Indefensible
Burnley 3 Norwich City 5
Report by Pauline Pratley
I think I've mentioned before that a fellow London Claret has a saying: "The worse the journey, the better the result". Well, I can now put that myth to bed once and for all. My journey to the Turf took over six hours instead of the usual four and a half, so I missed the kick-off (and the first two goals). And after all that, The Beast and his fellow ‘defenders’ turned in a performance so spineless that five jellyfish would have looked like a concrete wall in comparison.
Patrick and I had left home a bit late - though still in plenty of time - and forgotten to check Ceefax for any roadworks etc en route. Two minutes spent scanning the TV would have saved us a couple of hours sitting in traffic. The main problem was the partial closure of the A1(M), which I later found out was due to a lorry crash - the motorway had been closed for hours before we even got there, and was to remain closed until much later in the day. Thinking we were being clever, we diverted round Doncaster, only to find that everyone else had had the same idea. Naturally, there was no advance warning of the road closure; previous gantry signs had helpfully advised us "DON'T DRIVE TIRED", but no-one had thought to display the rather obvious "A1(M) CLOSED AHEAD", which would have allowed people to take an alternative route well in advance and thus avoid the tiredness caused by sitting in a traffic jam for well over an hour.
At least we had plenty of time to discuss the approaching game. Paddy and I both felt confident that Burnley could get at least a draw. Norwich's away record wasn't too impressive, and surely the Clarets would be buoyed up by their win at Bradford?
Needless to say, when we eventually arrived in Burnley, ready to scratch each other's eyes out as we debated who should take the blame for the delay, there were no parking spaces near the ground, and so we had to resort to parking on Fulledge. Of course, it was raining, it was muddy, and I had my extra-long jeans on.
As we approached the ground - me trying to walk whilst holding my trouser legs out of the puddles, Paddy spitting tacks because I couldn't keep up - we heard a huge cheer. Burnley had scored, and we'd missed it. A quick call to a happy Woody established that his namesake had scored with a free kick. At that point, we felt quite pleased - it wasn't important that we'd missed the goal, but it was very important that Burnley had scored.
Once in the stand, Paddy went straight up to his seat whilst I bought the pies and drinks. The small amount of time I spent at the food counter was enough for Norwich to equalise via Matthias Svensson. The thought crossed my mind that the game would end 1-1, and I would have missed all the action...
Actually, for the first ten minutes or so after I finally reached my seat, the Clarets didn't play that badly. Wood and Grant were bossing the midfield, and our forwards looked lively. True, there was a worrying moment when Svensson - a bargain purchase from Charlton - thought he'd scored again, but the linesman flagged for offside. Shortly afterwards, David May soothed our nerves, netting his fourth of the season with a close-range finish. (The goal was followed by two people, one waving a claret flag and one a blue flag, running across each other in front of the Harry Potts Stand. What's that all about?) We were looking good going forward, and Paddy and I agreed that more goals - and presumably more flag-waving - looked likely.
Indeed we didn't have to wait long for the next goal, but there was a slight problem: it came at the wrong end. Norwich had caught Burnley napping, and Darren Huckerby was in possession inside our penalty area. The Beast went to ground; Huckerby sidestepped him neatly and finished well from a difficult angle.
At that point, I started to feel worried. Huckerby and Svensson were causing real problems for our defence, and The Beast looked decidedly jittery. The Canaries were playing towards the away end, where an impressive following was in good voice. The momentum was with Norwich, and I hoped that we could just hold out until half time.
Incredibly, though, Burnley scored again just a few minutes later. Robert Green, in the Norwich goal, was hailed as "England's number one" by the Norwich fans, following his England call-up a few days previously. The Burnley game probably didn't see one of his best performances, though, and Robbie Blake's shot was simply too good.
Half time, and 3-2. So much for not seeing any goals!
The interval brought ‘entertainment’ from the so-called cheerleaders (in reality, a bunch of uncoordinated infants with about as much rhythm as treacle), along with the usual appearance of the pimp in the long leather coat singing that awful ‘500 Miles’ song. (By the way, did you know that The Proclaimers are still going? They have a pretty good website, where you can even listen for free to some of their songs, including the aforementioned ‘500 Miles’. I must confess a secret liking for their cover of ‘King Of The Road’... And on the subject of the pimp, has anyone else seen the TV advert for some company called Safestyle UK? Please tell me that the singing jerk in that isn't the same man?)
As the players ran out for the second half, we all wondered if the Clarets could hold on to the lead. As if. This is Burnley, remember. Nothing is predictable; nothing is easy. We started off looking nervous at the back, and our goal advantage lasted for precisely six minutes. Once again, Huckerby was involved, playing a free kick into the box for ex-Peterborough forward Leon McKenzie to nod home. The delivery was good, but I still don't understand how the ball ended up in the net. No defender seemed to challenge McKenzie; worse, The Beast punched at the ball, but missed it entirely. It was Sunday League stuff. We were all stunned.
The confusion at the back was followed by Jensen and Branch arguing, each presumably trying to blame the other for the goal. The people round us were quick to blame Branch, but I have to say that in my opinion, it's the keeper's job to command his area, and The Beast just doesn't do that. He is indecisive, often starting to come out but then changing his mind, which hardly makes the defence confident. And when he does commit himself, he lacks presence, despite his substantial size. Paddy calls him "a big Jessie", which sums it up rather nicely. Neither do I like to see team-mates arguing: it merely gives a psychological advantage to the opposition.
At that point, I would have settled for a draw. With nearly forty minutes left, though, that looked extremely unlikely.
Inevitably, the next goal was a Norwich one. They had a Huckerby effort ruled out for offside before Svensson pounced again, in the 62nd minute. Some confusion between Weller and Roche allowed Huckerby to play in Norwich captain and left back Adam Drury, who played a pinpoint cross for the Swede to head home. Once again, there was no discernible challenge from either the defence or the keeper. 4-3, and we knew then that there was no way back.
We had a late flurry towards the end, Chadwick missing a fairly easy chance, and "England's number one" dropping the ball; but man of the match Huckerby scored again in the 89th minute to leave the home supporters - and the home team - speechless. Norwich had looked beatable early doors, but once again we had given away soft goals. Who'd be a Burnley forward?
The excellent Svensson was then replaced by Iwan Roberts. The toothless one might only have been on the pitch for a few minutes, but even he nearly scored. Fortunately for the Clarets and our goal difference, the ball was just a few inches away from his outstretched foot.
At the final whistle, I wasn't quite sure how to react. I ended up giving the team some half-hearted applause for the three goals we had scored, but part of me wanted to fly down from the stand and show The Beast how to punch. Paul Crichton was on the bench for Norwich. Would we have let in five goals if he'd been playing? Difficult to answer - as those of us who witnessed Bournemouth 5 Burnley 0 would agree - but he was certainly a calm, consistent goalkeeper.
So, what went wrong? Firstly, we must give credit to Norwich. Once we allowed them back into the game, they took their chances. I imagine they've played better overall, but their forwards murdered us today.
As far as the Burnley team is concerned, there are obvious problems. Firstly, The Beast. Although Jensen is a fine shot-stopper, he is inconsistent, very dodgy on crosses and (as I mentioned before) doesn't command his area. That said, he probably hasn't been helped by the lack of competition, and probably could have used a break earlier in the season (how bad can Nathan Abbey be?). Secondly, the defence, obviously. May is competent, but lacks pace. Branch does his best, but he is not a centre half. He isn't helped by playing in front of Jensen, either - he needs to have confident players alongside him to play at his best. Out wide, Camara is adequate, nothing more, whilst Roche had all his deficiencies laid bare today by Huckerby. He lacks pace, and his anticipation and positional sense are both lacking. In midfield, our players are too inconsistent. At times they manage to combine supporting the attack with protecting the back four, but at other times they seem to go missing altogether and do neither. Ian Moore is frequently disappointing, but in my view he needs to play alongside a target man. Hopefully, Adebola (injured in the warm-up today - how unlucky can you get?) will be fit for the Walsall game. And Robbie Blake? Well, I won't hear a bad word said about him. If we stay up, he should be given the freedom of the town, for it will be his goals that have kept us in Division One. He is surely Stan Ternent's best signing, and probably the best Burnley player that many of us have ever seen.
Oh - I forgot someone. The manager. I've never taken to him as a person (too fond of himself for my liking), but that isn't necessarily important. I could still appreciate the results he'd achieved on the pitch for Burnley. Now, though, I think he's lost the plot. The insistence on playing players out of position; the strange tactics; the swiftness to blame anyone but himself when things go wrong... in my view, propping up that massive ego is now taking precedence over what's best for Burnley Football Club. Whether we stay up or not, I think it's time for a change. If we stay up, and Stan leaves, he will quite rightly be remembered with gratitude and respect for what he achieved with us. If we go down, he must leave - no two ways about it. However, I'm not confident that Barry Kilby (for whom I have a lot of time) will bite the bullet and let him go. It's certainly a difficult decision, as the worry is always that we will end up with another Waddle. Oh dear. There are some very difficult decisions to be made this summer.
Burnley: Jensen, Grant (Alan Moore, 80), Branch, May, Camara, Little, Weller (Chadwick, 68), Roche, Wood (Chaplow, 73), Blake, Ian Moore.
Subs not used: McGregor, Abbey.
Scorers: (Burnley) Wood 7, May 30, Blake 38 / (Norwich) Svensson 14 and 62, Huckerby 32 and 89, McKenzie 51.
Referee: A R Hall (Birmingham): 7/10. I can't even be bothered with the usual pun.
Attendance: 12,417.
Pauline's Man of the Match: Neil Wood - an excellent first half, and a goal too.
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.
