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Championship club Barnsley put out their starting XI in crossword form

Published 19:57 18 Oct 2016 BST

Tom Victor
Championship club Barnsley put out their starting XI in crossword form

Homesport

It's getting harder and harder for football clubs to be creative.

We've seen Arsenal announce new signings with quizzes, and other clubs reply to the deluge of 'ANNOUNCE [NAME]' tweets by, well, announcing the arrival of that player. That's all well and good for transfers, but what about starting line-ups? It's just 11 names on a teamsheet, right? How can you play around with that besides stylist designs and a mix of fonts? Well, Barnsley have found a way. The Championship club have decided to present their starting XI for the visit of Newcastle United with a crossword puzzle. It's certainly different. https://twitter.com/bfc_official/status/788439335964139524 It's a noble effort, particularly given the inclusion of clues for the 'across' and 'down' entries. We only wish they trusted their fans enough to present the crossword with none of the letters filled in. We are starting to wonder about one thing, though. Have some of the players only made the starting line-up because their names fit well into the puzzle? Is that an extra consideration for manager Paul Heckingbottom beyond working out who fits best into his preferred formation? After all, midfielder Sam Morsy helps provide connecting letters for two of his teammates - has that helped him lock down his place ahead of less lexically flexible squad members? Almost certainly not, in fairness. Still, we can't deny that it's a very interesting way for the Tykes to break from the norm. And fans agreed, in their own unique way. https://twitter.com/adam_cosgr0ve/status/788439474669752320 https://twitter.com/JoeOloughlin98/status/788440210388480001 https://twitter.com/joegreenbfc/status/788441974076542977 https://twitter.com/SaloMinSondon/status/788441758107627520 https://twitter.com/andybfc182/status/788440174917259264 https://twitter.com/fouldymoreskin/status/788441970251296768 https://twitter.com/alexgibbings_/status/788441975032807425 We can't wait to see what they try for their next game. Guess Who? Charades? Pin the tail on the donkey? Catch up with the latest episode of Football Friday Live

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Championship club Barnsley put out their starting XI in crossword form