Laws time is now

A rather turbulent month in the history of Burnley Football Club on and off the pitch has finally come to an end and thankfully it’s finished on a positive note. Despite the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday, the Clarets showed enough substance to suggest that avoiding relegation remains a strong possibility.

The league leaders were given a real game at Turf Moor; it was certainly a harder ride than what John terry has allegedly been getting from Wayne Bridge’s missus. Or not, it depends how he likes it I suppose. The Blues skipper eventually won the game for his team with a powerful header however prior to that Burnley were more than in the game.

Pundit’s predictions of a “cricket” score were well wide of the mark as we looked much stronger and competitive than in recent weeks. The spine of the team looked sterner; Brian Jensen claimed his crosses, Leon Cort made a comfortable debut alongside the outstanding Clark Carlisle, Steven Fletcher led the line well, while the returning Andre Bikey came back from Africa finally looking like he’d made the transition from centre half into a top midfield player.

Our robust Cameroon international brushed the likes of Lampard, Cole and Ballack aside when shielding the back four, while often gave the simple ball instead of trying to do too much with it in what was a man of the match performance. Elsewhere David Edgar shone when he was brought on for the injured Christian Kalvanes in stamping out the threat from the Chelsea right.

Many would’ve thought that once Nicolas Anelka had put Chelsea one up in the first half that Burnley would’ve crumbled and faced the same fate as Sunderland last week. But that wasn’t to be the case and when Steven Fletcher managed to get himself past Brazilian lump Alex to equalise, a well deserved point looked on the cards until captain infidelity spoilt the party.

The only slight criticism in what was an outstanding display is that we were too stand offish at times, but faced with such quality it sometimes it is hard not to be. But contrast Saturday’s performance to last Tuesdays defeat at Bolton and things couldn’t have been more different.

In what was an uncomfortable atmosphere against our former boss “Moses” Coyle’s new team, early injuries to Alexander and McCann stunted our flow in what became a severely disjointed performance. The mood in the camp at the final whistle certainly wasn’t pleasant, especially when “Moses” took it upon himself to hug each and every one of our players in front of the away following. Although I personally feel the “Judas” tag is harsh after all Coyle has done for the club, I don’t see why he couldn’t have just taken the stick he was getting without having to rile the fans further.

Coyle has got his move so should have been prepared to take a bit of flack. He says he has kept a dignified silence but in my book actions speak louder than words and the way he lathered our boys with affection was more akin to our Wembley triumph than the actions of a recently departed manager. If he was as dignified as he likes to make out then he should’ve shaken the player’s hands and said his goodbyes in the tunnel or at least the half way line.

Coyle’s biblical dig was quite amusing too, as he commented on how quickly he has turned from God to Judas, before then comparing himself to Moses. I know since then Piers Morgan has thrown King Herrod into the ring as an alternative suggestion; and maybe Noah too for the way he led Steve Davis and the rest of the coaching staff two by two to the arcs above the Reebok. Coyle was right though, that place really does have Premier League infrastructure, there’s a Subway, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and even a KFC on that big old heartless industrial estate.

Thankfully, Coyle’s name wasn’t mentioned at all by anyone in my vicinity at the Turf on Saturday. Hopefully the majority of fans can now begin to move on and help us achieve our goal of staying in the Premier League. For me, Brain Laws will be judged purely on results from now on; the transfer window is shut, we have our new signings and more importantly a run of winnable fixtures on the horizon.

This starts with West Ham at home on Saturday, with games against the likes of Portsmouth, Stoke, Wolves and Blackburn all at the Turf before the end of March. It is vital we take as many points as possible from these fixtures and then try and break our away duck in the matches against Fulham, Villa, Arsenal and Wigan that are sandwiched in between our home games.

With the news that Nugent is staying until the end of the season and that Jack Cork has come to enhance our midfield options from Chelsea, I feel that there is real competition for places and a good balance within the squad. Laws has done well in the transfer market, now all he needs to do is to turn good performances against the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea into results against the teams around us in the league. If he can do that then I have no doubt we will stay up and then just maybe the old Burnley bible will come out again to christen Brian Laws as Burnley’s second coming.

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Check out the latest Vblog below; not sure why when put online its transformed into a badly dubbed film but nevermind. Enjoy!

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