1/9
A nip in the air, the yellowing leaves and the heavy dew reminded us that
summer was almost through. But in a cold and sodden Munich, national pride blossomed as England thrashed Germany 5-1, to put us in pole position for World Cup qualification. Owen scored a brilliant hat trick, setting up interminable photocalls with Sir Geoff. Warsteiner, the lager company, obviously believed that English football is worth investing in, too, as they have decided to sponsor the Bob Lord stand for the next three years, much to the delight of BFC chairman Barry Kilby. So Burnley now rank alongside Bayern Munich and Formula One. Burnley’s youngsters did us proud, too, on a less vaunted stage, overcoming PNE’s youth team 2-1 away. Paul Barrett and Damian Hindle were our scorers. Coach Terry Pashley told Burnleyfootballclub.com, "It was a very good performance, particularly in the first half, when we had a lot of chances, but unfortunately missed a few of them." It was the Clarets youth team’s second win on the bounce. Apparently, Stan is interested in giving Racing Genk’s surplus striker David Paas a trial. If he is surplus, though, he is unlikely to be the predatory goalscorer we need.
A much more sombre note was struck by an article in the 31 August edition of The Independent. David Conn, its author, suggested Burnley, like many other football clubs, were not doing nearly enough to combat racism. He quoted Mashuq Hussein, a local community worker who maintained, "Asian people are passionate about their football. They watch it on TV, they play it, they talk it, the kids love it. But they won't go to Turf Moor. There is still real fear, of what treatment we would get. I encouraged some of my mates to go recently. They sat in the North Stand. Somebody leaned over and said: 'Make this your last match.' They did." One white Burnley supporter upheld this apartheid mentality. He claimed, "The Pakis are a cancer in our society. They wouldn't be welcome here – they're taking over everything else. There's little enough left which is white." Clearly, it is going to take much more than the efforts of a ethnic minority officer to breach this wall of hate.
Click here to read article in full.
2/9 Burnley went to the top of Division One with a 3-2 win at Bradford thanks to two goals from Glen Little, who was in outstanding form, and a super 85th minute strike from sub Tony ‘Elvis’ Ellis. So, it’s true, Elvis lives. Serves us all right for doubting Uncle Stan’s judgement. Anyway, this was a terrific switch back game, in which Burnley took the lead three times only for Ward and McCall to twice peg us back. With Taylor and Papa unavailable, Burnley played with only Ian Moore up front. But this was not a dour defensive strategy. Despite an offside ‘goal’ from Ward, Burnley had all the early pressure and went very close to scoring on three occasions. Paul Cook headed over from a Glen Little corner when unmarked. Shortly afterwards, Little was denied after his shot hit the bar and both posts and then Ian Moore smacked a Paul Cook cross against the top of the bar. However, Bradford came back strongly with Robert Molenaar's header forcing a point-blank save from NTG. Within 55 seconds of the restart, Little capitalised on Gareth Whalley's misplaced pass to blast Burnley in front. However, Bradford responded with a fine equaliser 15 minutes later. After shrugging off a succession of heavy challenges, McCall played a superb ball into Ashley Ward’s path. With NTG off limits, Ward chipped him perfectly. Bradford then seized control and Gunnar Halle and Gary Locke both hit the woodwork. Also, in the 67th minute, Benito Carbone was unluckily refused a penalty when felled by Gordon Armstrong (even Stan thought this should have been a spot kick). Twelve minutes later, though, Little put us in front again, scoring from close range following good work from Alan Moore, who had been played in by a splendid raking pass from the back. Ward had another 'goal' ruled offside but Burnley’s lead lasted only two minutes. They backed off as substitute Robbie Blake cut in from the left. Blake’s fierce shot was parried but McCall drove the loose ball high into the net. Creditably, Burnley went for the points and Elvis repaid Stan’s faith in him by capitalising on Myers’ error, turning expertly in the box and driving the ball home from a sharp angle. It was a classy finish and, with McCall skying a late opportunity to equalise, Elvis had propelled Burnley into their highest position in this Division since spring 1972. As for Bradford, this defeat destroyed their 100% record and reduced them to fourth place. A delighted Stan stated, "It was a fantastic game of football and a great advert for the First Division. My players showed a lot of courage to win the game but we got a break or two, because Bradford are a very good team. There is a long way to go but if we can play like that with that effort and commitment and can keep injury free then we'll do well." Cox was ruled out with an Achilles heel problem. He could be out for two weeks. Burnley: NTG, West, Davis, Armstrong, Briscoe, Little, Weller, Ball, Cook, A Moore, I Moore (Ellis 76). Subs not used: Cennamo, Gnohere, Payton, Mullin. Attendance: 17,400. Our match report.
5/9 Speculation is mounting that Glen Little is about to leave for Sunderland. A fee of £6m is being mooted. Let’s hope this is just rubbish, as he has been so instrumental in our success thus far. Meanwhile Mitchell Thomas made an accomplished return in the Clarets’ reserves 0-3 defeat at a wet Prenton Park. Maylett had his moments, too, but after Wayne Gill had exploited a misunderstanding between Thomas and his fellow centre back Earl Davis to put Tranmere two up, there was no way back.
8/9 In Belfast the terrified pupils of Holy Cross have spent the week running the gauntlet of moronic sectarianism. Admidst a blizzard of specious self-justification, Martin McGuinness announced that only a miracle could now save the Good Friday Agreement. But at a sunny, blustery Turf Moor the feelgood factor remained intact. Again, fortune favoured the fortunate as Burnley secured a flattering 3-0 victory over a competitive Rotherham to remain in top place. Ian Moore (47 mins), Paul Weller (49 mins) and Andy Payton (89th minute penalty) made the difference, but Rotherham exerted good pressure throughout, with only the excellent NTG denying Robins and Scott. Tough midfielder Talbot and ex-Claret Alan Lee both hit the bar, and Rob Scott’s long throw ins were consistently dangerous. However, Burnley made more of their fewer opportunities. Although shackled for long periods, Little created Burnley’s opening two goals. Ian Moore was the first to benefit, utilising his lightning pace to fasten onto Little’s sharp through ball and poke home from a tight angle. Then, two minutes later, Weller took advantage of Pollitt’s hesitation, reaching Little’s lofted pass just before the Millers’ keeper. Rotherham did not give up though, forcing a succession of corners. Fortunately, Burnley’s defence held firm despite the odd scare. But it was Andy Payton who had the final word, rifling home a late penalty after substitute Gareth Taylor had been pulled down by Pollitt. Burnley: Michopoulos, West, Davis, Armstrong, Gnohere, Little, Ball, Weller (Payton 73), Cooke, A Moore, I Moore (Taylor 60). Subs not used: Cennamo, Thomas, Ellis. Attendance: 14,820. Our match report.
As for our youth team, they lost their Youth Alliance Cup tie with Tranmere 1-2, conceding the vital goal in stoppage time. Burnley Youth: Salisbury, Leeson, Scott, Pilkington, Davis, Eves, Rasmussen, Waine, Hindle (Richardson) Barratt, O’Neill.
12/9 Now it’s the USA’s ‘Black September’. It is estimated that over 6,300 people have been killed in yesterday’s horrific terrorist assaults on the USA. The UEFA games are postponed out of respect, but Burnley’s crucial reserve game with Wrexham went ahead. Presumably, the police were concerned that postponement might have provoked massive crowd disorder. Stan made his feelings clear, though. Referring to the weekend league programme, he said, "I would have cancelled the lot as a mark of respect to all the people of America and all the countries who have been involved with what happened. When things like that happen, football pales into insignificance and it’s a non-starter really, but we abide by the rules and we’ll get on with it." Hardly, Shankly-like sentiments, Stan. As it turned out, Burnley Reserves established a deserved 2-0 lead (thanks to an Earl Davis header and a Lenny Johnrose penalty), and then blew it in the final 14 minutes (2-2). However, the good news was that Mitchell Thomas completed 90 minutes without difficulty. It was Ronnie Jepson’s first game in charge of the reserves following Mick Docherty’s promotion to first team coach. It is rumoured that we are interested in Rochdale’s lightning 18-year-old striker Kevin Townson, who scored both of ‘Dale’s goals against Fulham this week. But so are 26 other clubs, apparently.
15/9 George W Bush, still grasping for gravitas, adopts John Wayne speak in telling us it’s war. Despite the unending circle of violence in the Palestinian territories, despite Afghanistan’s daunting record in overpowering mighty foe, despite the terrorists’ invisibility (emphasised by the repetitive film footage of bin Laden), retaliatory action is promised. But how can these Hydra-like terrorists be eliminated? How can they be battered into submission when they have no respect for their own lives? And yet something must be done to avert this terror. It’s no time to hide in liberal self-recrimination, either. Sure, US foreign policy may be indictable in fomenting extremism among people deprived of hope. This week’s cataclysmic evil does not indemnify the US against the witting or unwitting consequences of its actions abroad any more than the Holocaust excuses Israel’s bloody excesses. Although, confronted by terrorists intent upon eliminating them, the Israelis insist, understandably, that they have as much right to retaliate as George W. However, posing possible causes for this conflict does not begin to justify what happened in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Explanation is not tantamount to acceptance. A wrong cannot be sanitised by placing another alongside. Also, justice should not be a matter for negotiation, and yet it clearly is. How would the Good Friday Agreement have been possible otherwise? And so the tortured debate goes on with grief, fear, anger, moral righteousness and political and military pragmatism churning around in a seething media cauldron. However, beneath the rubble, little shoots of levity still sprout. I heard today that one of Saddam’s brothers ran the Beirut Hard Rock Café. If that wasn’t just subterfuge it must have been the mother of all ironies. Perhaps he was the supplier for the Stockport Cannabis Café? God knows, County need one. I heard, too, about footy Taliban style. Apparently, fans flock to Kabul stadia uncertain whether they will see a game or an execution. Sounds like life under Waddle. And woe betide any team wearing short shorts. They are likely to have their bare soles (souls?) beaten. Afghan footballers are strongly advised to sport very long beards and wear ultra long shorts circa Stanley Matthews. As for the fans, prayer is compulsory and any chanting, other than ‘God is great’, is totally forbidden. Women must not attend, either, so no offensive taunts of ‘get your face out for the lads’ then.
Fortunately, Burnley are unencumbered by such silly behaviour or dress codes. Who said Stan was an Ayatollah? Well, with his current judgement so impeccable, he could qualify. Take today’s game. Gareth Taylor (a firm header from Thomas’s cross) and Ian Moore (capitalising on a calamitous defensive error) had given us a flattering 2-0 interval lead against another newly-promoted side, Walsall. But shortly before the Saddlers had pegged us back to 2-2, midway through the second half, Uncle Stan decided that Lee Briscoe would be a fitting substitute for nippy Ian Moore. Turf Moor disagreed, and yet again Turf Moor was wrong. Within 15 minutes of his unpopular arrival, Lee had restored the Clarets’ two-goal lead. In the 59th minute, he converted Alan Moore’s sharp cross and three minutes later he curled in a shot from eighteen yards, following an intricate run by Super Glen. Paul Cook’s outrageous chip from thirty-five yards was just garnish. Little’s performance was again sublime. Sod off Sunderland! Burnley: Michopolous, West, Davis, Thomas, Gnohere, Little, Ball, Cook, A Moore (Mullin 85), Taylor (Ellis 88), I Moore (Briscoe 59). Subs not used: Cennamo, Payton. AND NO BOOKINGS! Attendance: just 14,019. (Come on you Clarets! We’re top for Christ sake!) Our match report.
18/9 Oh what a night! What a way to pierce the gloom of last week’s events! Burnley defeated Birmingham City 3-2 at St Andrew’s in an absolutely stunning game. The BBC reporter was drooling hyperboles. So were most of the press. With just ten minutes gone, Taylor’s header found Glen on the right flank. Glen cut in immediately, brushing past two City defenders and upon reaching the apex of the box, curled the ball into the far top corner with his left foot. Brilliant! The lead lasted just ten minutes, though. Laziridis seized upon Burnley’s defensive indecision, crossing sharply for Andrew Johnson to score with a near post header. Play flowed from end to end before Ian Moore put Burnley ahead again on 34 minutes with yet another fabulous finish. Having turned his marker, Moore bore in on goal and with the other City defenders in retreat, he found enough space to curl in another twenty yarder. Within four minutes back came Birmingham. Lightning striker Andrew Johnson latched onto a probing ball down the inside right channel, easily outpacing Gordon Armstrong and flashing a shot thro’ NTG’s legs. Armstrong nearly made amends just before half-time but his far post header was just wide of the mark. After the break Birmingham dominated with Johnson firing in shots from all angles. Stan needed to shore things up and substitutes Thomas and Gnohere did just that. With Armstrong playing more of a sweeper role, Johnson was given less space. This helped neutralise City’s advantage. It looked as if a point would be a good result but super Glen had other ideas. Following some pinball goalmouth action, he picked up a loose ball on the left of the box. Confronted with a crowd of players and trusting his luck he attempted a speculative effort, which clipped a City defender’s knee and found goal via the far post. This time Burnley defended their lead successfully, keeping City at bay for the remaining twenty minutes, but still NTG needed to produce a brilliant save to deny City at the death. So, we now have scored 23 goals in just eight games and have secured a five-point cushion at the top! How is this possible? Burnley: Michopoulos, West, Davis, Armstrong, Briscoe, Little, Ball, Cook (Thomas 67), A Moore (Gnohere 73), I Moore (Ellis 88), Taylor. Subs not used: Cennamo, Payton. Stan commented, "Any win is a good win and I thought it was a fantastic game of football, which we shaded, so I’m delighted to have got the points. Some of the goals are exceptional and the system suits the players. Glen’s goal was right out of the top drawer and you can’t defend against that. You’ve got hold your hands up and say that’s a fantastic goal. The game had everything. In the first half it was an open game with good football and in the second half, they stepped it up a notch and I thought we defended very well. It was very competitive and tough, but totally fair." Even Trevor Francis was moved to praise Burnley, whilst cursing his luck. Our match report.
It is rumoured that Stan is being head-hunted by Coventry but Barry Kilby has discounted this. Why would Stan want to leave table-topping Burnley? Well, ‘Teamtalk’ suggested a reason. According to one media source it was reported that Stan had fallen out with Barry after our chairman had allegedly refused to meet Alan Moore’s wage demands. Let’s hope this is yet another shabby rumour or at the very least, just a storm in a teacup. Having hauled ourselves into this elevated position it would be too bad if we blew it through internal dissent. Stan and Barry attended the post match press conference together. So why not trust this public display of unity?
21/9 Despite George W’s rebirth as an orator with conviction, perhaps we should trust more of what we see and less of what we hear. This morning, Alan Moore signed a three-year contract, dispelling the grubby tittle-tattle of Wednesday. The Dublin born star has previously won eight caps for his country, and he will be looking to add to that whilst with the Clarets. Stan said, "We’ve been looking at him for years but he’s a million pound footballer and in the past we haven’t been able to get him. Middlesbrough have been signing players such as Emerson, Juninho and Ravanelli in the past and a group of quality players were left out. Alan Moore was one of them. He is a talented player but you’d have to ask Mick McCarthy about an international recall for him. I think he’s happy here and the way we play suits him. It’s up to him now. He’s a Premiership player, he can go as far as he wants." Moore is expected to be involved in tomorrow’s game with Norwich City.
22/9 Something had to give. Burnley generally perform better when they’re under-rated. Substantial coverage in Saturday’s Independent had to be a Jonah and so it proved. It was a brilliant game by all accounts, but the only fact that matters is that we lost. Burnley started badly. After only three minutes, Norwich’s Paul McVeigh controlled a high cross before laying the ball on for Gary Holt, who crashed a powerful shot past Michopoulos from outside the box. Burnley were rattled but prompted by Alan Moore’s skill they gradually wrest control from their hosts. In the 21st minute they were denied a penalty after Little was tripped in the box, but 15 minutes later our inspirational winger had the opportunity to right this apparent wrong. Unfortunately, his purple scoring touch deserted him as he curled a gilt-edged chance wide from just ten yards. Frustratingly, Alan Moore needed to be substituted at half-time after sustaining a groin injury. Worse was to follow. Within ten minutes of the restart, Iwan Roberts scrambled Norwich into a 2-0 lead. However, this stung Burnley into massive retaliation, and after 57 minutes Gordon Armstrong stabbed home after Weller had flicked on Little’s corner. Despite maintaining pressure on City’s goal, Norwich came closest to scoring in a frantic finish with Notman hitting the the angle of post and bar and Roberts fluffing another good opportunity. So Burnley finally lost their 100% away record. It was an expensive reverse, too, with Little and both Moores sustaining injuries. Burnley: Michopoulos, West, Ball, Davis, Armstrong, Little (Ellis 82) Cook, Taylor, I Moore (Payton 66) Briscoe, A Moore (Weller 45) Subs not used: Cennamo, Thomas. Attendance: 19,849. Stan said, "I felt we had many chances in the game. We didn't play in the first half and although we did improve in the second half, we were always going to lose a game sooner or later." Our match report.
The day’s only good news was that Burnley youth team beat Bury 3-2 thanks to a brace from Andrew Waine.
25/9 Well, you can’t argue with the entertainment content. You can’t argue with Burnley’s resilience either. Yet another pulsating game resulted in a 3-3 draw, with Burnley recovering from a 2-0 half-time deficit and then forcing a last minute equaliser just seconds after going behind. In the 17th minute Crewe opened the scoring, although it was against the run of play. Rodney Jack’s speed troubled Burnley’s defenders all evening, and his quick exchange with Rob Hulse set up Lunt, whose shot found the corner from 12 yards. Relying on a swift counter-attacking strategy, Crewe doubled their lead after 28 minutes. Hulse’s sharp header from Lunt’s right-wing free-kick forced a fantastic reflex save from NTG, but it counted for nought as Foster forced the ball home despite Armstrong’s desperate defence. Just two minutes later, though, Burnley had a brilliant opportunity to hit back. Ian Moore was bundled over in the box but Cook blew the resulting penalty by shooting straight at the impressive Bankhole. Hulse then should have scored a third when he blazed wide after Jack’s shot had struck a post. However, Burnley refused to be cowed and following a furious assault, Taylor gave them hope when in the 62nd minute his brave diving header, from Weller’s superb cross, found the left hand corner. Twenty minutes later Burnley deservedly levelled after Weller was upended in the area. This time Payton made no mistake from the spot. It looked as if Burnley would then grab the points but Crewe defended solidly and in the last minute proved they could still sting as well as tame. A smart free-kick enabled Lunt to find space on the right edge of Burnley’s box and his perfectly clipped centre was headed in by Hulse at the far post. For old Burnley this would signal game over. But this is new Burnley. Almost immediately Taylor flicked on Briscoe’s long ball and Payton demonstrated that his predatory instincts are still intact by smashing home a volley. Burnley: Michopoulos, West (Payton 52), Davis, Armstrong (Thomas 62), Gnohere, Weller, Ball, Cook (Mullin 45), Briscoe, Taylor, I Moore Subs not used: Cennamo, Ellis. Attendance 13,964. Stan was understandably pleased with Burnley’s recovery after their first half frailties but Crewe’s boss Dario Gradi was left to rue the loss of two points in their struggle at the other end of the table. Despite missing a penalty tonight, Paul Cook has garnered 10% of the vote in the Claret Flag’s current most popular player survey. Given that Glen Little was way ahead with over 60%, this wasn’t a bad result for a player whom is often subject to unfair abuse from sections of the home crowd. Our match report.
29/9 We’ve finally been evicted from top spot. Today’s pallid defeat at the Hawthorns allowed Wolves to leapfrog over us. One goal decided this disappointing contest. In the 67th minute, Baggies’ striker Scott Dobie nudged home Neil Clement’s superb free kick and that was that. With Little and Alan Moore unavailable, Burnley struggled to pose any threat. In fact, they only managed three attempts on goal as compared with West Bromwich’s fifteen. Arthur Gnohere played superbly in a three-man defence but it wasn’t enough. Afterwards Stan said, "We came to attack and score goals, but we had an off day. We went man for man and didn’t play too well. There wasn’t a lot in the game, but they were a lot keener than us and they bullied us a bit. They caught us with our pants down and we paid the price. It was a game in which a goal was going to go a long way. I thought we weathered the storm in the first half and afterwards it was even-Steven. But we then gave away an unnecessary free-kick and they scored. What was most disappointing though was that we didn’t create anything." The defeat deprived Stan of the ‘Manager of the Month’ award which would have been richly deserved. At least ‘Rocket Ronnie’s’ reserves exacted a measure of revenge two days later, courtesy of goals from Johnrose and Shandran (2-1). More importantly, our other rivals have continued to slip up. Man City’s 0-4 capitulation at home to Wimbledon was as surprising as bottom-placed Stockport’s 4-2 victory at Valley Parade on Tuesday. Burnley: Michopoulos, West, Ball (Ellis 79) Davis, Cook, Taylor, Cox (Payton 70) I Moore (Mullin 65) Weller, Briscoe, Gnohere. Subs not used: Cennamo, Thomas. Our match report.
Tim Quelch
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The following sources of information are kindly acknowledged: Burnleyfootballclub.com, Lancashire Evening Telegraph, Teamtalk, Clubcall, Sky Sports, BBC Sports and Radio Lancashire.
