What a pathetic, interminable end of season shocker. 22 players incapable or unwilling to play football. Burnley were rubbish again. Possibly the worst team to ever take 4 points from us. We weren't much better. Chances were few and far between. Ryan France tapped our only one to the keeper. A pathetic strike. God it was awful. I don't pity the match reporters, there's really not a lot to say on it.
Our defence were pretty solid. Bo made a great 1 on 1 save from Burnley's only effort. Leon and DD were solid, dealing with everything that came their way. £750k striker Andy Gray was so well marked, he had to resort to backing in, pulling and pushing, and still got nothing. Dawson was back, he was his usual self, reliable at the back and supporting forward. Thelwell did well going backwards, on the ball though. He's not good enough. Watch him, every first touch is underneath his body. I used to think he was unlucky with it, now I think he's awful.
In midfield, we were terrible. No urgency, no quality. Green was the pick, he played box to box and tried to make things happen. Andrews was everywhere, except where he should have been. One or two good passes aside, he was very disappointing. Ellison had a go. You can't fault his effort but he's simply not good enough and never will be. France might as well not have bothered for what he contributed.
Up front, Duffster and Parkin got no service whatsoever. You have to feel sorry for Duffy. No matter his effort, his starting performances coincide with some pathetic performances, as against Norwich and Plymouth. He played the only half-decent through ball in the game. Imagine we wrote down all of his strengths, and decided to do everything we could not to play to them - that was today. We might as well have played Parkin and the jolly green giant up front. Until we have a midfield that plays in the opposition's half and that's every week, not once a month when we're losing, then players the like of Duffy, McPhee and Barmby will be useless. Fagan is so effective because of sheer hard work and nuisance factor. It's easy to see why we've struggled.
Still, the end of a decent season in which we have progressed. As poor as today was, the effort at Sheffield and against Leeds makes up for it. However, if we want to avoid similar struggles, we've got to play with that effort, urgency and desire every single week. We're officially safe, though truth be told, we've only been in trouble for about 2 weeks all season, but it's nice to confirm it.
Here's hoping for better next week. Expect a smaller crowd, anyone who isn't a season ticket holder will surely have something better to do... washing their hair, painting a fence, counting sheep, watching Scunthorpe, something like that.
Ratings: Bo 7, Thelwell 6, Dawson 7, Cort 8, Delaney 7, France 5 (Paynter), Ellison 6 (Elliott), Andrews 5, Green 6, Parkin 6, Duffy 6 (Fagan). Ref: 3/100.