Match Report 2002-2003

Saturday 21 September, 2002, Division One

Burnley At Valley Parade

City get moral victory over the team of cheats

Managers have got to be guarded in their comments. They cannot be seen to abuse Referees too harshly, nor can they been seen to call the professionalism of other teams and managers into question.

Us website writers have different problems. We have to acknowledge that while we may think a certain way about a team, it's players or it's manager. The fans are decent people and much like us they love the team they follow. I am very sorry to say that in the case of Burnley they are following a team of gamesman, a team of cheats.

I said last season on the occasion of their visit to Valley Parade that West Brom were a cynical team. A team almost totally devoid of romance. I recall thinking back then that I could see how Sheffield United would be motivated to have three men sent off against WBA so annoying were the midlanders. Burnley stuck me as the same proposition.

A distinction now between the physical play that has always been the Claret's trademark, no problem with that, and the "gamesmanship" and cheating that even the most ardent Turf Moorite must be embarrassed to see. Burnley striker Dimitrios Papadopoulos threw himself around the field as if he were a salmon returning upstream to spawning ground. The Greek striker was a disgrace to the famed Claret shirt and to the game. He elbowed, he dived and he tried to get both Robert Molenaar and Mark Bower sent off. He succeeded. City's young centreback took bath before half time after Papadopoulos had faked and fallen.

By this time City were a goal ahead, Andy Myers had played a ball down the left flank and Michael Proctor's pressure won a throw, that throw was centred and came to Andy Gray who lashed home from close range. City never looked like conceding until the sending offs started and to be honest the fact that Burnley could not pass over two yards seemed to suggest that the visitors would find a goal hard to come by.

Of course this was after half time when Papadopoulos had been "withdrawn". One can only hope that Stan Ternent kicked his ass out of the ground and told him never to darken this or any other football ground again. If he did it would rebuild some of my shattered respect for Ternent. Someone has to tell these players that it is ok to throw themselves around, someone has to tell them that they are allowed to try to get other players sent off. Ternent is the manager and he allows it in his club.

Paul Cook is part of the physical side of Burnley and his knee high tackle on Paul Evans should have got a red card, Cook barked at Evans on the floor in a Keane-esque manner and a brawl looked like it could ensure. It didnot. Instead the ball was floated forward, Cadamarteri jumped for it but the ball went straight into the face of Dean West. West acted like Cadamarterti had elbowed him but frankly he did not need to, the Referee Mike Dean had decided that the City striker had assaulted the Burnley full back and send City's number eight off before West completed his third back roll of pain.

Speaking of Bradford City number eights, at half time the Clarets had introduced Robbie Blake and sure enough as the charge of the Claret brigade began Blake got his first goal for Burnley in free play courtesy of a deflection or two in a goalmouth scramble.

City's being two men down levelled the game out. Burnley were still having that cannot-string-two-passes-together problem so were largely ineffective. City's fewer men were more able. Glenn Little, who used to look really good, looked good again for a second as he floated an unstoppable cross onto Gareth Taylor's head and the points were going back over the Pennines.

City boss Nicky Law gambled on out of favour Claus Jorgensen. Jorgensen ran at Burnley and in the last minute beat a few claret shirts, got to the box, saw his first shot saved. His second attempt, from an impossible angle, hit the post and fell to Michael Proctor to make a tidy finish. Unfettered hurly burly, some of the crowd on the pitch. This was the Valley Parade of old.

Nicky Law has called this group of players the team that does not know how to lose. On this display, which as the City manager would later put it it was "9 v 12", he would seem to be right.

And what of Burnley? You, Burnley supporter, deserve better than that.

Man of the Match

Robert Molenaar

Put in the performance of two men.

Bradford City Team

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Mike Dean: That Tosser

I don't think I have seen a referee so biased, one sided or oblivious to blatant cheating as Mike Dean was yesterday.