Four Exclamation Marks!!!!

Our Oakwell neighbours are getting indecently excited about the opening match of the season.. of course, it's a massive game for them!

The annocunement that their opponents on opening day will be Wednesday, at Hillsborough, sent the Barnsley official web site into exclamation mark overload.. see what I mean?

Barnsley boss Simon Davey hopped up and down like an excited little kid for a while before making this statement: 'Obviously it would have been nice to start the new season here at Oakwell with a home game but we going straight into a massive South Yorkshire derby and one we are all really looking forward to.'

On the official Owls site, Owls gaffer Brian Laws commented: 'I think it is a fantastic fixture to start the season and it is important for us to be at home. It will also be important for us to get off to a good start and if we can do that against one of our local rivals then all the better!'

'All the derby matches seem to be well spread-out through the season, which they weren't last year so that will provide lots of interest for our fans. We didn't get the results we wanted against Barnsley last season so it is good that we have an opportunity to redress that on the first day of the new campaign.'

He had further comment to make on the bigger challenges to come: 'It's good to see that we have a derby against Sheffield United early in the season too... Playing the first match against the Blades at Bramall Lane will be a stern test and will make the 'double-double' very difficult!'

'The fact that we are playing Newcastle at home on Boxing Day is also a great fixture to look forward to and almost guarantees a sell-out crowd.'

'I have been looking forward to seeing the fixture list for some time now and I certainly haven't been disappointed.'

Amen to that, Brian. We can't wait for the new season to begin.

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