The season again started with the
Anglo-Scottish Cup, and for once it was blessed with success. Burnley qualified for the
quarter-finals with wins over Preston and Blackpool. A draw against Blackburn was just an
insurance measure. But pre-season success was just window dressing. The real stuff started
on August 19th. Newly-relegated Leicester were first up. A sunny Turf Moor
greeted them. Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta both insisted that You’re The
One That I Want from the top of the charts. Grease seemed to be locked in a
head-to-head contest with Saturday Night Fever. Burnley hoped for an easier ride.
After all, Leicester’s 1977/78 campaign had been utterly miserable. They had only
mustered five league victories and twenty-six goals. But any hope that this would be a
cakewalk evaporated when Billy Hughes put the Foxes one up with a penalty. Despite having
little of the play, Leicester proved very resilient at the back. They remained 1-0 up at
the break.
Fletcher restored hope when he drove in an equaliser in front of
the Cricket Field stand. Burnley were not on level terms for long, though. Trevor Christie
was given far too much room by a negligent Burnley defence and his diving header again put
Leicester into the lead. However, after constant pressure was applied to the Leicester
goal, Noble deservedly tied the game up with a spot kick. Kindon had earned the chance
when he encouraged a rash tackle on the right edge of the visitors’ area (2-2).
The next three games were drawn, including a home 1-1 draw with
Bradford in the League Cup. However, a victory over Notts County (2-1) on 2nd
September was enough to elevate Burnley into sixth place. There was a new resilience about
this side, as was proved at Valley Parade in the League Cup replay on the 5th
September. Despite being 2-0 down, Noble, Cochrane and Ingham turned the game around to
put Burnley into the next round. This resilience was also on show on the following
Saturday. Although trailing 2-1 to promotion favourites, West Ham, Fletcher and Thomson
brought about a late rally. Thomson’s clinching header was his first goal for the
club since 1973. Fittingly, the Match of the Day cameras were there to record it.
On the same day Leighton James was re-signed from QPR for £165,000. The sun shone
brightly, Burnley were up to fourth position and Jimmy Hill said nice things about
Burnley. It was one of those days which you want to bottle.
Jimmy even gave us an amusing anecdote about our Stevie.
Apparently, Kindon had once been a member of his FA XI, which had been touring Saudi
Arabia. All of the games had been played in blistering heat. Just before the final game,
Stevie decided he would have a stroll on the pitch. The temperature was well over 100F. On
returning to the dressing room, he chirped, ‘Turned out nice again.’
By next Saturday evening we had bumped back to earth. Sheffield
United had been there for the taking. Their injury list was horrendous. But they had a
diamond in their team. His name was Alex Sabella. Argentinean signings like Ardilles and
Villa had become chic after the World Cup. Sabella might have been the cut-price model but
you would never have known. He was brilliant. Pumped up by his prompting the Blades were
far too sharp for Burnley (0-4).
Terry Cochrane played his last game for Burnley at Bramall Lane.
Having re-gained his place in the Northern Ireland squad, he was unhappy being on
Burnley’s bench. Soon he would be on his way to Middlesbrough for £238,000, £50,000
of which went to Coleraine under the sell-on agreement. It seemed that James’ signing
had been financed by Cochrane’s sale. Burnley appeared to be investing in their past
rather than their future.
Worse still, Burnley failed to beat nine-man Sunderland at Turf
Moor on the following Saturday. Henderson and Bolton had been dismissed before halftime
but two second half goals from Gary Rowell secured the Wearsiders an extraordinary
victory. Morley smashed in a scorcher late in the game but to no avail (1-2).
The Anglo-Scottish Cup draw had paired Burnley with Scottish giants
Celtic. The first leg was played at Burnley on 26th September. It was quite a
night. Celtic were en route to the Scottish Premier title. They were expected to win and
to win big. Some 30,000 people crowded into Turf Moor, not all of them paying after the
visiting supporters had broken a turnstile. As a result several thousand Celtic fans got
in, many of whom seemed to be well-oiled and out for blood. Kindon’s breakaway goal
in the second half didn’t exactly appease them. What’s more, James and Kindon
made the Celtic defenders look foolish. Scottish pride had already taken a bad knock in
Argentina, despite their brilliant defeat of Holland. Chrysler had pulled its TV advert
featuring Ally’s Army. The English had scoffed. Just as they had over the Peru and
Iran results. I’m sure that there were scores to settle on this night. Losing to
lowly Burnley was not part of the script. Whatever the reasons, the Celtic fans went on a
second half rampage, pulling the segregating fence out of its concrete emplacements and
hurling the posts, like spears, onto the pitch. Play had to be held up for ten minutes,
while a semblance of order was restored. It didn’t change the score, though (1-0).
Just to rub salt into the wounds, Burnley won the away leg as well (2-1). Harry’s
4-4-2 formation worked a treat. Brennan and Kindon did the damage in the first half.
Celtic could only manage a consolatory penalty. 28,000 had turned up to watch the
humiliation continue.
Encouraged by the tactical success at Celtic, Harry went for the
same formula at Millwall. Again, he hit the jackpot, as Fletcher and Noble brought home
the bacon (2-0). Despite crashing out of the League Cup to Brighton (1-3), Malcolm
Smith’s strike in the home game against Oldham (1-0) took Burnley back to seventh
position. Unfortunately, they could not sustain the momentum at upwardly mobile Stoke
(1-3), for whom burly centre forward, Brendan O’Callaghan, created havoc. Burnley
slumped to 11th position.
Terry Pashley was offloaded to Blackpool for £30,000 and David
Loggie attracted £20,000 of York’s dosh. Incredible. Had anyone watched him? Anyway,
as far as transfer fees were concerned we were back in the black. But the disappointing
showing at Stoke demanded changes for the home league game with Brighton. Harry just made
the one, though. Brian Hall was recalled at the expense of Malcolm Smith. It was
sufficient. Harry employed three strikers, Fletcher, Kindon and James, and they overran
Brighton (3-0). Ironically, the goals came from the men behind, Ingham (two) and Brennan.
It was ample revenge for the League Cup disappointment. Burnley bobbed back to seventh
spot. They retained their position at Deepdale on the following Saturday, after Noble
pulled back a 1-2 deficit with a spot kick (2-2).
Second-placed Crystal Palace were the next visitors on a grey, mild
November afternoon. Peter Robinson replaced the injured Noble. ‘Uwe’ wasn’t
missed. James roasted his talented marker, Kenny Samson, and Fletcher’s second half
effort saw the Clarets home (2-1). In midweek, Burnley faced Mansfield in the second leg
of the semi-final of the Anglo-Scottish Cup. They had already done the hard bit, by
winning 2-1 at Field Mill. James had excelled. However, Saturday’s form deserted them
as they succumbed 0-1. Penalties were required. With the score at 7-6, Derek Scott struck
the post. Crucially, the referee ruled that the Stags keeper had strayed off his line.
Scott proceeded to rifle in his second attempt. Stevenson then brilliantly saved
Mansfield’s next attempt, allowing Rodaway the opportunity to put Burnley into the
final. He didn’t fail.
Leicester were the next opponents. Since their 2-2 draw at Turf
Moor, they had struggled. Blondie were Hanging On The Telephone while Rod Stewart
politely enquired Do Ya Think I’m Sexy. I thought not. More importantly,
Burnley fouled up yet again when there were away points for the taking. Only Billy Ingham
kept them in contention as Keith Weller and Trevor Christie helped Leicester maintain
their slow revival (1-2).
Never mind, the following fixture was Fulham at home. As usual they
donated the points. Peter Noble’s fourth hat trick for Burnley rather forced their
hand (5-3). It was enough to lift Burnley into fifth place. A promotion challenge was
still possible. Two successive draws were then achieved on the road. Billy Ingham levelled
Don Masson’s strike at Meadow Lane (1-1) and then he and Paul Fletcher resuscitated
Burnley’s hopes at Cambridge (2-2), after Bill Garner and Alan Biley had put United
into a 2-0 lead. These draws enabled Burnley to retain fifth spot.
My thirtieth birthday coincided with the Cambridge game. It was a
sharp, dazzling late November afternoon. But I wasn’t in a celebratory mood. An awful
spat at work had seen to that. Instead, I entered the Abbey Stadium in a spiteful frame of
mind. It was entirely fitting that the Boomtown Rats’ Rat Trap was number one.
After five minutes, my spite had turned to feral animosity. Burnley were two down and
being run ragged. As a result, I started behaving like a tethered ferret, squirming,
snapping and snarling at everyone around. At least, that was my wife’s verdict. I was
too preoccupied with being a yahoo to really notice. I could have got into a jam since we
were among home supporters. This was on account of us arriving bang on kick off. Credit
must go to that crowd. I guess they marked me out as a nutter. After all, I usually appear
as threatening as a menopausal churchwarden. However their forbearance should have won a
Paul of Tarsus award after Fletcher had slammed in the equaliser. By this point, I must
have been quite insufferable. Perhaps it was just as well that Fletcher’s late header
crashed against the crossbar. I might not have got out.
The following week, Burnley took on Oldham in the Anglo-Scottish
Cup Final. Again, it was played over two legs, and the first leg was to take place at
Boundary Park. Burnley hadn’t done very well there over the last two seasons. But
despite achieving a 1-1 draw at Newcastle on the previous Saturday, Oldham were
languishing in the bottom third of the table. Burnley had a good chance of winning this
competition. However, few of us were prepared for what happened on that frozen December
night.
Harry realised quite rightly that the long ball game offered the
best chance of success on that hard, slippery surface. So right from the off, booming
passes were struck down the middle for Kindon to chase. The pay off was immediate. After
just 90 seconds, Stevie managed to get on the end of a long pass from Paul Fletcher. His
touch was perfect as he rounded keeper McDonnell and clipped the ball into the unguarded
net. A minute later, James struck a great cross into the box. Kindon chested it down and
Noble rammed home the second.
Stung by this early setback, Oldham started pressing Burnley back
and Stevenson was forced to make a couple of brilliant saves. However, Burnley continued
to threaten the Latics with their lightning breaks. Burnley had the forethought to equip
themselves with training shoes, which helped them to hold their footing on that icy
surface. At halftime they were still fully in command, with the score remaining at 2-0.
Jim Thomson was the unlikely scorer of the third. The goal came
with around twenty minutes left and followed a partially cleared corner. Kindon retrieved
the loose ball and smacked in a low centre, which Jim slotted in. But Kindon hadn’t
finished. Five minutes later, Arins and Ingham set him up and he crashed in the fourth via
the far post. Oldham’s leading scorer, Alan Young, got a late consolation goal, but
by then the final had been decided. Even a defeat (0-1) in the home leg, couldn’t
alter that. Burnley were the Anglo-Scottish Champions of 1978. I know it sounds a bit Auto
Squeegee-like, but it was still a trophy, and one which was well merited by that Celtic
victory alone.
By contrast, the league run up to Christmas was a little
disappointing. Bristol Rovers were easily despatched at Turf Moor (2-0). The ‘Ginger
Pele’ got both goals. But Burnley continued to travel badly. Orient came from behind
to beat them at Brisbane Road (1-2) and Newcastle had a comfortable victory at St.
James’ Park (1-3), despite Peter Noble scoring against his home club.
Boxing Day brought Blackburn to Turf Moor, attracting a crowd of
23,000, easily the season’s biggest home gate. It was a mild afternoon of watery
sunlight. But there was nothing wan about Burnley’s performance. Making light of the
heavy conditions, they roared in a two goal lead. Fletcher and Noble both scored with
searing strikes. Colossal roars greeted both efforts. I can still vividly recall the
tingling sensation of being one with that uplifted crowd. Alas, the second half was a let
down. Kevin Hird put Blackburn back in the game, leaving Burnley to hang on grimly.
Fortunately, they managed to do just that (2-1). Four days later, Burnley secured a ragged
0-0 home draw with Cardiff. Then the ice sheet moved in, leaving the Clarets suspended in
seventh position.
In 1978, the Pistols imploded; Iran exploded. The Amoco Cadiz
crumpled and went down; Jeremy Thorpe had to fight being sent down. A test tube gave life;
an umbrella tip brought death. Rhodesian forces killed hundreds of rebels; Rev Jim Jones
killed hundreds of followers. Labour granted a day off in May; Tom Robinson was ‘Glad
To Be Gay’. Even though the Beeb weren’t.
It was the year in which there was a ‘Mod’ revival, led
in part by the Jam. I’m not sure that I was too pleased to see fifteen year-olds
swanning around in parkas with ‘The Who’ emblazoned on their backs. They seemed
to be nicking my generation’s heritage.
It was also the year which punk slid into ‘new wave’. But
there was no softening up. The Clash became more eclectic, employing reggae, rap and funk,
but still retained their confrontational edge. The emerging Ruts embraced a ska based
sound to deliver some scorching singles like ‘Staring At The Rude Boys’.
Gang Of Four pounded out staccato slogans on the back of sharp-edged, stripped down funk.
The Specials and other Two Tone bands challenged racism and Crass continued to challenge
everything and everyone. The decade started with ‘Glam’ rock. It seemed as if it
might end with the ‘Glum’ variety. The waspish Fall, the bleak Joy Division and
the morbid Bauhaus had one thing in common. They all made jagged, unsettling music, as if
they were supplying a soundtrack to a Blade Runner-like urban wasteland. This doomy
music seemed entirely fitting as the rubbish piled up and the dead remained unburied.
Lurching into 1979 amidst increasing industrial strife, we were pressed into recognising
that Labour wasn’t working. Neither were Burnley. Not on Saturdays at least.
Burnley played just one game in January, a postponed Third Round FA
Cup tie at St. Andrews. Birmingham were then in the middle of a nine match losing
sequence. Relegation from the First Division was inevitable. Surely, even Burnley
couldn’t cock this up? Morley was recalled and made his mark within a minute. Burnley
flattened a dispirited and disjointed Birmingham, but it took a late goal from James to
assure victory.
Just one league game could be fitted in between New Year and the
end of February, a fixture at Roker. It was Burnley’s first competitive game for a
month and it showed. Sunderland won easily after James had given Burnley a halftime lead
(1-3). Three weeks later, Burnley took on the Wearsiders again. This time it was in the FA
Cup. The game had been postponed eight times. It was originally due to be played on the 27th
January. The game was finally played on the 21st February. Even then, the tie
could not be resolved. A Jim Thomson goal ensured a replay (1-1). Quite surprisingly,
Burnley won the replay 3-0 with a brilliant performance. In fairness, Sunderland were
without either of their front line keepers, Barry Siddall and Chris Turner, forcing them
to play a nervous rookie, Ian Watson. However, it was still a remarkable victory, given
that it had come just two days after a woeful home defeat by Stoke (0-3). However, Burnley
progressed no further, going down 0-3 at Liverpool two days later. So when Burnley
travelled to Brighton on 3rd March, they were about to play their fifth game in
eleven days.
Blondie topped both the singles (Heart Of Glass) and album (Parallel
Lines) charts. The weather was a sombre and blowy. Fine rain wafted in off the creased
Channel. Despite the damp, ruffling wind there was a listless feel to the day. Even the
grubby waves seemed to be going through the motions, gathering themselves without
conviction and then collapsing onto the shingle with laboured sighs. I couldn’t
muster much energy about the game, either. It seemed a sort of valedictory performance, a
farewell to the ‘team of the seventies'. Only Brian Hall was an impostor. The rest
were part of Jimmy Adamson’s flaking dream. Although it was good to watch their
fluent approach work, now it felt like The Last Waltz.
But there was no room for sentiment. Brighton and Burnley were
progressing in opposite directions. Despite Burnley’s early pressure, Brian Horton
put the Seagulls ahead with a crisply struck penalty in the second half. Billy Ingham
scored another important goal, prodding in an equaliser but that merely set up Mark
Lawrenson’s stunning finale. Picking up a loose ball outside the Burnley box he
thumped in a fizzing drive to give Brighton both points. I left the ground feeling hollow.
Burnley had flopped into 15th position. The way out of here seemed down.
Three successive wins cast doubt over that morbid prediction. Those
six points taken off Luton (2-1), Wrexham (1-0) and Charlton (2-1) actually restored
Burnley to seventh position. However after winning 2-1 at relegation-bound Blackburn,
Burnley then went into free fall, losing six and drawing just one of their final seven
games. Their 2-0 defeat at Bristol Rovers on 21st April was one of the most
inept Burnley performances I have ever seen. Predictably, home attendances plummeted. Only
5,837 bothered to watch the final home game with Millwall (0-2). The warning for next
season could not have been made clearer.
