Next Match: Scunthorpe United (A) Tuesday 28th September 2010

Saturday 10 April 2010

Another week, another stalemate

It wasn't pretty, and it wasn't great to watch, but at least we're finally safe for another season. Although you wouldn't think it was much of an achievement given some of the rumblings I heard coming from Oakwell after this match.

For the last few weeks I've been getting a bit worried about this relegation battle going on below us. I don't like talking about safety until it's definite and confirmed, so I've not been able to relax at all. And yet when I woke up this morning, I had a feeling today would be the day. Don't ask me why, it was just a feeling, but I just fancied us to put our relegation fears to bed once and for all. In that respect, the Reds didn't disappoint, although in many other ways on the pitch they did.

I was in a good mood from the moment I woke up, mainly thanks to the glorious summer sunshine glaring through the bedroom window. Football in the summer is unbeatable, and today was no different. As much as I've been wishing this season to end so we can bask in the feeling of safety for another season, I'll certainly miss days like this in close season. The World Cup will help, but it's just not the same.

We set off in plenty of time to Oakwell, since we had a few errands to run before the match. The first one was to get to the box office and get our Swansea tickets sorted out for next weekend. Recent performances have had us questioning whether trekking all the way to Swansea to watch a side who've all but given in on the season was worth spending money on, but after much deliberation we decided to show our faces and get the tickets bought. After all, the season is so nearly over, so we might as well make the most of it while we can.

Once the tickets were sorted, it was time to head to the bookies and get some bets put on the Grand National. I never, ever bet on horse racing apart from the Grand National, so it's only ever guesswork for me. My dad, however, had a list as long as his arm of 10 different horses to back, all on the behalf of my mum, who really gets Grand National fever. After standing in the bookies for 10 minutes while he sorted out all the bets he was putting on, we were finally on our way to the pub to soak up the summer atmosphere before the game.

Only, when we got to the boozer, my dad realised he'd only bet on 9 horses, meaning he'd missed one out somewhere. And he'd binned the list with his bets on. He was convinced that the horse he'd missed would come in, and he'd be in all sorts of trouble when he got back home, but he wasn't concerned enough to leave his pint and jog back to the bookies. Luckily, the horse never came in, and no harm was done.

Speaking of horse racing, we got talking to a couple of Derby fans in the pub, one of which owned a couple of race horses himself. He mentioned that one of the jockeys riding in the National was a friend of his, and that he'd given up the chance to be there to watch the Rams at Oakwell. He's probably regretting that decision now after that display.

The lads we were talking to were top notch, and came across as having a similar mindset to ourselves. They know where their club stand, and where they want to be. They are proud of their attendances and their generally large support, and rightly so, but overall they were more than happy with surviving another season at this level. They were also quick to condemn some of the wages their players are picking up, and seemed insistent that a big change was needed at the club if they were to be successful next time around.

We also ended up talking to a Stoke fan, rather oddly. Obviously he was in South Yorkshire for the day out with some Derby friends, with his Stoke team playing on Sunday. He remembered with glee his last journey to Oakwell, when Trevor Teapot awarded them their 146th minute penalty to rob us of the win and draw the match 3-3.

As the clock ticked down towards the kick off, the Derby fans began to get a sweat on, thinking they were going to miss the kick off. We tried to reassure the lads that they were less than ten minutes away from the ground so there was no need to rush away, but with more and more people exiting the pub, nerves got the better of them and they headed off towards the ground. We wished them luck for the rest of the season, and told them we'd see them next time. Then it was off to the game ourselves.

The season ticket book is looking depressingly empty these days. It always makes me sad, this time of the season. I can't operate properly without football every weekend, and the emptiness of my season ticket served as a cruel reminder that another season is about ready to draw to a close.

As we got sat down, the teams were entering the playing field. Derby had brought just over a thousand fans with them, which is ok although considering their current form and the weather, I was a bit disappointed. I expected more than that. There's nothing like seeing the away end full, it certainly adds to the atmosphere at Oakwell, which was much better than last time out against Peterborough. At least they'd got the sound system working today, which was a massive improvement and made the place feel less like a morgue.

The game itself was frantic to start with, but rather low on quality. Soon, however, it settled down and both sides began to play with the same lack of interest. Both of our seasons have fizzled out recently, and it was looking more and more like a training match as every minute ticked by.

Yet again, we looked pretty toothless going forward. The last few weeks have been a bit worrying from an attacking point of view. Our defence finally seems to be playing with confidence, and the clean sheets have been getting more and more frequent, but I honestly feel we could have played until next Saturday and not have scored. Another worry recently has been our inability to pick a pass out, and that was something that was on show again today.

At half time, it was difficult to decide whether changes were needed or not. It hadn't been a bad performance, just indifferent. Robins kept it as it was, and I don't think it was the wrong choice.

The second half, much like the first, petered out into nothing and by the end both sides had accepted a point. Tackles stopped flying in, players from both sides began to pull out of 50/50 challenges, and the minutes dragged by as both sides accepted a point that confirmed Championship safety. The MOTM went to Shotton, probably because he was the only one who didn't really make any mistakes. In all honesty, it could have been a toss up, because nobody did enough to clinch it.

One criticism today would be the amount of time which had elapsed before a substitution was made by us. I thought the game was crying out for Butterfield for a long time, and I was surprised the change didn't come sooner.

When the full time whistle went, the boo's rang out around the ground, which was disappointing to hear. It wasn't our best, but was it really worthy of booing the players off?? I've seen much, much worse performances than that before, and will do again no doubt, so I don't think booing was necessary or warranted.

In the toilet before we set off home, we had the pleasure of listening to some bloke mouthing off about Robins not being up to the job and being "worse than Davey". Now, the last few weeks haven't been anything like convincing, but have we got to that point already? Robins has worked miracles this season and deserves much more immunity from the boo boys than he's getting. And his comment about hoping we get tanked 9-0 at Swansea next week was brilliant. I can only presume that it won't affect him, since he's probably not going, and probably doesn't go to many home games either. A few people around him were shaking their heads in disbelief, and rightly so, because it was crazy talk.

On the way home, we figured out that we were mathematically safe, due to the remaining fixtures for the other struggling teams. Wednesday and Palace meet each other on the last day, meaning neither of them can catch us now. I'm so glad we've finally confirmed that. Maybe now we can enjoy the last few matches and play without pressure. Hopefully, we can end the season with one more win at least and give us fans something to cheer about. Maybe it'll even shut that lad from the toilets up and make him appreciate just how far we've come recently, because it's worth bearing in mind.

That journey to Swansea is pretty intimidating next week, considering they need the points to keep their hopes for the playoffs alive, especially after other results today. Like I said before, hopefully we can relax and enjoy ourselves a little after finally, finally confirming our place in the Championship for another season.

The season might well be coming to an end, but it's time these players stepped up and showed the paying public that they still want to finish as high as they can in this division. They owe us that much.

Thanks for reading.

2 comments:

  1. getting really fed up of paying money to watch that every week, not worth the hassle, i'll get on with the garden next weekend and not worry about how the reds are getting on for a change, might stop me being so stressed out all the time!!!!!!

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  2. Heard that guy in the bogs,he was ranting and raving for 10 mins after the game about how he wished we'd been relegated, madness!!

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