A fan's-eye view from Turf Moor, with Stephen Cummings

THERE was no one else on the pitch who could have done that. There was no one else in the division who could have done that. And you could probably count on one hand the number of Premiership forwards who could have done that.

I am, of course, referring to Ian Wright's match-winner against Notts County. And it was a match-winner, if you know what I mean.

The ball through from Davis was weighted almost perfectly. But, flanked by a defender on either side, Wright still had plenty to do. Nevertheless he did it. And how. Without taking his eyes off the ball, his first, superb touch lifted it over Darren Ward and into the top corner.

The word amongst the supporters is that Wright is paid £1,000 every time he scores. (And if that aint showbiz, then I don't know what is) in which case our number 33 is being criminally underpaid.

Who knows how much that goal could be worth by the end of the season? Ditto Wright's late strike at Gillingham that earned the Clarets a point in a 2-2 draw. The former England man is developing something of a habit of coming off the bench and scoring, his goal against Reading being another example. In fact the only time he has failed to net in his role as super-sub was during his 20 minute cameo at Blackpool.

The question now being asked is should Wright feature from the start? There are arguments in support of the theory -- Saturday's stunning strike for example -- but there are plenty of reasons why the former Arsenal man should be used sparingly.

For starters, who would be dropped? Certainly not Andy Payton -- five goals in the last six games make sure of that. But for Payts to score, he needs to play alongside a targetman -- something which Wright, for all his many attributes, is patently not.

Payton performs best when partnered by Andy Cooke. Cooke's tireless and selfless chasing of frequently lost causes is one of the main reasons why Payts is currently at the top of the Division Two goalscorers chart -- a fact recently acknowledged by the Padiham Predator.

As the maxim goes -- if it ain't broke don't fix it. Wright has proven to be a lethal weapon when introduced late on. After all, there won't be too many voices of dissent if Wright comes off the bench to fire the goal that wins Burnley promotion.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.