What a relief it was to be travelling to a
game in the North on a train that had nothing to do with Richard Branson. GNER’s
performance recently, while by no means perfect, certainly puts Virgin to shame, and so we
were hopeful of arriving in Doncaster for our connection at something approximating to
‘on time’. Obviously, other London Clarets were of the same opinion, and it was
good to see a high turnout compared to other recent trips.
We soon realised, however, that this faith was misplaced. We arrived late
into Doncaster, narrowly missing the connection to Cleethorpes, and so the planned pub
crawl around Grimsby had to be shelved. We consoled ourselves with a couple of quick pints
in the Masons Arms and the Black Bull before making our way onwards to Cleethorpes.
It wasn’t until we were travelling through Lincolnshire that I
realised just how flat and uninspiring it actually was. You couldn’t imagine
Constable setting up his easel anywhere round here, but there are a few RAF bases, so it
has its uses. Anyway, I shouldn’t be so disparaging: Burnley’s record in this
county is nothing special.
As we reached the outskirts of Scunthorpe and passed the football ground,
people’s thoughts obviously drifted back to that glorious day last May. That is to
say other people’s thoughts. For my own part, I wasn’t there, but soaking up the
sun in the Bahamas. This holiday had been booked in January when it seemed the best we
could hope for was a play-off place and so the timings were arranged around this possible
outcome to the season. There could never be any consolation in missing that game, but to
add insult to injury, we came up to Scunthorpe to watch the recent FA Cup 3rd
round replay only for that to be called off at a late hour. It seems I’m destined
never to visit Glanford Park – some would say that’s no bad thing – but at
least all the other travelling London Clarets were quick to offer words of sympathy and
consolation (NOT!).
Within minutes of leaving the train, we were on the sea front. One of the
first things that struck me about Cleethorpes was its tweeness. It resembles a typical
British seaside resort but on a smaller scale and without the usual level of dilapidation,
but it was quaint nonetheless.
Willy's Pub was the pre-match watering hole, where we partook of several
fine guest beers before making our way to Blundell Park. This ground is typical of many of
the smaller clubs in the English League, exhibiting a blatant disregard for away fans. It
has cramped seating, poor views of the pitch, disgraceful toilets, and catering facilities
that serve poor quality food at extortionate prices. All this for the bargain price of
£14.
Once I’d shoe-horned myself into my seat and been mistaken for a
Burnley Express reporter not once but twice, I thought about the game in the few minutes
before the players came onto the pitch. If current form is anything to go by, a dazzling
spectacle of football didn’t really seem on the cards with two of the poorest teams
in the division facing each other. I have to admit that a point would have been more than
welcome, just to stop the worrying slide. The only consolation to come out of the last few
games is that we’re still in tenth place. God knows how, as we’d only managed to
collect four out of a possible 27 points recently.
Burnley lined up as follows:
Moore
Michopoulos
Subs: Crichton, Cook, Payton, Mellon,
Maylett
It was good to see Thomas back, but again Ball was missing, presumably
still suffering from illness along with Paul Cook, who could only make the bench after his
bout of flu. This meant that the midfield had a very unusual look to it, and so it
appeared Armstrong would provide cover by playing a holding role in front of the defence.
Obviously, playing this system meant that there was room for only one striker, namely
Moore.
One potential fly in the ointment appeared in the guise of the referee,
Uriah Rennie. A man known for his propensity to book players for very little, he seems to
court controversy with some weird decision-making. Alan Shearer can vouch for that.
The first twenty minutes of the game were dominated by the Clarets in
terms of possession and territory, but, as has frequently been the case recently, we
lacked a cutting edge in and around the box. It has been said before but it is becoming
increasingly apparent that we need a striker who can win the ball in the air and also hold
the ball up. Rumour has it that Gareth Taylor is about to sign from Man City on loan.
Shame he didn’t play today.
Grimsby gradually forced their way back into the game and only some good
defending, firstly from Thomas and then by Branch, averted a couple of dangerous attacks.
On the 23-minute mark, Michopoulos caused the Clarets' fans a few
palpitations when he came out to punch the ball but only made minimal contact. The ball
fell at the feet of a Grimsby player only a few yards in front of Michopoulos who struck
the ball hard and true, but too close to the Greek keeper, who redeemed himself with a
solid save.
One of the highlights of the first half was a terrific block tackle by
Thomas, which forced the Grimsby player to soar through the air like one of the local
seagulls. However, not long after this, Thomas found his way into Rennie’s book for
deliberate hand-ball, and so would have to tread carefully for the remainder of the game.
On 36 minutes came our best chance of the game so far. A ball over the top
from Little found Moore on the right in space. He bore down on goal, but with only the
keeper to beat lifted the ball high and wide. A few minutes later, Moore had another
decent chance when he rose unchallenged to meet a Thomas cross, but his timing was all
wrong and the ball went harmlessly wide off the top of his head.
On the stroke of half-time Grimsby had their best chance when ex-b?!tard
Livingstone went close with a shot.
Half-time: Grimsby Town 0 Burnley 0.
The second half started in brighter fashion and we had a gilt edged
opportunity to take the lead within two minutes of the restart. A ball over the top from
Thomas found Moore who turned his defender and ran into the box before delivering a great
cross to the far post. Davis, unmarked and with the goal gaping only about four yards in
front of him, somehow managed to head wide. The whole of the away end went up expecting
the net to bulge and then just stared blankly in disbelief. Davis himself could hardly
believe he’d missed.
Grimsby then put together a couple of attacks of their own. The first
ended when a header was well blocked by Cox, and the second produced a shot that narrowly
went past Michopoulos’ left-hand upright.
On 55 minutes Grimsby took the lead. From a corner, the whole of the
Burnley defence was suckered into believing the delivery would be to the front post and
all moved in that direction. This left acres of space at the back post and when the ball
evaded everyone, the unmarked Enhua, a Chinese centre-half, had the easiest of headers.
Ian Moore had an opportunity to level the scores when he was again played
through, but succeeded only in running into trouble and losing possession without even
troubling the keeper. His confidence appeared to be visibly draining, and with only two
goals to his name in a Claret shirt, he is beginning to wilt under the pressure of that
£1million price tag.
Burnley made two substitutions in quick succession. Cook came on for
Johnrose, who’d been very disappointing, and Payton came on for Cox. The latter
decision seemed a strange one. Armstrong seemed the obvious choice to make way as his
holding role had become largely redundant, but as we pressed forward looking for the
equaliser, Cox’s pace at the back may well have been needed to cover any Grimsby
counter attacks. Judging from the way he stomped off the pitch and down the tunnel, he
didn’t agree with the decision either.
For the final 25 minutes, it was almost constant Burnley pressure but,
with Little being well marked by his opposite full back, there was very little (no pun
intended) in the way of flair and creativity. Moore had a half chance but went down too
easily under pressure from Grimsby defenders, Davis produced a good header from a Cook
free kick which went close and Payton’s control let him down when well placed after a
poor defensive clearance. The 70th minute substitution of the ineffective John
Mullin for Brad Maylett failed to improve things, as did playing Davis as an extra striker
for the final ten minutes.
The final whistle came and put us out of our misery.
All in all, this was a very disappointing performance; probably our worst
of the season so far, and we couldn’t even blame Rennie who, it has to be said, had a
reasonable game. We had the lion’s share of possession and a distinct territorial
advantage over our unambitious hosts, but produced little quality to make it count. Too
many players underperformed, with Mullin, Armstrong and Johnrose the main culprits, but
also Weller was less effective in a central role. We’re also developing a worrying
tendency to concede soft goals at crucial times, but, hopefully, the return of Ball and
Lee Briscoe (remember him?) will help remedy this. Clearly, goal scoring is also a
problem, with only a handful of clubs in this division scoring fewer. So, if Taylor is
available on loan, he’s probably worth a gamble.
On the way back to the station, we thought we’d sample Cleethorpes
fish and chips, which are meant to be amongst the best. Unfortunately, there was no cod
and the chips were limp and greasy, which, I suppose, summed up our mood.
Oh well, at least we can look forward to the visit of high-spending,
high-flying, free-scoring Fulham on Tuesday night…
