Barnsley, as a Saddler what can you say? Rotherham’s terrible twin?

The typically styled “good news/bad news” half-time phone call home can often begin with “ at least you’re not here, now for the bad news”.

Unless you alight the train with a tongue like Ghandi’s flip-flop then don’t bother with the town centre, life’s too short to start with, and can get potentially shorter wandering around the pubs near the station. Don’t get me wrong, there are a couple of good pubs in Barnsley but they are out of the way in the “old town”, and as you are faced with a 20 minute walk anyway just don’t bother is my advice.

If you must, then the Courthouse Station is at least adjacent but there the good news ends.

I’m afraid it doesn’t get much better! Near the ground, especially if parking at the leisure centre, you would be well advised just to go in Rigby’s bar in the Britas Empire style centre itself. It’s away friendly and serves a good selection of beer (including Stella and Kronie) provided you don’t mind paying slightly high prices and the smell of chlorine.

The staff are really nice, but real beauty is as you walk out, down a hill two minutes to the away end.

“Tip” do not walk immediate left upon exiting as you need to walk straight out and left where you see the service road; it’s very embarrassing if you don’t!

If you fancy a trip back in time then walk to the home end and try The Mount on the corner of Pontefract Road. Unsurprisingly it’s very home orientated, but not exclusively home fans as a couple of years ago.

I went in before and after the match last season and had no problems, the beer is incredibly cheap (dark Magnet and Sam Smiths) and the locals were what I would describe as “curiously” friendly. Their curiosity seemed to centre on the fact that I wasn’t bald or at least 20 stone in weight. I felt a bit like Richard Dreyfus in the landing scene of Close Encounters. Thankfully none of the occupants got round to actually feeling my hair, Sky-Sports proving an adequate distraction (just).

Rather annoyingly last season beer was not available in the away end, despite the existence of a bar, but hopefully a rethink may have occurred, as the way we usually play at Oakwell demands a half-time slurp.