Home
Magazine - latest issue
Magazine - archive
Fixtures / results
Match reports
News
News archive
Player of the year
Meetings with Burnley FC
Firmo's view
Pub guide
Survey
Photos
Burnley FC history
London Clarets history
About this site
Credits
Site map
Site search
Contacts
E-mail us

 

The vengeance of Mellon
Burnley 5 Wrexham 0, 2 November 1999
Jo Tomlinson

...Mellon, Mullin, Mullin, Mellon... Little, Branch, Branch, Little... hell, they were all at it! It was just super duper tonight, really ace, exciting, brilliant, fantastic, the lot. What a great night, what a superb game, what a brill result (yes I'm happy, can you tell?!). Our midfield came into being, Mellon particularly, suddenly decided after however many months, that tonight, he was going to be a Burnley player... and play he did. He was brilliant. Mellon was brilliant. There, I've said it again. I have spent the past however many months on his back, and tonight it gives me immense pleasure to say he was brill. He ran, he controlled, he looked, he played, he went for goal, and went for goal again, and again, and eventually he scored, and he carried on and on and played really well for ninety minutes. Why? Has he suddenly decided he wants to be here after all? Has Stan dropping him at last given him the message that unless he comes up with the goods he'll not have a place? Has the bench suddenly become too hard for him to sit on? Or has he emerged from the depths of 'off form' to suddenly dazzle 'on form'? Whoever knows, but he was truly ace tonight and it was wonderful to see.

Ok, the match report, here goes:

A damp, dark, rainy and blowy Turf Moor was the scene for Burnley's stylish drubbing of Wrexham. It was cold, it was wet, it was windy, it was dark, but Burnley gave off all the heat and light anyone could wish for. I took my seat and pulled my fleece around me.

Wrexham were clad in their gold and black strip, Burnley in the usual Claret and Blue. About 80-90 Wrexham fans had made the journey and sat huddled together looking a bit sad and sorry for themselves. The crowd generally was sparse.

Burnley lined up as follows:

Crichton, Brass, Thomas, Davis, Armstrong, Mullin, Mellon, Little, Cook, Payton, Cooke.

Smithy and West were out injured, but Little had obviously past the late fitness test. Subs were Jepson, Lee, Weller, Cowan and Branch.

7.45 and we were off. Almost immediately we had a corner and Cook lined up to take it. 'Shoot!' yelled the Bob Lord faithful to the new Beckham of the second division. The corner narrowly missed goal, followed by another near miss by Davis. And to be honest that set the scene for the half, lots of narrow misses. Early on, we had the first signs that Mellon was up for it tonight as he made a brilliant and determined run all the way down the pitch to goal; it was a mega run which sadly didn't bear fruit, or even melon (weak - Ed), but he was certainly up for it tonight, make no mistake. Burnley emerged as the better side from the outset, there was no doubt about the difference in quality.

I had to smile at Stan as he got increasingly cross with the linesman; that's one person who will certainly not be on Stan's Christmas card list this year. Thomas was clearly impeded in the box by a Wrexham defender and all eyes were on the linesman under whose eyes it happened, but play continued. Stan was furious, he gave the Ternent deadeye to the man with the flag. At one point I thought he was going to punch him.

Suddenly, Mellon was up for it again. Once more he showed us what he is capable of as he gained possession and had a superb shot at goal about 25 yards or so out. What a shot. The crowd jumped up, but it just narrowly missed. He was rewarded with warm applause for his efforts. Then within minutes, another chance and Mellon was aiming for goal again! It missed again, but you had the feeling that Micky Mellon was going to score tonight. Literally within minutes, he was there again, but this time he had lots of options and should definitely have passed to Payton, as a weak shot went out.

However, it has to be said that Mellon did more tonight than he has done in the whole time he's been here.

'You're supposed to be at home' sang the 70 Wrexham fans weakly. Yes we were, but maybe the Burnley faithful were just stunned at the new Micky Mellon and had momentarily lost their voice.

As the rain teemed down, and I mean teemed down, making that wonderful silent pattern in the floodlights, Cookie had a superb chance as he gained possession, but the damned linesman, obviously not a Burnley fan, decided in his infinite wisdom that he was offside. He wasn't. It was right in front of me and he wasn't offside. Stan was furious with the linesman by now, as were the Bob Lorders around me. The guy we call 'Mr Angry' leapt up off his seat and yelled furiously at the linesman, 'You're an effing disgrace.' Stan clearly agreed. Play continued and Cookie was soon the victim of a bad tackle and went down injured. The anonymous physio ran on to assist him. (I wait for these guys to acquire some kind of identity or personality. It's never been the same since Andy 'Who ate all the pies' Jones left for Everton, has it? I used to love it when he ran onto the pitch with his white socks pulled up around his short legs. He had a wonderful rapport with the fans. But I digress.)

The anally retentive ref ensured that Cookie had to go off the pitch before he could come back on, much to the groans around us but 'rules is rules'. The corner went wide. Then suddenly, Mullin got the ball and ran the length of the pitch with that 'I'm going to get a goal here' look about him; make no mistake, this at last was Burnley 1 Wrexham 0. Mullin calmly and expertly took it up and, one on one with the keeper, he lifted it over him into the back of the net. A much deserved goal for Burnley, at long last. The crowd went wild.

Half time and you had the feeling that there was plenty more where that had come from! And indeed, more there were.

Second Half. Just as I sat back in my seat with my pie and peas having clapped the returning players (I had just taken a mouthful, wondering whether I'd encounter anything even vaguely resembling meat in my pie) and the new and improved super duper Micky Mellon was at it again. Off he went on for goal, and this time a goal he got. And boy did he deserve it! I leapt up off my seat, placing the pie and peas on my seat behind me and clapped and cheered for the player whom I have only ever criticised before now. He meant business tonight and really had played very well.

I sat back down and took another spoonful of my pie and peas, and before you could say 'wot, no meat?' Glen Little somehow had got the ball into the back of the net again! What was going on here? Another superb goal, and hey, Little really deserved it too. He was just superb, all game, really excellent, ten out of ten for me. I muttered to Andrew that since there was all the talk from the media about 'Payton is the only player in the side to get goals for Burnley, does that worry you?', he hadn't scored any, but the rest of the side had! And that is a great feeling. Midfield finally at last had come into their own. I don't know what it was, confidence, belief maybe but they were all going for goal, all had the belief that it was (a) their job and (b) they could do it.

We were great tonight. We played some superb passing football. Wrexham were exceptionally poor it has to be said, probably the worst side, with the exception possibly of Colchester, that I've seen us play all season. Poor Brian Flynn has his work cut out there. Rooster was the only half decent player they had. They don't feature much in this match report, quite simply because they didn't feature.

So it was 3-0 and the Burnley fans were happy. Cook had another very near miss which curled over the bar. Burnley literally ran rings around Wrexham. At one point we were quite literally, if you'll pardon my French, taking the piss, passing it backwards and forwards, forwards and backwards, jogging about like a game of piggy in the middle. The Burnley fans cheered every pass 'Hurrah, Hurrah, Hurrah' (with suitable intonation) as it passed from one Burnley player to another. It was a party atmosphere and we were having fun! Payton then missed the sitter of the night right in front of goal, but hey, did it matter?! No it didn't. We know Andy's a star, we can forgive him one miss.

Mullin, perhaps being reminded of the sitter he'd missed at Barnet on Sunday, then decided he'd have another and at 9.15pm approx with 15 minutes to go, it was 4-0. Stan then decided to take off Payton and Cook, both of whom got rapturous applause from a truly delighted crowd, and put on Jepson (aka Rocket Ronnie) and Lee. 'No Nay Never' sang the crowd, this time though really believing we would be playing Blackburn Rovers. Wrexham's only serious shot on goal came from Russell Rooster, which just went wide. Branch came on for Cooke; more rapturous applause for Cooke. Branch, not long on the pitch, decided he'd have a do too, and why not? It was 5-0.

Lee meanwhile looked raw and somewhat uncooked still. His control needs improving and he is far from the finished article. However, I'm not criticising him as such, I still think he has lots of potential, but his youth and inexperience show through in an otherwise competent and experienced side.

It was good to see Brass back in the side tonight. I like Brass, I believe he wants to play for Burnley and I hope he does well. It's good knowing that although players may be injured, that others step in and you feel confident in them.

The crowd was 8,944. Mullin was named Man of the Match, but it could equally have been Mellon, or my choice, Glen Little. But they were all superb tonight, each and every one of them. They were playing as a team, they were reading each other, they were up for it, they were on for it.

Bring on Luton. A much tougher game I imagine, but I for one, can't wait.

Team: Crichton, Brass, Thomas, Davis, Armstrong, Mullin, Mellon, Little, Cook (Lee), Payton (Jepson), Cooke (Branch). Subs not used: Cowan and Weller.

London Clarets Man of the Match: John Mullin.

Links - The away game and this game last season