In the days leading up to this game, Stan Ternent had told the press that although he knew that Burnley fans didn't always agree with his decisions, he believed that they trusted him. Well I'm sorry Stan, but some of your decisions in this game were laughable, plain barmy in fact, and recently you've been making more and more of these barmy decisions.
We went into this match having won just one of the last eight, courtesy of Paul Weller's last gasp effort at Watford. Both the team and the supporters were in desperate need of a morale-boosting win in this, the first of two consecutive home games.
With the injury crisis finally beginning to clear up, Ternent had almost a full squad to choose from, and with his side entertaining mid-table Nottingham Forest, who had had to offload three of their top players in the last fortnight, surely this was as good an opportunity as we would get? Well, you'd be wrong. Whatever possessed Ternent to play 4-5-1 we'll never know. Out went Ian Moore amidst rumours of a bust-up following his substitution at Rotherham the previous Tuesday, and in came Tony Grant – Tony lightweight bloody Grant! Surely this was an opportunity to attack a side lacking in confidence and not even certain whether they would have a team next season?
It's just never that simple, is it? We played 4-5-1, a defensive system – flood the midfield leaving one man up front to plough a lonely furrow. Allegedly this tactic involves the midfield pushing up in support of said lonely furrow, but in truth for the first half most of them didn't appear to know what they were doing. Alan Moore was probably the most consistent performer of the half – consistently passing to a white shirt that is. Glen Little was finding it difficult to get into the game and had a quiet day, Paul Weller failed to lift himself to the heights of his recent performances, and even Kevin Ball was out of sorts, failing to commit any sort of foul. Oh and then there's Tony Grant. He played his usual game – nuff said!
The game got off to a lively start and Burnley attacked from the kick-off, but Forest proved what a good counter-attacking side they are as they broke with Harewood, who should have done better than find the side netting from ten yards. We were restricted to hoofing a series of hopeful crosses in the general direction of Gareth Taylor, who with no other option would simply head wide, over, or into the goalkeeper's hands. It is surely a sign of the strength of our squad that we can afford to keep £2 million-worth of strikers on the bench while the team labours – or could it be that the manager wanted to prove a point to Moore?
The game settled into a pattern: we would attack, the attack would break down, and Forest would counter-attack roared on by their vociferous 300 fans (yes, they out-sang the 15,000 Clarets at the mausoleum that passes for Turf Moor these days). Forest were the better side; Harewood was put through later in the half and rounded Beresford (who had come storming out of his area), only to see Arthur block his shot on goal. Arthur had one of those typically barmy games – he produced some sublime skill, including one back-heel which started a Burnley attack, and went on many a barnstorming run – but at times showed his inexperience. This, of course, is only to be expected, as his footballing education is not yet complete. Ian Cox, meanwhile, appears to have lost the plot. He was caught in possession on the edge of his area and was lucky to survive, and his general play is shoddy at times. Anyway, half time, 0-0. Forest on top, Burnley looking like a side really struggling for form.
Ternent decided to be radical at half time, bringing off Grant and replacing him with Robbie 'Stomach Strain' Blake. Now I'm sure that Blake will be a big hit when he's fit, but it's patently obvious to everyone but the manager and the Turf Moor medical staff that he's not. Surely it would be better to get the lad fully fit before trying to play him? This would benefit him and the team in the long run. I would be interested to know what passes for a medical at Turf Moor these days, as I'm convinced that not a lot of clubs would have paid a million for a crock. Smacks of desperation to me. Maybe if we'd been prepared to pay the money earlier in the season we could have got him when he was fit.
Needless to say Stan's radical 4-4-2 formation didn't last long, with the boy Blake limping off after a mere 20 minutes to be replaced by… Gordon Armstrong! Yes, we were obviously after a point. The second half followed a similar pattern to the first. Attacks broke down and Forest counter-attacked all the time gaining confidence. One Forest attack had Harewood running right through the Clarets defence only for the finish to let him down. He finally got his real chance when he was tripped by Arthur. Was it a penalty? Well, there wasn't a huge amount of complaining from the Clarets, so I'd say yes, and Harewood duly stepped up to put Forest ahead – deservedly.
Ternent had to change it, and he did. On came Moore and off went Cox, with Armstrong dropping from midfield into defence. It was simply too little too late, as by this time Forest had had 70 minutes of confidence building and were actually very comfortable. Ternent has tried to say in the press that we were the better side – don't believe it. More tellingly, he comments that we deserved the point – he's right, we did, but a point is not good enough against mid-table sides lacking in confidence without their best players. The fact that Ternent was so pleased with the point is worrying. Also worrying is the fact that he was so negative at home. Our success this season has been built upon attacking football, and it is only since Ternent has tinkered with the side and its tactics that we have begun to struggle. Admittedly some of the changes have been forced upon him, but we now have a full squad available apart from NTG and Steve Davis and yet he chooses to ignore the formations that have given so much success for a defensive 4-5-1.
Returning to the game, we got the point Stan so desperately wanted after Arthur rose unmarked to head in Lee Briscoe's free kick with two minutes remaining. Even this failed to galvanise Burnley, and it was Forest who ended the match on top. So another two points go begging and we fall further behind the pace. Gone are our much-vaunted games in hand, and we haven't gained on anybody.
All is not rosy in the Clarets' kitchen. Let's have a go, Stan. If we aren't good enough to go up or even get into the play-offs, let's at least have a bloody good go.
Ternent's tinkering fuels Forest's fire