Oh Robbie, Robbie!

I did not think I would be posting again so soon, but after an exciting day at Turf Moor I felt inclined to.

Title chasing Watford were in town, and left with a point, a point which over the course of the game they perhaps didn’t deserve. Owen Coyle certainly felt Burnley did enough to merit maximum points on a miserable day a t’turf.

Kyle Lafferty missed a chance before Akinbiyi missed an open goal, and one suspected it was going to be another disappointing home defeat, where we failed to take our chances. In the end, we twice came back from behind to secure a point, which in all honesty should have been three. We’ve Robbie Blake to thank for saving us today though, and a full match report can be seen here.

Something else emerged from the match today, and it certainly wasn’t something for Burnley Football Club to be proud of. Trouble in the stands saw friction rise between some home fans and stewards, which resulted in a conflict between a fan and a steward.

I can see the point of view of certain Burnley fans at the back who want to stand, sing and create an atmosphere that the Longside was a kin to in years gone by, but the fact is rules are in place now, and stewards, at the end of the day, have to do their job. I like no other would love to stand and sing, but the rules are to sit down, and yes, that is sad, but yes, they are also the rules. It’s just a case of accepting it. I sympathise with the stewards and the fans, but at then end of the day it’s all about respect.

Perhaps if the fans were to be more respectful to the rules and the stewards, then maybe there would be a bit of leeway, but they aren’t. Let’s just try and get atmosphere back at the Turf without aggression.

So, a point it was in a game where it was important not to lose. The point did move us one place up the table to eighth, just one point of the much coveted top six. Now we move on to the KC Stadium and Hull City, in what I will go as far as saying is a MUST win game.

Anyway to go back to the match, here are a couple of open goal misses for Ade to realise he is not on his own! Ronny Rosenthal’s famous miss for Liverpool, and a certain Delroy Facey’s slice when he was on loan with the Clarets…

Burnley v Colchester United

Colchester United are the visitors to Turf Moor tomorrow, for what I hope will be another home win for the Clarets.

With two wins in our last two home games, it would appear that we have finally broken our home form hoodoo. And with Colchester struggling in the Championship, one would be forgiven for expecting three points tomorrow. Last week at West Brom was encouraging, yet the gulf in quality was clear for all to see. I’m certainly hoping that tomorrow, we will be able to show that gap in quality between us and Colchester.

Kyle Lafferty returns from his four game ban, following his appearance for Northern Ireland in midweek. The international is once again today subject to transfer talk from north of the border, with Rangers apparently lining up a £4 million summer bid.

Despite all this talk about Lafferty playing down the middle, I am in favour of him going straight in on the left. In both of our last two games it has been clear that we have lacked width on the left hand side, width that we had with Kyle in the side. Whether he was performing or not, the width was there.

Robbie Blake is not the answer for me. He doesn’t have the pace, and is far more effective for us in the middle; this was evident in the last 15 minutes against the Baggies.

Whatever Coyle goes for though, I’m sure will be productive. It is refreshing to be going in to tomorrow’s game not knowing what the line up will be. There are many questions to be answered come 3pm tomorrow, such as will Caldwell come back in? Who will start in the middle of the park, up front and on the left?

One thing is for sure though; it is nice to be left wondering for once! Roll on Colchester, roll on three points.