Oakwell is a ground that I have visited over a dozen times before but have only seen Sheffield United play their twice (1996/97 and 2001/02). So I decided to review one of my last visits to Barnsley when they lost 3-0 at home to rivals Sheffield Wednesday on 31 December 2006.
Club Guide
Team: Barnsley |
I followed up this match three months later at home to Sunderland but this particular day was quite interesting as due to kick off times I was able to watch this match before jumping on a train to see Sheffield United beat Arsenal 1-0 in the Premier League.
The ground hasn't altered too much since my first to last visit which spans a good ten and a half year or so. My first visit was to watch Sheffield United lose 2-0 during the 1996-97 season. Away fans were housed both behind goal and at the side of the pitch.
The facilities I had to endure were below par; a wooden stand which had been built in 1912 looked non-league standard whilst behind goal was an open seated old terracing, the toilet facilities are housed outside (without roof) and gets very cold at winter.
Thankfully today the stand behind goal has disappeared to be rebuilt into an up to date stand with standard facilities, but unfortunately the old shed end is still standing and is in dire need of an upgrade.
Stadium and Pitch: 6/10
Its clear to see that the only upset about this stadium is the West Stand; built in 1912 to celebrate the clubs FA Cup winning success; however in the modern day these facilities could only be found outside the Football League.
Across from this stand is a beautiful double tiered stand which is worthy of the Premier League, whilst either side is a single tiered stand which houses roughly 3,000 per stand.
Should Barnsley one day be successful and become a regular top flight team, with the ability to fill in the corners and update current facilities Oakwell could one day be built into a 50,000+ arena.
Programme: 7/10
The 2006-07 programme doesn't offer anything that you might not see in any other average programme; but one key interesting feature was the 'Dream Team' section; a look back at the opponents greatest eleven team. This was a feature that carried on from the previous season.
Of course back then they were in League One and after successfully winning promotion via the Play-Offs obviously saw it fit to keep the same match day features.
Performance and Result: 4/10
This was very much a below par performance and the dominance of Sheffield Wednesday showed as they saw off the Tykes with ease with a 3-0 victory. I have seen Barnsley play particularly well in the past but failed to brake down a strong team; on this particular day they just didn't turn up!
Atmosphere: 4/10
Barnsley fans have a tendency to only start chanting once there team are ahead; if the team are playing well then the fans get behind them but fail to support when lacking performance.
Overall: 21/40
:: Previous Visits to Oakwell ::
- Barnsley v Sheffield United (07/03/1997)
- England U-21 v Finland U-21 (23/03/2001)
- Barnsley v Manchester United XI (12/11/2001)
- Barnsley v Sheffield Wednesday (02/12/2001)
- Barnsley v Sheffield United (09/03/2002)
- Barnsley v Bristol City (12/10/2002)
- Barnsley v Walsall (28/03/2005)
- Barnsley v Oldham Athletic (16/04/2005)
- Barnsley v Swansea City (04/03/2006)
- Barnsley v Southend United (17/04/2006)
- Barnsley v Bradford City (29/04/2006)
- Barnsley v Cardiff City (05/08/2006)
- Barnsley v West Bromwich Albion (10/12/2006)
- Barnsley v Sheffield Wednesday (31/12/2006)
- Barnsley v Sunderland (10/03/2007)