This time it's personal!
Stan 3 Colin 2
Report by Steve Corrigan
"Firstly I would like to offer a warm welcome to Burnley for the players, Chairman, directors and supporters of Sheffield United Football Club."
Thus wrote Stan in his programme notes for Saturday's game. It's notable mainly for the absence of a welcome for the opposition manager. At least he is not hypocritical about it. He hates Neil Warnock with a passion and doesn't care who knows it, so it's always a very personal clash when their teams meet.
It seems, though, that Stan is not alone amongst managers. After the fiasco against West Brom a couple of seasons ago, where the game had to be abandoned, he is certainly not Gary Megson's favourite person. I was amazed at the time how he wriggled out of most of the blame by sacking two of his players. At the end of the day it was his decision to bring the 'injured' players off knowing full well that he only needed to leave one of them stood on the halfway line for the game to be allowed to be completed.
I also saw him on TV just after the incident, as a guest on the ill-fated ITV Digital highlights show, where he stated that he didn't have many friends in football but he didn't care. Well, last week it rebounded badly on him, as Steve Bruce (hardly Mr Popular) reneged at the last minute on a gentlemen's agreement to loan the Blades their goalkeeper Ian Bennett. Ahh, diddums!
Instead he scrambled around and managed to get Alan Fettis signed in time for the game. An ex-Premiership player with our near neighbours, he is a very experienced keeper - but for some reason, Warnock elected to go with a rookie instead, and this proved to be a costly mistake.
Having missed the last two games, I hadn't witnessed the new MC or heard the new song that has replaced Tom Hark as the goal celebration. I have to say he's very annoying - especially when he doesn't sing the words at the right time, so it's impossible to sing along even if you wanted to. Whether it was down to him (or the recent good win against Reading, or the presence of a large contingent from Sheffield) I don't know, but the atmosphere was considerably better than of late and as the game kicked off the crowd were generating a reasonable amount of noise.
Burnley lined up: Jensen, Roche, McGregor, Gnohere, Camara; Little, Grant, Chaplow, Chadwick; Blake, Ian Moore (captain for the day). May was suspended and Branch injured. West, Weller, O'Neill and Pilkington made up the bench.
The Blades had Alan Wright at left back and Stuart McCall in the midfield, with Warnock opting for Wayne Allison and Peter Ndlovu out of his panoply of strikers. Steve Kabba must have been injured, thankfully, as he has terrorised us playing for several different clubs over the last 12 months. The ever under-achieving Peschisolido had his perennial position on the bench. As for Jack Lester, Ashley Ward or Andy Parkinson (ex-Tranmere) - who knows? Nice to hear on the radio this week that Warnock is looking to bring in another striker. Maybe he is following Keegan's example of getting out of the Division by collecting strikers?
The Clarets kicked off towards the Cricket Field stand, and whether they got the crowd going or vice versa I don't know, but the start was electric and we were almost immediately on the attack. Sheff U were caught on the back foot as Chaplow and Grant swarmed round the midfield harrying McCall and Brown and not allowing them any time to settle. With the Clarets firmly in the ascendancy, two good passes from Grant (I say that again: from Grant) and from Little put Chaplow through into the box on the right-hand side. His rasping drive flew back off the bar with the keeper rooted to the spot.
It was only a matter of time before we scored, as the Clarets appeared to be camped at the far end of the pitch. The goal when it came was extremely soft. A Blake shot from 20 yards appeared to be straight at the keeper, but he somehow let it squirm through his hands into the net. A rare gift, as it seems Burnley give more often than they receive.
This did bring the Blades to life, and they did manage to get out of their own half, but Arthur and McGregor appeared to be coping well with the all-in wrestling style attempted by Allison. Just occasionally, he might try playing the ball rather than the defender as the ball is played up to him. Ndlovu, so effective whilst playing on the wing, was strangely peripheral playing down the middle.
A superb move saw Little with a great chance on the left-hand side of the box, but he elected to play in Chadwick to his right, who, with a fantastic chance to score, squared for Chaplow - who volleyed the ball over the bar with the goal at his mercy. It would have been no more than our play deserved up to that point.
Then, from nothing, a goal. One missed tackle on the right, and the ball was shifted a little too easily across the edge of the box to Montgomery. With Camara blocking his route to goal, he took one touch and shot through the defender's legs. Jensen didn't move, and it was 1-1. None of the defence could be happy with the goal. Camara and Jensen especially, but the ball should never have got that far in the first place.
By this stage, Neale Barry (a Premiership referee) was really getting on my wick. He gave fouls that weren't, and allowed things to go that blatantly were fouls, Allison being the main culprit. He seemed to have no idea what was innocuous and what was cynical. Long may the Premiership keep him as far as I'm concerned. He wasn't biased, just poor.
Then, before we knew it, we were losing. Barry gave a free kick that wasn't; the ball was curled, and Whitlow glanced a header into the corner of the net whilst diving away from the goal. Again Jensen was rooted to the spot and didn't even dive.
Burnley were still enjoying some good possession. Roche looked comfortable on the ball, and his first touch was almost always spot-on. A couple of good runs down the wing, and link-up play with Little, and he looked a bit more like the player from earlier in the season. McGregor and Arthur were giving as good as they got in a very physical tussle with Allison, and Grant and Chaplow were having by far the better of the midfield battle. Up front, Blake was twisting and turning as usual to good effect, and Moore seemed to have been galvanised into more productive effort.
Then, a deserved equaliser, as we should never really have been behind. Not quite sure how it happened, as it looked like Ian Moore's effort should have been easily saved. I don't really remember the build-up - just the ball seeming to take an age before reaching the net. It didn't matter: it was in, and we were level.
Then, just before half time, as Arthur played the ball back into the Sheff U box after it was half cleared (from a set piece, I think), McGregor ran positively between two defenders and was upended. Mr Barry was directly behind the play, almost blocking my view, in fact, but gave nothing. Thankfully, some people in the Bob Lord stand had a word with the assistant referee, and he did the honours and signalled for a penalty. From where I was (in the Jimmy Mac stand) I couldn't possibly say if it was a penalty or not.
I decided not to watch the kick, but at the last second, as Blake struck the ball, I looked up to see the ball going one way and the keeper the other. Half time, and the Sheffield players immediately surrounded the referee. To be fair to Mr Warnock, he did wander across in his natty shorts and move them all away.
A breathless but very entertaining half, in which the Clarets had played by far the better football and deserved to be ahead. The second half was to prove a little different, with Weller replacing Chadwick at the break as Chadders had a slight injury - and also, Stan felt we looked good going forward but a bit vulnerable going the other way. Isn't that the story of the last season and a bit?
Although there were no goals, and the quality of football was not as impressive, the second half still had its share of entertainment. Jensen pulled off magnificent saves when he was called upon, and twice rushed off his line to smother the ball, clattering defenders and attackers alike in a display of some confidence. He still managed to give us a few palpitations when he waited and waited for a ball to enter the box with a Sheffield attacker perilously close.
Burnley also had chances - but, this being Burnley, we needed an extra touch, an extra turn or an extra pass, and the chance was often lost. Fettis replaced the hapless rookie at half time, and received the expected response from the crowd. To be truthful, we didn't really trouble him; the best chance being blazed over by Blake from a tight angle. I am loath to have a go at a striker for shooting, as the Clarets are often shot-shy, but Chaplow was far better placed.
The turning point of the half, and possibly the match, came on the hour mark. The ball was cleared from the Clarets' box; Brown tried an audacious volley, but succeeded in almost completely missing the ball. As it bounced up, Blake controlled the ball, only for Brown to launch himself at it. My view was that it was a terrible tackle, as he clearly went over the ball and could have done serious damage. I was calling for a red card, and was not surprised to see Mr Barry flourishing it. However, the radio reported that the red card was for foul and abusive language, so make of that what you will.
After that, the Clarets made extremely hard work of it. They sat further and further and further back, and, as mentioned, relied on Jensen more than once to save the day. Blake was named as the Man of the Match by the sponsors, and he did play well, but in the last 20 minutes he appeared to run out of steam completely. Every time our attack broke down, and Sheff U pushed out, he was the last man out - and several times he was still coming back as we were going forward again.
Yet another piece of incompetence from Mr Barry: Weller was clipped from behind as he tried to play a through ball, and no foul was given. This led directly to a break from the Blades, and a half-chance. Weller jarred his knee in the incident, and was later substituted by West. (Surely Stan has the record for subbing of the sub?)
Five minutes to go, and it's fingernail-biting stuff. I know I harp on about it, but why in an exciting game like this one do people leave before the end? Imagine going to the cinema to watch a tense thriller or whodunnit and leaving before the final scene. You wouldn't do it, would you? Even if the film wasn't very good. Also, people complain about the price they have to pay for approximately 95 minutes of entertainment, and then don't watch it all. As long as I live I will never understand the mentality of some supporters.
Rant over, and into the final minute! Sheff U were awarded a free kick on the edge of the Clarets' box. It would have been worse had Brown still been on the pitch. As it was, a low shot deflected off the legs of one of the players in the wall, and deflected wide as Roche retreated onto the line. One more corner, and it was all over. Yet again the Clarets finished a game against 10 men hanging on, but in the end it was three well-earned points (and I'm sure Stan's post-match drink tasted very sweet indeed).
As for the Man of the Match, I would go for McGregor. Showed good pace, strength and tenacity, and even won the penalty (not that I knew it was him at the time). Arthur and Roche also had good games, and Chaplow and Grant were excellent in the midfield. Chaplow is getting all the acclaim at the moment, but the negative comments about Grant are getting fewer. Which is a roundabout way of saying he is playing pretty well at the moment. I've never doubted his ability, but he is now showing rather more consistently what he is capable of.
Up front, Blake was excellent until he faded in the last quarter, whilst Ian Moore played more positively than I have seen him do for some time. It'll be interesting to see what Stan does with the defence when May returns this week, as it would be totally unjust for McGregor to lose out. At the moment, it's looking good - and let's hope to continue that against Coventry.
Burnley: Jensen, Roche, McGregor, Gnohere, Camara, Little, Grant, Chaplow, Chadwick (Weller, 45 (West, 86)), Blake, Ian Moore.
Subs not used: O'Neill, Pilkington.
Scorers: (Burnley) Blake 17 and 45 (pen), Ian Moore 34 / (Sheffield United) Montgomery 24, Whitlow 31.
Referee: N S Barry (Scunthorpe).
Attendance: 11,452.
Cozzo's Man of the Match: Mark McGregor.
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.
