The Impossible Dream

Exactly a year ago today, Burnley had 55 points on the board and stood in 11th place after 40 games. Six games and seven points later the side finished 13th in what many saw as a season of transition for the club.
Personally, I agreed with that thought and thought this season we would see more of the same. August came and went, with a few poor league results along the way. However, significantly, more significant than we ever could have imagined it to be, August also saw the Clarets dispose of two lower league sides to reach the third round of the Carling Cup.
As a Burnley fan, I’m not used to a profitable Carling Cup run so the thought of a home tie with Premier League Fulham always seemed a bit of a step too far, but a last ditch winner from home grown youngster Jay Rodriguez was enough to push us through to the fourth round and what surely must have been the end of the run, a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea.
Just two defeats in nine games in between the two cup games placed us in a promising position to head to Stamford Bridge and put on a good show. 120 minutes and a penalty shoot out of nerves and delight followed and suddenly small town Burnley had disposed of the Kings of Bling from Kings Road.
A further seven points followed before the next cup tie, which again surely must have been the end of our run, facing an Arsenal side that had scored nine goals combined in their last two Carling Cup games. People talk of famous European nights at Anfield, but this surely must have been one of the most memorable home cup ties at Turf Moor in a long time. Kevin McDonald was the hero of the hour and the cup could be put to the back of the mind for a month before the unreal prospect of Burnley facing Spurs in the Carling Cup Semi Final.
Three wins, a draw and two defeats later we headed to White Hart Lane for the biggest away trip of our generation. An unbelievable first half of Claret domination followed and no matter what happened in that second half, I can forever remember the feeling of seeing Tottenham Hotspur 0 Burnley 1 on the big screen scoreboard.
Sandwiched in between the first and second legs of the semi-final were two league games. Both ended in defeat for what looked like a defeated Clarets side. The second leg showed us just how wrong we could be. Written off by a whole nation, Burnley could not possibly score three times just to take the game to extra time at Turf Moor against Spurs. I can’t put in to words the events of that night but it is surely the most topsy-turvy rollercoaster of emotions in my lifetime of watching the Clarets. We were beaten in the cruelest way possible by a Pavyluchenko goal but whatever happens we have the memories of that run forever.
Aside from the slight distraction of an F.A. Cup run, we were able to concentrate on the league right up until today. The Clarets have tasted league defeat just three times since that famous semi-final night and surely we now have a right to dream?
Six games away from the season’s close, we stand in 4th place on 65 points, the strongest position since the early days of this century, where we were denied a play-off place by just one goal. Surely this can’t happen again this season? Today we see a Burnley side who play with style, verve and passion. A team that looks better than any Clarets side I have witnessed in my lifetime.
The boys in Claret have played a substantial amount of games more than the teams around us with one of the smallest sides in the country. They have fought the unbeatable foe by recovering from a three goal deficit against Spurs. They have brushed aside Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest in the space of four days, scoring nine goals along the way.
With six games to go, memories like these must surely be the incentive to push the boys over the finishing line and into the play-offs.
Whatever happens, I’ll be there for the rest of this season, and on to next season no matter what division the Clarets are in or whatever situations the future can throw at us.
As the song that has become so familiar with Burnley Football Club this season says, these eleven men strove with their last amount of courage to follow that star.
Maybe, just maybe, the play-offs and the Premier League beyond that could be our star.
Maybe, we can dare to dream.

FA Cup Weekend - As You Were

This season’s F.A. Cup has proved to be rather below par in terms of major upsets.

Manchester City’s 3rd round exit to Nottingham Forest at Eastlands was a debacle for the Blues, a point accentuated by Mark Hughes bringing in Shay Given, Wayne Bridge, Nigel de Jong and Craig Bellamy to add strength to his weak side. A more minor shock was Blackburn Rovers’ exit at Coventry City after previously edging through against non-league giants Blyth Spartans.

Kettering Town were the furthest progressing non-league team, before being taken to pieces by a much stronger Fulham side 4-2. This season’s Carling Cup saw Burnley see off Fulham, Chelsea and Arsenal and come two minutes away from conquering Tottenham Hotspur before a devastating final two minutes in the Semi-Finals. Where is that drama in the F.A. Cup this season? Where in the past the major teams have often disregarded the cup, we see the opposite this year.

Arsene Wenger clearly sees the F.A. Cup as his main source of a trophy this season to end the Gunners’ four year trophy drought. This accentuated by the side he played to face Burnley this weekend. The Gunners disposed of Owen Coyle’s battlers 3-0 in devastating style, all three goals showing just how fast and with such great quality they can take teams to pieces. Elsewhere, both Manchester United and Chelsea progressed to the Semi-Finals with ease. Only Liverpool of the “Big Four” failed to reach this stage, and with little surprise, their conquerors Everton fill up the last Semi-Final place.

Only Hull City stand between Arsenal and the Semi-Finals and it is hard to see how they could resist an Arsenal side in full flow. With that we would see Manchester United v Everton and Chelsea v Arsenal. This is of an unbelievable contrast to last season’s Portsmouth v Cardiff City final. For many neutrals, clashes between the “Big Four” don’t offer too much entertainment. The chess match style of play between them often results in quite drab affairs.

I suppose we’ll have to wait for next season for the magic of the F.A. Cup to return. Despite the disappointment this season’s competition has caused, one positive is that with all the teams lift in the competition competing for places in the Premiership’s top six, 7th place in the Premier League is now available for a UEFA Cup spot. It would realistically appear this place is West Ham’s to lose.

However, Manchester City, Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers all look capable of challenging them for the place. It’s been a season of ups and downs for the Hammers with financial devastation and key players wanting to leave. However, West Ham always seem to have something likeable and genuine about them in the way they go about their business. The return of West Ham to the UEFA Cup could surely be the platform for them to push on to bigger and better things next season.

The main contenders alongside the Hammers for 7th place must surely be Manchester City. The views on the terraces all season have been that Mark Hughes is not the man for the job. There doesn’t seem to have been a side with such a Jekyll and Hyde character as City in a long time. Sublime at home one week, appalling away the next, Hughes appears tactically inept on the road. It doesn’t take a genius to see City’s gung ho approach at home is not suited for away games against some of the Premiership’s stronger sides. Robinho appears incapable of scoring in recent months, and even Stephen “Super Man” Ireland looks short on form and fitness after such a hard season. However, City must surely be hoping to win the UEFA Cup and improve on last season’s 9th place. Otherwise the Sheikhs could have Sparky’s head on the chopping block this Summer.

With so many questions left to be answered this season, we are sure to see some big games and results in the remainder of the season. Can Everton triumph over adversity to win the F.A. Cup? Can Manchester City’s kings of bling push on for Europe and conquer their away day blues? Whatever happens it’s sure to be entertaining!

Coca Cola Championship - The Final Cut

Ask a supporter of a Coca Cola Championship club, and they would more than likely say it is one of the most competitive divisions in Europe, if not the world.

This year has seen one of the tightest promotion and relegation battles in many years. In past seasons, it has often been seen that 1 or 2 teams rise to the top and run away with promotion. However, this has been far from the case this season. With the majority of teams having 10/11 games left at this stage, just 13 points seperate 1st and 8th.

The typical suspects Wolverhampton Wanderers, Birmingham City and Reading have all season been expected to race to promotion, however poor runs recently by all three sides have blown the promotion race open.

Arguably the Championship Player of the Year so far is Sylvain Ebanks Blake of Wolverhampton Wanderers. The ex-Manchester United trainee has scored 22 goals so far this season as Mick McCarthy aims to carry Wolves back to where their fans and many critics believe they should be, the Premier League.

Looking beyond the top 3, you could say that any 3 clubs from 4th to 13th are still in with a chance of sealing a place in this years play-offs.

Sheffield United, Cardiff City and Preston North End currently occupy the 3 remaining play-off places at the moment. The loss of James Beattie in January could have stunted the Blades' progress for the rest of the season. However, they have kicked on from this and with the rest of the team all standing up to be counted in the goals for section, Kevin Blackwell has managed to keep his side up at the top. Cardiff City, boosted by the return of club icon Michael Chopra look good value for a play-off spot especially with 2/3 games in hand on the sides around them. However, I believe they may not have enough in the locker to head to Wembley this May.

Alan Irvine arrived at Preston last year with the side 23rd in the table. The transformation of the Lilywhites in such a short space of time is nothing short of outstanding. A developing young side has shocked many in the Championship this season, however their away form may hold them back from promotion this season.

Arguably the biggest success story of this season is Owen Coyle's Burnley. Coyle arrived at the Clarets after Steve Cotterill had taken the side as far as he could last season. Coyle is a prime example of the promising young British managers developing in the game at the moment. An unbelievable Carling Cup run this season, which as a Burnley fan was unreal to see and enjoy, could have forced the Clarets to take their eyes off the ball. However, despite playing substantially more games than the teams around them (47), and only fielding 23 players all season, Coyle's side are still in the running for promotion. However, tiredness could affect the Clarets and with an F.A. Cup trip to Arsenal this Sunday adding to the fixture calendar, maybe the play-offs could be one step too far this season.

Bristol City, Swansea City, Ipswich Town, Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday are all dark horses for a play-off push and maybe 1 of these sides could force the issue from now till May. Personally, I can see Swansea City as the most likely of these sides to make the play-offs this year.

At the other end of the table, it is hard to see a way out of the drop for Charlton Athletic. Just two years ago, the Addicks were a Premiership side. Now they are 11 points adrift of safety with 11 games to go and surely League One awaits.

Norwich City and Southampton share the other two relegation spots, however, Blackpool and Watford look like serious contenders for the drop.

With so many interesting issues and stories to be resolved over the next two months, this is setting up to be one of the most exciting finishes to a Championship ever. I personally believe Wolverhampton Wanderers will win the title and prove themselves on a higher stage next season.

Whatever happens, this rollercoaster will be an exciting one.