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It all started brightly enough with ten points in the first five games of the season, but a further sixteen points in thirteen games since is hardly the sort of form that is going to see us pushing for any end of season prizes.
The league, and our position, is very interesting right now. We glass half fullers will point to the fact that we remain just one point outside of a top six position, and therefore just one point behind our aims for the season. The glass half empty fans will, instead, be quick to spot that we'd now be a bottom half team.
It's all, without any doubt, put manager Brian Laws under some severe pressure and has seen him subjected to some awful abuse at times. Mind you, it's been like that for him since 13th January, the day he returned to Turf Moor as manager.
But Laws knows, as do the players, that we need to be moving forwards and the sooner we can start getting more points on the board more regularly then the better things will be.
It's a tough little run of matches in the lead up to Christmas. Three of the four are against teams in the top six, including second place Cardiff, whilst the other sees a reunion with former manager Steve Cotterill at Portsmouth and they are one of the in form teams in the league right now and won again last night, coming from behind to beat Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.
Yes, tough, but very much time to start showing our credentials. We can't wait much longer.
Derby have been under the management of Nigel Clough for almost two years. He took over at a desperate time when the season in the Premier League had already faded. They won just once in the big league, beating Newcastle at Pride Park. It was a series of results that saw Billy Davies lose his job and replaced by Paul Jewell.
Jewell had to wait until well into the following season before he got his first win for Derby and as they slid even further he went the same way as Davies, paving the way for a somewhat emotional appointment of former manager Brian Clough's son.
Clough found it difficult. The club was in a mess and he'd been brought in to overhaul the whole set up on the playing side. For periods it looked as though his place might but under threat but they stuck with him.
They sneaked into 18th place by the end of the 2008/09 season and a year later recorded a 14th place finish. This season, however, things are going well and they currently sit in fourth place.
They have a cracking home record, but apparently not so good away. Even so, they've done three times what we haven't done, and that's win an away game. They have left Leeds, Doncaster and Ipswich with three points.
Kris Commons is currently their leading scorer. He's hit the net ten times in league games this season. Two of those have come from the penalty spot, and five of the ten have been scored away from home in those three wins.
A win for Derby today would see them go above Swansea into third place whilst a defeat could only realistically see them drop one place.
Nigel Clough is able to welcome back two players today. Midfielder James Bailey was ruled out last week with a sickness bug while Shaun Barker sat the game out because of a suspension. He had a knock too and would have been out in any case but Clough expects him to return.
Dean Moxey was another with the bug who was out last week and they'll be delighted he's back because his replacement Gareth Roberts was sent off and will now serve a suspension.
Clough has, this season, used to goalkeepers on his subs bench and that was certainly the case last time they played away with both Stephen Bywater and Saul Deeney named amongst the seven subs at Leicester.
Former Burnley loan player Russell Anderson is expected to be on the bench.
Derby are expected to line up: Frank Fielding, John Brayford, Shaun Barker, Dean Leacock, Dean Moxey, James Bailey, Paul Green, Tomasz Cywka, Stephen Pearson, Kris Commons, Luke Moore. Subs from: Stephen Bywater, Saul Deeney, Robbie Savage, Ben Pringle, Russell Anderson, Conor Doyle, Shefki Kuqi, Alberto Bueno.
There were a lot of questions asked last week when Brian Laws named the same side that had started the game a week earlier against Watford. Whether he will stick with that side again today we have to wait and see but I would expect there to be changes.
Chris Eagles was a major doubt last week before being passed fit and it is the same this week whilst Danny Fox remains out of the side and Martin Paterson is again doubtful.
With Leon Cort now out of the equation it will mean places available on the bench and I would expect two of those to go to new signing John Guidetti and development squad player Alex-Ray Harvey.
If Eagles and Paterson don't make it the team could be: Lee Grant, Tyrone Mears, Clarke Carlisle, Andre Bikey, Brian Easton, Jack Cork, Wade Elliott, Dean Marney, Jay Rodriguez, Chris Iwelumo, Ross Wallace. Subs: Brian Jensen, David Edgar, Michael Duff, Graham Alexander, Alex-Ray Harvey, Steven Thompson, John Guidetti.
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That's exactly what happened. Kevin McDonald scored his first Burnley goal to open the scoring on six minutes; Martin Paterson added two more on 15 and 23 minutes and then the fog came down. It really could have only been against Derby. Never mind 'Fog on the Tyne', this was very much 'Fog on the Turf'.
The fog had swirled around Gawthorpe during the youth game in the morning but the Turf Moor area was clear and there appeared to be no problems.
One a bitterly cold day we were soon warmed up by our start. Robbie Blake's early corner found its way back to him. This time his cross found Steven Caldwell who headed down for McDonald to finish.
Blake was involved again on the quarter hour as he and Eagles linked up brilliantly down the right hand side and, when Eagles crossed, Paterson was there, charging in to score from close range.
We'd hardly got our breath back and it was 3-0, Paterson again and almost a carbon copy of his first.
We sat back and waited for the avalanche of goals but almost immediately the fog started to descend. Thankfully, as it worsened, referee Steve Tanner got us to half time but there were real concerns it would be called off as things went worse.
Eventually, during the second half, it did lift slightly and we were able to get the game finished comfortably albeit without any further additions to the score.
Blake, Eagles and Paterson had starred in a top performance from the Clarets when the Fog on the Turf was all ours, all ours.
The teams were;
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Michael Duff, Clarke Carlisle, Steven Caldwell, Stephen Jordan, Graham Alexander, Chris Eagles (Steven Thompson 81), Kevin McDonald, Chris McCann, Robbie Blake (Alan Mahon 76), Martin Paterson (Joey Gudjonsson 86). Subs not used: Diego Penny, Ade Akinbiyi.
Derby: Roy Carroll, Paul Connolly, Darren Powell, James Tomkins, Jordan Stewart, Kris Commons (Nathan Ellington 45), Miles Addison, Przemyslaw Kazmierczak, Paul Green, Rob Hulse, Luke Varney. Subs not used: Stephen Bywater, Lewin Nyatanga, Nacer Barazite, Emanuel Villa.
Previous 20 Seasons | |||||
Season | Div | Ven | Result | Att | Scorers |
1991/92 | FAC | h | 2-2 | 18,722 | Harper Eli |
| . | . | a | 0-2 | . | abandoned 76 mins due to fog |
| . | . | a | 0-2 | 18,374 | . |
1994/95 | 1 | a | 0-4 | 13,922 | . |
| . | . | h | 3-1 | 11,534 | Davis Eyres Shaw |
1999/2000 | FAC | a | 1-0 | 16,030 | Cooke |
2002/03 | 2 | a | 2-1 | 22,343 | Blake(pen) Barton(og) |
| . | . | h | 2-0 | 15,063 | I Moore Taylor |
2003/04 | 1 | a | 0-2 | 21,960 | . |
| . | . | h | 1-0 | 16,189 | Branch |
2004/05 | C | h | 0-2 | 13,703 | . |
| . | . | a | 1-1 | 23,701 | Valois |
2005/06 | C | h | 2-2 | 12,243 | Akinbiyi Noel-WIlliams |
. | FAC | a | 1-2 | 12,713 | G O'Connor |
| . | . | a | 0-3 | 23,292 | . |
2006/07 | C | h | 0-0 | 12,825 | . |
| . | . | a | 0-1 | 23,122 | . |
2008/09 | C | h | 3-0 | 11,552 | McDonald Paterson(2) |
. | . | a | 1-1 | 33,010 | McCann |