Those Barnsley supporters who witnessed Barnsley 'passing' Sheffield Wednesday into submission in midweek – and also took in the five-goal mauling of the Mariners of Grimsby last Saturday – cannot wait for the start of the new Championship season.
I don't blame them. On the evidence of those matches the fans could be in for a a fair few footballing treats.
Keith Hill and his assistant David Flitcroft have certain ideas on how the game should be played. With what we've seen so far their philosophy matches that of the Barnsley public.
Eye-catching, pass-and-move style football, played on the floor, and allied to a 100 per cent wholehearted work ethic.
Pre-season matches are just the starters of course, the warm-up affairs ahead of the season. And the Reds have one such game left, at League One Scunthorpe United on Saturday.
Friendly fixtures are mostly about trying out systems and strategies, and building up fitness.
I can recall a Reds team managed by Simon Davey winning all their warm-up matches, only to start the Championship season in dreadful fashion, picking up just a point from the opening five or six matches. It led to Davey’s demise.
But I've got to say I like the cut of Hill’s jib! An outgoing, approachable sou, he is proving popular with the supporters. And he is certainly trying to get the Reds playing an attractive brand of quick, attack-minded football.
He looks to have pulled some lower league gems out of the air, in the form of David Perkins, Craig Davies and Scott Wiseman.
I recall Hill’s words when he first signed the 29-year-old Perkins from Colchester United. Some Reds fans had criticised the move. Signing lower league players meant lower league football they cried.
Hill said ‘don’t judge players on where they come from, just judge them on what they do for me at Barnsley’.
On Tuesday’s evidence Perkins was the perfect case in point. He proved he was too good for League One Sheffield Wednesday. As did the rest of the team. The quality of Barnsley’s football was a joy to behold. Can they produce it in the Championship, against better sides? That’s the big litmus test of course, but I’m looking forward to seeing them try.
Barnsley, along with Doncaster, Peterborough and Coventry, are the bookies’ favourites for relegation. Under Hill I reckon we could end up making them eat those odds. Again. And by playing the sort of football that will have the supporters clapping their hands in appreciation.
Come on you Reds!
