On Sky
Burnley lost Charlie Austin to QPR this week and there is no doubt the loss has put a dampener on the opening game of the new season at home to Bolton this Saturday.
The Pre-amble:
Yes, it`s here at last the start of the new football season and we kick-off, just like last season with a home game against Bolton Wanderers but boy are the circumstances different this time!
First of all it was not some quirky fate of the fixtures randomiser that pitched Burnley against Bolton at Turf Moor for two seasons running but the need for a handful of special games to celebrate 125 years of the Football League! These two teams, originally both founder members of the League were therefore pitched together as part of the anniversary celebrations for the start of the new season.
There will be one difference though compared to the fixture last season. It will not kick off at the normal time of 3pm but earlier at 12:15 pm so fans please note; the reason being that Sky Sports have decided to cover the game live.
The fixture last season was a belter and the atmosphere electric for one simple reason! Yes, Owen Coyle! Under Coyle, Bolton had just been relegated from the Premier League and they were keen to get their promotion hopes off to a flying start. Meanwhile of course, Eddie Howe`s Burnley were keen to put one over old Judas and scupper Bolton`s dream! It was Burnley`s day and in arguably the best game of the season and our best performance we gelled in every department to win convincingly 2-0. How things would change though with both managers eventually moving onto pastures new.
There are certainly different circumstances behind the fixture this season. It probably won`t be so intense now that Coyle is no longer on the scene but it will be important for both teams to get their season off to a good start. The Clarets despite having a pretty small squad at the moment have looked good in pre-season but this week there has been one huge dampener. Claret fans were just getting used to the idea that Charlie Austin was still a Burnley player following the breakdown of the Hull City deal due to a failed medical. He was also beginning to look good again, particularly in our last pre-season friendly against Sparta Rotterdam at Turf Moor last Saturday when he notched up a brace of goals! It looked highly likely he would at least kick-off the new season for the Clarets against Bolton but then we got knocked back for six on Thursday when it was announced that Championship rivals, QPR had signed him for an undisclosed fee. It has certainly taken the gloss off the match on Saturday for Clarets fans and only another convincing win is likely to raise spirits.
Bolton last season just missed out on the play-offs finishing in 7th spot. Dougie Freedman`s men will be keen to finish higher than that this season and gain promotion to the top flight. They have certainly been active in the summer transfer window but have also said goodbye to a number of players but it will be interesting to see how many of the new faces will line up against the Clarets.
Burnley Team News:
Michael Duff remained sidelined against Sparta with a niggling injury but could be in contention to make a return on Saturday. Ben Mee (twisted knee) though looks very doubtful.
Two players in the squad who will definitely not feature are George Porter (out on loan to AFC Wimbledon for the season) and now Marvin Bartley. Bartley had been struggling with a hamstring in pre-season and did not feature in any of the summer friendlies. This week he joined Leyton Orient on a 28 day emergency loan in an effort to get back up to speed and achieve full match fitness.
Player to watch: Sam Vokes
With Austin now at QPR and Paterson batting for Huddersfield, this is the ideal opportunity for Sam Vokes to make a move for a starting eleven place on a more regular basis. Just a pity he has not featured more in the pre-season friendlies with Austin keeping him out!
Bolton Wanderers Team News:
Stuart Holden`s woes continued after suffering another serious knee injury in the United States’ Gold Cup final win last month The 27 year old was forced off in the USA`s 1-0 victory against Panama. Later scans revealed he had torn a cruciate ligament! You have to feel sorry for the lad! , He has now been affected by knee problems for more than two years and he was just looking forward to making a return with Bolton before the injury curse set him back yet again.
Bolton have also confirmed that full-back Joe Riley will be out for a ‘number of months’ with a serious knee injury. The 21-year-old damaged his anterior cruciate ligament in a friendly against Skelmersdale last month
Chung-Yong Lee is a doubt for Saturday too. He has been rested by Bolton for most of the summer although did play a handful of games for South Korea during the break. Freedman explains:
“Chungy broke his leg a while back and came back last season to play a lot of games,” he said. “If I`m honest, I flogged Chungy last season because of the situation we were in.
“He played on June 18 so I gave him a month off. As we speak right now, will he be a starter? Probably not. But will he be available, yes he will.
“He`s just not quite where I would like him to be.”
One player though who could be in contention is David Ngog. Ngog has suffered niggling injuries that have harmed his Wanderers career in the last two seasons and Freedman has been protecting him in pre-season but he now looks set to name him in the starting eleven this Saturday after declaring he is fit enough to play.
Kevin Davies, linked with a move to Burnley in the summer finished up at Preston and has been replaced as captain at Bolton by Zat Knight. Another Bolton player on the move is Martin Sordell The striker joined Charlton Athletic this week on a season-long loan.
Player to watch: Jermaine Beckford
Beckford is one of Bolton`s new summer signings. The 29-year-old striker joined Bolton last month from Leicester City. Beckford will be keen to get his career back on track after failing to become a regular in the starting eleven at either of his two previous clubs, Everton and Leicester. He made his name with Leeds United over a five year spell before leaving them for a life in the Premier League after signing for the Toffees in June 2010.
Team & Tactics:
With Charlie Austin now departed and with no news of any quick new signings to replace him, it looks likely that we could be looking at Sam Vokes to step up to the plate in partnership with Danny Ings in 4-4-2.
The rest of the team could pick itself and the line-up apart from Austin could look very similar to the starting eleven selected for the Sparta friendly last Saturday. David Jones is now officially a Claret and he looks set to continue in midfield with Dean Marney. The partnership has been pretty effective in pre-season and we now have to hope that continues against more challenging opposition. The defence has looked pretty solid and Heaton in goal impressive. We can expect the same back four unless Duff is fit to be considered.
My predicted line-up assuming Duff still sidelined is as follows:
Heaton, Trippier, Lafferty, Long, Shackell, Wallace, Jones, Marney, Stanislas, Ings, Vokes
Subs: Cisak, Edgar, Mills, Stock, Arfield, Treacy, Noble
Ref Watch:
Tyne and Wear referee, Mark Clattenburg takes charge of this season`s opener! The Premier league referee featured in 36 games last season flashing just four reds (an average of 1-in-9 games) and 104 yellows. Interestingly the last time he was the man in charge of a game involving the Clarets it was also against Bolton! Hopefully, it`s a good omen too because that day back in September 2010, Bolton at the time in the Premier League managed by Owen Coyle were defeated 1-0 in the Carling Cup at Turf Moor. Three yellow cards were shown that day.
Match Prediction:
Well I was confidently predicting a 2-0 win until we lost Austin to QPR three days before the new season kicks-off! Oh what the hell, time for the other strikers to step up to the plate and Danny Ings does appear to be on fire! 2-0 it is then to the Clarets!
Next Match:
Our next Championship game will be against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Saturday 10th August (3pm Kick-Off) but first there is the little matter of the Capital One Cup. Burnley travel to Bootham Crescent on the night of Tuesday 6th August to play York City in the first round (Kick-Off: 7:45pm)
