When Pauline, the Web Tsarina, asked for match reporters for the upcoming games I jumped to the front of the queue on the basis that I had the best record for points per game for matches reported on last season. Let’s face it, the lads needed all the help they could get after the dismal start. They hadn’t so much stumbled into the start of the season as fallen flat on their faces.
I also feel extremely guilty as I offered to put myself forward for Chairman of the London Clarets after the famous ‘not my team’ debacle at Fulham nearly four years ago. Almost ever since then it has been onwards and upwards, and now that I have moved back north and resigned from my post the team seems to have taken it personally. OK, so they have merely carried forward their form from the end of last season but I wanted to do my best to get them moving again.
Tuesday’s shot shy effort at Reading didn’t fill me with confidence. A poor performance where they hung in for an hour and then got what they deserved. Where were the strutting heroes from the start of last season who couldn’t stop scoring goals? In three of the four games prior to Palace they had barely mustered a shot or effort of any note. The strange thing is that the team is almost exactly the same!
Whilst Taylor has struggled on manfully, the lack of support from I. Moore or a Little/A. Moore combination has been virtually non-existent. Many fans are even starting to feel sorry for Taylor. When the ball is knocked forward thirty or forty yards to his head and the nearest player is twenty yards away what is he supposed to do? To be honest the midfield has been way below standard almost without exception; neither protecting the defenders nor supporting the attack.
In the pub in Longridge on Friday I was introduced to a fellow Burnley fan. Whilst discussing the various concerns I mentioned the fact that football management is one of the few jobs where people with no skill or training think that they can do a better job than a trained professional. We watch players for 90 minutes a week and think we know better than a man who works with them all week. Of course we are entitled to an opinion, and it’s frustrating when things are going wrong, but sometimes you have to believe in the players and the system rather than changing things just for the sake of it.
I believe we have a good team. Some players are off form and some are not fit, but they have not become rubbish overnight or even in the last eight months. We just need our best players to play well, and at the moment none of our creative players are performing. And without Davis we even struggle to threaten from set pieces. When will we ever get someone who can take free kicks? Time and again we see opposition players who look like scoring (and often do) whilst we can only hit the wall (Robbie Blake) or the crowd (Lee Briscoe).
Back to Saturday and I was determined to pull out all the stops on the good luck front. If I was going to do this properly it was no good leaving anything to chance – so to speak. Even if that doesn’t make sense and I realised it wouldn’t made the slightest bit of difference I still left the unlucky King Arthur shirt in the cupboard and set off to get the bus to Bl*ckburn. No bus so off to Preston to get the train there.
Popped into the Black Horse for a pint and put a few Seventies songs on the juke box. Just for good luck you understand. As usual the last one on was the worst song that I could find. However, I was a bit shocked when Ricky Nelson & Dean Martin – ‘My Rifle Pony and me’ came on second. It was as bad as I thought it would be. Still, it made me laugh - although the regulars didn’t bat an eyelid.
By the time I got to Burnley I was trapping late, so quick pints in the Ministry and the Talbot before my first mistake on the superstition front and I didn’t have pie and peas in the Sparrowhawk. How important would that prove? I also promised myself a pint in the Inn on the Wharf afterwards as we always won when I did that. However to make it work I had to say it beforehand, otherwise how can it have any effect on the game? It becomes merely a celebration then.
Buy a lucky Golden Gamble ticket (not lucky because we win the draw you understand) and avoid entering by the unlucky turnstile - and actually in time to get a chicken balti pie before welcoming the players onto the pitch. I can report that the pie was delicious and apart from the final whistle probably the best part of the afternoon.
With Cook suspended and Davis still injured, Papa and Weller were in and both Moores on the bench. Rumours had been rife all Friday that Papa would be given his first start and with Alan Moore’s form dipping alarmingly Lenny moved to the left to accommodate Weller in the middle.
The Clarets lined up: NTG, West, Cox, McGregor, Briscoe, Little, Weller, Grant, Johnrose, Taylor and Papa. Bench warmed by Moore, Moore, Payton, Branch and Blake.
Adebola and Freedman up front for Palace, the horrible Finnish bloke in the middle and Fleming at the back. For anyone that really cares Palace lined up: Clarke (ex-Bradford), Fleming (ex-Boro), Powell (must have played for Derby), Popovic, G-G-G-Granville (ex-Open All Hours), Johnson (not sure which one he is), Riihilahti (internet philosopher), Mullins, Butterfield (ex-Grimsby), Freedman and Adebola. They had some subs as well including Alex ‘Take it on the chin’ Kolinko.
Burnley started kicking towards the Cricket Field End, didn’t lose the ball from the kick-off and Papa and Taylor linked up for Taylor to shoot over the bar. It looked like we were up for it and in for a good game. However, as you may have gathered from the amount of pre-amble the game wasn’t much cop at all. In fact it was terrible. That was Burnley’s best and probably only chance in the first half.
Palace had a couple of chances kicking with quite a strong breeze behind them; McGregor let the ball go and Nik had to be very sharp to make a good block and clear the danger. They also had a header from a free kick where the Clarets defended too deep and NTG made a comfortable save from a glancing header.
Francis claimed they had seven chances in the first half yet the only other moment of concern came when Nik raced out of his area and headed clear, but the Palace player put his lobbed return wide. Adebola looked quick, strong and menacing, but McGregor and Cox chased and fought for all they were worth and fortunately we could thank our lucky stars that Freedman gave Adebola little support. (Terrible Seventies Pop music joke – sorry).
That was it for the first half. Nil-nil; very competitive, lots of fouls and a couple of bookings for nothing for Cox and Briscoe. The ball was in the air a lot, Papa ran around a lot but it was far from entertaining. Still, second half with the breeze behind we might do better.
We didn’t. The game continued in exactly the same vein. Little and Weller seemed totally unable to get into the game and the best chances came from Papa and Taylor on their own from long balls. Papa hit the side netting from a tight angle and Taylor flashed a shot just wide after good interplay between the two. Taylor also had a half chance to lob Clarke after he failed to clear the ball properly. The lob didn’t have enough height and Clarke saved comfortably.
Palace still looked threatening on occasions and NTG had to be alert to clear the danger. In fact Nik looked more secure than in any other game this season, not that that was particularly difficult.
As the game wore on, it looked more and more like one goal would settle it. The referee then didn’t give a blatant penalty when he was stood only a few yards from the incident. Papa received the ball on the penalty spot and as he drew back his left foot to shoot he was clearly tugged back. The ref said that neither he nor the linesman saw it yet 11,000 Burnley fans saw it. Also if he didn’t see it why did he immediately signal ‘no foul’? He obviously saw it but decided it wasn’t worthy of a penalty. I would be very surprised if anywhere else on the pitch it hadn’t have been given as a foul.
Apart from Clarke getting injured and substituted and much play acting from Johnson that was about it. Palace, aside from a late flurry, settled for a draw very early in the second half and the Clarets (despite the introduction of the Moores for Little and Papa in the last ten minutes) failed to make any real impact.
The commitment was good, Papa showed some promise and we got a point which was probably a fair reflection on the game. NTG had his best game and the defence played well, but if we are going to win games we need to be more creative and that means Weller, Little and Alan Moore back to their best (and we need to see what Blake is capable of).
On the way home, I got the phone call from the Observer asking for my comments. It would have been far easier and quicker for you to read that rather than all this drivel. Our first point, but we have to improve dramatically and soon.
Attendance: 12,407.
Referee: M Fletcher (Warley).
Cozzo's Man of the Match: Ian Cox.
Papa Makes a Point