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Gigg Lane friendly (very friendly!)
Bury 1 Burnley 1
Report by Trippo
I was one of just over 1850 who trailed along to Gigg Lane today to watch the above. I must admit I went as much to support Bury’s survival efforts (which I understand is why Stan organised the game) as with any hope of seeing any decent football. This is just as well, as the proceedings appeared even more half-paced and cosy than was Wednesday’s effort against Bolton.
Like a fool I bought a programme; another altruistic gesture on my part. I realised long ago that any hopes of getting any worthwhile team information out of these glossy magazines (that handle rather gives the game away, doesn’t it) are futile. On Wednesday the Burnley mag gave a list of players' names for each side but no numbers, whilst the actual players' shirts had numbers but no names! Bury went one better. They did have numbers in the mag, but these bore no relation to those that the players were actually wearing when they came out! To make matters worse the Bury PA announced all the Bury substitutions but none of Burnley’s. This was extremely frustrating as Stan put on at least two players who I have not seen before (perm any two from Andrew Waine, Andrew Leeson, and someone called O’Neill who I’m told we may have signed!) amongst his ten or so subs. (Please note that this tally does not include the two Moores, who both went off and came back on again.)
Anyway. Burnley lined up as (4-2-4): NTG, Fred, The Legend, Broomes, Branch, Grant, Briscoe, Glen, I. Moore, Taylor, A. Moore. This now appears to be more or less Stan’s preferred line-up. It was the one he began with against both Bolton and today, except that today Broomes was in for the injured King Arthur. Broomsie now seems to have the edge over Cox for some reason, and so I made a special point of watching him today. I must say that he struck me as steady in defence and an accurate passer, and perhaps Stan thinks he is slightly more reliable than Cox (who seemed a bit more accident prone last season than the previous one). I think though that he might be short of pace, which is why he didn’t make it in the Premiership. I also noticed that when the Legend went off he gave his captain’s armband to Broomes.
Burnley started briskly with both Ian Moore and Glen making openings down the right that came to nothing. Although Broomes then got forward to fluff a shot he should have at least got on target, and Ian Moore then forced their keeper to make a decent save. It wasn’t long however before Bury were applying pressure of their own, forcing NTG to make two or three good saves low down on the goal-line. Burnley’s goal came on 27 minutes, when Alan Moore broke forward and, with pin-point accuracy, placed a long ball onto the toe of Tony Grant, of all people, who was breaking into the penalty area. He managed to control the ball, then wandered around the edge of the goal area for a while, allowing two Bury defenders to get back onto the goal-line with the keeper, before finally putting it in the net.
Apart from this the game continued to be evenly matched with both sides having the odd attempt at goal, Bury more so than Burnley, and it came as no real surprise when they scored through Stuart in the 65th minute. To be truthful neither the players nor the supporters seemed particularly bothered. By now the substitutions were coming with bewildering speed and simply broke up the game. Even if these are done at breaks for throw-ins etc, it still takes additional time for the change-overs to take place. I really don’t see how these cameo appearances either aid the players’ fitness or give the manager a clue about his best team. Long before the end, supporters were leaving; not so much with disappointment, I suspect, but because they could no longer see the point of it all.
Team (starting line-up): Michopoulos, West, Branch, S Davis, Broomes, Briscoe, Grant, Little, A Moore, Taylor, I Moore.
Subs: Cox, McGregor, O'Neill, E Davis, Waine, Leeson, Papadopoulos, Blake, Payton.
Scorers: Grant / Stuart.
Attendance: 1,852.
Referee: Not known.
"As with all articles on the site, the views expressed in the match reports section are those of the individual contributor, and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Burnley FC London Supporters Club."
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