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It is a much more experienced squad than usual with a number of senior players having the opportunity to get some match action.
Andy Payton will play competitive football for the first time since August and he is joined in the side by Mark McGregor, Gordon Armstrong and Alan Moore.
Stretch Armstrong is returning from injury. He had a hamstring injury at the start of the season but recovered from that and played for the first team as a sub at Sheffield Wednesday at the beginning of October. He has been out since with another unknown injury but is fit again.
Mark McGregor was in the team as recently as last Wednesday against Spurs but was the player sacrificed when Stan changed the system. He didn’t make the squad at all on Saturday and now returns to reserve team action. As does Alan Moore who has spent much of his time on the bench since returning from injury although he came on and played exceptionally well in the farcical game at Grimsby.
Brad Maylett also plays but there is no place for Paul Cook who presumably is the likely candidate to replace the suspended Tony Grant at Rotherham on Saturday.
It is also a welcome return to action for Andrew Leeson, Earl Davis and Andrew Waine who are now all too old to play in the Youth Alliance League. With no reserve games and with them not being part of the fist team squad they have been kicking their heels and training in recent weeks.
The line up tonight is: James Salisbury, Andrew Leeson, Mark McGregor, Earl Davis, Gordon Armstrong, Andrew Waine, Brad Maylett, Joel Pilkington, Andy Payton, Matthew O’Neill, Alan Moore. Subs: Mark Rasmussen, Liam Eves, Damien Hindle, Steven Richardson, Sean Blakey.
Our opponents Barnsley are a club in a major mess and could quite conceivably be out of business by the end of this month, just another seventeen days. Clarets Mad would like to take this opportunity to wish them the best and hope they can find the buyers who will help them continue.
They are a club that looked to be getting things right and they have a very successful academy. Fourteen of the squad for tonight’s game are either members of or have come through that academy with the two exceptions being Mike Flynn and Isaiah Rankin.
Barnsley will line up tonight: Craig Parry, Neil Austin, Robbie Williams, Mike Flynn, Adam Oldham, Carl Barrowclough, Jeremy Christie, Richard Carrington, Leo Bertos, Isaiah Rankin, Griff Jones. Subs: Chris Cox, Marc Shackleton, Sean Greaves, Tom Baker, Nicky Wroe.
Five of this side were substitutes in last night’s LDV Vans Trophy defeat at Bury. Keeper Craig Parry along with Neil Austin and Leo Bertos were not used but the two with the famous showbusiness names Griff Jones and Robbie Williams both played part of the game as replacements for Mike Sheron and Dean Gorre respectively.