The Barnsley Chop......or
Could Swansea City down it in one ?
Today's report is written, as occasionally happens, from the comfort of an armchair as I'd been unable to travel to the game.
To further frustrate, this being an FA Cup tie and thus contracted to ESPN and I-Teeh-Bloody Vee, Internet Streams were not available.
However, the good old Radio stood firm, and I've subsequently feasted on highlights galore.
This, I hope, reflects what it was like for many of us.
In the midst of our Premier League program, the still famous 3rd Round of the FA Cup, always scheduled for the first weekend in January, and confirming for us older geezers a specific point in the program, had seen the Swans drawn Away to Championship Barnsley, a tricky tie that made us wonder just what sort of prominence BR would give it.
Primarily, of course, because many PL clubs have of late been tempted to field less strong sides against (supposedly) less strong opposition. Would we tread the same path?
Pre match speculation from fans on supporters sites had leaned toward this being their preferred option, with a view to saving the senior players for a continued, and nowadays heavily rewarded, effort to maintain Premier League status.
Ever since this tie was pulled out of the bag, I'd had a nervous feel about it. I suspect a lot of us had. It's that awkward thing where we were playing a Team that is demonstrably below us in both situation and success - but that's recent, and doesn't make a great deal of difference to this sort of Cup Tie.
The supposedly "lesser" team is certainly capable of giving its bigger brother a bloody nose. Just look back to August 2011, when Shrewsbury sent us scuttling from their place 3-1 in the Carling Cup. And we were awful.
BR's recent successful tweaking of the squad led us to hope that he'd be equally as prescient this time, and he could choose an XI that was good enough to get us out of Oakwell with both reputation and result intact. If I'm honest, I'd have taken a draw right then.
My view has always been, and remains, that a progression in Cup Competitions reaps ample reward in League campaigns if only for the winning habit being contagious. I like to think I'm not daft enough for any good Manager's view being wildly different, but the question of how much and how many of the Club's front line troops will be needed in a specific tie is ALWAYS a matter of degree.
So it proved in this meeting.
Brendan surprised only in choosing such a strong side. Two changes from the win at Villa, Gerhard Tremmel in goal, to give the superb Michel Vorm a break, and Gary Monk for Steven Caulker.
For Barnsley, Keith Hill included the prolific-of-late Ricardo Vaz Te, formerly of Bolton, and thus the teams fielded as follows :
Barnsley
01 Steele,02 Hassell (Wiseman 57),03 McEveley,06 Foster,15 McNulty,17 Addison,10 Done (Noble-Lazarus 52),11 Perkins (Gray 57),20 Drinkwater,09 Davies,18 Vaz Te
Substitutes
12 Preece,04 Edwards,14 Wiseman,33 Digby,29 Taylor,24 Noble-Lazarus,27 Gray
Swansea
25 Tremmel,02 Williams,03 Taylor,16 Monk,22 Rangel,07 Britton,08 Orlandi (Sigurdsson 59),12 Dyer (Sinclair 78),15 Routledge,26 Agustien (Allen 66),10 Graham
Substitutes
21 Moreira,20 Bessone,11 Sinclair,24 Allen,42 Sigurdsson,18 Lita,19 Moore
The start was noticeable if for any reason, principally, by the absence of home fans (unless they'd come disguised as red plastic seats).
7380 was later reported. Crowds? In Yorkshire? It's a big County I know, with a lot of attractions, but this was truly a poor turnout for a game against one of the Premier league's more attractive teams.
Don't they ever watch any Sky TV up there? C'est la vie, eh lad?
I'll digress a little.
I was married once, to a Lass from Leeds , and she, to this day (we are still good friends), still has, like many proud Northeners, a special place in her heart for her fellow Tykes.
It was she who first introduced me to the surprising Barnsley, with its wonderful Town Hall, and the magnificent Barnsley Chop.
This fine cut of meat, particularly to a wimp from the South (that includes us Welsh), was something I was vaguely aware of, having heard Darren Gough, Harold (Dickie) Bird, two scions of Barnsley and other such luminaries from "God's Own County" extol it's vicarious virtues, and was ALWAYS, as a carnivore, a thing that I was keen to try.
You will be so very pleased to know, I'm sure, that I can honestly claim to be a man who managed it, but never won a T-Shirt for so doing. Let me explain.
During our married life, we would on regular occasions visit my now ex-wife's family in Leeds. In fact, one year, since we both worked in Education, we decided to take our tried and trusted Trailer Tent, along with our 2 young boys, to sample Yorkshire's many and varied visitor attractions, camping near Wetherby, the better to take lots of visiting days at the many options, and to be close and in-touch with her family too.
It was a lovely 3/4 weeks, I recommend it if you haven't ever been, but that's by and by. Let's get back to the Chop.
We were made aware of a famed "local" pub, The Rythre Arms, whose claim to fame was that it presented and cooked Meat Platters of such monster size and fantastic flavour, if you were to complete one of their "challenges" you would not only enjoy, but get a T-Shirt to boot - inscribed with their fabled Logo and a phrase like "I DID IT AT THE RYTHRE ARMS "- along with a bottle of rather decent wine whether you completed the challenge or not. That was, whatever, free of charge, to accompany your meal.
It had, from talking to people, an outstanding reputation and seemed a perfect place to celebrate my wife's birthday, especially since her sister had graciously allowed to both babysit and sleep over with our two, too young children. We went.
I am not making this up. The pub was superb, beers lovely, traditional, (we were in a Taxi), atmosphere decent , live guitarist (classy) and pianist (talented), packed to the rafters. Wonderful place.
When the food came I knew, straight away, I was doomed (but in a nice way). My wife had very sensibly ordered a 16 oz T-Bone which was cooked to perfection along with it's side dishes. I, because I'm the fool that I am, had believed that I could cope with The Barnsley Chop. It was served as part of a Mixed Grill - hey, you've seen them advertised in many restaurants - but I had never, ever, seen as much prime-cut succulent meat served for 1.
I swear it would have honestly fed 4 people. I thoroughly enjoyed, but failed to finish. No T-Shirt for me then.
From the hundreds of customers that tried that evening, there turned out to be two, only, who were able to meet the rigorous "challenge" that was offered.
I saw Racks of Lamb, Steaks of all varieties, and most of all, The Barnsley Chop (and it's accompaniments) go on to defeat most eaters - not, as I hasten to add by their unsuitability -it was all down to SIZE. Gargantuan. Monster. Very, very BIG. Respect.
The two successful men (for they were) deserved to walk out with their emblazoned pride and prize. They had truly earned it.
Saturday's game put me in mind of this tale because we fielded a side that reflects our reputation, that of a generally smallish side , who puts their trust less in Carnivores than Gourmet eaters, maybe. Barnsley, on the other hand, were those meat eating Yorkshire Men from the tale above.
The game followed this outline - Swansea's possession and contentment to keep the ball denying Barnsley's need to have it, and put some pressure on us as Visitors. They just weren't allowed to share, early on, by Welsh desire to hog the football, exemplified again by Britton's constant support, and assertion of seniority by almost every other Swan in any one-on-one.
Barnsley had already kept us out with goalkeeper Luke Steele denying a Kemy Agustien drive amongst other half chances, so it came as a shock then when the aforementioned Vaz Te on 29m, was the end result of a right sided counter-attack, and from being played in by Craig Davies, hit a steepling shot into the upper corner of the Swansea net. Ouch, 1-0, that hurt.
Fortunately, the Swans nowadays are made of more resilient stuff and, within 90secs, they were level.
Nathan Dyer took an attack forward, and from his neat one two with Angel Rangel, was able to put the marauding full back clear to slide the equalizer into Steele's net. 1-1, and we Swans and #Twitterjacks all breathed a sigh of relief.
It's a bummer to be nowadays listening to a game on Radio for your immediate needs, even if supplemented by m-b-m updates from Guardian Sport, Twitter, Fan site links, and any other view you can get your hands on. It just ain't the same as being there, so respect to all you JackArmy faithful, who at least give us a warm glow with your incessant support.
You CAN be heard, and it adds a great deal.
Fortunately, the remainder of the half played out without any heart-attack inducing threats, and even confirmed, from the always worrying Broadcasters, that Swansea were in general control , with the Tykes struggling to get any piece of the action that was rewarding rather than frustrating.
The grumbling and kerfuffle from the Home fans was again prevalent, and comforted me at Half Time. Well, I thought, if we bring them back to the Liberty at least we get an extra game. It turned out not to matter.
The second half started in cracking fashion for the Swans, when in the first minute, Danny Graham took a pass midway in the half, and turned, trickily again, to release a blockbuster from 30yds that flew into the net leaving Eric Steele despairing. 2-1, and what a comforting blow for both the players and supporters.
Tricksy psychology notwithstanding, when your team has gone in front in such a fashion, to confirm your oft-reported superiority, the practical effect is extraordinary. Swansea preened, Barnsley slumped, and it was to get worse, for them.
The wide players were really giving Yorkshire's best a hard time, threatening and running at an at times despairing effort, and it came to fruition when Wayne Routledge beat Foster on the left, and pulled a ball back to Dyer, who crashed it home.
He'd done it, with a little help from his friends.
It was no more than he deserved after being frustrated just previously by putting another good opportunity over. 3-1, breathing space secured, but a long way to go, still.
With so much time left, 25mins at least., the game became an end to end encounter without any clearcut chances. Vaz Te had had another couple of whispers blocked, and the Swans looked like they could close it out if only they were able to turn possession into something more threatening.
However, from this last gasp Home effort, on 65mins, an effective free kick delivery from Drinkwater led to Vaz Te again getting the final touch. 3-2, maybe game on.
When a side realizes that it's either going to succeed from forward commitment, or will only get something from risking its all, games stand in the balance. Swansea were able to resist this effort, and ultimately the killer blow came from a late put-down.
There had been, for us, some noteworthy substitutions. Sinclair replaced Dyer as the final one in the 79th minute. Prior to that, Joe Allen had replaced Agustien on 66m, and had settled into an influential slot. Earlier, on 59mins we Swans got our first glimpse too of Gylfi Sigurdsson, who'd replaced Andrea Orlandi.
And, as if to prove the fickle nature of those football Deities again, a couple of minutes from the end, Vaz Te was robbed of the ball by Joe Allen, who set up a cross by Routledge again and turned in by Danny Graham for his second, and the Swans were home and dry. 4-2, and a victory for the enduring class of the Swans.
Looking back on a game that could have proved a problem, one would have to say that Swansea handled it well.
In selecting a strong starting XI, Brendan Rodgers showed that he too was keen to see the Club continue it's forward momentum, but, imagine the chagrin and flak likely to be flying about had they not performed.
It would, I proffer, have been both loud and critical, which only goes to prove the Manager's confidence over and above some critics. Really good to see.
Coming away from such a tie with a comprehensive win can only stand the side in confident stead as next weekend they get back to the challenge of Arsenal in the Premier League at our very own Liberty stadium.
I was married once, to a Lass from Leeds , and she, to this day (we are still good friends), still has, like many proud Northeners, a special place in her heart for her fellow Tykes.
It was she who first introduced me to the surprising Barnsley, with its wonderful Town Hall, and the magnificent Barnsley Chop.
This fine cut of meat, particularly to a wimp from the South (that includes us Welsh), was something I was vaguely aware of, having heard Darren Gough, Harold (Dickie) Bird, two scions of Barnsley and other such luminaries from "God's Own County" extol it's vicarious virtues, and was ALWAYS, as a carnivore, a thing that I was keen to try.
You will be so very pleased to know, I'm sure, that I can honestly claim to be a man who managed it, but never won a T-Shirt for so doing. Let me explain.
During our married life, we would on regular occasions visit my now ex-wife's family in Leeds. In fact, one year, since we both worked in Education, we decided to take our tried and trusted Trailer Tent, along with our 2 young boys, to sample Yorkshire's many and varied visitor attractions, camping near Wetherby, the better to take lots of visiting days at the many options, and to be close and in-touch with her family too.
It was a lovely 3/4 weeks, I recommend it if you haven't ever been, but that's by and by. Let's get back to the Chop.
We were made aware of a famed "local" pub, The Rythre Arms, whose claim to fame was that it presented and cooked Meat Platters of such monster size and fantastic flavour, if you were to complete one of their "challenges" you would not only enjoy, but get a T-Shirt to boot - inscribed with their fabled Logo and a phrase like "I DID IT AT THE RYTHRE ARMS "- along with a bottle of rather decent wine whether you completed the challenge or not. That was, whatever, free of charge, to accompany your meal.
It had, from talking to people, an outstanding reputation and seemed a perfect place to celebrate my wife's birthday, especially since her sister had graciously allowed to both babysit and sleep over with our two, too young children. We went.
I am not making this up. The pub was superb, beers lovely, traditional, (we were in a Taxi), atmosphere decent , live guitarist (classy) and pianist (talented), packed to the rafters. Wonderful place.
When the food came I knew, straight away, I was doomed (but in a nice way). My wife had very sensibly ordered a 16 oz T-Bone which was cooked to perfection along with it's side dishes. I, because I'm the fool that I am, had believed that I could cope with The Barnsley Chop. It was served as part of a Mixed Grill - hey, you've seen them advertised in many restaurants - but I had never, ever, seen as much prime-cut succulent meat served for 1.
I swear it would have honestly fed 4 people. I thoroughly enjoyed, but failed to finish. No T-Shirt for me then.
From the hundreds of customers that tried that evening, there turned out to be two, only, who were able to meet the rigorous "challenge" that was offered.
I saw Racks of Lamb, Steaks of all varieties, and most of all, The Barnsley Chop (and it's accompaniments) go on to defeat most eaters - not, as I hasten to add by their unsuitability -it was all down to SIZE. Gargantuan. Monster. Very, very BIG. Respect.
The two successful men (for they were) deserved to walk out with their emblazoned pride and prize. They had truly earned it.
Saturday's game put me in mind of this tale because we fielded a side that reflects our reputation, that of a generally smallish side , who puts their trust less in Carnivores than Gourmet eaters, maybe. Barnsley, on the other hand, were those meat eating Yorkshire Men from the tale above.
The game followed this outline - Swansea's possession and contentment to keep the ball denying Barnsley's need to have it, and put some pressure on us as Visitors. They just weren't allowed to share, early on, by Welsh desire to hog the football, exemplified again by Britton's constant support, and assertion of seniority by almost every other Swan in any one-on-one.
Barnsley had already kept us out with goalkeeper Luke Steele denying a Kemy Agustien drive amongst other half chances, so it came as a shock then when the aforementioned Vaz Te on 29m, was the end result of a right sided counter-attack, and from being played in by Craig Davies, hit a steepling shot into the upper corner of the Swansea net. Ouch, 1-0, that hurt.
Fortunately, the Swans nowadays are made of more resilient stuff and, within 90secs, they were level.
Nathan Dyer took an attack forward, and from his neat one two with Angel Rangel, was able to put the marauding full back clear to slide the equalizer into Steele's net. 1-1, and we Swans and #Twitterjacks all breathed a sigh of relief.
It's a bummer to be nowadays listening to a game on Radio for your immediate needs, even if supplemented by m-b-m updates from Guardian Sport, Twitter, Fan site links, and any other view you can get your hands on. It just ain't the same as being there, so respect to all you JackArmy faithful, who at least give us a warm glow with your incessant support.
You CAN be heard, and it adds a great deal.
Fortunately, the remainder of the half played out without any heart-attack inducing threats, and even confirmed, from the always worrying Broadcasters, that Swansea were in general control , with the Tykes struggling to get any piece of the action that was rewarding rather than frustrating.
The grumbling and kerfuffle from the Home fans was again prevalent, and comforted me at Half Time. Well, I thought, if we bring them back to the Liberty at least we get an extra game. It turned out not to matter.
The second half started in cracking fashion for the Swans, when in the first minute, Danny Graham took a pass midway in the half, and turned, trickily again, to release a blockbuster from 30yds that flew into the net leaving Eric Steele despairing. 2-1, and what a comforting blow for both the players and supporters.
Tricksy psychology notwithstanding, when your team has gone in front in such a fashion, to confirm your oft-reported superiority, the practical effect is extraordinary. Swansea preened, Barnsley slumped, and it was to get worse, for them.
The wide players were really giving Yorkshire's best a hard time, threatening and running at an at times despairing effort, and it came to fruition when Wayne Routledge beat Foster on the left, and pulled a ball back to Dyer, who crashed it home.
He'd done it, with a little help from his friends.
It was no more than he deserved after being frustrated just previously by putting another good opportunity over. 3-1, breathing space secured, but a long way to go, still.
With so much time left, 25mins at least., the game became an end to end encounter without any clearcut chances. Vaz Te had had another couple of whispers blocked, and the Swans looked like they could close it out if only they were able to turn possession into something more threatening.
However, from this last gasp Home effort, on 65mins, an effective free kick delivery from Drinkwater led to Vaz Te again getting the final touch. 3-2, maybe game on.
When a side realizes that it's either going to succeed from forward commitment, or will only get something from risking its all, games stand in the balance. Swansea were able to resist this effort, and ultimately the killer blow came from a late put-down.
There had been, for us, some noteworthy substitutions. Sinclair replaced Dyer as the final one in the 79th minute. Prior to that, Joe Allen had replaced Agustien on 66m, and had settled into an influential slot. Earlier, on 59mins we Swans got our first glimpse too of Gylfi Sigurdsson, who'd replaced Andrea Orlandi.
And, as if to prove the fickle nature of those football Deities again, a couple of minutes from the end, Vaz Te was robbed of the ball by Joe Allen, who set up a cross by Routledge again and turned in by Danny Graham for his second, and the Swans were home and dry. 4-2, and a victory for the enduring class of the Swans.
Looking back on a game that could have proved a problem, one would have to say that Swansea handled it well.
In selecting a strong starting XI, Brendan Rodgers showed that he too was keen to see the Club continue it's forward momentum, but, imagine the chagrin and flak likely to be flying about had they not performed.
It would, I proffer, have been both loud and critical, which only goes to prove the Manager's confidence over and above some critics. Really good to see.
Coming away from such a tie with a comprehensive win can only stand the side in confident stead as next weekend they get back to the challenge of Arsenal in the Premier League at our very own Liberty stadium.
Coupled with that, there's the excitement of seeing the Draw for the 4th Round on TV this afternoon. Personally, my preference is for anybody as long as it's at the Liberty.
Bring it on.
Onward, Swansea City.
# Incidentally, for all wondering how to pronounce his first name, think of it this way. If a collection of friends goes together to the Algarve for a Golf Weekend, we could say they were Golfy People, in the main. Similarly, fans of Mr Sigurdsson , Gylfi, are Gylfi people (and fans). That's GILL (as in a fish's breathing outlet) + FEE (what Solicitors, Lawyers etc charge you).
With regard to his Surname, the easy part is at the start - SIG (as in the gun Sig-Sauer)) - URD as in " an 'ERD of cows", and SSON as in the German: phonetically = TZON. That TZ sound is a hard one, I know. Anyway, welcome, Gill-fee Sig-erd-tzon.
Hope that helps.
Whatever, he is a FANTASTIC talent.
Bring it on.
Onward, Swansea City.
# Incidentally, for all wondering how to pronounce his first name, think of it this way. If a collection of friends goes together to the Algarve for a Golf Weekend, we could say they were Golfy People, in the main. Similarly, fans of Mr Sigurdsson , Gylfi, are Gylfi people (and fans). That's GILL (as in a fish's breathing outlet) + FEE (what Solicitors, Lawyers etc charge you).
With regard to his Surname, the easy part is at the start - SIG (as in the gun Sig-Sauer)) - URD as in " an 'ERD of cows", and SSON as in the German: phonetically = TZON. That TZ sound is a hard one, I know. Anyway, welcome, Gill-fee Sig-erd-tzon.
Hope that helps.
Whatever, he is a FANTASTIC talent.
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