We saved the worst till last

Last updated : 28 December 2010 By Tony Scholes
Lee Grant
Lee Grant - our best player by some considerable distance
I don't know where to start. Boosted by the away win against Barnsley, and facing one of the strugglers in the division you would have thought there might just have been a chance of a half decent performance.

Instead we were given ninety minutes of disjointed , tiresome football during which we hardly threatened to get anything out of the game. I say hardly, and that would have been never but for the opening stages of the second half when Chris Eagles threatened to help get us back into the game.

I think there were about five minutes gone when I realised there was nothing for us and it was no surprise when Scunthorpe did take the lead on 14 minutes. By half time it could have been worse, much worse, and we can be thankful for our one and only decent player on the day - goalkeeper Lee Grant. He made one superb save to tip a shot onto the bar and then did really well to save a one-on-one after our defence had politely waved them through.

They had a goal disallowed for offside, and down at the other end Joe Murphy had very little to deal with in terms of saves.

Eagles arrived for the second half and for me he'd have come on for John Guidetti and we'd have gone back to the tried and tested 4-3-3 formation, but it was Wade Elliott who was substitute. Not as though I'm defending Wade's performance; more that I thought a change of formation might help.

Those first few minutes saw Eagles threaten to get us back into the game. We got some good crosses over and won some corners. Clarke Carlisle and Jay Rodriguez found ways of missing headed opportunities and before you knew it the little surge had ended. It's difficult coming on as a sub when it's not so good, it must be nigh on impossible on a day like this.

Scunthorpe had another goal disallowed, again correctly which is surprising given referee Woolmer got little right all afternoon, and then they capped it all with a fully deserved second.

Well done Chris Eagles for trying to lift us for the first ten minutes of the second half and well done Lee Grant for keeping us in it, particularly in the first half. The rest should be hanging their heads in shame.

The chants aimed at Laws at the end were surely not surprising but those players didn't offer him one little bit of help today. Is that what they call losing the dressing room? This performance was as bad as I've seen in a long time and something needs to be done, and done quickly.

Rumours of a board meeting this evening I can confirm are just that, rumours. Where it came from I don't know but it is very much another rumour that can be discounted.

The teams were;

Burnley: Lee Grant, Tyrone Mears, Clarke Carlisle, Andre Bikey, Brian Easton, Wade Elliott (Chris Eagles 45), Graham Alexander, Jack Cork, Ross Wallace (Steven Thompson 72), John Guidetti (Chris Iwelumo 55), Jay Rodriguez. Subs not used: Brian Jensen, David Edgar, Michael Duff, Dean Marney.
Yellow Card: Jay Rodriguez.

Scunthorpe: Joe Murphy, Andrew Wright, Cliff Byrne, Rob Jones, Eddie Nolan, Martyn Woolford, Sam Togwell, Michael O'Connor, Garry Thompson (Michael Collins 77), Jonathan Forte (Matt Godden 81), Chris Dagnall (Josh Wright 90+2). Subs not used: Sam Slocombe, Trent McClenahan, David Mirfin, Paris Cowan-Hall.
Yellow Card: Eddie Nolan.

Referee: Andy Woolmer (Northamptonshire).

Attendance: 15,043.