Barnsley Vs Port Vale: Match Preview

With the opener to our 2023/24 Campaign just around the corner with the reds taking on Port Vale at Oakwell, let’s look into the affair and what we can expect from the reds in our first game of the season!

Starting 11, What To Expect?

When compared to our strongest 11’s of last season, the squad as of now looks quite similar as the Reds have done well to keep hold of top talents such as Luca Connell and Liam kitching, however there is no doubt the squad has lost a lot of talent in losing skipper Mads Andersen to Luton Town. Between the sticks we will more than likely see new signing Liam Roberts who joined the reds on a season-long loan from Middlesbrough, he arrives with hope that he can reach the standards Harry Isted set for the Reds last year and become one of the first names on the team sheet.

In defence, there has certainly been a lot of squad depth added with the likes of Kacper Lopata and Kyran Lofthouse (both formally of National League outlet Woking) as well as Corey O’Keefe from Forest Green Rovers for and undisclosed fee. In midfield we will hopefully see more talent than last year with the addition of Callum Styles who spent large duration of last season on loan at championship side Milwall, despite the transfer rumours regarding his full departure, the Hungarian has looked promising in pre-season and is looking to be an excellent player for us if we can hold onto him. He will join our current go-too midfield three of Philips, Connell and Kane, and will more than likely start in the fixture due to Luca Connell being out through injury.

As for the attacking presence in the side, the Reds have been criticised for the lack of ambition in what was arguably our weakest link last season as the reds have brought in Andy Dallas from National League side Solihull Moors as well as bringing back to Oakwell, Max Watters for an undisclosed fee. Although we are yet to see anything of Andy Dallas in a red shirt, surely there is still serious business to do especially with the recent news of James Norwood on the move to Oldham Athletic, this leaves a gaping hole in our goalscoring abilities this season which has come at the wrong time. Though the transfer window remains fully open, things aren’t looking all too positive for us Barnsley fans at the moment.

Our Opposition!

Port Vale finished last season in 18th place surviving the drop by a nail biting 4 points, therefore at home the reds will most definitely be the favourites to come out on top in a convincing fashion. However in the transfer window Port Vale have made some good signings this summer with the likes of Thomas Sang coming in from Cardiff City who will no doubt be a key asset in this Vale side and cause problems down that right and side. Another player to keep an eye on is midfielder Conor Grant from newly promoted side Plymouth Argyle in which he made more than 100 appearances. Under boss Andy Crosby who took charge of Port Vale in the latter stages of last season, they certainly have a lot more hope in this years campaign as Crosby managed to keep them up in their relegation scrap.

Life Under New Boss, Collins

After the unfortunate departure of Michael Duff to Swansea, we turned our heads to Neill Collins and John stead, both former EFL players in their footballing careers. Although the pair have only worked together at 2nd division USL side Tampa Bay Rowdies, they fit the bill in terms of what type of manager we need. Collins is a young manager who is more than capable of adapting the 532 system in which was seen through last season, Collins has been named the USL Championship Coach of the Season at his previous club and became a real favourite amongst the fans. Hopefully Collins can replicate engagement Michael Duff had with the fans and give us that much needed Crowd spirit which proved effective last season when we relied on it most.