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I always felt the fixture computer dealt us a bad hand when it sent us to Glanford Park on the second Saturday of the season. It was their first home game at this level since 1963 and having drawn at Charlton on the opening day it was always going to be difficult.
In truth it shouldn't have been, we should have had it won in the first twenty minutes, but once they got on top there was only one winner. They were on a winning streak and full of enthusiasm and to prove the point they won their first three home games of the season and were 2-0 in the fourth against West Brom before losing it 3-2.
After us they beat Sheffield United and then Preston, but that win against North End back in September on the night we won at Sheffield Wednesday is their last home win.
Since then they have won just three of 23 league games, all away from home, at Colchester, Sheffield Wednesday and finally on Boxing Day against Preston when they completed the double over their fellow strugglers.
They were seventh after they beat Preston in September but now they find themselves just behind our Lancashire rivals and sit next to bottom of the table with a one point advantage over Colchester and they have the worst goal difference in the division.
Manager Nigel Adkins is strengthening his squad during the transfer window and has certainly been busier than Owen Coyle so far in terms of bringing players in. He's signed Ben May from Millwall, a player who will certainly remember his last visit to Turf Moor, and Grant McCann from Barnsley.
To add to those two he completed the loan signing yesterday of young Liverpool centre half Jack Hobbs who started his career just down the road from Scunthorpe at Lincoln City. Hobbs has played at Burnley previously, he was in the Liverpool youth team that beat us in the FA Youth Cup two years ago.
Scunthorpe go into the game looking for their first win since that trip to Preston at Christmas.
Burnley will be looking to complete three consecutive league wins for the first time this season, and with most of the league either in cup action or having a day off it gives us a chance to move up to seventh in the table albeit just for three days.
To do that we have to beat Scunthorpe, and that hasn't proved too easy a task for us over the years. This will be Scunthorpe's 12th visit to Burnley since we first played them, and beat them 5-0, in the John Bond season. Only three of those games have ended in wins including that bit win.
Wins really have proved difficult against them and the last was that FA Cup 2nd round 2nd replay in 1989 with the other league win coming in the 1986/97 Orient season.
Scunthorpe boss Nigel Adkins will have to make at least one change with right back Cliff Byrne out serving a one match suspension after collecting five yellow cards. Jack Cork could drop back to fill the gap or Jim Goodwin could return to action after injury and play there after playing half a game for the reserves in that position this week.
Adkins must also decide whether to give any or all of his three signings a first start. Jack Hobbs arrived only yesterday but Grant McCann and Ben May have already made their debuts as second half substitutes against Wolves last week.
Shelton Martis will be in the squad, this will be his last game before he returns to West Brom after a month on loan at Glanford Park.
Scunthorpe could line up: Joy Murphy, Jim Goodwin, Andy Crosby, Shelton Martis, Marcus Williams, Matt Sparrow, Jack Cork, Ian Morris, Grant McCann, Paul Hayes, Martin Paterson. Subs from: Jack Hobbs, Kevan Hurst, Ben May, Jonathan Forte, Josh Lillis, Andy Butler.
Owen Coyle might not have been able to increase his squad ahead of today's game but he's getting closer to a full squad. Obviously still without Michael Duff and Besart Berisha, although we reported good news on both yesterday, and Clarke Carlisle remains out injured, but only Kyle Lafferty is now serving a suspension with captain Steven Caldwell back after completing a one match ban.
Will Caldwell return? That's probably the key question and I would suspect he might just have to sit on the bench with Stanislav Varga and David Unsworth continuing after both impressed at Coventry last week. The only thing we know for certain is that Brian Jensen will be in goal and Ade Akinbiyi will start up front.
Our team could be: Brian Jensen, Graham Alexander, Stanislav Varga, David Unsworth, Jon Harley, Wade Elliott, James O'Connor, Joey Gudjonsson, Chris McCann, Robbie Blake, Ade Akinbiyi. Subs from: Gabor Kiraly, Steven Caldwell, Stephen Jordan, John Spicer, Alan Mahon, Steve Jones.
The Sky cameras were here the last time Scunthorpe paid us a visit for a league game, but unfortunately so was referee Graham Laws and he made some telling contributions as the Clarets fell to their first home defeat of the season.
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This was Scunthorpe, and this was former Claret Brian Laws on the touchline. It was a game we probably should have won but Lionel Perez had an inspired afternoon against us in goal and Guy Ipoua netted twice. One was well taken but the other was fortunate as a deflection looped it over Crichton.
That second goal came five minutes from time after we'd looked certain to get a point after Andy Payton had equalised. He went on to put another two past Perez later in the season when the French goalkeeper played for Cambridge, another of the sides to be relegated.
Laws, well he came into his own when Andy Dawson (now at Hull) brought Payts down with him clear through on goal. "He's off, he's off," cried Sky co-commentator Alan Brazil but this most incompetent of officials failed to raise the red card, and incredibly didn't even bother with a yellow.
Scunthorpe should have been down to ten men early in the game, but we've since learned that anything can go wrong when Graham Laws is in the middle of one of our games.
We got our own back on Scunthorpe a few months later - and it is now time to start putting right that home record against them.
The teams were;
Burnley: Paul Crichton, Dean West, Mitchell Thomas, Steve Davis, Gordon Armstrong (Andy Cooke 76), Paul Smith, Glen Little, Micky Mellon (John Mullin 45), Paul Cook, Andy Payton, Graham Branch (Paul Weller 82). Subs not used: Chris Brass, Lenny Johnrose.
Scunthorpe: Lionel Perez, Paul Harsley, Russ Wilcox (Ashley Fickling 75), Chris Hope, Andy Dawson, Justin Walker, Richard Logan, Alex Calvo-Garcia, Clint Marcelle, Lee Hodges, Guy Ipoua (John Gayle 88). Subs not used: Tommmy Evans, Gary Bull.
Previous 20 Seasons | |||||
Season | Div | Ven | Result | Att | Scorers |
1987/88 | 4 | h | 1-1 | 6,353 | Taylor |
| . | . | a | 1-1 | 5,347 | Britton |
1988/89 | 4 | a | 1-2 | 6,358 | O'Connell |
| . | . | h | 0-1 | 6,813 | . |
1989/90 | 4 | a | 0-3 | 4,745 | . |
| . | FA | a | 2-2 | 5,698 | Deary Mumby |
| . | . | h | 1-1* | 7,682 | Eli |
| . | . | h | 5-0 | 7,429 | Eli(2) Futcher(2) Hardy |
| . | 4 | h | 0-1 | 4,098 | . |
1990/91 | 4 | h | 1-1 | 8,557 | Francis |
| . | . | a | 3-1 | 4,449 | Futcher Eli SP Davis |
1991/92 | 4 | h | 1-1 | 8,419 | Farrell |
| . | . | a | 2-2 | 5,303 | Conroy(pen) SM Davis |
1999/2000 | 2 | h | 1-2 | 10,752 | Payton |
| . | . | a | 2-1 | 5,862 | Mellon Little |
2000/01 | FA | h | 2-2 | 8,054 | I Moore Johnrose |
| . | . | a | 1-1 | 4,709 | Payton - lost on penalties |
2003/04 | LC | a | 3-2 | 2,915 | Chadwick Blake I Moore |
2007/08 | C | a | 0-2 | 6,975 | . |