1. Why you were looking forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may be):

Though I've been to Oakwell many times over the years, this was the FA Cup 3rd Round, and so it was a 'must see'. However, our away form has been abysmal in recent times, so in honesty, we were hoping for at most a battling draw, and at worst a heavy defeat which could easily have brought further calls for the head of our manager, Paul Merson.

2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking:

The trip is straightforward enough, and takes a little under a couple of hours. Traffic was relatively light both on the motorway and in Barnsley itself. I parked on what I presume was a dedicated Away Car Park which was shared by the Official Coaches from Walsall.

3. What you did before the game pub/chippy.... home fans friendly?

The Home fans seemed friendly enough around the ground. I have ventured in to the centre before, though I didn't on the day of this game. On advice from around the internet I avoided the majority of local pubs, instead drinking at the local sports centre which had a decent bar, though it was absolutely packed - mainly by away fans - by half past one.

4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground:

I've always been a fan of Oakwell, especially since they redeveloped the North Stand. Its always cold though! So Wrap up warm! Their main stand and floodlights are a great throwback to the old days, and it was great to see a club keep their traditional floodlights rather than opt for the modern style. The Away Stand is massive, and our 600 strong support struggled to make it look full. However, I have noted that there are great acoustics in the away stand, another rarity in modern stands.

5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc..

The game itself was high paced and kept the atmosphere bubbling. The stewards seemed more over-zealous in the home end, as a chap was thrown out within 10 minutes of the start. There was one incident in the away end as a Walsall fan was warned for banging his seat, but all in all, the stewards kept themselves to themselves and did theIr job when they needed to.

Walsall fans are something of an enigma - deafeningly quiet at home, deafeningly loud away, and they certainly made the most noise of the two sets of fans. However, there were only 6,500 fans in what is a rather large ground, and the weather was grotty. Having attended many Walsall - Barnsley games, I know they follow a similar pattern to ourselves - quiet at home, noisy away. The food was fine, though I thought a little pricy. 80p for a Yorkie and over a pound for a smallish portion of chips. Pies were about £2.80 I think. As you would expect in a new stand, facilities were perfectly adequate, though the away end betting office was situated outside of the concourse, involving a trip out in to the rain.

6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game

Once out of the car park we were back on the motorway in no time, however, the away supporters car park was very full and took a good 20 minutes to get moving.

7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out

A day out in Yorkshire can be a mixed bag - from the excellent in Sheffield, to the more depressing in Rotherham! Barnsley is a nice alternative, which is complemented by a nice ground to go to and nice people to chat to.