The year of the cup final continues

If there is anyone out there that still doubts the fact that football can be a cruel, cruel game then will somebody please show them a DVD of our trip to Villa Park on Sunday. In fact, just show them the twelve second half minutes where we suffered a horrific collapse even an England batting order would struggle to emulate.

From one nil up to five two down at the finish, the story of our away season continued with great aplomb as once again what seemed to be looking like a competent performance was shattered when put under pressure.

The most frustrating thing about the games we’ve had that have been similar to Sunday (to varying extents at Portsmouth, Manchester United, Everton and Chelsea) is that in each and every one of them we were well in the game until we switched off.

Goals one to five all combined an all too familiar disastrous formula. First comes the simple lack of concentration which quickly manifests into a major loss of confidence, sadly when the two combine at this level you will be punished each and every single time.

The question that has posed two managers this season is how do we stop it from happening?

Certainly Coyle seemed to believe our gung-ho approach would eventually pay off while Laws is busy trying to mend the psychological damage of the formers approach. Sadly the gaffer can do all the work he wants during the week but he can do nothing to stop the self belief draining once Downing’s first was quickly followed up by a second deflected effort to make it three one.

If survival hinges on picking up at least one away win from the six that remain then I’d suggest that the one at Wigan remains our best chance of picking up three points on our travels. Barring that, with continued good results at home a point at both the DW and at Sunderland may be enough to help push our heads back above the parapet.

The fitness of Graham Alexander and Chris McCann may be the key to our survival hopes. I’d love to see a midfield trip of Grezza, McCann and Jack Cork who was by far our best player at Villa. It was nice to have a fully mobile midfielder in the young Chelsea loanee, who looks a very tidy player and a good acquisition. Unfortunately the anticipated return of McCann seems to hang in the balance with his up and down recovery seemingly one setback away from surgery. It was also fantastic to see Martin Paterson come off the bench to score his first Premier League goal after being out for much of the campaign.

I wish Aston Villa luck with their trip to Wembley to face Manchester United in the Carling Cup showpiece this weekend. However before the other Claret and Blue’s run out on the hallowed turf of the national stadium there is a more important cup final for us to worry about. Saturday’s visit of Portsmouth is perhaps the biggest of all our final twelve games and is one I’m already nervous about. Three points are essential in what could be a potential banana skin.

The financially stricken club look almost certain to be in administration come the weekend with a nine point deduction to boot. Despite their position Pompey have some good players and have been unlucky at times this season. Too add to that I’m always wary of the wounded animal with the club’s relegation all but sealed if nine points are removed.

Although I have little sympathy with their plight it would be a disaster to see any football club go bust. We’ve struggled to avoid administration over recent years due to a lack of money so forgive me for not feeling sorry for a club that have squandered Premier League riches and massive transfer fees. I don’t want to see their fans lose their team but I hope we can add further punishment in what promises to be a miserable week for their club.

They have to take heart from the fact that with administration the club can go on and start to rebuild. That is the main thing for any club that is facing or will face financial difficulties in the next few weeks, months or years; but as long as we can still see our beloved clubs run out and play football on a Saturday afternoon then all will be well.

In the not too distant future a football club will go bust with probably a few others following suit. But until that tragic day where we will all mourn together we must all concentrate on our own battles. At the moment a survival of a different kind is what Burnley Football Club will be focusing on until May.

Whatever happens after that, whether its Premier League football or Championship, I know that as a result of this magical season that my club needn’t worry about football’s grim reaper loitering around the Bob Lord anytime soon. A failure to win this weekend though and there may be a few more unwanted relegation vultures starting to circle Turf Moor.