Mistakes cost Clarets dear

Well our away form continued to resemble a retarded abacus against Spurs at the weekend. I'm sure by now even the most unfortunate of children will have mastered their first count to five as it's now a sequence of 2-0, 3-0, 4-0 and 5-0 defeats away from home in the league- if we're not careful that bastard kid will be doing the most complicated times tables by Christmas.

The only thing that's missing in the sequence so far is a one nil away beating, something which I think we'd have taken over the last couple of games away from Turf Moor.

There is no doubt that the Premier League offers us some almost inevitable defeats but the manner in which we lose will always be well within our control. In every match we play we always manage to get the ball down and play some of our trademark good football but that can’t be at the expense of some of the kamikaze defending we saw at the weekend.

As individuals we work hard enough away from home but it’s nothing like the well rounded team performances we see at the Turf. It just seems that despite our fair share of possession, the lack fire in the final third adds to the already considerable pressure being put on our goal.

There were of course chances on Saturday; Steven Fletcher had a perfectly good goal ruled offside to make it one nil, while Robbie Blake couldn’t squeeze in Cudicini’s fumble to get us back into the game at 3-0.

But at both points that’s where we crumbled and conceded killer goals to completely stunt our rhythm.

Elementary defensive mistakes are costing us dear and with the possible exception of Tottenham’s second which should have been a foul in the build up you can point to errors that should not be happening at the rate they are in almost every goal.

Away from home our backline is lacking communication, concentration and at times competence; we definitely need to hope that the skipper Steven Caldwell is fit enough to start sooner rather than later to inject some much needed leadership and organisation back into our defensive line.

The lack of protection they are receiving from the midfield is also seriously adding to our woes.

The hard working Gudjonsson played well on Saturday but again the trio of Joey, Elliot and Alexander played mainly as individuals and not as a unit which left gaping holes for Spurs to surge through and pick more holes in our already leaky defence.

Out wide it seems Steven Fletcher is screaming out to be played down the middle on a more regular basis, while as much as I love Robbie Blake he will always be hit and miss depending on whether he receives enough of the ball high up the pitch to make an impact.

I’m still banging the Chris Eagles drum for him to be given a start in a bid to freshen things up. In one or two positions there is some real competition for places, but it can only be called that if the players knocking on the door are given their opportunity to impress; and as things currently stand Eagles is deserving of that chance.

There have been calls for a change of tactic on our travels but I’m not sure how else we could set up that would offer a better way of protecting the back four and competing with the opposition. Maybe a traditional 4-4-2 (not the one we flitted between at the weekend) would allow us to play further up the pitch, especially with the neat touches and hold up play offered by the likes of Steven Fletcher and David Nugent. That approach is always a tricky one in the modern game, especially looking our previous opponents Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea who can play from back to front with such devastating pace and power.

We can’t be too disheartened though, although nobody likes to be hammered, the start we’ve had is still better than anything we could ever have imagined. The lack of an away point or goal will come but we must make sure its sooner rather than later as we can’t afford pin all our hopes on what is so far our superb home form. We need to learn our lessons much faster and make sure we give ourselves a chance in football matches away from Turf Moor; especially with that trip to Ewood Park ever looming.

Nugent is most definitely a claret

Oh, the joys of waking up on a Sunday morning with the incomparable feeling of another three points towards our survival. Our first Saturday win in the Premier League also saw us score more than once for the first time this campaign and turned a once hated figure into a new Claret and Blue hero.

Owen Coyle fairly decided against making changes to the side that has started every game since winning our opening home game against Manchester United giving the eleven chance to answer some nonsense written about them following the whitewashings against Chelsea and Liverpool.

For the majority of the first half it felt like the players were still reliving their ordeals at Stamford Bridge and Anfield as they looked nervous and shaky. Sunderland looked the much better side and took the game to us with neat and incisive play from the likes of Malbranque, Reid, Bent and Richardson.

Despite their early dominance it was the Clarets who made the breakthrough as an Alexander through ball was met by Elliot before he was met by the Ferdinand brother they should’ve kept locked in the basement as Anton clumsily felled the Burnley number 11.

Up stepped Alexander who struck the ball decisively down the middle of Craig Gordon’s goal from the penalty spot. But not even the goal advantage could kick start the Clarets into life as Sunderland pressed and pressed and continued to look extremely threatening.

Our centre backs looked far too casual with Bikey in particular wanting too much time on the ball. Finally we were punished for it as Carlisle failed to step up leaving Darren Bent onside and with plenty of space to pick his spot and coolly slot the ball past the Beast to draw the scores level.

Something was need in the second half if we were to keep Sunderland from taking the ascendancy and we got it in the form of an Owen Coyle team talk. In the second period we began to look more composed and show we could match the Makem’s mix of nice football and physical presence.

Then came Coyle’s masterstroke as the pair probably unluckiest not to start the game Nugent and Eagles were both brought onto the field within minutes of each other. In between their introductions Steve Bruce went all out for the win as he introduced the giant Kenwyne Jones to the action for Malbranque. This opened up the game in the Claret’s favour as Sunderland deployed Frazier Campbell as a makeshift right winger.

Nugent began to have much more of an impact at leading the line than Paterson as he began to make life hard for Ferdinand and Turner by winning the arial battle. Eagles also thundered into the match as he time and time again tore into George McCartney down the Burnley right. The tide was very much beginning to turn.

Then came Nugent’s moment as he started and finished the first of his two wonderfully worked goals. A perfect cushioned header found Eagles who zipped down the line before linking up with the overlapping Mears who touched the ball back for Elliot who delivered an exceptionally inviting cross for Nugent to head home and finish a fantastic Burnley move.

Then with five minutes to spare came his second, a wonderful run from the excellent Elliot was delivered wide to Mears who found the feet of Nugent, only for our new hero to turn and guide the ball into the top corner. Game over- insert coin.

The performance from England one day international was the perfect way to silence the doubters who still see him as a Preston player. Like Alexander, there is no doubt that Nugent is now a Claret.

It was great to see a player so shot of confidence at Portsmouth play with a smile on his face again and enjoy his football. You could tell he loved being back out on the pitch and looked back to the cocksure figure we all loved to hate during his PNE days as he cheekily put linesman flag for a corner after his chasing down failed to win a Burnley corner. Credit Owen Coyle with restoring his confidence in such as short space of time, it just shows what telling a player like Nugent what a good player he is can do.

But it wasn’t just the David Nugent show; all over the pitch we looked confident once we settled into our footballing rythem. Right down the spine of the team we looked solid in the second half, while we are beginning to see some good partnerships forming all over the pitch. Mears and Eagles look promising down the right while the understanding between Blake and Jordan on the left is paying dividends.

A perfect home record was capped off by another sensational win. The good times continue to roll, who can remember the last time an England International scored the winner for Burnley at Turf Moor? Answers on a postcard.

Home is where the heart is

When in my last piece I spoke of Anfield being a footballing church I didn't expect to be welcomed by the Liverpool fans with a hastily arranged special Saturday service.
Prior to kick off the reds fans roared to their hymn Never Walk Alone which led me to believe that both sets of fans were going to contribute to a fantastic atmosphere. But while the Claret's played their part they were pretty much subdued for the whole ninety minutes despite the 4-0 scoreline. I'm not even sure Emmanuel Adebayor could've got them going.
I truly believe fans in the higher echelons of the Premier League are spoilt and almost can’t be bothered unless it’s a top four clash or a so called “great European night”. I just hope the Debrecen supporters making the trip from Hungary tonight aren’t overly expectant about the Anfield experience.
Unlike their fans, the Liverpool players were excellent and just like Chelsea two weeks earlier showed us exactly what being in the Premier League is all about. In our wins against Manchester United and Everton were we the team that harassed and closed down forcing our opponents into simple errors, but this time we were played at our own game by a tremendous high tempo Liverpoool.
Our midfield were never in the game as Gerrard, Kuyt, Beneyoun and Lucas tore us to shreds while our under the cosh defence understandably succumbed to some sloppy errors.
The great relief after the game was that we were heading back to sanctuary of Turf Moor after two away drubbings against two of the Premier League’s best. Although Sunderland look a good side, it’s against teams like them that we need to pick up points.
Barring Tottenham at the Lane, the next six games represent a real opportunity to add to our already impressive points tally. October pits us against Birmingham, Wigan and Hull City at the fortress while there is also our long awaited trip to Ewood Park that can’t come quick enough.
Some on the phone-ins and messageboards have unbelievably begun to criticise Coyle and call for drastic changes to the team and his tactics. I’m not sure how that’s possible given our last two opponents and I’m quite sure no matter what personnel or formation we’d have applied the results would’ve been almost identical.
There are one or two players though perhaps pushing for a starting berth, Chris Eagles looked hungry and up for the fight when he was introduced at Anfield while its only a matter of time until new signing David Nugent gets his first start after also looking impressive from the bench last weekend.
But whatever eleven starts against Sunderland on Saturday the game represents our chance to really push on and cement our place in the middle of the table for the next month or so. But for the moment I’m just happy to get back to the Turf and hopefully watching us getting a touch of the ball.

Claret's Honeymoon just won’t end

Thank God for the International break. Prior to the fixtures coming out I was informed by her indoors that I was required to escort her to a friends wedding this coming weekend, my immediate thoughts were one of dread as to which Burnley game I’d be forced to miss. Thankfully an England Slovenia friendly stepped in and allowing me to enjoy the use of the overpriced four start hotel to its maximum.

Although for the price of sitting in a Turkish Sauna this weekend, seven days earlier I could’ve shelled out for an overdraft busting ticket at Stamford Bridge to watch us play Chelsea.

Unable to head south to watch our 3-0 defeat by Carlo Ancelotti’s men due to work commitments I instead had to settle for the fantastic coverage on ESPN (now that’s brand loyalty for you).

The game was probably a perfect example of what most Claret’s expected our previous games against Manchester United and Everton to be like as the Blues dominated from start to finish.

Thankfully our previous point gaining performances at the Turf meant this game was an easy one to write off and forget about as we had lost to a team which look like they could be this years worthy Champions. Although, just wait until we rock the boat when the cocksure Londoners visit fortress Turf Moor at the end of January.

As the weekend ended, thoughts turned to any last minute deadline day deals that might happen. No big deals were touted which led to the sorry lack of any Sky Sports News reporters standing outside the Turf pretending to receive texts from players who were not actually about to sign.

Hull striker Daniel Cousin was heavily tipped to come in on loan and it was a surprise to both us and him when the deal fell through. Poor old Cousin had already stated his elation at sealing a move to play for Owen Coyle whilst also branding his current manager Phil Brown “bizarre and illogical” in the process. Maybe he has a point Phil?

But the real surprise came just after five o’clock when news filtered through that England’s all time leading goal-hanger and former Preston hero David Nugent had signed on a six month loan deal.

The North End fans sobbed that their prodigal son was not returning home to Deepdale as he instead choose to shack up with his new Claret and Blue mistress down the road.

So far opinion seems to be split on Nugent, for years he was the cocky figurehead for all our ill feeling towards the Knob Enders but secretly I think most admired him for being one of the Championship’s stand-out players.

Some have lambasted him for not being a natural finisher- but unfortunately you don’t get natural Premier League goal scorers on loan from Portsmouth.

To be fair to him he never got a fair crack of the whip at Pompey and should be hungry to prove all his doubters wrong. What we are getting is a very good player who will add to the versatility of our squad playing either up front or in the wide positions currently occupied by the likes of Robbie Blake and Steven Fletcher. More options in the attacking third of the field is what we need and with Nugent’s hold up play, work ethic and vision for me he is very much a welcome edition to Owen Coyle’s squad.

Following this weekend’s watching of declarations of holy matrimony will be a trip to the footballing Church of Anfield. Given the Red’s shaky start to the season it is most definitely a game we’re not writing off and we’ll be looking to show people that our Premier League honeymoon is definitely not over just yet.