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Quit dreaming and get on the beam
Igor Wowk's assessment of Crystal Palace 1 Burnley 2

To dream the impossible dream

I made a late decision to brave the motorways and London traffic and go to Selhurst Park on Saturday, and saw a wonderfully exciting game of football, where the Clarets eventually came out on top. Firmo's report sums up the action. However, I can't quite fathom his irrational hatred of Selhurst Park or Trevor Francis. Trev has done a great job in handing us six points this season and he is always very complimentary about Burnley, and especially Stan, and quite gracious in defeat. I actually think he is not a bad manager, and whilst he got the boot from QPR and Sheffield Wednesday, look where they are now.

As for Selhurst, it's not situated in an area that a load of poncy, pretentious, duck-eating Watford fans would appreciate, but surely this has to be a plus point. Their average gates are way higher than Burnley's at the moment, and at times they made quite a racket. Of course they made nowhere near the amount that Burnley did, but then we were in front for large tracts of the game, and we didn’t have to try and cope with the realisation that we weren't quite good enough to make the top two at the moment. The departure of large droves of their supporters before the final whistle was bit mysterious. At 1-2 there was always the possibility that they might equalise, but with the Greek, Ivory Coastian and Tobagan performing in such a way that they were indistinguishable from the Rock of Gibraltar, perhaps they knew more than we did. Yes I like Selhurst Park, there's never any bother before or after the game - wait till we go to Spurs Chelsea and West Ham next season - and Palace always hand over the points.

To fight the unbeatable foe

Make no mistake, although there was nothing in this game and it could have gone either way, it didn't, as we scored twice and the opposition scored once. OK, they hit the bar, but it might as well have hit seat Z53 on the top deck, the Greek made a fantastic save, and in the last minute Coxy made a remarkable block from point blank range to keep the points. This is called good defending. So, the net result is that we have stuffed Palace home and away for six juicy points. What is more remarkable about this result is that it was achieved without Davis, Cook and Taylor, who have been the backbone of the side in the season's early stages: our top scorer and two captains.

As always, some reports seem to suggest that Palace didn't play well, but it's funny how none of the teams Burnley beat seem to play well, have an off day, have large chunks of their huge squads missing, etc. The reason the other side loses never seems to be because Burnley play well. I don't mind this kind of talk, as it means opponents continually seem to underestimate us. They can't quite believe that just because we have come from Division Two recently and the club haven't borrowed millions, that they haven't got, to "strengthen" the team, that they are up the top end of the table when really we should be down with Walsall, Stockport and so on.

The other myth is that our success is built on "hard work". Sure, this is one of the elements, but only one, and there are many others. The current side are the fittest, most athletic team I have seen in Claret shirts, but equally they can all play a bit, including the back four. To play effectively at such a tempo as Saturday's game requires touch, control, awareness, vision, execution, support for each other and a selfless attitude. Please Stan, no David Ginola. If you want "entertainment" buy the Clarets' When We Were Kings video. Meanwhile, let's build a football team, not a bloody circus.

To go where the brave dare not follow

For the record, the defence were superb on Saturday, playing well individually and as a unit. Palace had two very dangerous, slippery looking wingers in Black and Gray, the latter having been blessed with exceptionally quick feet. Once he learns how to cross a ball a few more defences are going to suffer. The front pairing of Morrison and Freedman are the most prolific in the Division, yet Coxy and Arthur restricted them to mainly speculative stuff, though Morrison in particular might have taken one or two of his chances. I thought West had a particularly good game against Gray in the second half, keeping his eye on the ball and not buying any of his tricks, but keeping close enough to close him down. West is now looking a very accomplished player, and growing in confidence along with the rest of the side.

The midfield had to battle really hard, and there is no doubt that we missed the steadying influence of Paul Cook, in what was a hectic battle. The move to bring on Bally was a good one, adding that mixture of composure and aggression that typifies his game. Add in a few bits of finger wagging and "I'm going to take your head off, son" and the Palace rhythm that was beginning to build up was disrupted. However, his ball out to Alan Moore for the second goal illustrates the other dimension to his game. Once again I thought that Tony Grant was outstandingly good for a player that has just come into the club. Briscoe worked exceptionally hard, one 50 yard sprint around Glen and out onto the flank, simply to take one defender away, typifying the kind of team spirit that exists in the current Clarets' line-up.

Up front I thought Glen had a relatively quiet afternoon. Closely watched throughout, nothing he did came off. At one point he was centre goal just outside the box with only one man to beat - shelling peas surely for SGL - but he elected to pass it through the man's legs to Moore, and just clipped the ankle with the ball and wasted the opening. Brilliant ideas as ever, but the sharpness of execution was lacking. Alan Moore was another enigma, and struggled to get into the game at times. However, you sense that currently he is playing well within himself, and he has a menacing look about him, which the team will eventually harness, plus he effortlessly set up Ian for the clincher.

However I have saved the best until last to tell you what a magnificent game Ian Moore had. In a similar game at Norwich the little man was anonymous, but on Saturday he was a one-man forward line, all over the place. He made some fantastic runs, and it would seem that the absence of Taylor opened up the pitch for him rather than restricting him, and he revelled in this free role rather than playing off the big man. Without the target man he got the ball into feet much more, and indeed our attacking play was less Taylorcentric. His other contribution was to the defence and midfield, and by this I mean his closing down play. No defender can feel comfortable when Ian is around, as his terrific pace forces them to play a percentage ball out, rather than a measured pass. This stops the opposition building, and this is achieved without any noticeable loss of pace. Added to this on Saturday were two excellent match-winning goals, one a flash of invention, the other a calmly taken slide rule pass into the net that M Henry would have been proud of. I can't see how you can nominate anyone else for MOTM, as Ian was the difference between the two sides on Saturday.

In summary, Palace didn't play badly, in fact both sides played well, but Palace got a bad result.

To right the unrightable wrongs

Wolves' little implosion yesterday means we are now two points clear and they have one game in hand, which is against another of the top sides. With the expectations generated by their early success and massive expenditure, some of them are plainly feeling the heat in the Molineux kitchens, as this isn't the first time they have bottled their chance to go top. Furthermore, we are now clear of all the field, even if they win all their games in hand, and if you notice, the teams with games in hand are all at the top of the division. Along with Wimbledon, Burnley are the only side yet to play Carlton Bonehead's Stockport, which must be a six-point banker. This leaves us needing only 8 wins from the other 22 matches to clinch a play off place, which would now take a massive cock-up for us to avoid.

However, as Chris Tarrant might say, "We don't want to give you that," and irrespective of all the statistical analysis, the opposition, etc., the fact is that we are one of the best teams in the division, and are good enough to claim a place, provided we can maintain the current level of performances. It is not a pipe dream to suggest that we can finish in the top two. My feeling is that Stan is beginning to think along these lines, and the players like being top. I get the feeling that Stan is now beginning to look further ahead, hence the starting line up on Saturday containing only two 30+ players, so we now have got a team with legs and ability. Furthermore, they are battle hardened, can change their shape, and on their day can match anyone in the Division. Saturday's team lacked Davis, Taylor, Cook and Armstrong, plus we had the likes of Ball, Lenny and Payton on the bench. These are seven players who would walk into almost any other Division One side.

To reach the unreachable star

After the performance on Saturday I can see why Cook was left out. My guess is that he was dropped and asked for a move out, as at his age he doesn’t want to be warming the bench. Stan says the omission is contractual, meaning that they want to hang fire and see where we finish. If Stan was planning on another year in Division One, he would surely offer Cook a deal. However, I am not convinced we have seen the last of Paul. I certainly hope not, as in the run in we will need his ability to get his foot on the ball and dictate the tempo. However, of equal concern is the demise of DTG, who was nowhere to be seen on Saturday, and has been surpassed in the pecking order by Elvis, the Rochdale reject Cowboy. Increasingly, Papa is beginning to look like Stan's Greek turkey. This underlines the hazard of buying stuff abroad, in that it's difficult to take any faulty goods back to the shop. Perhaps we will see more of him over the Christmas period.

This is my quest, to follow that star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far

Anyway, on to my final point, which is this: automatic promotion. Stop dreaming, and start believing it's possible.

Igor Wowk
December 2001

The match report and more on this game

As with all articles on the site, the views expressed in the comments section are those of the individual contributor, and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Burnley FC London Supporters Club