Another Huge Test

We were given a good hiding on the opening day of the season, there's no doubt about that.

Yes we had our fair share of chances and were unlucky not to have a penalty ourselves. And yes the scoreline somewhat flattered QPR a little, but we defended poorly.

Now we have the chance to put that right at home to a different team of promotion hopefuls in the form of Middlesbrough.

My gut tells me we can beat them. We seem to have strengthened upon last year and, without touching upon what Middlesbrough have done in the transfer market, we beat them here last time so why can't we do it again?

This game on Saturday could possibly be indicative of the kind of season we're going to have this time round. So far we've one of everything. A win, a draw and a loss.

So where we go from here is going to be very interesting indeed. The tables only matter after 8 or 10 games, but a win over Middlesbrough could see us as high as the play-off spots, whereas defeat could place us in the bottom six.

We seem to do well against the bigger teams in the league, especially at Oakwell. I'm thinking about the 3-1 victory over WBA last year, the last minute win over Cardiff City, not to mention the 2-0 win at their new stadium.

We could be in for a tough game on Saturday, with Middlesbrough desperate to catch the leading pack, but if we can stamp our authority on the game early, get the crowd behind us and play to our strenghts, we could be heading for the dizzy heights ourselves.

Looking at it for an instant, as objectively as I possibly can (not very), my money will be on Barnsley.

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