Sad
Stoke 1 Revitalised Clarets
2, Saturday 6th September
2003
Good things come in threes
The statistics said...
We
won 2-1 away at Stoke - our third win on the trot,
taking us to 10th in the table.
The
game featured all three of our loan signings: Facey
and Farrelly from Bolton, and Todd from you-know-where.
All acquitted themselves well.
Our
first goal came in the 18th minute, David May
heading home after a corner. In the 27th minute
it was 2-0, Luke Chadwick slotting home past Ed
de Goey after some excellent build-up play.
Stoke
got a consolation via Carl Asaba (naturally)
in the 53rd minute - a free header from a left-wing
cross.
Shortly
afterwards, Asaba was sent off. He'd already been
booked for a foul on Dean West, and when he then
pole-axed David May, the referee (Mark Cooper)
was quick to brandish a second yellow followed
swiftly by a red. Indeed, most of the away end
thought it should have been a straight red, as
Asaba seemed to hit May in the face.
Disgracefully,
Tony Pulis implied in a post-match TV interview
that West and May had cheated in order to get Asaba
sent off. Sore loser or what?
Anyway,
overall it was a very good performance by the Clarets.
We had
the lion's share of the possession, twice hit the
woodwork (Farrelly in the first half and Branch
in the second) - and without some excellent work
from de Goey, the margin of victory would have
been much wider.
Our survey said...
:
I thought it was a good team performance. In the
first half, we should have pushed on and scored
an avalanche of goals. In the second half, Stoke
came back into it - despite Asaba's assault on
May - and we ended up hanging on grimly until
the last ten minutes, when we could have scored
more.
One of
the highlights was an excellent challenge by Camara
- the first time this season I have seen him make
a successful challenge. For all his storming forward,
he is supposed to be a defender - but if he is
a defender, then I am The Jolly Green Giant.
John:
I wasn't there. Oooerr. Wibble, wibble. Do I have to
buy a bear?
*Editor's
note: Claret stalwart Mr Horrocks
missed Burnley's game, and chose to go instead
to Burton Albion v Woking. He was kind enough to
join
us on the train back, although (as you may be able
to tell) he was very, very drunk.
Sean:
Today's match was the best game that I've seen in about
a year and a half. We played beautiful football
today, of a style which would be welcomed in the
Premiership. I seriously think that this time,
it's going to be our season, and we're going to
have Premiership clubs looking over our shoulders
in 2004. I stake my reputation upon this!
Barbara:
Delilah has left the stadium! A great defensive
effort.
Joan:
A good team performance. The new boys fitted in well,
and we could have had six. Branchy up front -
wow! An impressive set of signings by Stan.
Pauline:
A well-deserved three points, but for all our possession
and chances we should have won by a greater margin.
Not that I'm complaining, though. The new signings
played well, though Facey didn't look quite match-fit.
Even
the ref (the dreaded Mark Cooper) had a decent
game, though he should have given
Asaba a straight red. Paddy was doing
a "Cooperwatch" report, but there was so little
to complain about that he had to abandon it! Anyway,
into the top half
of
the table at last! Bring on the Naardge!
Heads:
I left two minutes from time - I was hoping that Albion
would have scored their third by then, so I could
have left under the three-goal rule.
*Editor's
note: Mr Turner is a Woking supporter, so - naturally
- was at Burton Albion 2 Woking 0. Oh dear.
Anon:
It is so nice to see such sublime skill at this level
(for the first time since God knows when), and
we saw some beautiful stuff today.
I
am just so pleased for the younger fans, who in
reality have seen a whole lot of rubbish in their
formative years. We are coming back, if today is
anything to go by. All I want now is for Graham
Di Branchio to score (as he nearly did today, three
times), to raise the roof at the Turf.
*Editor's
note: I really don't know whose contribution
this is - someone wrote it on my pad whilst I
was
away from my seat!
Firmo:
I am very happy about today. It was a good performance.
Admittedly, Stoke are a poor team - it's hard to
see how they had such a good start to the season.
They may be reminiscent of Grimsby a few seasons
ago, when they had a good start but ended up fighting
relegation. Still, you can only beat who you're
playing, and we were deserved winners.
I
am a bit concerned about our failure to kill the
game off at 2-1 against ten men. We feared another
Bradford, and Burnley only really tried to
score a third in the last ten minutes. But bugger
it - we won, and we deserved to. We got the three
points, and that's the main thing.
What
was nice to see today was two proper central defenders
playing in central defence. Now there's an
idea. May and Todd both looked the part - we wouldn't
have got to 2-0 at half time with Branch and Arthur
at the back. May continues to improve - and Todd
may be a Bastard, but he's our Bastard.
As
for the other new boys, I liked the look of Farrelly.
I hope Facey just wasn't fit. I should also mention
Luke Chadwick, who just gets better, and ensured
that we didn't miss Glen Little today. And Tony
Grant, who's playing the best football of his time
at Burnley.
I
wasn't surprised at the way Stoke played today.
I've seen a few Tony Pulis teams, and they all
play the same way. Asaba completely deserved to
be sent off. The reaction of the Stoke supporters
to this was pathetic.
The
only thing that could have spoiled today was the
dreadful public transport. To be told by a Midland
Mainline employee: "If you don't like it,
get off the train" sums up what depths our
privatised railway service has plumbed. Finally,
Happy Birthday,
Paddy. John Horrocks had several drinks on your
behalf.
Pics
of the day
We
have several. It was that kind of day!
What
are the odds on this
going down in one?
|
|
Of
course, you'd never catch
our Chairman being
silly...
|
John
was so drunk, we used
him as our litter bin. |
|
Paddy
in Barbara's hat - just before he woke
up
and issued a stream of expletives.
(Barbara,
that hat will never fit you now!)
|
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.
