Thetownend.com

Barnet are the opposition for Swindon’s next two competitive fixtures. The first meeting is on Tuesday night when Barnet visit the County Ground on for the second leg of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Southern Section Area Final.   

The tie is finely balanced after a 1-1 draw at Underhill last month. 

The winner will face Chesterfield at Wembley in late March, after the Spireites beat Oldham Athletic in the Northern Final.  On Saturday, the Robins’ return to Underhill, this time for League Two action.

‘My Swindon Town Review’ has once again caught up with Barnet fan and blogger Lucy Waldon (@Lucy_BFC) who gives her views on the upcoming cup tie, Barnet’s great run of form, Mark Marshall’s drugs ban and the Bees’ last visit to Wembley...

Visit our blog to read full article http://stfcreview.blogspot.com/2012/02/opposing-view-barnet.html (http://stfcreview.blogspot.com/2012/02/opposing-view-barnet.html)

Doesn't see us as much of a threat.

Silly cow.

Did you see the home game? No

Are you gong to the away game? No

She sounds like the Barnet version of DV based on her match attendance! ;)

I found the complete contradiction at the end rather amusing!

I normally stick up for female bloggers etc. because they get far too much stick but struggling with this one.

I think the only games she has missed this season are the ones with us!

The 'head says complete battering' part?!

The quietly confident bit makes me think the head and heart are a tad confused!

I couldn't be bothered to read it to be honest.

I've tried debating with her in the past but she wouldn't reply when I contested her opinions yet was quick as a flash to retaliate to abuse from others.

YUP - Made some pretty scathing remarks about our fans - I tried to point out that her remarks were a bit of a generalisation and she just retorted with more juvenile abuse!

Stupid bint.

Sounds like a right slut

Some of her anti Di Canio tweets are a fucking embarrassment.

An example of the shit she spouts:
As opposed to having Lawrie Sanchez as your manager.

why should we poo our pants about the prospect of playing Swindon? anyone can beat anyone on their day in this league. Yes by rights the bookies have you as clear favourites (and you will get promoted i have no doubt) but really teams are quite similar in this league. We are looking rock solid at the back with our new loan signings, and always a danger with super Izale up front.

Lucy know's her stuff, and as far as i am aware has been to most games this season, do disagree about Di-canio though, i'd love him as a manager of my team, he is a winner (albeit an attention seeking one!)

Should be a cracking atmosphere, won't be to many from Barnet im afraid (500 max) but i'm looking forward to it, and hopefully some better football will be played than in the first leg!!

No defeat at home since August, no goals conceded since October 8th. Flying in the league. Pretty good reasons to see us as a threat.

Nothing wrong with being confident in your own side, you are on a mightily impressive run of results after all but to not see us as a threat is idiotic. 

based on what evidence?

Bit defensive

Are you boning her?

Exhibiting the same kind of ignorance...

I've got no real issues with her comments. Just your standard rose-tinted football fan.

In fairness to Barnet, their journey to the Area Finals has been just as decent as ours and they didn't get a bye at the start either.

I thought the comments were reasonable also. Any one in a final of sorts should have some confidence.

If we can't beat them with maybe 8000 of us there against their few hundred with our record at home this season I will be truly amazed!

We usually turn it on when on TV too!

COYR

Of course but had this been the other way round and we said we don't see them as a threat, then we'd get deemed a bunch of arrogant Paolo wannabes.

The Barnet fans on their forum do seem extremely confident of beating us, so much so that most arent even bothering coming to the County Ground to watch the game, preferring to save their money for the final, but then I guess they have gone almost 5 games unbeaten in the league!

Actually they have won 4 on the bounce in the league compared to our 5 wins in a row, they have conceded only 1 goal and scored 9 in those 4 games and we have conceded 3 and scored 11 so on paper we are fairly well matched.

But Barnet have only won 4 games on their travels all season in the league drawing 2 and losing 8. Whereas at home we have won 9 drew 2 and lost 1 and only conceding 7 goals in all those games and as mentioned above not let a goal in at home for 6 games.

It wont be a walkover for us by any means but we have to be confident based on those figures, we aren't in the middle of a "flash in the pan" set of results like Barnet are currently, we have consistantly been the best side in this league since the 3rd September, only losing 3 times in 22 matches since then, and if you take into account cup games then thats just 4 defeats in the last 30 games.

Gonna be a lot lot harder than almost every Barnet fan thinks it will be.

Another point I think has been overlooked in the interview....you asked the question
In the regulations any player signed by Barnet after the date of the 1st leg (Jan 10th) are not eligble for the 2nd leg of the tie but would be eligible for the final should Barnet get there.

Does that mean we can't play Rooney?

Or is he cup tied? or signed before?

I've lost count of who can play in what..

Rooney's cup-tied, don't think Bodin is though.

Expect to see De Vita return to the starting line-up tomorrow.

Rooney would not have been eligible to play had he not been cup tied.

Out of our signings, only Benson can play.

Bodin DID play for Torquay in their one game at Cheltenham so is also cup tied.

Ahh, didn't know that.

Wes too i think?

Boateng cannot play as he was signed on loan after the 1st leg tie but could play in the final but I am not 100% certain of how we stand with Murray as his loan period was not concurrent, there were a few days break between his previous loan spell and his signing on the new loan period, I think he will be eligible to play though.

Wes signed for us permanantly before the 1st leg anyway on the 6th January.

Never knew that, Cheers JJ!

Very welcome.....lets hope it weakens thier side considerably!

Is Cox not allowed to play tomorrow then?

Nope signed after the first leg had taken place so not eligible.

From the Football League -

Jack Saville re-signed for them on 2nd February after a loan spell so he's won't be playing then.

From Sky Sports

Sky Sports News is hardly The Gospel of Truth.

I am sure the club wouldn't fuck up that big, cant see the rules changing this season to what they have always been.

We shall see I guess, I am certain the club wouldn't pick an ineligible player.

What a bent rule

I stopped reading when she said Mark Mashall could have been a Championship player had he applied himself. More Mark Morrison by the day.

Mark Morrison probably had a better shot on him

Marshall has more speed though...

Jack Saville, Jordan Obita and Jordan Mustoe are all eligible to play so Barnet will be up to full strength.

The interviewer should have sung "You lied to meeeeeeee!" after she said that!

I swear that blog is just trolling me with that colour scheme now.

Jack Saville on thier website re-signed on 2nd Feb after his loan finished though. I don't know though, stupid rules.

Mustoe? I mentioned him as Wigan's standout player in the FA Cup, great player and surprised he went on loan this low down the pyramid. I quietly hoped we'd have the audacity to get him in to replace the Hudds lad who's name I forget

I thought Obika was at Yeovil?

His is. Barnet have Jordan Obita, who is a winger from Reading.

 :D

Good luck tonight lads. You'll need it.....

 :suicide:

Yes you will.

Er, no we won't. You'll need all the luck because the only way you'll win is if we don't take the game seriously.

We're unbeaten at home since August. Why are these mockneys so convinced they'll turn us over?

Saville played in the 1st game so is probably why he can play tonight.

Obita and mustoe cant play though can they

Apparently yes

  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

Don't be silly we know we probably won't win. We are on form but you will be our toughest test this season. If we go through tonight it will probably be through pens.

Good luck.

To be honest if this was any season in the past 5 years we would probably all be on here saying either:

we always bottle it in cup competitions against "smaller" teams
we always play shit when the TV cameras are in
we always play shit when we have a big home crowd meaning stay away fans continue to stay away.

I still haven't got used to the idea that Paolo has changed that mindset in the players.

Looking forward to a good game tonight, and hoping we finish you off without the need for penalties.

Both teams have gone through after penalties so I'm sure both camps will of had a real good look at takers. A bit of home work seemed to work for us last time so although I hope it doesn't go to pens I would still fancy our chances.

Come on, fellas. If anyone is in any way nervous about beating Barnet tonight, they aint been watching close enough this season.

PdC has not only reshaped an entire team but an entire club - including the fans. Not very long ago everyone was just waiting for us to let a goal in the last 10 mins of virtually every game (which we did). We were expecting the team to fcuk up.

No more

I wouldn't be so confident. Yes you probably will win but we have been fantastic of late and we are a lot better away from home which is the complete opposite to what we were like over the lasdt 4 or 5 years. If we turn up we will give your lot a very tough game. Who knows what will happen but I can sense a good game. Whoever goes through will do the south and League 2 proud. Good luck guys.

We don't have much to lose, everyone expects Swindon to win, rumour has it Mr Di-Canio has sorted out his new deisgner jacket already for Wembley. I am confident we will give you a game, Swindon are probably the best team in the divison, but on our day who knows. Hopefully Swindon will under-estimate us then bottle it, whatever the outcome i am proud of the lads, we are probably the smallest club in the league, and to even be in this position is a testimony to the lads.

heres to a good evening all round, leaving work at 5pm, lets hope the m25 behaves!!!!  :)

I don't think we will bottle it, but not to take a team seriously that is unbeaten in their last 5 is foolish to say the least.

If you win, you will have deserved it*, our home record is excellent and that is probably why you think we are being over confident. Bit its a one off 90 minutes, anything can happen.

* I reserve the right to blame the ref and/or lino.

Just looking at the Swindon v Barnet stats in the Racing Post

In 2006 we won 2-1 with goals from Shakes and Brownlie - who the fcuk was he??

Shakes - little black winger who could run fast and couldn't cross for toffee (actually he was like Mark Marshall, but drug free).

Brownlie - Aussie who got a contract from Wise after a second trial, the first being a couple of seaons before. That goal was a screamer. Sturrock bombed him out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royce_Brownlie

Scored two goals and the other was class also at Wycombe.

I remembered Ricky Shakes OK, but that other fella never registered with me at all.

Having a bet tonite - 28/1 for Barnet to be leading at half-time with Town winning at 90 mins

 :D

Brownlie's goal in that game was an absolute screamer from about 30 yards.

On a postage stamp, top corner, virtually the last minute i think. Dragged my Mrs to that game.

That was my daughters first game. She'd had an MRI scan earlier in the day and we had to back to the hospital the next day for the results. That was a very lucky 24 hours for us. Not something you forget in a hurry.

Barnet were shite again tonight.

There's definitely work to be done for Saturday though.

(I'm allowed to say that on this thread)

what's the reaction from their end? fully justified win for the town?

Really?  A few of their lot looked to be carrying niggles by the end so I think it'll be easier. Hopefully they'll be a little deflated as well.

Don't worry...Rooney's back for that !!

I'm always more cautious when he get double-headers like this.

But the fact that we have Rooney, Bodin, Cox, Boateng all capable of coming in warms my fragile little mind.

De Vita had the beating of their left back on several occasions so would expect Rooney to have a field day.

Chalkies...keep smiling.

Really? I thought they did alright.

Tonight had late Barnet equaliser wrote all over it. Luckily that didn't happen!

They were much better than last time, particularly at the back. Brought more fans than I thought. Fair play.

I thought Barnet were poor again.  Much better organised than last time but no real threat.
Unlike most teams at the CG of late they didn't park the bus but having gone behind fairly early they were chasing most of the game.
Having said that they were no threat, I still wasn't convinced that we'd not concede and go out on pens until about the 94th minute - old habits die hard.

also - impressed by their fans - i wasn't expecting more than a token effort but they seemed to turn out in reasonable numbers and got behind their team well.

We deserved to win, but Barnet were nowhere near the worst team we have played this season.

They didn't look particularly dangerous, in fact you got the feeling they didn't believe they could win, but they made it difficult especially in the second half.

Hopefully we can go there on Saturday & get three more points, but like tonight it won't be easy.

Was with you all the way there! Its hard to forget whats gone before!!!!

They were also largely complimentary about us on their web forums too. I feel a bit sorry for them, not enough not to want to go to Wembley, but we are fortunate in that we do have the resources to yoyo around the bottom leagues with Championship football not an unrealistic goal in the medium term. Poor old Barnet won't get the same opportunities to get success. Then I remembered their manager was Lawrie Sanchez, and all sympathy vanished.

Obviously we'll be wanting those 3 point on Saturday too !

Even if you are Real Madrid or AC Milan let alone Swindon, one goal is never enough though. It doesn't matter how good you are or how much better you are than the other team or how poor they might be. The opposition can always sneak one out of nowhere through a momentary lapse of concentration, bizarre refereeing decision or total flook.

It was an extremely comfortable victory in hindsight but at the time all of those above factors are on your mind which did make things pretty nervous towards the end.

I refused to sing "Wembley...Wembley" until the final whistle. Was convinced we had 5000 or so jinxes. But thankfully Barnet didn't seem to have self belief and we didn't let them bother our goal.

 :cry:

Well done guys. I'd usually be bitter about a defeat but I have no complaints about the game. You were easily the better team on the night and you quite clearly deserved to go through. We hardly turned up and it wasn't helped when Charlie f*cking Taylor makes a challenge like the one he made.

good luck at Wembley....

 :bye:

Cheers BeeArmy, see you Saturday for the 3352512526262nd time this season  ;)

Bee Army, just like to say well done to the Barney fans. It looked like there were about 600 or 700  there last night which is about 40% or thereabouts of your normal home support. Not bad for a freezing tues night, 110 miles or so away.
I am personally glad you never really turned up, didnt make a good specatacle from what I hear from the guys who wathed on tele, but I was happy, was nervous enough as it was...
anyway, good luck for rest of season, stride on now and push the pox out of that last play off place...apart from sat obviously..

 :clap: :clap:

Tidy little outfit are Barnet,though didn't think the goalie was Brill ;)

Their goalkeeper is a waste of a shirt, and Kamdjo is the worst professional footballer I have seen in my entire life

[url width=286 height=500]http://images.wikia.com/lyricwiki/images/5/50/Barney-the-dinosaur.jpg[/url]

Kamdjo is comfortably comparable to Ricky Shakes in his ineptitude with a football.

I have spent most of our previous two games with Barnet laughing at this performances at right back.

I laughed pretty loud when I saw him in at centre mid on Tuesday.

Saturdays game is now called off.

No complaints about tuesday night, the movement of your front 3 was different level and we couldn't cope. Good luck in the final, enjoyable evening nevertheless. We looked solid, but offered nothing in the final 3rd, with izale always isolated. Kamajo has been pretty decent this season believe it or not! Few more bees turned up than expected (good considering it was freezing cold and on sky!!) and your away bar is class (was tempted to sod the game off and carry on the banter with the bar maid).

good luck for the rest of the season (apart from at Underhill ofcourse!)

ps Di-canio is an annoying pr*ick! but you just can't help liking him!!!

He'd probably be less annoying if you spent less time watching him...

you sir, are an absolute genius  :D