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FA Cup 3rd round day used to be massive and attendances up and down the country always reflected that. A cup tie would always pull in a much bigger crowd than a league game but that was long ago and with the decline of the competition we've now come to expect very low crowds.
Just look back two years ago. Our tie at QPR pulled in just 8,896 (compared to 13,226 having seen the league game there) and the replay at the Turf saw only 3,760 come through the turnstiles. A crowd of just 6,635 were there for our next replay win against West Brom in the following round.
Today's visit of Port Vale, if played back in the 1960s, would have attracted an attendance of considerably more than the average league attendance. Today, we'll be pushed to get to five figures and if we do it will be thanks to a very healthy away following from the Potteries.
Is the game important? That's the key question and so many managers don't view it as such. Ian Holloway has said this week that he'll field a very weakened team in Blackpool's tie because it is not a priority.
It's a shame. I was brought up in an era when the FA Cup was a massive competition and still, to this day, one of the lowest points in a season for me is the day we get knocked out. I'm in an ever dwindling minority that still thinks that way.
Today, replays apart, sees our first home tie in three years, since Arsenal beat us 3-0 in the same round in the 2007/08 season. Since, we've had no less than five away ties at QPR, West Brom, Arsenal, MK Franchise and Reading.
I'd love a cup run. Some say they hinder league form but I believe a cup run often acts as a real boost in the league.
Port Vale have recently been in the same position as Burnley in that they've been without manager. In their case, however, it was because their manager Micky Adams opted to leave to take the Sheffield United job. When this draw was made he was expected to be at Turf Moor today but moved just in time to take charge of the Blades last week with his first match at Burnley.
For a time it looked as though both clubs would be under the charges of caretaker managers, but whilst Stuart Gray will still be in charge of the Clarets there is a new man at Vale in former Stockport and Peterborough manager Jim Gannon.
Gannon has come up against Burnley in a big game in the past. He was in the Stockport team we beat at Wembley in the 1994 Second Division Play Off Final. He played the first eighty minutes that day before being replaced by former Claret David Miller.
Burnley were promoted alongside today's opponents Port Vale who went up automatically behind champions Reading. The following season, 1994/95, was the last time Burnley and Port Vale met.
They are currently in fourth place in League Two but were top at the beginning of December. Then, they suffered two postponements and three defeats in their next five league games before returning to winning ways last Monday against Burton Albion whilst under the charge of caretakers Geoff Horsfield and Mark Grew.
In the FA Cup they've reached this round by beating Dartford and Accrington. Having drawn 1-1 at Dartford in the 1st round they won the replay 4-0 before then beating Accrington at home 1-0 with a goal from Justin Richards.
Port Vale had leading goal scorer Marc Richards sent off in their 2-1 win against Burton. He's suspended for today's game but wouldn't have played anyway as he's also been ruled out for the next six weeks with injury.
Also missing is Doug Loft through injury but, somewhat surprisingly, goalkeeper Stuart Tomlinson can play. He was sent off in their 5-0 New Year's Day defeat at Rotherham but was allowed to play against Burton as they awaited the result of an appeal.
The appeal was successful and he can play. Having seen the incident I'm not sure for the life of me how he's got away with that one as he quite clearly came out of his box and brought the Rotherham player down and in doing so prevented an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
Vale will need to replace Marc Richards from that winning side on Monday when they lined up: Stuart Tomlinson, Gareth Owen, Adam Yates, John McCombe, Lee Collins, Gary Roberts, Anthony Griffith, Robert Taylor, Marc Richards, Justin Richards, Louis Dodds. Subs: Chris Martin, Kris Taylor, Ritchie Sutton, Sam Morsy, Tommy Fraser, Sean Rigg, Lewis Haldane.
Stuart Gray has said he'll be playing a full strength side. With John Guidetti having currently returned to Manchester City, that means he'll select from the other seventeen players on duty at Reading plus left-back Danny Fox who returns to the squad having been out with an ankle injury since the home draw against Doncaster in November.
I think there will be changes. I expect Jay Rodriguez to return and, given his goalscoring record at home, it is likely that Chris Iwelumo will get the nod over Steven Thompson despite Thommo playing so well last week. There could also be returns for Andre Bikey and Graham Alexander.
Bikey missed out on both of the previous games under Gray but with four goals conceded in those two games, and us looking far from secure at the back, he could get a recall. Likewise I think Grezza might just come in for Dean Marney who had such a good game at Reading until he found himself in front of goal.
The team could be: Lee Grant, Tyrone Mears, Clarke Carlisle, Andre Bikey, Brian Easton, Graham Alexander, Wade Elliott, Jack Cork, Chris Eagles, Chris Iwelumo, Jay Rodriguez. Subs: Brian Jensen, David Edgar, Michael Duff, Danny Fox, Dean Marney, Ross Wallace, Steven Thompson.
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In the cup, this will be our fifth meeting and right now it is two win each. Burnley won the first FA Cup encounter in 1898, beating the then named Burslem Port Vale 3-0 at Turf Moor and we also recorded a 2-1 home win in 1950.
The more recent clashes have gone Vale's way after two very poor performances by Burnley at Vale Park. The first of them was in the fourth round in 1976/77. We'd beaten Lincoln in the previous round and were clear favourites against Vale but fell to a 2-1 defeat.
It was a lot worse than the scoreline suggests with a Brian Flynn penalty on 89 minutes making the score look far more respectable than it deserved to be.
The Burnley team that day was: Alan Stevenson, Keith Newton, Ian Brennan, Peter Noble, Jim Thomson, Billy Rodaway, Malcolm Smith, Peter Robinson (Terry Cochrane), Paul Fletcher, Brian Flynn, Billy Ingham.
Four seasons on and we were back there. By now we were a third division club and had beaten Scarborough 1-0 in the First Round at Turf Moor with a Billy Hamilton goal. We trailed 1-0 to Port Vale at home in the next round but Eric Potts scored to take the game to a replay.
It was one to forget. We were taken apart by the brothers Mark and Neville Chamberlain on a night when Vale could have won by far more than 2-0. Both Chamberlains went on to play for Stoke with Mark playing for England. Mark's son Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is currently with Southampton who have just placed a £10 million value on his head.
Those two Chamberlains just had too much pace and movement for us that night and again we could have no complaints at the scoreline.
That night we lined up: Alan Stevenson, Brian Laws, David Holt, Derek Scott, Vince Overson, Martin Dobson, Tommy Cassidy, Eric Potts, Billy Hamilton, Steve Taylor (Kevin Young), Phil Cavener.
Previous 20 Seasons | |||||
Season | Div | Ven | Result | Att | Scorers |
1992/93 | 2 | h | 1-1 | 8,556 | Monington |
| . | . | a | 0-3 | 8,815 | . |
1993/94 | 2 | h | 2-1 | 12,594 | Joyce(2) |
| . | . | a | 1-1 | 10,710 | Mullin |
1994/95 | 1 | h | 4-3 | 10,058 | Nogan Randall Shaw Sandeman(og) |
| . | . | a | 0-1 | 9,663 | . |