{"id":2481,"date":"2021-03-05T09:03:55","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T09:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=2481"},"modified":"2021-03-06T20:52:19","modified_gmt":"2021-03-06T20:52:19","slug":"welcome-to-the-north-south-divide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=2481","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to the North-South Divide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<a id=\"iNaIjZzYRjtPqXwQhi29Rw\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/detail\/1291164918\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'iNaIjZzYRjtPqXwQhi29Rw',sig:'knJfmh6QGSQ54riSiylzZesofmKTXlQqtJvcx9j7LC8=',w:'594px',h:'451px',items:'1291164918',caption: true ,tld:'co.uk',is360: false })});<\/script><script src=\"\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\" async=\"\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Burnley, oh Burnley! That bucolic spot! Where warm Westerlies blow cumulus clouds across the Costa Hibernica to deposit nutrient rain on lush meadows beside the confluence of the Rivers Calder and Brun in a valley beneath Pendle Hill. There, itinerant Mesolithic Britons knapped flints and incoming Neolithic farmers built tumuli and stone circles. Seek not lush banks and braes today, stranger. A few millennia bring changes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The agricultural village of Brun Lea grew around an early Anglo-Saxon religious foundation to become a prosperous market town and weaving centre. From the late eighteenth century Brun Lea underwent a trajectory epitomising Britain&#8217;s industrial revolution. Cotton mills (no doubt, dark and Satanic), iron foundries (certainly Satanic), machine shops and coal mines were developed. Canal and railway links eastwards and westwards facilitated growth. These concerns generated much local wealth in the nineteenth century (check out the Derbyshire origins of the Hill Wood fortune) including an ambitious new football club but also shocking deprivation. The town reached its zenith in terms of wealth, population and power-looms circa 1911. From WWI onwards, it shared the long economic decline of conurbations based on cotton, textiles and heavy industries.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s all very well but what about the football, I hear you say!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Burnley FC was founded four years before the Arsenal and has played at Turf Moor since 1883. The club was one of twelve founder members of the Football Association in 1888 but has had only two periods of top-flight success. Burnley has won the First Division twice, in 1920-21 and 1959-60, each closely related to runners-up spots (1919-20 &amp; 1961-62). The latter period included a European Cup QF appearance in 1960-61 and an FA Cup Final appearance in 1961-62. From the late 50\u2019s to the early 70\u2019s, under legendary chairman Bob Lord, a local butcher, Burnley were hailed as one of the most progressive clubs in England for their youth policy, scouting system and purpose-built training ground. The names Jimmy Adamson and Jimmy McIlroy from their early 60\u2019s side may ring bells for readers of a certain vintage. I remember a free-flowing side from the late 60\u2019s with Willie Morgan, Ralph Coates and Andy Lochhead up front. In the 70\u2019s the club\u2019s fortunes declined and Burnley plummeted through all four tiers of the Football League, avoiding relegation to the Conference only on the final day of the 1986-87 season. The benefit of this peripatetic history is not merely an archive of nationwide curry shops sure to make C100\u2019s mouth water but it provided the distinction of being one of only five sides to have won all four professional divisions of the Football League.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Burnley\u2019s other distinction in the record books was to hold, from 1920-21, the longest unbeaten run (30 games) in a single league season until it was bettered  by a club dear to your heart in 2003-04. Another piece of Burnley trivia that might interest denizens of this &#8216;bar&#8217; is their promotion of a unique tipple said to be uniquely available at Turf Moor. \u2018B\u00e9n\u00e9 and Hot\u2019 has been served at Turf Moor since it was brought back from Normandy by surviving members of the East Lancashire Regiment who had found it restorative in the trenches of WWI. Apparently over 30 bottles are sold at each home game making Burnley FC one of the world\u2019s biggest sellers of B\u00e9n\u00e9dictine! Who\u2019da thunk it? Flat caps, whippets, black puddings and B\u00e9n\u00e9dictine! As to player links, I know of only one Burnley alumnus who played for the Arsenal in the modern era. A very fine gentleman, loyal servant and committed Gooner he is too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today\u2019s hosts are a very different side from the teams of Burnley\u2019s halcyon years. Sean Dyche is, in some respects, their Arsene Wenger, achieving Premiership status in 2013-14, in his first full season in charge with a small squad, bouncing straight back in 2015-16 after relegation and keeping them in the Premiership ever since, apparently spending just \u00a3135 million since promotion. In 2018-19 he took Burnley into Europe for the first time in 51 years via a seventh-place finish.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, Dyche\u2019s achievements on a limited budget are his only similarity to Arsene. In all other respects, he is a laryngitic disciple of the Odobonid with precisely the same temperament and football philosophy. Like Fat Sam\u2019s Bolton, Burnley play right on the edge of or indeed, outside the Laws of the Game to foil their opposition and rely on long balls and \u2018putting it in the mixer\u2019. Pretty, they are not. Yet, they do have some talented players. Pope is a decent keeper, perhaps England\u2019s best. Tarkowski is a big strong centre back, likely to move on in the summer. Mee, their captain, organises their defence well and always gives 100%. Westwood is a hard-working midfielder with an eye for a pass and Barnes and McNeill can cause defences problems on their day. In summary, Burnley epitomise direct, tough &amp; gritty, no-nonsense, Northern English culture without frills, pretentions or grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our record against Burnley was very respectable until our last meeting on 13 December 2020. During this season\u2019s awful late autumn\/early winter slump we managed to lose 0-1 to a late Aubameyang own goal after creating and spurning the vast majority of chances. Critically, we also had Xhaka sent off for a foolish and totally unnecessary altercation with Westwood. That was Burnley\u2019s first win against us since a League Cup tie at Turf Moor in 2008 (only our second meeting in over 32 years due to their extended tour of English football\u2019s nether reaches) and their first League victory over the Arsenal since 1974. Post-match, Dyche and his players who had clearly set out to achieve a goalless draw appeared astonished (and of course gleeful) to take all three points. Throughout our history, we have met Burnley 110 times before this match, winning 54, drawing 22 and losing 34. We have an even better Premiership record against Burnley since they first achieved that status: a run of 11 straight victories is bookended by a draw at Turf Moor in 2009 and a 2020 draw at their place plus that December defeat. It is time we regained our Indian sign over them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What about the good guys?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mikel Arteta will choose his starting eleven with one eye on our forthcoming treadmill of fixtures and consideration of recently tired legs. However, this week he also has the rare luxury of a full week for R&amp;R and time for tactical work on the training ground. I expect Burnley to concede possession and adopt the same low block tactic that earned them three points in December and I expect the boss to select his team accordingly. We will have loads of possession and will have to find a way to unlock Burnley\u2019s well organised defence and to pull their defenders around with our mobility. The challenge Burnley offers requires all available creative players and the best finishers. ESR\u2019s injury at Lesta will probably rule him out while the performances of C\u00e9dric, P\u00e9p\u00e9 and Willian may put them into contention. Hence, I expect a starting eleven akin to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Leno<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">C\u00e9dric \u2013 Luiz \u2013 Mar\u00ec \u2013 Tierney<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Partey \u2013 Xhaka<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Saka \u2013 \u00d8degaard \u2013 P\u00e9p\u00e9<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Aubameyang<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Holic Pound? I expect our players to strive to make amends for that shocker in December and to produce the application and determination to earn all three points. Burnley don\u2019t score many goals themselves but will make us work very hard to hit the net so I don\u2019t expect a high scoring game. A 2-0 for the Southern Softies seems a possible outcome but the odds are parsimonious at 13\/2. If you&#8217;re optimistic that our boys have rediscovered the way to goal, 3-0 is available at 11\/1 and 4-0 is available at a tempting 20\/1. Has this Arsenal team turned the corner sufficiently to thrash a poor team properly? We shall see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoy the match Holics, wherever and however you access it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images Burnley, oh Burnley! That bucolic spot! Where warm Westerlies blow cumulus clouds across the Costa Hibernica to deposit nutrient rain on lush meadows beside the confluence of the Rivers Calder and Brun in a valley beneath Pendle Hill. There, itinerant Mesolithic Britons knapped flints and incoming Neolithic farmers built tumuli and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2481"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2481"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2522,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2481\/revisions\/2522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}