BURNLEY IN THE RED
In October 2021 I wrote a piece about how Burnley had shrugged off their image of being ‘a little rudimentary’ in their approach in going 100 Premier League matches without a red card – https://bit.ly/3mHDInh
The Clarets went on to extend their unblemished record to 120 matches until Nathan Collins was sent off at Brentford in March 2022. This was achieved during the Sean Dyche reign when they were considered uncompromising but proved to be anything but in the eyes of the referees.
However, this season under Vincent Kompany, who as a player rarely put a foot/boot out of line (he was sent off three times in 265 appearances) they have provoked the ire of the officials seven times in just 33 matches. This is indeed a dramatic shift in their disciplinary record, considering they had received the same number of red cards in their first 292 matches.
LIVERPOOL’S BETE NOIRE
On Sunday very few people expected anything but a shellacking for Palace at Anfield. On BBC5 Live all the talk before the match was how the pundits felt a little sorry for the Eagles as Liverpool were going to take out the frustrations of their loss to Atalanta on the South London side. Even the most optimistic Palace fans would have imagined an away victory, but an away victory it was.
Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool have been pretty impregnable at home apart from that blip during the Covid season and had been unbeaten in Premier League at home for eighteen months since losing 2-1 to Leeds in October 2022. Liverpool had racked up thirteen wins against the Selhurst side – the most by Klopp against any club.
Palace’s 1-0 victory was actually their third at Anfield since Klopp took over in October 2015 – the most by any club in that period. It should also be noted that Palace inflicted the first home defeat on Klopp’s side in November 2015 which pushed the German to declare “I can’t forget this fucking lose(sic) against Crystal Palace.” Once he leaves at the end of this season he has another one to add to the unforgettable collection.
IT STARTED WITH A KICK – Episode 2: Jim White
Football writer Jim White is the guest this week. His first match was at Moss Lane to watch Altrincham v Barrow in the 2nd round of the FA Cup. We discover how Jim ended up a die-hard Manchester United fan, even going to the extent of trying to emulate Wille Morgan’s ‘Wedding Cake’ haircut. We also discover why Altrincham fans were signing Lionel Ritchie in the stands.
Here’s the link to Part 2 of Jim White episode –
The Football Mine 
Nice to get something in about the Glorious Eagles…………………….
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