A bit to enjoy at Hull - and some good advice from Dave Burnley
JUST when you think you'll never win away – never mind again – this season, up pops the unexpected.
It may still be too late to save Burnley from relegation from the Premier League (especially in the light of West Ham's win, meaning the Clarets, with the poorer goal difference, need to better the four point advantage the Hammers and Wigan have with two wins just to get above either) but there were some very big plusses to take from the Tigers' mauling.
For a start, Martin Paterson took his goal beautifully, and recent weeks have showed at least that he can tuck the ball away in the Prem. Confidence came flooding back to Burnley as Hull's visibly drained away.
You won't see two better penalties than Graham Alexander's latest brace, which drew commendation from the Match Of The Day pundits, who concluded it's impossible to guess where Grezza will put the ball. And, said Gary Lineker with a knowing wink in the England team's direction, the Scottish international practises penners.
Should proof be needed, there was an awful lot of team spirit on show, even before the goals started going in.
In his pre-match interviews skipper Alexander was fired up about lack of spirit, prompted by Joey Gudjonssen's "Laws has lost the dressing room" type comments which has earned him a club ban.
This fire certainly exhibited itself in a couple of rollickings aimed in goalkeeper Brian Jensen's direction from Alexander and Leon Court with the intention of improving the big Dane's command (or lack of it, lately) of his penalty area.
Blood was added to the mix when Michael Duff and Cort clashed heads to clear a ball, Duff returning to the fray and playing his full part in the game with a heavily bandaged head.
And the goal celebrations in front of the Burnley faithful certainly showed they cared and that they were prepared to battle for the club and probably the beleaguered Brian Laws as well.
One swallow doesn't make a summer and it is to be hoped the same qualities are on display at Sunderland this Saturday. They were good to see, all the same.
GOOD advice can pop up in the strangest places.
As I mentioned last week, I am working my way through the first volume of Dave Burnley's autobiography, Got To Be There, which is proving a top quality read.
Much of Dave's advice is borne out of experience in 40 years barely missing a Clarets game, including his top ten "longest walks" – ie the most dangerous grounds to go to for any away fan, when using public transport (and yes, it does include Turf Moor, Burnley).
But his advice about how to eat a piping hot Holland's pie could well save inexperienced consumers of same from some nasty burns as they tackle the tasty treat. Dave loves his "squirty pies", as do I and many other customers who fancy a match day snack, but care must be taken!
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Weather for Halifax
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
