Well, that was a great result against Spurs wasn’t it...and as predicted Gareth Bale didn’t like the rain! And Paddy Power paid me out at 13/5 for the win... Since then other results have been a bit mixed, the Everton Villa draw did us a favour, but Arsenal won. We have three games now that look okay on paper, but as they say, you don’t play games on paper. If we finish with three wins, we have an outside possibility of finishing 7th and qualifying for Europe.
Well, I say Europe, it is the new Europa Conference...an odd league designed to “give more countries a chance to have their teams play in Europe”. Quite frankly I don’t want to be in Europe next year, an extra 15 potential games will not help, particularly with the small squad that Bielsa likes. But still, it would be great to finish the season with 3 wins, and hopefully finish eighth!
So, onto Burnley, and Sean Dyche has been moaning about transfer budgets again...if only Burnley were a bigger club they could spend more money....in the 12 years since they got promoted player values have gone up hugely so I am not sure we can compare our £100m to what Burnley spent on promotion.
I went to Turf Moor last January. I had booked a trip off the rock to see Leeds Millwall but hadn’t realised it was the FA Cup 4th Round weekend, and Millwall qualified, so I was in Leeds with a mate and no game. It turned out there was virtually no football in the north of England that weekend, so we went to Burnley vs Norwich in the cup. It was fecking freezing...the wind blew straight off the hills into the stand. The game wasn’t bad actually, and it was hard to understand why Norwich were bottom of the league as they beat Burnley playing some nice football that day. There were about 8,000 people in the ground, with the stand behind the goal being closed...the guys around us were friendly enough, but it all felt a bit lacklustre. It was nice to see some ex Leeds players though, with Wood and Lennon playing and Charlie Taylor and Bailey Peacock Farrell on the bench.
I only knew one fact about Burnley before I went, and that was that the town is the worlds largest consumer of Benedictine, after the East Lancs Regiment was based in Normandy in the First World War. When we went to the bar in the stadium, after having a couple of pints in “The Royal Dyche” it was so cold we were tempted to try a Bene ‘n Hot. Not sure I will be rushing back....
Famous Burnley fans include:
- Labour Spinmeister Alistair Campbell
- Fast bowler James Anderson
- Coronation Street actor Johnny Briggs
- Antiques expert Eric Knowles
- Weatherman John Ketley
Apparently Snoop Dog and Prince Charles are both fans too...would love to see them at a game together...
So, onto the game itself. Nick Pope appears to be out for Burnley (meaning Peacock Farrell is likely to play), and we seem to have a pretty full squad to pick from, with only Costa out, which will give Bielsa some dilemmas. Does he recall Cooper, or leave Struijk and Llorente in the centre, is Koch replaced by Phillips, and does the Energiser Bunny stay at left back after a great game last weekend? And that is before we get to the question of the youngsters.
Being Bielsa I suspect we will get:
Meslier
Ayling Cooper Llorente Alioski
Phillips
Rafa Dallas Klich Harrison
Bamford
Which would give is a very strong bench including Rodrigo, Koch, Struijk, and potentially Roberts, although I would like to see Shack get a game too. Personally I think we will see Greenwood and maybe Somerville get 20 mins if things are going well.
Weather forecast is wet, but not windy and about 11 degrees, but it will be warm at home watching the game on Sky.
I am predicting 1 - 3 to Leeds with goals from Bamford, Rafa and Alioski, Wood scoring for them. Although the referee is Graham Scott who didn’t give the card against Baldock for the dreadful foul in the Blades game.
Continuing my popular services of ManxWhites favourite charts, here is John Snows cholera map. It uses small bar graphs on city blocks to mark the number of cholera deaths at each household in a London neighbourhood. It proved that most of the households used the same well for drinking water, and scientists then started to understand water borne diseases. A proper sewerage system was then built and cholera epidemics virtually ended.
MOT
Good luck Mouseman and I'm going for a positive 1-0 victory with an Eddie Gray goal after waltzing round 8 defenders....
Pulling a face like we did when we were 8 year olds warrants a 10 game ban?
World has gone mad
Dwight "Not so bright" McNeill should be ashamed!
People need to grow up and have thicker skins!
What next? A 10 game ban for someone saying to an opposite player that they have them in their pocket? Player's feeling hurt as the insinuation he is not good at football? COME ON!!!!
There are more important issues
A 10 match ban, for pulling a face (but spitting is considered to be ok)... that's a good one.
What's next, a prison sentence?
However, if even some of our fans think Alioski is guilty of unacceptable behaviour, a 10 match ban may well be on the cards.
It's says a lot about the Burnley player too, bleating about someone pulling a face... Perhaps trying to deflect attention from his vile action.
Doesn't bear thinking, how someone like Big Jack, Billy or Norman would have reacted. Different times/era's, but still.
10 match ban for what? Pulling a face? Yes Gianni is a clown,everyone knows that but he is a hard working clown and a valued member of our squad. .. We don't know the ins and outs of the incident yet,but if it turns out he said something unacceptable,then yes he deserves to be punished.. but I'd be interested to hear what the Burnley player said to him too.... But if he gets even a one match ban for just pulling a face,then the world has truly gone mad and I for one will stand by him and not be quick to ostracize him like some so called 'fans' would.
Congrats manx
a third edition of an MDT from the rock in the middle of the irish sea being penned on this lovely Monday morning no doubt.
Not blowing my own trumpet here but i did say 4 nil so not alone am i the "expert" weather forecaster on this board i now have to add top dog pundit to it as well.
jezz are there any limits to my talents?????
Alioski's reaction indeed was very childish.
And the foul on him was light and not for the first time he made more of it. All very true.
Childish behaviour? Very much so .
But unacceptable behaviour??? In todays environment?
Environment of what exactly?
Politcal correctness? Really?
A) we don't know what McNeil said to him.
B) it's allright to take spit on or near the player on the floor?
Probably in todays world that qualifies as proper/decent behaviour.
Tell you what, if he fouled me, decided to give me some friendly advice and on top that spat at me... I would have tonked him, unacceptable or not.
Frustration got the better of a number of the Burnley players, the persistent fouling (nice and intentional clattering of Llorente's back, the fouls on Raphina, clearly fouled and the Burnley player went after him too.
The same player that put his knee in Llorente's back also tried to elbow Raphina. All very much acceptable.
I know a few have said that Charlie Taylor left to club or pastures new and of course more cash, but the club was in a completely different place then. It's the first time I've seen him at close quarters since he left Leeds and I have to say I was impressed, Great going forward and defends well. I think Bielsa could work magic with him. (Only my opinion though).
Wonder how the FA are going to deal with the incident between Alioski & McNeil. The Burnley player trying to deflect the situation and heaping a racism claim on Alioski. He fouled Alioski, gave him an earfull and spat near him. He should hang his head in shame.
Hope gets a firm punishment, but Alioski will probably come of worse.
Not to worry TC. Being in the Black country aint so bad
Yes BB, one of the passes of the season....
How the fk does Declan Rice get in ahead of Kalvin if England were to only play one holding midfielder!? Rice just plays 5yds sideways or backwards whereas Kalvin plays with his head up and pings balls 50yds Hoddlesque....
And this is me saying this as a Midlander.... 😲🤔🖕🥊😉😂
Congrats Manx!! Keep it up an start next season as the MDT guy!
As guy said, apart from the first few minutes of each half we bossed the game and OH! what a first time pass by the Yorkshire Pirlo to Harrison!!!
Apart from the start of both halves + the final few minutes, we bossed the game. Very good performances all around.
Star efforts from Meslier, Llorente, Pascal with Harrison the stand-out player.
Very classy goals from Rodrigo and a great one from Klich.
Wouldn't say no to another striker (much depends on how ready Joseph/Sam are), obviously a left back + a couple of center mids (1 playmaker + maybe 1 back-up for Philips) the priorities.
Mind you, the way we're playing atm...
Happy days!
I never thought so. Left back and midfielder will do me :-)
Rodrigo was a No9 in Spain, time to use him as such
Anybody still think we need to sign another striker. I don’t think so.
Looks like Burnley have won the battle against Bamford. It's costing them the war though. 20th century approach from the Lancastrians
Fantastic goal by Harrison/Alioski, we really have been treated to brilliance today. I really hope Alioski stays, I don’t care what the doubters think - he’s a class act.
That’s more like it come on Leeds we want 3
Apart from the goal, we were the better team but not my much. It was a fantastic goal though. Goals from midfield is one of our greatest assets.
Wood and Taylor have been pretty ordinary. We've already got much better players on our subs bench.
started a tad slowly, but grown into it.
Would love Lord Bamford to drop a bally tenpenny one in the custard to upset old Dychey. Tally ho!
And he's back... 😎