Barnsley went into the 2012-13 season having only stayed in the Championship due to Portsmouth's administration.
Manager Keith Hill did not have much money to spend in the summer transfer window and had to rely on some shrewd free transfers, such as Tomasz Cywka from Reading and Marlon Harewood from divisional rivals Nottingham Forest.
Key striker Craig Davies remained at the club and Hill would later look to the loan market towards the end of 2012 with some key signings as his side battled to keep their heads above water.
With just over half of the Championship season now gone, Sports Mole takes a closer look at whether Barnsley are on target to survive in the division.
August
Barnsley's season got off to a perfect start in both the League Cup and Championship with a 4-3 win after extra time against Rochdale before a 1-0 home victory against Middlesbrough.
However, the rest of the month was a huge disappointment for the Tykes. They were resoundingly beaten by Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 and Brighton & Hove Albion 5-1 in the space of four days.
Then, just three days later Swansea eliminated them from the second round of the League Cup 3-1.
September
September again started well for Barnsley and the first of the month saw them pick up another 1-0 win against Bristol City despite being down to 10 men.
A 1-1 home draw with Blackpool saw the Tykes' decent start continue and they were clear of the drop zone in 12th at this point.
They were edged out by Blackburn Rovers three days later 2-1, but followed that with a fantastic 5-0 away win at Birmingham City, in which Davies netted four times.
Another home draw, this time against Ipswich Town, saw Barnsley finish the month in 13th, arguably ahead of expectations.
October
However, 13th would be as high as they were to be for the rest of the year as they went down 2-0 at home to struggling Peterborough United at the start of the month.
A 1-0 defeat at Leeds United followed five days later before the two-week break went in their favour as they mustered a smash-and-grab 1-0 at The Valley against Charlton Athletic.
A credible draw against high-flying Crystal Palace hinted at the end of the October loss of form but the final game of the month saw them resoundingly beaten 4-1 at home to Nottingham Forest.
November
The games came thick and fast in November but the results would not go Barnsley's way as the month started with a loss to a solitary Hull City goal.
In another seven days they had two more defeats to their name and no more goals; first they lost 2-0 to Derby County at Pride Park and a 1-0 home defeat to Huddersfield Town which ensured that Barnsley fans were now looking over their shoulders.
The final three games in November ended with two points for Barnsley with 1-1 draws against Bolton Wanderers – which saw Davies's goalscoring return from injury - and Burnley.
Marcus Tudgay and Jonathan Greening arrived on loan in November and the pair would have a say in the games until Christmas. However, by now Barnsley were 20th and on an eight-match run without a win.
December
December started with a thumping 4-1 defeat at Watford followed by a devastating last-minute equaliser a week later from Jamie Vardy that stopped the Tykes taking a famous 2-1 win at Leicester City.
Another disappointing 1-0 defeat followed at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday before they finally picked up another win at the most challenging of away grounds, The Den, courtesy of a last-gasp Tudgay winner.
This result followed by an unfortunate 2-1 home loss to Birmingham left Barnsley in the Championship relegation zone with much work to do in 2013.
Matt Domm
