Incidentally, please leave Jay Rod alone. I love him to bits! Innit to winit!
Attachment 15057
Incidentally, please leave Jay Rod alone. I love him to bits! Innit to winit!
Attachment 15057
Wood,Barnes,JRod and Vydra now.. I like them all as they score goals.. Perm any two from four ,but I would stick with Vydra and JRod for the Newcastle match..
SD knows his players weaknesses and strengths, playing balls to feet to Barnes and Wood is not an option, but of course we can now play that version of the game with Vydra and Jay Rod firing on all cylinders.
Personally, I think it's a lovely problem and set of options for SD to have.
Attachment 15086
After watching 90 minutes of dross against Newcastle, I can only think SD's problem is where the next goal's coming from. That wonderful free flowing football for the last half hour against a demoralised Bournemouth was significant by it's absence here. Back to the drawing board Sean.
A point won away in the EPL against a side fighting for their very EPL lives and you want wonderful free flowing football? Dave puts the game into a rather better perspective methinks sinkov:
When compiling this chronicle of Burnley Football Club’s Premier League odyssey, there are times when the words cascade out of the keyboard and flow with ease and eloquence; reporting on yesterday’s goalless draw at St James’ Park, Newcastle was not such an occasion.
Pressed into service as an analyst on Gillette Soccer Saturday, former manager of just about everywhere – Neil Warnock, found little to enthuse him; “You’ve brought me all the way up from Cornwall for this?” was one comment; “Do you have to keep coming to me Jeff?” was another. And on at least one occasion, the poor chap looked to have nodded off.
What football Warnock was moved to discuss was confined to descriptions of Newcastle attacks, the edit on Match of the Day portrayed a similar picture. Indeed one could be forgiven for thinking that Burnley spent the entire ninety minutes without the ball.
But all of those Newcastle attacks were to run aground on the rocks of the Burnley defence, a defence which was not breached for the eleventh time this season.
That statistic should be, and is, a source of pride for Burnley and their fans. It has been a fundamental reason why Burnley are not in relegation trouble, ensuring as it does that Burnley do not emerge empty handed from testing away fixtures like yesterdays.
Nick Pope performed a series of what for him were routine saves, performed with the calm, unfussy efficiency we have come to expect.
It is a quality that many of the great goalkeepers of the past have possessed; Banks, Shilton and Jennings for example. I can pay Burnley’s current custodian no greater compliment than to place him in such company.
The watching Gareth Southgate could not fail to have been impressed by Pope’s shot-stopping ability, but what perhaps lets him down in terms of becoming a fixture in the national team, is his distribution in an era when goalkeepers are expected to perform as auxiliary midfield players.
Burnley’s actual midfield struggled to grasp a firm hold on yesterday’s play and as a result, the attacking players had little to get their teeth into.
Sean Dyche described it as a “below par performance”, he was undoubtedly correct and in that regard the point which Burnley earned should be received with a measure of gratitude.
It was a case of take the draw, get back on the team bus and focus on the next match. Saturday's tea-time encounter with Jose Mourinho’s Spurs, a fixture which will hopefully provide more to write home about.
Regular contributor Dave Thornley shares his views on a rather drab EPL encounter, but Burnley came away with another valuable point. (TEC).
Saturday in Newcastle was no surprise to me at all. Newcastle are in a poor run and yet, because of various ideas, they were able to fill the ground with expectant fans who would have considered Burnley as a chance to get 3 points in their struggle to get up the table.
We did exactly what we do in difficult conditions and an away point was well earned and yet many of our fans do not think that this is acceptable. That point was more valuable to us than to Newcastle and it kept the gap between us exactly the same, whilst one or two clubs closed the gap on them.
In 2020 we have played 8 league games, won 4, drawn 2 and lost 2 for 10 against 7 points 14.
Our last 6 league games have seen us concede just 2 goals whilst scoring 9 ---I honestly don't know what fans are expecting.
"A point won away in the EPL against a side fighting for their very EPL lives and you want wonderful free flowing football? Dave puts the game into a rather better perspective methinks sinkov:"
You're missing my point BT, I'm not aware that I said I want free-flowing football, I was just putting this game and performance into perspective for those fans who saw the wonderful free-flowing football against Bournemouth last week and started talking about European football next season, even Champions League qualification. They are the ones who needed a lesson in perspective, and I was just pointing out that this game provided it.
On current form sinkov I can see us picking up another eigh**** points. Three (I know I'm being rather optimistic) wins against the Spurs, Blades and Wolves could well have us knocking on the door of Champions League qualification.
At Xmas my one concern was to avoid relegation, I really don't know how SD does it?
Attachment 15113