We welcome back Nat, a member of the forum. Nat has done previews in the past and hopefully this will become a regular article on the blog
—————————————————————————————————————–
Current form
Blues go into the clash having picked up four points from their last two games, though preceding that they had won just one of the previous seven matches in League and Cup, an alarming run which included humiliating defeats against Reading, Wolves and Blackpool.
Burnley have recently performed a slide-arrest of their own after losing their previous five league games on the bounce by achieving a last-gasp win over Championship whipping boys Charlton and an FA Cup replay win against Premiership side West Brom in midweek.
Burnley’s season so far
This season has been the Clarets’ most momentous for quite a while. As well as pushing for at least a play-off place in the Championship, they have enjoyed an awesome run in the Carling Cup which included defeating Fulham, Chelsea and Arsenal consecutively before being cruelly knocked out at the semi-final stage by Tottenham Hotspur.
However the season did not start off like that. After much renovation of the squad in pre-season, starting the season with 4-1 and 3-0 defeats against Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich respectively followed by two goalless draws made fans sceptical towards Owen Coyle’s grand plan of success. However after that the team went on a run which saw them pick up twenty-one points out of thirty, meaning that by the end of October they had hoisted themselves to fifth in the table. It was also a run where Burnley taught Blues a footballing lesson at Turf Moor where we were very fortunate to steal a point in a 1-1 draw after being played off the proverbial park.
However by this point excitement was brewing over a potential run in the Carling Cup. After knocking out local sides Bury and Oldham with ease in the first two rounds, a late Jay Rodriguez goal eliminated Premiership Fulham. Next up was a trip to Stamford Bridge, where a near-full strength Chelsea were vanquished on penalties. In the quarter-finals, Arsenal were turfed out the competition at Turf Moor which set up a semi-final with a fourth London club, Tottenham Hotspur. A fourth one defeat in the first-leg at White Hart Lane seemed to demolish any hopes of reaching Wembley. However taking a 3-0 lead in the second leg in deepest Lancashire put them on course to set up a final with Manchester United on away goals until Spurs scored twice in the last three minutes of extra-time to scrape through. Still the football they had displayed in the cup run had drawn a nation’s attention to the revolution taking place under Owen Coyle.
The Cup run seemed to have knocked the wind out of their sails in the league with the aforementioned run of five league defeats. However they go into Saturday’s game sitting in eighth place just three points off bitter rivals Preston in sixth with a game in hand, and it would take a brave man to bet against them being in the play-off picture at the end of the season.
The Manager
Owen Columba (a middle name like that always deserves a mention) Coyle has this season emerged as one of the brightest managerial prospects in Britain. His playing career was largely undistinguished where he emerged as a semi-prolific goalscorer in the lower levels of Scottish football, in the process doing enough to be named as Airdrie’s best ever player in a BBC poll in 2005. He started off his managerial adventure with a short spell at Falkirk in 2003 before taking the full-time position at St.Johnstone in April 2005. In October 2006 he led The Saints to their first win over Rangers in thirty-five years. That season, he nearly guided them to a promotion to the SPL but was cruelly denied by Gretna scoring a last minute winner at Ross County to nick the title. He guided them to success in the following season’s Challenge Cup, but didn’t actually control his team in the final on account of taking the Burnley job that week after the departure of Steve Cotterill. In his thirty-three months of management, he has developed a reputation for developing sides that play attractive football with relative success, and I’m sure could well be a top manager in the future, whether it be at Burnley or a bigger club.
Team news
A virus has seemingly swept around the Burnley players, as Owen Coyle confirmed that three unnamed players are doubts for Saturday’s game. However there was good news for them as he also said that he is hopeful that Chris Eagles will be fit in time to play.
How they might line-up
Jensen, Alexander, Duff, Caldwell, Kalvenes, Eagles, McDonald, Gudjonsson, McCann, Paterson, Thompson
Star player
Chris Eagles has stormed into recognition with his outstanding form in his first full season at Burnley. He shot to fleeting prominence in April 2007 with an exquisite goal for his previous club Manchester United in a vital clash at Everton. However this season he has had his first real opportunity of regular first team football after his summer switch from Old Trafford to Turf Moor, and he has grasped that opportunity with both hands. A quick, strong, skillful player with an ability to pick a clever pass and a sweet delivery from out wide, Eagles has proved himself adept enough to play out wide or in the centre of midfield, and his extraordinary progress has propelled Burnley to greater heights than previously anticipated this season, with the highlight of this term so far being his wonderful goal at Bramall Lane. He quite clearly has the ability to play in the Premiership, and if he carries on playing like this I don’t see why he can’t take Burnley there with him.
Former Blues
Robbie Blake returns to St.Andrews after a brief and ill-fated spell in 2005 following a move from his current club Burnley, which yielded just eleven appearances and two goals. I personally did feel sorry for him-in my opinion he had the skill to become a useful player for us in the top flight (probably lacking the pace to really make a mark), but was never really given a chance under the best buyer and seller of strikers Steve Bruce. This ability was shown in my opinion with his great goal at home to Blackburn in our 2-1 win in April 2005. Sadly, it was not to be, and Robbie was sold to Leeds for £800,000 during that summer.
Prediction
I can see this being a struggle for Blues if I’m honest. Burnley in my opinion have the ability to contain and frustrate us going forward, and have enough attacking options to cause our fragile defence real issues. However, I think we will have just enough quality to avoid defeat at least.
Blues 1-1 Burnley.
Ladbrokes Odds
Blues 4/5, draw 11/5, Burnley 3/1
Great to have such a detailed preview, well done Nat. However I’d change one sentence. You said that Eagles had “grasped that opportunity with both hands” and I think it would have been better to say “both feet”!