Today, Stan has said that the team that will
play this season is his team and should be judged as such. He received a lot of stick for
denouncing the team that played at Fulham last season as not being his team. He now has
the confidence to stand by his squad and the run at the end of last season and the results
in the pre-season friendlies seem to back him up. But is this just the usual pre-season
wave of optimism that will have disappeared even before the end of British Summer Time? Or
have we actually got something to be hopeful about after so many false dawns ?
The summer has seen a lot of coming and going and the first team squad now
contains only a handful of players who were here pre-ST. Those are Paul Smith, Andy Cooke,
Andy Payton, Glen Little, Chris Brass and Mark Robertson. Paul Weller is slowly regaining
fitness and should be available to the first team some time before Christmas, having
already had a couple of run outs in the reserves. The youngsters Scott, Heywood, Maylett
and Williamson have been pushed down the pecking order by the summer signings, but now
they will really have to earn a place in the team rather than the manager being forced
into blooding them through a lack of alternatives. Five places on the bench mean that
opportunities should still be available.
One thing that is noticeable is, that of all the players that have been
released only Brian Reid and Kevin Henderson were fixed up immediately and few are playing
at the same level anymore. Some have had to step down a level or two and several have not
yet got a contract anywhere. Criticise Stan for being hasty and harsh if you like, but I
don't see many of the players that were released blazing a trail through the Football
League, so although there may be a Danny Sonner amongst them, the clearout has allowed
Stan to get the players in that he wanted.
As for the squad itself, apart from the lack of cover in goal with Mawson
the only other choice, I think we have the strongest squad in depth that I have ever seen
at Burnley. Most have played at a higher level and those that haven't are the existing
Burnley players named above.
In the first game I expect us to line up 3-5-2; with Crichton in goal; a
back three of Captain Armstrong (one of Stan's favourites and I feel much improved at the
end of last season), should-be-captain Davis and his former Luton partner Thomas; Cowan
and West at wing-backs with Mellon, Paul Cook and Little in the middle and Cooke and
Payton up-front. Pretty much the same team as the end of last season. This would leave a
possible bench of Mawson, Johnrose, Lee, Mullin and one of the young defenders. But then
what about Paul Smith, Brad Maylett and Graham Branch?
If he feels Lee and Mullin have done enough to secure a starting position
and Payton is still not fully fit, (which given his lack of first team action pre-season
could be the case), he could go for 4-3-2-1 with Armstrong also missing out at the back
and Lee and Mullin supporting Cooke. Personally I prefer a simple 4-4-2 with Armstrong on
the bench in case you want to shore things up at the end, same back four with Little and
Paul Smith or John Mullin wide in the midfield; Paul Cook and Mellon in the centre with
Andy Cooke and Payton up front. On the bench as well as Mawson and Armstrong I would have
Johnrose, Lee and Smith or Mullin.
This is all supposition and guesswork; I haven't seen any of the new
players and we may well have added Martin Smith and/or Stephen Grant by the first game.
At the start of last season there were only one or two decisions to make
for Stan. He gave certain people a chance, but they let him (and us) down. After sacking
the four, things got decidedly worse when the injuries started piling up. This season he
has twenty players or more, all of whom are perfectly capable of first team football. The
problem could well be keeping them all happy. If we start well and get a few wins under
our belt early on everyone will be happy. However, we have a tough first half to the
season so don't expect us to lead the way too early on. If we are still in the frame by
the time Bournemouth come to town on February 5th I fully expect us to get promoted as I
like the look of our run-in if we are going well. The last three games are all against
promoted clubs, none of whom are expected to be leading lights.
Starting with two games we traditionally do badly in could be a good
indicator for the season. If we only get a draw (0-0 v Chesterfield), get ready for the
same old disappointment; four points or more and the wagon could be starting to roll. Two
or three points and we will have to wait and see. Having said that it's a long season and
nobody wins the title or promotion in the first few games.
With the loss of Fulham and Man City I don't think the division is as
strong as last time, but it's still not easy as there are a lot of tough teams to beat.
The teams to watch out for at the head of the pack in my view are Bristol City and
Preston. Unless John Benson finds some magical management streak that has been hitherto
hidden under the proverbial bushel, I don't expect Wigan to live up to the tip as bookies
favourites (although they may start brightly and end up in the play-off picture). In a
tight division I see Bristol Rovers, Reading, Chesterfield, Oxford, Millwall, and Stoke in
the hunt, with other possibles being Luton, Bournemouth and Notts County. I don't think
Gillingham will do as well, having parted company with Tony Pulis and appointed the fairly
unsuccessful (U-21s aside) Peter Taylor. Below that I'll be mortified if it matters to us.
This season we have no excuses. There is no untried manager, no lack of
funds and a big enough squad to cope with injuries. No predictions, I just ask for two
wins in those first two games to get us off to a flyer and then we will see. Yes, I am
optimistic and of course this time it's different.
But then isn't it always ? And haven't I said that somewhere before ?
