4/8 Burnley were unlucky to lose 1-2 to a Chelsea side that had
been given a £32m pre-season makeover. In fact, there wasn’t much to show for their
massive investment. The Turf Moor crowd of 8,971, including Sven Goran Eriksson, enjoyed
an entertaining first half, in which Burnley gave as good as they got. At the back,
Chelsea were all at sea and after 14 minutes Ian Moore gave us a deserved lead, having had
an earlier header ruled out for pushing. Glen Little, who was in excellent form, set up
the chance when he beat Jon Harley and crossed into the box. New £6.2m French defender
William Gallas sliced his clearance straight at Moore, who scored crisply from around 12
yards. Davis and Cox defended sturdily, Paul Weller was combative in midfield and Dean
West linked well with Little. NTG also saved well from Hasselbaink and Gudjohnsen.
Unfortunately, Graham Branch was stretchered off in the 24th minute and Ian
Moore replaced a little later after feeling unwell. Chelsea’s equaliser came nine
minutes before the break, when Mario Stanic, the Croatian international, intercepted
Davis’ short back header. The second half was more muted, although Stan earned the
loudest cheer when he replaced his entire team in the 53rd minute. Other than that,
Hasselbaink was removed at the referee’s request for persistent complaining, and
Frank Lampard dispatched a 64th minute penalty awarded in his favour, although
Armstrong, Johnrose and Mullin all went close to equalising. While Stan was ‘very
satisfied’ with Burnley’s performance, Ranieri must have been disturbed by his
expensive team’s lacklustre display. Burnley: Michopoulos (Cennamo 53), West
(McGregor 53), Davis (Gnohere 53), Cox (Ball 53), Branch (Moore A 24), (Armstrong 53),
Briscoe (Mullin 53), Cook (Hughes, 53) (Cook 76), Weller (Maylett 53), Little (Johnrose
53), Taylor (Ellis 53), Moore I, (Papadopoulos 35) (Payton 53). Chelsea: De Goey,
Gallas, Harley, Petit (De Cesare 64), Melchiot, Gudjohnsen, Stanic (Morris 64), Lampard,
Hasselbaink (Zola 48), Jokanovic (Forsell 64), Gronkjaer. Our match
report.
7/8 Stan has decided. Former Caen central defender, Arthur Gnohere,
has earned himself a two-year contract. Stan explained, "Arthur is a 22-year-old
French player. He is a very quick, left sided defender who is very strong in the air and
possesses a good touch. He has all the ammunition to make a very good player. Certainly,
he is not the finished article yet, but we will spend some time with him." Alan Moore
also gained a three-month deal. Stan said, "Alan Moore is a current international
footballer. He has been playing for Middlesbrough in both the First Division and the
Premiership and I’ve taken him on a three-month contract, so the ball is in his court
really. He has all the ability in the world and hopefully it will work out well and I can
give him a longer contract at the end of the three months." That puts Alan alongside
Tony Ellis. I hope he knows his place. Neither Gnohere nor Moore required a fee.
Hopefully, Stan has made a real coup here. We’ll see. As for reputed long-term
target, Eddie Howe, it appears that he is signing for Wigan. No shortage of ambition,
then. But the other BFC trialist, Paul Hughes, has missed out. Four key squad members had
a useful run-out in a reserve friendly game on Monday night, as the Clarets beat
Accrington Stanley 6-1.Midfielders Lenny Johnrose and John Mullin both scored twice in the
game, which was played at the Crown Ground. Goalkeeper Luigi Cennamo and full-back Mark
McGregor also enjoyed run-outs in the clash as the new season gets ever nearer. The
Clarets' other goals came through an own goal and an Andrew Waine effort. South African
trialist Gareth Orratt played in central defence but did not convince Stan that he was
worth a contract.
9/8 The Man U friendly, which was due to be played next Tuesday,
has been postponed because of international call ups. Apparently, Fergie is committed to
sending a stronger team whenever the game is re-arranged. So we win the phoney war. The
bad news is that Branch (Achilles tendon) and Thomas (groin) are both ruled out of
Sunday’s game because of injury. Branch will be out for two months apparently. It
gives Alan Moore his chance, I suppose. Disappointingly, Papadopoulos is also unavailable
due to his call up by the Greece Under-21 side. Apparently, the Howe deal has collapsed.
Oh God, does that mean yet more feeble speculation? As for Paul Hughes, Joe Kinnear is set
to give him a trial at Luton.
12/8 It was a day of teeming rain. Jihad had launched another
suicide bomber against Israel and disgraced former Tory minister Neil Hamilton and his
wife, Christine, are alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman during some weird
four-hander. Max Clifford made a pronouncement on the bizarre allegation, so was this just
a desperate, grubby scam to drum up some dosh for the debt-ridden Hamiltons? Very surreal.
So was Hillsborough. 21,766 turned up but it still felt like a dismal Sunday evening of
yore. Come to think of it, ‘Sing Something Simple’ would have been a huge
improvement on the dire girl group, Supersister. The Burnley fans justifiably screeched,
‘Who are ya!’ throughout their talentless half-time rendition of
‘Shopping’. I bet they wished they stayed at Meadowhall. Probably most Owls were
of a similar mind after watching the Clarets achieve total domination during the second
half. It was a thoroughly heartening, combative victory. Despite being very slow out of
the blocks Burnley carved out five excellent chances to Wednesday’s two. Gareth
Taylor was outstanding, completely dominating the Owls’ uncertain centre backs. His
crisp 57th minute header from a wonderful cross from Armstrong was just
desserts, particularly after narrowly failing to convert two good first half
opportunities. Davis was superb, Cook was polished, Moore was sharp and lively and Little
had his moments of inspiration, finally forcing Sibon into a rash challenge that won us a
77th minute penalty. However, it took Cook two attempts to get it right.
Stringer’s save from his weak first attempt proved irrelevant, thanks to his
colleagues’ encroachment. To his credit Cook maintained his nerve and blasted the
re-take into the top corner. It was all too much for some Wednesday fans, one of whom
tried to punch Cook, prompting Stan into playing the aggrieved minder. Afterwards, though,
Stan was bubbling. He told the LET, "I feel that the strength of the performance
shows that we have got a good squad together. We were missing four players (but on the)
substitutes bench (there was) a group who are also more than capable of claiming a first
team place." Burnley (4-4-2): Michopoulos, West, Davis, Cox, Armstrong,
Little, Cook, Weller A Moore 67), Briscoe, I Moore (Payton 90), Taylor (Ellis 87). Subs
not used: Cennamo and Gnohere. Our match report.
15/8 Reflecting on Sunday’s assault by a Wednesday
‘fan’, Cook said, "I'm a football supporter myself and I can understand
passions running high during games, but you can't have fans running on to the pitch and
attacking players. I was grabbed from behind and at first I wasn't sure if it was a team
mate or not, but all of a sudden there was a commotion. The lad could have been carrying a
knife and that's the worrying thing - safety on the pitch should be paramount. I don't
want to be over-critical, but he was on the pitch for quite a while. I would have liked to
see the police or a steward make an attempt to stop him - there were enough of them in the
ground." Ironically, Stan could face FA action for attempting to redress the manifest
failures of the stewards and police. Ternent was quick to apologise for his actions, but
said, "If the police and the stewards are not protecting my players, I feel I have to
do it. If that offends anybody I am sorry." The fan who assaulted Cook has been given
a life ban by Wednesday, and the other three are banned for the rest of the season, but
the FA will wait until they see the referee’s report before deciding what action to
take against Wednesday or the Burnley boss. As it turned out, no further action was deemed
necessary.
The other big news story concerned Glen Little and his supposed impending
move to Sunderland for £5m. Glen and Stan dismissed the rumours immediately. When
interviewed, Glen stressed that he was much more concerned about overcoming his persistent
hamstring problem and propelling Burnley into the play-offs. Paul Weller is doubtful for
Saturday, though, having picked up a hamstring injury at Hillsborough. Taylor is likely to
be fit, however, despite sustaining an ankle strain. As for his striking rival, Dimitri
Papadopoulos, there was only disappointment as Greece Under-21's lost 2-0 in Belarus. The
match took place before a crowd of 3,000 in the town of Borisov. Former Manchester United
European Cup-winning keeper Alex Stepney has agreed to act as a part-time goalkeeping
coach at Turf Moor. I wonder what is Greek for ‘chocolate wrists’?
16/8 Mark Hughes has called up Gareth Taylor (now worth £1m plus
according to Stan). He joins the Welsh squad in preparation for the World Cup qualifiers
against Armenia and Norway. Gareth said, "It's nice the call-up has come so early - I
thought I would have to wait a little while and play a few more games. But I need to keep
improving and I think I can do that at this club, with this manager and the set of lads
we've got here. I wasted a lot of time at Man City, not through all my own fault, I didn't
think I got a fair crack of the whip. Qualification is beyond Wales, but they are playing
for a lot of pride. I'm probably quite fortunate in that the manager's just down the road
and can keep an eye on me." Beware Gareth, careless talk costs lives.
Burnley reserves drew 0-0 with Rotherham in last night’s Avon
Insurance League Premier Division clash at Millmoor. A youthful Clarets side dominated the
game and Damian Hindle and Paul Barrett both hit the woodwork. New signing Arthur Gnohere
was outstanding despite tiring towards the end. John Mullin played well, too, although he
missed a decent chance. Keeper Luigi Cennamo was rarely troubled. However, he needed to
make an excellent block to deny Steve Alabi and tipped over an effort from one-time
Clarets target Nicky Daws. Other first-team squad members to get a game were Mark
McGregor, Lenny Johnrose and Bradley Maylett.
18/8 Yet another grey, wet and windy day in the North, but what a
sparkling start to the season as Burnley triumphed 3-2 over a strong Wimbledon side. With
both sides playing two wingers, there was plenty of space and a host of chances. However,
all first half goals were due to defensive errors. Burnley made the first of these in the
11th minute when Armstrong failed to deal with Andy Roberts' looping pass,
allowing Neilsen to nip in behind him and score easily. It hardly mattered as 60 seconds
later, Dons’ keeper Kelvin Davis sliced a back-pass straight to Alan Moore, who
hooked the ball home from five-yards out. It was Alan’s first League goal since
1994/95. Burnley then took the lead on the half-hour mark from the penalty spot after
Chris Willmott was adjudged to have fouled Ian Moore. It was a controversial decision, but
once again Paul Cook scored, sending Davis the wrong way. Burnley’s third came five
minutes before half-time when Davis attempted to chest away a tame effort from Cook,
eventually presenting Armstrong with an easy scoring opportunity. After the interval,
Wimbledon pressed Burnley back. Although Steve Davis clipped the bar with a magnificent
effort, Shipperley deservedly reduced the deficit in the 65th minute, when he
headed home Mark Williams’ cross at the far post. Shortly afterwards, Connolly hit
the inside of NTG’s left hand post but Burnley withstood the Dons’ increasing
pressure to secure the points. Burnley: Michopoulos, West, Cox, Davis, Armstrong,
Little, Cook, Briscoe, A Moore (Mullin 85), I Moore (Ellis 89), Taylor. Subs not used:
Cennamo, Payton, Gnohere. Attendance: 14, 473. Our match report.
With the youth team duffing up Rochdale 3-1 at Heywood in the morning, thanks to two late
strikes by substitute Andrew Waine, this was a pretty good day.
21/8 It was back to earth with a meteorite crash. New boys Rushden
and Diamonds dismissed us from the Worthington Cup 3-2. Stan did as he was bid and gave
six ‘fringe’ players their chance, but they let him down badly. Quite
mysteriously, Andy Payton wasn’t given a game (is he really still part of Stan’s
plans?). In the first half the Diamonds easily contained a lacklustre Burnley after their
unmarked central defender, Mark Peters, crashed in a header from a 4th minute
corner. An incensed Stan replaced Mullin, Papadopoulos (who failed to convert three
gilt-edged chances) and Maylett at the break, bringing on Ian Moore, Little and Cooke, but
to no avail. Former Kingstonian wing back Tarkan Mustapha scored on 55 minutes with a
searing long-range drive, and although Alan Moore's header put Burnley back in contention,
Duane Darby restored Rushden’s two-goal advantage on a lightning counter-attack. An
84th minute header from debutant Mark McGregor again gave Burnley brief hope
after I Moore had hit the bar, but Ball spurned a late opportunity to square the tie. It
was a thoroughly sub-standard performance in which only Gnohere and Alan Moore could
possibly be vindicated. Stan told the LET, "There were 4,000 people turned up and
they should have their money back as far as I am concerned. That was not a Burnley team I
was proud to be manager of. I changed the team and I wanted the players who came in to
show me that they were hungry for a first team place. It was patently evident on the basis
of that game that our squad is not strong enough. I learned a lot about some players and I
was surprised at what I learned, but some players showed that they can't play for Burnley
- the stage must be too big for them perhaps. I don't know what the answer is, but it is
my job to put things right and believe me I will do. We looked as though we thought we had
some kind of divine right just to turn up and win the match. We were never in the game, we
were always chasing the game and we made too many unforced errors. It makes it harder for
me, because we haven't got a lot of money to start with, and we've got less now because we
can't get a cup run. So it's difficult for me to strengthen the team." Nevertheless,
afterwards, Stan dismissed rumours that John Mullin was about to depart for Blackpool.
However, he intimated that he might release several players on loan so as to sharpen them
up with first team experience. Burnley: Michopoulos, McGregor, Davis, Cox, Gnohere,
Maylett (Little 46), Ball, Mullin (Cook 46), A Moore, Papadopoulos (I Moore 46), Taylor.
Subs not used: Armstrong and Cennamo. Attendance: 4,398. Our match
report.
25/8 London cowered in the streaming heat. So should Iain Duncan
Smith, Hague’s hairless apparent. DS’s former campaign aide, Edgar Griffin
(father of Nick), announced that the BNP is not at all racist and is located squarely
within the ‘centre of British politics’. Apparently, the BNP has been steadily
infiltrating the Tory Party. But why? Surely, this is like bribing our test team to lose.
Anyway, the supposed far right connections don’t seem to be harming DS too much. Most
pollsters still put him ahead of Ken Clarke in the dead legged leadership race. The key
question for DS then is will he make Virgin trains run on time? As for Burnley, they
demonstrated similar buoyancy. Dispensing with their midweek sackcloth and ashes, they
triumphed 2-0 over newly promoted Millwall at the New Den. A rugged, committed display
secured the Clarets their third consecutive League victory, lifting them into second
place. After a fairly uneventful first half, in which Burnley defended stoutly but still
carved out the better chances, Ian Moore opened the scoring after 63 minutes when
Lions’ defender, Ryan and his keeper, Warner, collided, allowing our lively striker
to nip in and screw the ball into an empty net. Within five minutes Burnley doubled their
lead as Alan Moore gave yet another glimpse of his pedigree. In a sharp counter attack,
Taylor’s superb flick on found Moore on the left hand side of the box. Moore managed
to lose his marker before unleashing a scorching cross shot which beat Warner, the ball
flashing into the net off the far post. Millwall found this hard to stomach, particularly
since they had dominated the second half with both Claridge (twice) and Sadlier
desperately close to scoring. The woodwork saved us twice before NTG pulled off a fine
block to deny Claridge. However, boiling point was reached in the final minutes after
referee David Pugh correctly reconsidered his original penalty award against Burnley. In
the ensuing melee Millwall’s Paul Reid was dismissed for foul language. The three
points were a tad fortuitous but who cares? Well, I suppose Mark McGhee, Millwall’s
apoplectic manager, did, although he attributed his team’s defeat to a
"diabolical piece of defending" rather than to any questionable refereeing. As
for Stan, he was dead chuffed and confirmed that he was now looking to secure Alan Moore
on a longer term contract. And so he should. The bad news was that Armstrong sustained a
muscle strain and that Little is feeling the effect of a stomach bug. Both are doubtful
for Monday’s home game with Man City. With injuries and bookings mounting (five
Clarets were cautioned here), we could be heading for a major selection problem. Burnley:
NTG, West, Davis, Cox, Armstrong (A Moore 18), Little (Gnohere 67), Cook, Ball, Briscoe,
Moore (Ellis 77), Taylor. Subs not used: Cennamo and Payton. Attendance: 11,903. Our match report.
27/8 Another 6-15pm kick off to accommodate ITV digital. Alas,
Burnley were unable to achieve their fourth victory on the bounce. Had they done so, this
would have been their best start to a season since 1911. However, Manchester City had too
much firepower. At the start, they had the greater tactical nous as well, with their
five-man midfield choking Burnley. After a wretched opening twenty minutes in which Goater
deservedly put City ahead, Steve Davis equalised in the 25th minute when he
headed Glen Little’s corner past a static and clearly unfit Nicky Weaver. With Stan
reverting to a 3-5-2 formation, Burnley immediately raised their game. Little almost put
us into the lead but Edghill cleared off he line. Unfortunately, ten minutes later
Armstrong was harshly dismissed when he handled Tony Grant’s long-range effort inside
his penalty area. NTG saved Horlock’s weak spot kick, but City eventually made their
numerical advantage tell. Urged on by the large crowd (around 19,500) Burnley put up a
superb fight, though, often troubling the visitors’ defence with Little’s skill
and Ian Moore’s pace. Lee Briscoe even managed a second equaliser after
Wanchope’s classy strike. It was his first goal for Burnley. However, Goater
completed what is becoming a customary hat trick and duly secured City the points (2-4).
Keegan described it as a, "terrific game, a fine advert for the Nationwide
League," and thought Burnley performed well under pressure. Stan appreciated
Keegan’s remarks but said, "Once we went two on two at the back we were always
liable to get caught out by their front two. We had our chances like when Glen Little hit
the bar, had that gone in we would have been a goal up and perhaps more comfortable and
got something out of the game. That is really the biggest disappointment is that we did
not get anything out of the game in terms of points. When you are down to ten then the
character shows through, but we needed it to be eleven against eleven." After the
game it was revealed that Alan Moore had sustained a stomach strain at Millwall, which
ruled him out. However, he will probably be fit to face Bradford, as will Paul Weller, who
experienced no adverse reaction after his unexpected return to the action. Burnley: Michopoulos,
West (Gnohere 37), Davis, Cox, Armstrong, Little, Ball, Cook (Weller 73), Briscoe (Payton
80), Moore, Taylor. Subs not used: Cennamo and Ellis. Attendance:19,602. Our match report.
29/8 Burnley Reserves secured a well-deserved 1-0 victory over
Wolves, whose loan keeper, Marlon Beresford, earned a warm welcome. Wolves started
brightly with both Keith Andrews and Colin Larkin having opportunities to score, but
gradually Burnley took control with Pilkington shining in midfield and Ellis performing
well up front. But it was Ellis’ striking partner, Papadopoulos, who sealed the
victory with the deftest of flicks, guiding Johnrose’s cross past the hesitant
Beresford. Wolves almost equalised shortly afterwards, but Gnohere averted danger with a
terrific saving challenge. With both Taylor and Papadopoulos on international duty, Stan
has a striking problem on Sunday. It is rumoured that he is interested in Belgian striker,
David Paas, but that is probably fanciful.
