When the fixtures for this season came out, I
remember looking at the first few and thinking that we had a very tough start. Four of the
first five fixtures are against teams that have been in the Premiership in the last two
seasons, and hence have the benefit of the parachute money. In discussion with Woody he
suggested that seven points from those five games would be a good return and I agreed with
that. This meant that arguably our easiest game of the opening sequence was Saturday's
game at the New Den. A frightening prospect and a sign of the new standards that we have
set and the level we have now achieved.
The first two results against Sheff Wed and Wimbledon had seen us almost
reach that five game points mark. The performances had been sound and very professional,
but both could have been very different if Wednesday had taken a couple of half chances
before we scored or Wimbledon hadn't gifted us three goals. That's not to say we didn't
play well or deserve the wins, but the ability to take the chances offered is crucial, as
Tuesday's result against Rushden showed. Even though, by all accounts, the Clarets played
badly, they created enough chances to win the game.
Saturday in London was very hot, with temperature soaring into the 80's
and the humidity levels much higher than normal. This was not a day for football, and
fitness could prove a crucial factor; with Clarets having the more experienced side, shall
we say, would we run out of steam? The choice of The Mad Hatter for the meeting pub was
therefore excellent, as the bar was air conditioned and the food and London Pride superb.
A splendid start to the day and discussion was whether Briscoe would be
fit and how Stan would decide to deal with Ifill, Millwall's right winger and star player
on our last visit two years ago. Archie No-hair was apparently one of the few bright spots
from Tuesday, and I wondered if Stan would prefer him to Armstrong for his extra pace.
Becko suggested experience was the key and with Briscoe fit, Alan Moore would move to the
bench. Once again Becko called it correctly and that is precisely how Stan named his
starting line up:
NTG
West Davis Cox Armstrong
Little Cook Ball Briscoe
Taylor Moore (I)
Subs: Cennamo, Moore (A), Ellis, Payton and Archie
Don't tend to take notice of the opposition, especially when I don't
bother to purchase a programme, but Ifill was there, Sadlier and the evergreen Claridge up
front and Cahill, who had caused all sorts of problems at Turf Moor in the 4-3 game was
playing. Star striker Neil Harris is still out, suffering from testicular cancer but the
ex-scouser Tony Warner was in goal.
I have to say that I like the New Den. It's a nice compact ground and
affords an excellent view of the pitch. For some reason we had been put in the one half of
the stand rather than in the central third, and this put us a bit near to the home stand,
which was to prove a problem later on. For the moment, they contented themselves by
turning their dazzling white torsos into bright pink ones and occasionally trying to taunt
the away end. If somebody can please explain why, when the game is in progress, some fans
would actually prefer to look at the opposition fans and sing at them could they let me
know? It makes no sense whatsoever to me but is it because they are not interested in
football?
Meanwhile we were sat in the cooler shade and seeing an interesting match
with some good passages of play, but very little end result from either side. Armstrong
seemed to be coping well with Ifill, who was playing quite deep, and Glen was also
struggling to get into the game. Much like Sheff Wed, Millwall started in lively fashion
backed by their baying fans and won a couple of early corners, but Nik was largely
untroubled, apart from having to come out of his area to head the ball away.
As the half wore on the pace naturally slowed and players took every
opportunity to take on water. In a surprise move that I assume was purely tactical, Alan
Moore replaced Armstrong and Briscoe moved to left back. The new arrival immediately
provided a bit more attacking impetus, and flashed a shot wide of the angle. Before half
time he had managed another two attempts, whilst NTG only had to field a tame long range
effort and watch a couple of free kicks sail by.
Nil-Nil at half time and a fair reflection of the play, with Burnley
having slightly the better of the few chances on offer. Glen had flitted in and out of the
play and even drifted to the left, but struggled to get into the game. The back four had
looked very solid, and Taylor was doing well up front, despite the referee favouring the
defenders in their tussles. Ian Moore was having a quiet day, but Alan looked lively, and
Cook and Ball were both having quietly effective games in the middle.
If anybody doubts that Paul Cook should be in the Burnley team, just keep
an eye on him for ten minutes or so during the next game. His work rate is fantastic,
hustling and harrying when we haven't got the ball, and always making himself available to
the defence for the easy ball as soon as we win it back. He's probably fitter now than he
ever has been, and you wonder if he had the same attitude and application when he was
younger how good he could have been. Perhaps I've got him wrong and he has always been
this dedicated, but it seemed when he first arrived at Turf Moor he was the touch player
capable of delivering match winning passes, and the playmaker, but sometimes a bit of a
luxury. It will be interesting to see what Stan does when Weller is fit again, as I think
Cook is well worth his place at the moment.
The half time arrangements were not too great, as the food and beer were
all bought from the same couple of bars, so some of our numbers were left frustrated in
their attempts to get the hallowed balti pies by people buying fizzy lager in plastic
glasses. Yet there were bars for 'beer sales only' that remained shut up. Perhaps more
fans turned up than expected, but it doesn't seem to make good business sense that people
who want to spend money can't. Also what do the catering staff do during the game? Sales
will be relatively few compared to half time, so why not send some of them out to get
orders from people in their seats? Charge slightly more for the privilege, of course, and
you are onto a winner. The other option would be to have a bar that deals in pre-ordered
food and drink. Order it and pay for it before the game and simply have it ready at half
time for collection. (Wonder where that idea came from?)
The second half was a much livelier affair in terms of goalmouth action as
the Clarets defended the goal in front of us. After a few early exchanges a calamitous mix
up in the left back area of the Millwall defence between defender and goalkeeper gifted
Ian Moore the opening goal, as he slid the ball into the empty net. Cue away end
celebration and much hugging, followed by 'Tom Hark' (sung rather than played over the PA)
and 'Who are ya?' chants at the Millwall fans.
Stan's almost immediate response was to go to a 4-5-1 formation, with
Archie No-Hair replacing the subdued Little, Briscoe joining the centre of midfield and
Ian Moore moving to the right. Millwall then came at us but generally the defence stood
firm. Claridge showed all his guile and experience, twisting and turning with his back to
goal, but fired his shot wide. He then headed a far post cross from the right wing against
the outside of the post from a very narrow angle, and the away end breathed a collective
sigh of relief. The Clarets were now playing on the counter attack with Taylor attempting
to hold the ball up and look for support, mainly from anyone called Moore. It was working
quite well, and after interplay from Alan Moore, Archie and I think it was Paul Cook, Alan
Moore raced behind the Millwall rearguard and fired a shot across Tony Warner. It hit the
inside of the post and sailed, almost in slow motion, across the goal. Was it going in or
coming out? It was the wrong angle and too far away to tell. As the soon as the net moved
we were celebrating again. No-one more so than Archie, who was dancing a jig with his
shirt pulled over his head. This man will soon surpass NTG in cult status, which proceeded
to add to by smashing the ball at great speed into the Millwall stand to our left.
Sadlier hit the bar and we somehow scrambled the ball away. Millwall had
lots of possession in our half but were struggling to find a way through the massed Claret
ranks. Their best route was from a succession of free kicks that were lobbed into the box,
but Davis, NTG and even Taylor got vital touches to avert further real danger.
Archie then went on a fantastic run down the left wing and at one point
looked like he was through on goal, but was forced a bit wide and was left faced by a
defender near the by-line. All I could hear was Firmo behind me laughing and saying 'He
doesn't know what to do now' and so it proved, as he tried a pullback that went straight
to a Millwall player.
The final piece of real action was bizarre to say the least. Cox, faced by
a forward, blocked the ball as it was chipped up on the edge of the box. The fans all
screamed handball; none of the players re-acted. The referee blew his whistle and gave it.
What we didn't need now was a free kick right on the edge of the box. Then it dawned us
that the referee had given a penalty and Claridge was placing the ball on the spot. Davis
went straight to the linesman to see if he could see that it was outside the box like
everybody else in the ground. A Millwall player was in close attendance and eventually the
referee went across, consulted the linesman and changed his decision to a free kick. As
the wall was lining up the linesman stepped onto the pitch and signalled to the referee
again. Again, he came over, and this time the Millwall player was summoned and given his
marching orders, presumably for verbal abuse.
The free kick came to nothing and the game then petered out as Ellis came
on for the last few minutes in place of Ian Moore, and proceeded to run the ball into the
corners and waste as much time as possible. By this time, the Millwall fans in the stand
to our left were baying for blood and had gathered in the near corner, and started
throwing what I can only assume were glass bottles at the away end, so our departure,
after much well deserved applause for the team, was accompanied by the sound of breaking
glass. At this point I would like to ask where the stewards and police were? There were
none in evidence in the home stand and the fans did whatever they pleased.
Leaving the ground was equally fraught, as objects were hurled over fences
and some Burnley fans responded by taunting the Millwall fans across the police barricade.
They probably then went home on their coaches to leave us to run the gauntlet of getting
home via the tube. I won't say how we got back as we may need to go there again, but we
were very quiet until everybody made it safely to the meeting pub.
Good performance, great result and although many people voted Cox as the
Man of the Match, I went for Briscoe for stifling Ifill (had to get that in somewhere!).
And finally, the reason for the title? As well as being a sarcastic comment to the
Millwall lowlife (I hasten to add that is not all of their fans, just people who think
throwing bottles is an appropriate response to losing a football match) it was the number
one song in the UK in April/May 1976, when Burnley were last in a higher position than
this - and we were in the top division then.
Must go as I've got to get to Burnley for the game against 'Kevin Keegan's
Man City', the 'biggest team in the League' and obviously 'our Cup Final'.
Save all
your kisses