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Bad end to a bad week
The numbers are diminishing and I couldn’t believe just how few Burnley fans turned up today to witness what became our fifth successive defeat, the worst run since we lost five around the Christmas and new year period five years ago.
We were never going to win it, we hardly mustered a shot all afternoon, and of those who did turn up, many were on their way to the exit gates long before the end, some even before half time as the Clarets suffered away defeat number twelve in what is becoming a miserable season.
Manager Steve Cotterill made changes from the side that lost to Reading John Spicer and the two forwards Michael Duff and Kyle Lafferty all dropped to the subs bench. In their place came fit again Garreth O’Connor, Wade Elliott and Michael Ricketts, and it was definitely Ricketts and not Frank Sinclair’s driver.
We needed a good start and I thought we got it, passing the ball well and making progress towards the Derby goal. There were no early chances but we had settled well and the home side were making little progress other than a free kick that Wade Elliott cleared off the line.
It had come from what looked a very dubious free kick for a foul on Inigo Idiakez but that was to be a pattern that finally undid the Clarets and ended the game long before half time. Other than that, neither side had really threatened but then Derby went a goal up.
They got the ball out wide on the right and with Jon Harley for some reason on the other side they had acres of space to get a cross in to the far post. It was headed back across to give Tommy Smith the easiest of chances.
1-0 to Derby and with our inability to score a goal it looked as though we were already facing yet another defeat. We were and within no time at all we were three down as Idiakez took over.
We know he’s good with free kicks, and the cheating Spaniard gets lots of chance to practice them by going down when he gets anywhere in range. Time after time today he, and his team mates, conned referee Phil Joslin, and he was always quick to start waving imaginary cards, trying to get our players sent off. I don’t like it, yet he continues to get away with it.
Once he’s got the free kicks then, as we recall from the game at the Turf, he is quite adept at turning them into goals, and two of them completed the scoring for the afternoon. The first of them looked to central for him to cause too much danger so he hit it straight through the wall, straight through Brian Jensen and into the net as the Beast turned on just about any Burnley defender he was within shouting distance of.
It really was poor defending but there was worse to come with the next gift of a free kick. This time it was more orthodox as he hit is free kick against the bar and guess what, it was not one of our players who reacted as it came out but Darren Moore who headed into an empty net.
The small number of diehard Clarets got smaller after the third goal, maybe even the Chief Executive left, with defeat now guaranteed and the home fans even forgetting their own protests to celebrate a second successive home win. In just a few minutes they had scored as many league goals as we have all year.
The rest of the game is hardly worth reporting, we had a lot of possession but that was probably because Derby had just taken their foot off the pedal knowing the points were in the bag. Even so we never troubled them and Derby keeper Lee Camp could well have stayed at home with his dad for what he was asked to do.
Nine weeks ago we came to Pride Park in the FA Cup. Although we were beaten, we really shouldn’t have been and at worst should have won ourselves a replay, but you wouldn’t have thought it was the same two teams today.
Ours was virtually, Thomas for Duff and Ricketts for Akinbiyi being the only changes. Derby weren’t though – there’s a new manager on the touchline and only Marc Edworthy, Lewin Nyatanga, Tommy Smith and Inigo Idiakez from that cup team started today.
They’ve improved significantly and we’ve, shall we say, not progressed at all, and quite frankly we just weren’t good enough against them. There seems no way out of this run just now, the confidence is shattered and we are in need of a boost. Win a game, this team doesn’t look even capable of scoring a goal or keeping a clean sheet and we have to start doing both.
Steve Cotterill I felt made some very strange decisions today. I don’t like Frank Sinclair at full back, I don’t think we look at all secure at the back when Wayne Thomas plays and Michael Duff must wonder how he’s lost his place given his performance at Coventry.
Having said that the manager needs some help and whether it is spending next season’s money or not, we have to strengthen the squad before this run turns our season into a relegation battle.
It’s been a bad week, and losing 3-0 is far worse even than being lied to by the Chief Exec.
Today’s teams were,
Derby: Lee Camp, Marc Edworthy, Lewin Nyatanga, Darren Moore, Alan Wright, Tommy Smith, Adam Bolder, Inigo Idiakez, Giles Barnes (Paul Thirlwell 80), Michael McIndoe (Lee Holmes 85), Kevin Lisbie (Mr Karren Brady 88). Subs not used: Kevin Poole, Richard Jackson.
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Frank Sinclair (Michael Duff 70), Wayne Thomas, John McGreal, Jon Harley, Wade Elliott, Micah Hyde (Graham Branch 57), James O’Connor (John Spicer 45), Chris McCann, Garreth O’Connor, Michael Ricketts. Subs not used: Gifton Noel-Williams, Kyle Lafferty.
Referee: Phil Joslin (Newark).
Attendance: 23,292.