Cummings and Goings with Stephen Cumings

JUST before kick off the bloke in the next seat turned to me, a huge grin on his face. "This is what it's all about" he beamed.

It was impossible to argue. Division One football, a huge and noisy away following and a derby to boot. It struck home that whilst we had been slugging it out at Brentford, Wycombe and Colchester for the last half decade, this was what we had been missing.

Burnley were back, and it felt just fine.

What's more the Clarets display on Saturday afternoon, offered many tentative positives to take into the months ahead. The team spirit which served the side so well last season is still intact. That much was evident by the way the lads fought back for a draw. The new signings all fitted in well, particularly Phil Gray who as well as scoring the all important goal displayed a sureness of touch and an eye for a pass. And then there was Glen Little. In a 20 minute period in the second half, Little teased and tormented Simon Charlton on the Bolton left to such an extent it bordered on cruelty. That Glen performed well on Saturday is good news for everybody. Most of all for Glen himself. Any doubts harboured by Little over his ability to perform as effectively at this level as he had done in lesser surroundings will have been eased after his Reebok run-out.

Yet the most encouraging aspect of Saturday was that Burnley thoroughly deserved their point. This was no fluke, no accident, Sam Allardyce has since played heavily on the fact that he was without eight first teamers. And whilst this undoubtedly affected the Trotters, Allardyce could still field a side including the likes of Jaaskelainen, Fish and Frandsen. In any event, following that line of argument Ternent could have pointed to the absence of such players as West, Johnrose and Payton -- not to mention Little's reduced role.

The fact is the Clarets took on last season's FA Cup and play-off semi-finalists and emerged as their equals. So, how's that for starters?

Finally, a word for Burnley's tremendous support. There were over 5,000 at the Reebok. You had to be pleased for and proud of them as they outsung the home mob. After the best part of two decades in the bottom two divisions, Saturday was their just reward. As Stan said, they are "probably the best supporters in the country." Bring on Wimbledon.