Same as last year

We are very much into the second half of the season now, we’ve played everyone and we go to Crewe looking to win our first double of the season after beating them 3-0 at the Turf back in September.

That was an easy win for the Clarets, with goals from John McGreal, Robbie Blake and Richard Chaplow and it triggered off a poor run for Crewe.

They have long since pulled out of that bad run and it is certainly not the case just now.

They are currently on a good run and have won four and drawn two of their last six league games and that has taken them above us on goals scored.

They also boast the division's top scorer as well with Dean Ashton currently on seventeen league goals with eight of them coming in the last five weeks.

Crewe's ability to score goals is the reason they are above us. We both have a goal difference of zero but whilst we have score and conceded 21 goals Dario G’s boys have both scored and conceded 43. Only leaders Ipswich have scored more goals than them but also no side in the division have conceded more goals.

Click HERE to see all Crewe’s results this season.

In terms of the squad there has been just one addition since our September meeting and it has come about because of the link up between them and Liverpool with the Premiership club loaning them 21-year-old defender Jon Otsemobor.

He has been a regular in the Crewe defence and they were hoping to keep him permanently. However, the player has chosen to return to Anfield at the end of his loan spell on New Year’s Eve.

Crewe have few injury problems although Anthony Tonkin looks set to remain out of the reckoning although he will be having a cortisone injection to try and get him over the foot injury.

Justin Cochrane missed last week’s 1-1 draw at Wolves because of illness but he is ready to return although it looks as though his replacement in midfield Lee Bell will continue with Cochrane having to settle for a place on the bench.

The Jones boys could both be back in the squad too – defender Billy was rested last week whilst forward Steve has been suffering from illness.

It does though look as if Dario will start with the same team as the one that picked up the point at Molineux which was,

Clayton Ince, Jon Otsemobor, Richard Walker, Stephen Foster, Adie Moses, Kenny Lunt, Neil Sorvel, Lee Bell, David Vaughan, Dean Ashton, Mark Rivers.

If that’s the case five from Ben Williams, Justin Cochrance, Steve Jones, Billy Jones, Andy White, Luke Varney, Ben Rix and Paul Bignot will be on the subs bench.

I don’t quite know where to start with our team but the only thing for certain is that we’ll be without Frank Sinclair (suspended) along with Danny Coyne and Jean-Louis Valois injured.

Tony Grant is expected to be back in the squad after missing last week through injury whilst Richard Chaplow will be in the squad after coming through the last twenty minutes or so last week with no ill effect.

We believe that youth team captain Neal Trotman has been added to the squad and could win a place on the bench.

But what of Robbie Blake – will he play or not? He’s still going to be a Burnley player unless Whelan decides to take a break from his Christmas turkey tomorrow.

That will be a big decision for Steve Cotterill but I would suspect that provided he is still a Burnley player then he’ll line up against Crewe.

I think the side could look something like,

Brian Jensen, Michael Duff, Gary Cahill, John McGreal, Mo Camara, Ian Moore, James O’Connor, Tony Grant, Micah Hyde, Graham Branch, Robbie Blake. Subs from: Lee Roche, Paul Scott, Neal Trotman, Joel Pilkington, Amadou Sanokho, Richard Chaplow, Matt O’Neill.

Last time we met at Crewe, on Boxing Day last year, we came home with nothing other than a 3-1 defeat with Robbie Blake scoring our goal from the penalty spot.

It was our third successive defeat and Stan Ternent’s only change at the back after conceding five at Preston was to move Graham Branch back to centre half for the first time in two months as a replacement for David May.

It didn’t work and it was another complete shambles at the back, one of the goals we conceded has been used by Sky Bet this season prior to many Football League programmes.

There was no doubt that people there that day knew for sure that were going to face a relegation battle, and there were angry scenes in the away stand at the final whistle as supporters disagreed on the reasons for the poor state of the side.

Hopefully it will be somewhat better this time round.

The teams last year were,

Crewe: Clayton Ince, Billy Jones, Steve Foster, David Wright, Anthony Tonkin, Luke Varney (Gary Roberts 83), Michael Higdon, Kenny Lunt, Justin Cochrane (James Robinson 56), Steve Jones, Dean Ashton. Subs not used: Ademola Bankole, Paul Edwards, Allan Smart.

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Dean West (Mark McGregor 71), Graham Branch, Arthur Gnohere, Mo Camara, Paul Weller, Richard Chaplow (Jay McEveley 59), Tony Grant, Glen Little (Luke Chadwick 16), Robbie Blake, Ian Moore. Subs not used: Lee Roche, Matt O’Neill.