See you next season, we hope
Payton and Cook are the first leavers
The season is young (if you see what we mean)
Brisser, blueprint - and Burnley mascot
Winning smiles
It must be time for another move
Hats off to Papa
Click here for this month's comment entries.
26
April - the season ends today
Today sees the Clarets
take on Sheffield Wednesday in the last home game of the season.
The Owls are already relegated, of course, so it will be interesting to see
how many of their fans make the game. Evidently they have sold a lot of tickets, but many of
those will have been purchased pre-relegation.
With nothing at stake except
pride, hopefully the match will be an entertaining one. If nothing else,
it will be a chance to get another look at the Burnley youngsters (and perhaps
cast an eye over the Wednesday team, with the end-of-season personnel shuffle
approaching?). Don't forget that it's a 1.30 start, and that Payton
and Cook will be appearing shortly before kick-off so that the fans can show their appreciation. The
half time special guest will be Ray Pointer, so all in all it should be a game well worth
attending.
Of course, the season effectively
ends today for us, as we'll be boycotting the Franchise game. Some of our
members will be going, though (as we've said before, it's an individual
decision, and we respect that), and we'll do our best to bring you a match
report. In case you're wondering what's happening with the alternative
event mentioned on our Social page, we're waiting
for an update from the Wimbledon Independent Supporters' Association (WISA).
We'll publish details as soon as we receive them.
In closing, just a reminder
to renew (or buy) your season ticket. To qualify for the discounted rate,
the Ticket Office must receive your application by next Wednesday,
30th April.
We've heard a few rumours
about people not renewing their season tickets due to dissatisfaction with
one thing or another, but
really it should go without saying that such actions don't help the
Club. That doesn't mean that people shouldn't voice their queries or concerns
(goodness knows, we certainly don't hold back), but not renewing
one's season ticket isn't perhaps the best way to do it. The Club needs
the up front income that season ticket purchases generate, more
than ever in the current financial climate. Besides, you know that by August
you'll be desperate to sit in your usual seat and watch your beloved Clarets!
23
April - goodbye to two loyal Clarets
Today brought the perhaps
unsurprising news that Andy Payton and Paul Cook
have played their last games for Burnley. The Club's announcement wasn't
exactly a shock, but it's still disappointing. Both Payts and
Cooky have been
great servants
to Burnley Football Club, and it's sad that they will no longer be around.
It's not clear at the moment
whether either or both will sign for new clubs (Cooky at least is on record
as saying that he would want to finish his League career at Burnley). But
whatever their future plans, we'd like to thank them both for their considerable
contributions to Burnley FC, and the pleasure they have given us in watching
them play, and wish them all the very best for the future.
The duo will appear before
the fans shortly ahead of Saturday's
game against Sheffield Wednesday, and are sure to get a great send-off. Please
try to get to the game if you can (we know, the 1.30 kick-off is a pain)
and show your appreciation.
With the Owls
having been relegated, and now Payts and Cooky making their farewells, Saturday's
game is in danger of being a less than cheerful occasion. Perhaps mindful
of this, the Club has designated the match an I Support
Burnley event.
Fans are asked to wear their claret and blue with pride, and generally get
behind the team.
Special
badges
are also available from the Club shop.
The I
Support Burnley initiative was started by our friends at Clarets Mad, and
at the
time of
writing, over
670
supporters
have signed up. More information is available directly from the Clarets
Mad website, or via our original article on the subject. Please do consider
adding your name to the list, if you haven't already.
Lastly, if you need any
more incentive to go to the game on Saturday, don't forget that there will
also be a chance to see who wins a sports car, courtesy of the Clarets Foundation.
So, depending
on whether you're a nice or nasty person, you can either
cheer the winner or enjoy watching the five losing finalists try to hide
their disappointment.
20
April - youngsters to the fore
Since our last update,
the Clarets have lost at Portsmouth and then won at home against Gillingham,
taking us to 15th in the table.
Pompey's 1-0 win on Tuesday
saw them promoted, but the victory wasn't as easy as they
might have expected. Their goal didn't come until the 73rd minute, and they
had
to
work hard for it against a resilient Burnley side that had no intention
of going quietly. Paul Merson missed an early penalty, and then we should
by
all accounts have had a penalty ourselves just before Portsmouth eventually
scored.
After the game, Stan was
understandably irked that we hadn't been awarded the spot kick, but
offered his congratulations to Portsmouth on their promotion. We'd like to
echo that
- and we look forward to seeing various Premiership supporters sitting
on those cold, wet, open seats next season!
The game at
Norwich last weekend featured appearances by Matty O'Neill and Richard Chaplow,
and Tuesday's match saw the same duo come on again as subs. Brad Maylett,
freshly returned from his loan spell with Swansea City, also saw some action
in the Pompey game, replacing Papa (who had to be taken off with a hip injury
early on). With yesterday's game against Gillingham again featuring
O'Neill and Chaplow, along with Andrew Waine and Mark Rasmussen, clearly
Stan has decided that it's time for the youngsters to get involved. It's
good to see - and it's also good that they're
being introduced together, so they can give each other support.
There was however some
bad news midweek, when the Club announced that it (along with all the other
League
clubs) had
received a letter from the Football League advising of yet another financial
problem.
It seems that the Government hasn't yet made its promised monetary
contribution to football's Youth Development Programme, meaning that
each club will receive only 40% of its next (quarterly) payment, i.e. £13,800
instead of the maximum £34,500. The amount of money involved might be
relatively small when compared to the
ITV
Digital
fiasco, for example, but it's still bad news. The timing's a bit ironic,
too, coming when our youngsters are doing so well.
Lastly, there's been mixed
news for our two international players. Congratulations to Papa, who's
been called up yet again to the Greece U21s, this time for an away friendly
against
Slovakia.
The
match is on Wednesday 30th April, and Papa won't have to miss a Burnley game.
Not such good news for Gareth Taylor, though, as UEFA's threat to expel Azerbaijan
from the Euro 2004 qualifiers leaves Wales looking at the possible loss of
six
points from the twelve they've garnered so far. Golden Bonce is obviously
hoping to be present at the Finals, so we'll be watching the situation
develop with some interest. We'll just try to forget who their manager is.
PS And congratulations
to London Claret Pete Marsden, who ran for charity in the recent London Marathon,
completing the course in four hours and forty-three minutes. A superb
effort! Here's a picture of Pete, complete with his medal (and pint):
A few things to mention
as another week draws to an end.
We'd like to start by wishing
Lee Briscoe a speedy recovery from the leg injury he sustained during
the Clarets' 2-0 defeat yesterday at Norwich. Brisser was stretchered
off shortly before the half-hour mark, clearly in some pain. The rumour
on the away end during the game was that his leg was broken, but the
latest word from the Club is that it's just a nasty knock. Let's hope
it is nothing more serious, and we look forward to seeing him back in
action soon.
We always keep an
eye on issues affecting football fans, and we've been sent a copy of
the Football Supporters' Federation's Fans' Blueprint
for Football. The document was drawn up following the first Football
Fans' Parliament, held last October. The FSF is asking supporters for
their feedback on the Blueprint prior to the next Football Fans' Parliament.
The further instructions document explains
more, including details of how to report feedback, key dates, etc.
We'd like to end
by mentioning that Burnley's mascot for Tuesday night's game at Portsmouth
will be London Claret James Riley. James is eight years old, and is
a big fan of both Ian Moore and Glen Little. It's a shame that Super
Glen won't be around, but hopefully Mooro will put on a good show. James
predicts a Burnley win - let's hope he's right!
Below is a recent
picture of James in his Burnley shirt. Thanks to Dad Chris for the details,
and good luck to James (and Burnley) for Tuesday.
10
April - round-up
Well, it had to happen
sooner or later - though many of us were starting to doubt that it would
happen this season. After the shock of Burnley 4 Watford 7, we finally
remembered what it's like to see Burnley win a game! Not a bad one to
win, either, it being Preston. Let's hope that we can now finish the
season on a high note, starting with Norwich on Saturday.
Off the pitch, there have
been one or two nuggets of news in the past week. The Club announced
that Earl Davis will remain on loan at Southport for the rest of the
season - we wish him well. And the Lancashire Evening Telegraph quoted
Stan as saying that both he and Sam Ellis had taken "a massive
wage reduction", although there was no further clarification.
Otherwise, the Glen Little
debate continues; and there's also been speculation about which players
will leave the Club this summer, who might be offered a new contract,
and which (if any) players Stan might bring in. There will be fourteen
out-of-contract players, as follows: Gordon Armstrong, Marlon
Beresford, Graham Branch, Lee Briscoe, Paul Cook, Ian Cox, Earl Davis,
Steve Davis, Drissa Diallo, Andrew Leeson, Nik Michopoulos, Andy Payton,
Anthony Shandran, Andrew Waine. It's perhaps fairly easy to
guess the likely fate of some of the above - but then again, there are
bound to be one or two surprises. As the Gaffer commented, it will certainly
be interesting.
With the 4th of May fast
approaching, the Club has asked users of its website
to vote for their Player Of The Season. You need to email
your vote, including in the body of the email your chosen player's
name plus your name and address. Those who vote for the eventual winner
will go into a draw, and you could end up presenting the award at the
Supporters' Clubs' Player Of The Year Awards Night on 28th April.
As you probably know,
we have our own Player Of The Season award. This is done on a slightly
more scientific basis in that votes are taken over the course of the
season on a game-by-game basis, and only members who attend a game in
person can vote. Pollmeister Woody will announce the winner at the AGM.
It will be interesting to see how the results compare!
Lastly, any parent dreading
the half-term holiday is reminded about next week's Easter Football
School, to be held in Milton Keynes. (No, it's nothing to do with Franchise
FC!) Details are in the latest magazine. Be quick, though, as it starts
on Monday!
The Club announced today that on police
advice, our home game against the Owls on Saturday 26th April will now
kick off at 1.30. This is bad news for us, of course,
as most of us will be relying on public transport to get us to the Turf
- and goodness knows, given the state of our public transport "system",
it's difficult enough when kick-off's at 3. Oh well. It could have been
worse. We'll still be there, one way or another!
In the wider world of football,
there was bad news today for all football supporters opposed to the
franchising of our clubs. The Football League announced that it has
"given conditional approval to Wimbledon FC's application to
move temporarily to Milton Keynes Hockey Stadium whilst the club awaits
the development of its permanent stadium at Denbigh". By "conditional",
they mean that the club has until June 2007 (yes, June 2007) to move
to its new stadium or "secure other satisfactory long-term
arrangements". So, no time pressure, then. And who decides
what constitutes a "satisfactory long-term arrangement"? Charles
Koppel?
The announcement goes on
to stress that an Independent Commission, rather than the Board of the
Football League, was responsible for ruling that the club could move
to Milton Keynes in the first place, but that "under this ruling, the Board regarded
Milton Keynes as the club's conurbation". According to the
dictionary, a conurbation is "a continuous network of urban
communities". Why wasn't this "conurbation rule"
applied by the Independent Commission when considering the application
to move the club from London to Bedfordshire in the first place?
2 April - Papa nets Euro hat-trick
Has anyone else noticed how,
since Little's move to Reading, the words "Glen", "Little", and "Reading"
seem to crop up everywhere? Even the Club's calendar provided another
reminder, when Mr April turned out to be...yep, Mr Little. If we were
into conspiracy theories, we might suspect some kind of plot against
the long-suffering Claret faithful.
Of course, April began with All Fools'
Day. We would have put a joke on the site, but it would have been impossible
to top Burnley's winning wheeze of loaning out Super Glen, so we didn't
bother. Full marks to Cozzo, though, who told us that '...due to
injuries and loans, Ronnie Jepson has re-registered as a Burnley player.
(Apparently, as he wasn't signed by another club, he was able to sign
outside the transfer window. Supposedly his experience will be "valuable
at this difficult time", and he has kept himself fit training with the
first team squad.) He is expected to be in the squad for Saturday's
game.'
The only problem with that story
is that it could well be true in the not too far distant future - a
bit like Clarets Mad's announcement that the Club is to start charging
people to use the Turf Moor loos (you can almost hear Andrew Watson:
"Yes, but let's not dismiss the idea out of hand...").
But back to serious matters. Gareth
Taylor didn't feature in Wales' 4-0 victory over Azerbaijan in their
European Championships qualifier on Saturday, but Dimi Papadopoulos
scored a superb hat-trick in Greece's 6-2 win over Northern Ireland
in the European Under 21s Championship last night. We'd like to congratulate
Dimi on his excellent achievement. Perhaps the next hat-trick will be
for Burnley?
Well - fingers crossed for Saturday,
and the chance to exorcise some ghosts against Watford. Come on you
Clarets!
April 2003 comment entries
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