Dave on Hull & Preston...

Dave Thornley writer-in-chief for Clarets Mad gives his thoughts on the goings on for the Clarets during the last week.
Dave opines: It is a sad indictment of not only football, but society as a whole, that people continue to be discriminated against for something as arbitrary and inconsequential as skin colour.
Whilst racism in football is not as overt as in the seventies and eighties when the likes of Laurie Cunningham, Viv Anderson and John Barnes were roundly jeered for merely having the affrontery to be black and in possession of a football at the same time; racism?s insidious and obnoxious tentacles still rise up now and again to ensnare the game, as we witnessed at Deepdale yesterday afternoon.
Burnley?s Hannibal is no saint on the pitch; he is well known for playing on the edge of legitimacy and some of his posturing whilst at the club have made Ashley Barnes look like Ghandi.
But that cannot, and must not, justify his being on the receiving end of a racial insult apparently administered by Preston?s Milutin Osmajic.
It would be wrong of me to pre-empt the outcome of any enquiry the FA hold into the incident (as they surely must, if their stated desire to ?Kick it Out? is to be taken seriously) but Hannibal?s immediate reaction to Osmajic?s comment was, to me, indicative that what he heard was far worse than what he was used to hearing in the normal course of verbal sledging during matches, something of which Hannibal is undoubtedly familiar.
To his credit, he did not take retribution into his own hands but reported what he had heard to the match officials. It did however disturb his concentration and when he was substituted shortly afterwards, he cut an upset and annoyed figure when the cameras fixed on him.
The question now is whether it would be wise for Hannibal to play in the cup tie between the two teams in a couple of weeks? On the one hand, his inclusion could well be seen as a sideshow and potential disruption to the Clarets; on the other, should Burnley deny themselves the services of one of their players through no fault of his or their own?
As for the game itself, this was definitely two points lost as missed chances by Lyle Foster, Zian Flemming and Jaidon Anthony, and a credible penalty shout turned down, ensured that the game ended in yet another goalless draw. Sheffield United?s late winner at Luton rubbed a little more salt into the wound.
If the Clarets? record-breaking defensive stinginess is to mean something, then it must start yielding wins on a consistent basis, otherwise it will just go down as a statistical quirk from a team who lacked the necessary gumption to get themselves promoted automatically.
Last Wednesday evening at Turf Moor, against Hull City, Burnley gave a glimpse of their capabilities with a fluid and purposeful display resulting in a two-nil win courtesy of first half goals from Bashir Humphries and Zian Flemming.
If Burnley are to assert themselves as viable candidates for automatic promotion, they simply must give us more of that and turn clean sheets and draws into goals and wins.
Editor?s note: For all Burnley fans I would seriously advise saving a few quid towards the expenses of the play-offs. We fire far too many blanks to have any realistic hopes of getting automatic promotion. I?ve already booked the Wembley Premier Inn. (TEC.)