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With the youth team on the first team training pitch we were talking about the lack of drainage at the training ground and of course the discussions turned to the Turf, but there were no worries over the game, and indeed our Match Saver covers were on.
The rain duly arrived during the second half of that game and it forced some of us to retreat from the touchline before the final whistle, and we were back to the usual match day routine. There appeared to be no problems with the pitch though ahead of kick off, the only problems being the latest stewarding ideas in the upper tier of the Longside.
I'll say little on this for now, other than it angered many fans, but I wondered if it was the latest fiasco in our 'Match Day Experience'. Whatever it is I do find Turf Moor becoming a most unwelcoming place to watch football now and at times it is far from an enjoyable experience.
The teams came out between the tacky sparklers, the ones that make us look very non-league, and our team showed two changes from the side that had lost at Preston. One of those changes was an enforced one with Steven Caldwell replacing the suspended Clarke Carlisle, but the second change saw Joey Gudjonsson return at the expense of Ade Akinbiyi.
This meant a start up front for Kyle Lafferty alongside Robbie Blake with Chris McCann on the left of the midfield. Two thirds of our January squad strengthening was on the bench, the other third (Stanislav Varga) was again not in the sixteen.
For those still trying to fight their way in through the new human ticket barriers and missed kick off I can tell you that we made a bright start to the game against a Barnsley side who were in desperate need of the points.
We had a shot blocked, Steven Caldwell had a header cleared when a goal looked on and Chris McCann thought he'd headed us into the lead only for the referee to somewhat strangely blow up for a foul. There was some debate whether Chris did in fact get a touch or whether Joey Gudjonsson's free kick had gone straight in, but I thought he'd managed to get his head to it.
It wasn't all one way and Barnsley had a couple of decent chances, better chances than we'd had. Twice they really should have scored but both times put shots wide of the target. The second of them had the Barnsley fans dancing with delight in the cricket field stand in anticipation, until they realised it had gone the wrong side of the post.
We were the better side but they'd had the best chances, but we then put things right and scored two quality goals in the space of six minutes. There was some good fortune with the first initially as Wade Elliott's cross looped straight to Robbie Blake on the right wing.
The rest was pure Robbie. He brought the ball under control with his right foot, gave it one more touch before sliding in a superb ball with the outside of that right foot for Wade who slipped it through the keeper's legs and it was 1-0.
Our goalscoring winger is having a good time of it just now. Having waited for so long for his first goal of the season it has become a bus service, two almost at once. Not a bad way to celebrate signing a new three year deal.
It was all Burnley now and if the first was a good goal then the second one equalled it if not bettered it. It started with a throw in down the left wing and the ball was eventually played in to Kyle Lafferty on the corner of the box. Kyle had his back to goal but he turned his man brilliantly before unleashing a shot into the far corner that gave goalkeeper Luke Steele absolutely no chance.
By this time the biggest threat was the weather. Barnsley were offering little and we looked as though we might score three goals in a home league game for the first time since last season. However, there was surface water all over the pitch and you wondered just whether we'd ever make it to half time. We did, but not with our two goal lead intact.
We continue to score good goals then give soft ones away, and this was another in the 'soft goal' category. Daniel Nardiello got past Graham Alexander ridiculously easily but even so his cross should have been cut out at the near post without any problem by Brian Jensen. It wasn't and Jensen recovered to save well from Diego Leon only to see Brian Howard hit home the rebound from close range.
That was just two minutes before the break and we went in only a goal in front with the rain now pouring and the pitch getting worse and worse. We had a dozen or so people on the pitch forking with referee Colin Webster giving them firm instructions on which areas needed most attention.
The referee was out before the teams for the second half for a check on the pitch. He kept throwing a ball into some of the worst areas and the crowd cheered as each time it was able to roll. It was clear once the teams did come out that Barnsley weren't for continuing but Webster was prepared to give it ten minutes.
Thankfully the rain stopped for a while and that allowed for enough improvement in the pitch for the game to be completed. We dominated long spells of that second half and really should have added further goals, but at 2-1 there's always the risk of an equaliser, even against this poor Barnsley outfit. It was nearly the case too as a shot from Jonathan Macken hit the bar.
That sparked us back into life and anything they can do we can do better, and Joey Gudjonsson rifled a shot from fully thirty yards against the post. Sometime soon one of these Gudjonsson howitzers is going to go in.
In desperate need of points Barnsley poured forward but there was no real threat and in the end we were comfortable winners moving us one place up the table.
My choice as man of the match was a relatively easy one this week. I thought a number of our players did well in patches and Joey Gudjonsson at times was as good as I've seen him. But if we are talking about a player being as good as I've seen him then that's Kyle Lafferty who is my choice.
Whatever the debate about which is his best position he's not always played well in recent months. He himself admitted yesterday that he'd perhaps got too big for his boots. Well, if you can turn in performances like this Kyle then you can get just as big as you like. You won't get to play against defenders as inept as Stephen Foster and Dennis Souza so often but just keep doing what you did in this game and you'll find you have very few critics. And if you can add a goal or two like that, even better.
We need to carry this on now to Norwich where we will come face to face with our old friend(???) Glenn Roeder. And meantime, the ground staff will have two weeks to get that pitch ready for the next home game.
The teams were;
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Graham Alexander, Steven Caldwell, David Unsworth, Jon Harley, Wade Elliott (Alan Mahon 90), James O'Connor, Joey Gudjonsson, Chris McCann, Robbie Blake (Andrew Cole 79), Kyle Lafferty (Ade Akinbiyi 74). Subs not used: Gabor Kiraly, Mark Randall.
Barnsley: Luke Steele, Rob Kozluk, Stephen Foster, Dennis Souza, Lewin Nyatanga, Jamal Campbell-Ryce (Michael Coulson 78), Brian Howard, Bobby Hassell, Diego Leon (Kayode Odejayi 63), Jonathan Macken, Daniel Nardiello. Subs note used: Marciano van Homoet, Martin Devaney, Istvan Ferenczi.
Referee: Colin Webster (Shotley Bridge).
Attendance: 11,915.