Roedent's Ruins 2 Plucky Little Burnley 2
After the dustcart: The Lord Mayor's Show
The statistics said...
We drew 2-2 away at West Ham, Burnley's first visit to the Boleyn Ground for over twenty years.
As the Clarets had lost 6-1 away at Ipswich midweek, the Hammers perhaps anticipated an easy victory. However, nothing could have been further from the truth, and a resolute Burnley team (including Gnohere, freshly recalled from his loan spell at QPR) certainly held their own in an exciting game.
West Ham's early pressure saw them take the lead in the 20th minute via the impressive David Connolly. Those of us who'd gone to Ipswich started to fear a rout, but the Clarets responded well and the in-form Delroy Facey made it 1-1 in the 38th minute with a close-range finish.
The second half saw both teams in good form. Burnley went ahead in the 82nd minute, Ian Moore beating both David James and Tomas Repka to make it 2-1. The much-hoped for away win wasn't to be, though, and an excellent volley from the newly-introduced Don Hutchison in the 86th minute gave West Ham the point they probably deserved.
Our survey said...
:
I thought it was a much improved performance, and we deserved the point. Sad that we couldn't hold on, but there was little we could do about their equaliser.
Of the forwards, I thought Ian Moore was excellent. Chaplow was the pick of the midfield, and with Arthur back in the defence we at least had one centre half, unlike at Ipswich. Branch is not a centre half, and if he is, then I am Catherine of Aragon.
Razor:
A cool display by all concerned after our inept performance on Tuesday. Were we defensively sound because their forwards were only 5 foot 3? Nevertheless, objects of derision Jensen, Branch and Camara came out with credit, although the final plaudits should be given to Ian Moore's tireless running and Chaplow's extra class.
We could have nicked it 2-1, but a draw was probably a fair reflection of the play.
Paddy:
A much improved performance compared to Tuesday's debacle. The defending was a lot stronger, and Arthur looked a lot better than before he left. However, many unforced errors gave West Ham the chance to be out of sight by half time - only profligate shooting and good (yes, good) goalkeeping kept the score down.
Ian Moore was superb, both in attack and in defence, and Chaplow and Chadwick played well in midfield. It's a shame we couldn't hold on for all three points, but it was a deserved point nonetheless.
Pauline:
A superb, well-earned point, especially after Ipswich. Branch and Gnohere looked a lot more solid than Branch and Roche on Tuesday, but the real difference today was that everybody worked hard for the team. That's Burnley - you never know what you're going to get.
Possibly West Ham will feel they should have won the game - they had enough opportunities, but didn't take their chances. At the end of the day, though, a draw wasn't unfair, and it was certainly a very welcome result.
Joan:
Absolutely brilliant - everyone put in 110%. It was a great game to watch.
Firmo:
I've had a bit of a think about it, and I've decided that today was somewhat better than Tuesday night's performance against Ipswich. Today we showed spirit, determination, and not a little intelligence.
It was actually - and it's rare that we say this - an entertaining game. I enjoyed watching it. Both sides tried to score goals, and a draw was a fair result. Even though there were a few tantalising minutes when it looked as though we would beat the Cockney wankers (and how I would have enjoyed a win today), I am happy with a point that none of us imagined at the start of the game. The atmosphere was great as well. It was rather like the old days. It's unfair to pick a man of the match, but sod it: Richard Chaplow.
Finally, very happy fiftieth birthdays to Danny West and Dermot Slattery.
Barbara:
A brilliant response to Tuesday night's defeat. Great defensive work by the defence and the midfield. A nail-biting finale. Well done, Clarets - a fully deserved draw.
Sean:
Good attacking football from both sides, but both defences needed a slap after the goals. Still, great football all round, and a terrific atmosphere.
Jane:
Perhaps pessimism is the way forward. I really expected another 7-goal drubbing, so now I'll always be doom and gloom! Two past England's goalkeeper, and a point - can't say fairer than that.
Lee W:
An excellent performance - they all gave 100%. A real transformation from Ipswich. A most enjoyable game to watch, and a well-earned and deserved point.
Lee F:
It was the most energetic, biting performance I've seen from Burnley in a long time. Chaplow was again fantastic, and Ian Moore was dead good in the second half. Great atmosphere on the away end. The West Ham fans were tarts. Yet again, the Paddy doesn't drink before the game, and we don't lose. Keep the Paddy from drinking. Tintintin.
Editor's note: apparently "tintintin" is Yorkshire-ese for "it isn't in the tin". Poor Paddy takes a lot of stick for being from Yorkshire. That's OK, though, as he fully deserves it.
Poll of the day
We've mentioned before that we only debate serious and compelling contemporary issues, and today's poll was no exception. Poll Controller Nic Lupton takes over:
Who do you prefer: Tom Selleck or Burt Reynolds?
This very important question was inspired by two of our London Claret members.
Gasps of disbelief were the first response when Cozzo turned up to the West Ham game in a Hawaiian shirt and a natty pair of shorts. After an hour of relentless mocking by his fellow Clarets, Cozzo revealed that after the game he would be attending a fancy dress party as... Tom Selleck. This time the gasps were even more pronounced; how would he effect the transformation? The answer was: with difficulty. Donning a black curly wig and holding a fake moustache up to his face, the look was complete and disturbing.
On waking up on Saturday morning, a little hung over, the first words I heard were "Burt Reynolds". I immediately tried to get back to sleep, as I was obviously still very tired and therefore must be imagining things. I awoke five minutes later, again to those same fatal words. Feeling the need to investigate this strange occurrence I found out that my brother-in-law had, rather than going to bed when we stumbled in at 12.30am, stayed up to watch the edifying spectacle of "Smokey and the Bandit 3". Time well spent, I'm sure everybody would agree.
The idea for a contest between these moustache-wearing maestros occurred at some point during the 50th birthday celebrations of Danny West and Dermot Slattery at the "Sekforde Arms". I cannot be precise as to timings, but estimate it was about five pints into the evening. What I had thought of as a simple question seemed to be oddly problematic for many of our members, and the final vote was very close. It was generally agreed that Burt Reynolds is the better actor, whilst Tom Selleck was adjudged to have more sex appeal. Interestingly, among the voters were the man whose wife had met Tom Selleck, and therefore had to vote for him - and Danny West, who looked totally confused and said, "I'll vote for whoever my wife tells me to".
Anyway, for anyone who is at all interested the votes were as follows:
Tom Selleck: 23.
Burt Reynolds: 20.
Commiserations to Michael Benyon, who lobbied particularly forcefully on behalf of Burt Reynolds.
Nic
Editor's note: see below for more on Mr Benyon, and see if you detect a note of hypocrisy... Oh, and Cozzo's worn that shirt before - we've got the picture to prove it!
Satisfaction Index
New! Now that the season's got going, each month we'll be asking a random (rum?) selection of London Clarets to rate their satisfaction with Burnley FC. We're using a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 translates as suicidal and 10 represents ecstatic. We're looking to get an idea of how happy people are with the Club (and the team) in general, rather than what they thought about the most recent game.
Voters can only choose a whole number. The votes are added together, and then divided by the number of voters to get the mean value. This, expressed to 2 decimal places, is our Satisfaction Index.
And so, without further ado: this month's Satisfaction Index is 6.47.
Thanks to everyone who voted, except Michael, who stated: "I will not debase myself* by endorsing such a trivial idea. How can one express such an opinion as a number?". Oh - and Lee Firmin, who was worried about the integrity of the polling method. Guys, it's meant to be a bit of fun, OK?
*Editor's note: strange, that's not what we've heard...
Pic of the day
Sorry, but no photo of the scoreboard at Upton Park showing West Ham 1 Burnley 2. We had the picture, but it serves us right for tempting fate!
Instead, today's picture is of men of the moment Danny and Dermot at their joint 50th birthday party in the Sekforde after the game. Not sure what's being discussed, but it's a fair bet that Dermot isn't seeking Danny's advice on headgear!
Anyway, we'd like to thank them both for a very enjoyable evening, and wish them all the best for the next fifty years.
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.
