Rotherham 0 Burnley 0, Saturday 16th November 2002
Millers can't grind down sturdy Clarets
The statistics said...
We drew 0-0 away at a very soggy Millmoor. It was an awful day, and the match itself was less than inspiring. Still, another point is another point, and we'd probably have settled for it before the game. Especially given that both Steve Davis and Glen Little were missing from the squad - no-one seemed to know why at the time, but apparently they'd picked up a groin strain and calf problem respectively. Tony Grant was also absent - serving a one-match suspension after accumulating five yellow cards.
Bad news of the day was Gareth Taylor's early substitution after he took a blow to the head and was concussed. Sadly, he's had to withdraw from the Welsh squad for their match against Azerbaijan. We'd like to send Gareth our best wishes as he recovers both from his injury and from the disappointment of his international withdrawal.
Our survey said...
Jules: A bleak, dreary, dismal day. Not the most exciting of matches, but we played well enough to win the game. Our finishing wasn't quite there, but overall it was a satisfactory result. And I can't wait to meet Lembit Öpik*! Oh - and thanks to Razor for the balti pies.
*An MP, who allegedly bears a striking resemblance to Jules. We're trying to get a pic of them together...
Razor: "Wet Wet Wet" may well have been a popular band of yesteryear, but is no way to play football. A damp day in Yorkshire: no surprise there.
This was always going to be a difficult game, made worse by the fact that Davis and Little were inexplicably unavailable. Given the foregoing, and the poor playing surface, a 0-0 draw was a creditable result. Robbie Blake was magnificent, but Paul Cook was man of the match by far.
Firmo: I'm happy. I've been to Millmoor a lot of times, but today's the first time I haven't seen us get beat there. Fair result, decent game, given that we were two good players down at the start and lost another before I'd got to my seat.
Robbie Blake was excellent, and if we were going to do anything today he was the man to do it. Honourable mentions to Cookie for getting stuck in, and to Razor for the lucky pie.
I have three other things to say about today. First, it was bloody wet. Second, what was a London Underground train doing outside the away end? Was it a delayed train to Walthamstow? Third, and finally, it was great to see a Liberal Democrat MP on the away end, in the shape of Lembit Öpik, next to 14-pints-a-day William Hague. Or was that just Jules and Paddy?
Katherine: Diabolical weather. Game a bit scrappy. Alan Lee was lucky he didn't get sent off - was he taken off before he could be sent off? I've been to better grounds, though the toilets were decent. If we hadn't been stuck in the middle of a block of people we could have put our London Clarets flag up. A point gained rather than two lost, I think.
Joan: Where were Little and Davis - what's happened to them? I thought the match was a good, hard-fought battle in diabolical conditions.
Barbara: A point at Rotherham! Shit ground, few fans. Nothing else really to add!
Joanne: Rotherham were not as good as I thought they were going to be. I was quite satisifed with a 0-0 draw.
John: I'm happy with a point - I would have settled for that before the game. Given that we had three of our best players out, I wasn't overly impressed by Rotherham. Has it stopped raining yet?
Phil: The same back four we had at Grimsby - and Arthur was excellent today. He controlled Lee easily. I was pleased we kept a clean sheet. It eases some of the worries I had about having Gnohere as the senior central defender.
Andy: The last time I was at Rotherham, I saw Burnley score a goal. But today I was at Frickley Athletic 1 Marine 3!
Pic of the day
Given the general wetness and gloominess of the day (plus the ban on taking photos from the away end), opportunities for a pic of the day seemed few and far between. But then - on the same train as us back to King's Cross, would you believe - we happened upon one Mr William Jefferson Hague, MP for Richmond (Yorkshire)!
Willy Boy was on another one of his drinking binges, this time imbibing an odd mixture of beer, Guinness, and red wine. After recognising his parliamentary colleague Mr Öpik, he was only too pleased to pose for our camera. We would have asked him to join the London Clarets, but someone mentioned the membership fee, and then we couldn't see him for dust.
As with all articles on the site, the views expressed in the vox pop section are those of the individual contributors, and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Burnley FC London Supporters Club.
