At least Brek Shea, having extended his loan at Barnsley, is still playing regularly. That’s more than we’d be saying had the U.S. winger gone back to Stoke City at the end of his original loan spell, which was to expire Feb. 1. There, he might be lucky to make the 18-man game day roster.
But we probably can’t say too much more than that on the positive side after Barnsley lost a 2-0 lead at home in the dying minutes Saturday, splitting the points with Ipswich.
Oh, and Shea was subtracted at halftime – never a good thing.
No word as yet on why, although perhaps it was tactical. As a big wind had assisted the Reds in gaining that early 2-0 advantage, manager Danny Wilson may have sought a bit more defensive mettle. That in itself may even be something of an indictment.
Either way, Barnsley remains firmly affixed to the relegation zone, four points from safety. If Shea can do his part to keep the club in England’s second tier, he will have achieved something quite worthy.
