a day out reminiscent of days gone by when we used swamp smaller towns with black and white hordes. As then, yours truly will be in attendance today, amongst a crowd expected to tip towards the 50,000 mark with the Tykes having sold out their 2,800 allocation. Today’s game will be preceded by a minute’s applause for the passing of Charlie Crowe last weekend. (more…)
Tykes bite worse than the bark?Newcastle United welcome Mark Robins this weekend as he brings his Barnsley team and the travelling Tykes fans to Tyneside, and they will no doubt be looking to head back down south with 3 points and a massive scalp in their collective bag.
Of course it’s up to us to stop them and every game requires maximum concentration to minimize the possibilities of any slip ups, particularly in front of what is expected to be a near 50,000 crowd at SJP on Saturday. Mark Robins knows that all the pressure is on the hosts to extend their excellent unbeaton home run. Speaking to the official Barnsley website, Robins had this to say about Saturday’s match:
“We are going up to a fortress this weekend and that home record is a challenge for us. We have done well for the majority of the campaign and this is one we will look to enjoy in front of 50,000 fans. I would love to be playing in this one.”
“We know we have to start well and maintain that throughout the game. If we dip at any time in the match then we’ll come unstuck. We have to go there and take the bull by the horns, we have nothing to lose.”(more…)
Barnsley FC’s mascot, Toby Tyke5pm tomorrow could see Newcastle United 10 points clear at the top of the championship if they manage a win against an in form Barnsley at Oakwell.
The Newcastle players will be looking to give boss Chris Hughton an extra special birthday present if they can notch up an eighth straight win to boot. However nothing can be taken for granted, and this match will certainly not be easy as Barnsley have managed 3 wins and 2 draws from their last 5 games. In fact, since joining the club from Rotherham, manager Mark Robins has seen his side lose only five of his 17 games in charge. However, Robins didn’t seem to be too happy with the Tykes’ last performance, a 1-1 draw with tricky customers, Scunthorpe. Speaking to the Sheffield Star, he said:
“We’ve got a big game on Saturday against Newcastle and there will be 7,500 Geordies coming here so it might be like an away game for us,”
“It’s a game to look forward to but we certainly need to put in a better performance than against Scunthorpe because Newcastle are flying. (more…)
