1/4 Steve Davis is rumoured to be struggling
with a double hernia problem. Sources say he is being patched up at present, and will play
on while there’s something at stake. Ex-Claret David Miller is made assistant manager
of Morecambe.
2/4 Ahead of our game at Notts county, Lenny
Johnrose says he thinks Sunday’s 4-3 win over Macclesfield might be the turning point
of the season, while Paul Cook says we would be happy with a draw. Cook adds that he was
disappointed with how he played against Macclesfield, but overall he was happy with the
team performance.
3/4 Notts County 0 Burnley 0. Team:
Crichton, Pickering, Cowan, Mellon, Davis, Brass, Little (Branch 87), Armstrong, Cook
(Jepson 75), Payton, Johnrose. SNU: Reid. Att: 6,625. See match
report for details. Glen Little picks up a yellow card, which means he will be
suspended for the home match against Bournemouth. Ex-Claret Gerry Creaney plays for
County, with little effect.
5/4 Burnley 3 Colchester 1. Johnrose
(57), Payton (82, 90) / D Gregory (27). Team: Crichton, Pickering (Jepson 75), Cowan,
Mellon, Davis, Brass (Branch 46), Little, Armstrong, Cook (Reid 88), Payton, Johnrose.
Att: 10,747. See match report for details. The game turns on
the sending off of Colchester’s Tresor Lua Lua on 54 minutes for kicking out at Paul
Cook in front of the referee. Chris Brass is taken off after a clash of heads, but should
not miss Saturday’s game. Ternent says, "It's been a smashing weekend," but
cautions, "one swallow or two swallows don't make a summer and we still need three
wins so it's all hands to the pumps. We have to get to that 50-point mark and past it and
then we see how we go from there." Johnrose comments, "Everyone knows we had to
win it and we did that." Andy Payton has now scored twenty goals this season, and
seventeen in the league for the fourth time in his career. After the thankfully final
parade of dogs, allegedly on an ugly duckling theme, our new home shirt is paraded at half
time. Produced by local firm Glory Years (run by Frank Casper and Joyce Pickles) under
their ‘Super League’ trademark, the shirt is of a fairly traditional design,
with white shorts. The away shirt will be decided by a supporters’ poll from a range
of options. Clarets reject Steve Blatherwick scores against Stoke in a 1-1 draw.
6/4 Ternent confirms that we will be asking
Stockport to take Cook on loan for a second month. Payton says he is hopeful of passing
his best ever season’s total of 25 goals.
7/4 Graham Branch, after played better against
Colchester, puts his new found form down to the iron tablets he was prescribed after
complaining of lethargy. It appears he is a tad anaemic. Branch adds that the team are
trying to win sufficient games to be safe by Northampton.
8/4 Johnrose counsels caution and says there is
much work still to do, and hopes he will score a few more goals himself. In an effort to
endear himself to the fans, he comments, "The supporters are unbelievable. I think
the lads are starting to appreciate what they've got and I think they've been magnificent
and were great again on Monday."
9/4 Brass will play at Oldham if the doctors
allow it. He was suffering from concussion earlier in the week. There is speculation that
Andy Cooke may return. Cowan describes tomorrow’s game as Oldham’s biggest of
the season. It appears we will again be happy with an away point. Oldham will have Paul
Beavers, on loan from Su’lan’, in their team. He was previously with Ethnikos,
along with Carl Smith and Carr-Lawton, and doesn’t seem to have had as much trouble
sorting his registration out, after FIFA intervened on his behalf. Ternent says our
two’s problem is with the PFA. The Swanky Pants Performing Dog Troupe announce that
they will never return to Turf Moor, being shocked by the reception they received from the
supporters, who they allege threw stones. Good riddance, you saps.
10/4 Oldham 1 Burnley 1. Payton (52) /
Tipton (37). Team: Crichton, Pickering, Cowan, Mellon, Davis, Brass, Cooke (Branch 71),
Armstrong, Cook, Payton (Jepson 78), Johnrose. SNU: Reid. Att: 8,542. See match report for details. Glen Little is absent with a bout of
flu, although wild rumours say that he has been dropped after a disagreement. Payton is
taken off, allegedly with a calf problem. Ternent says, "It's a good away point but
not a good away performance by the standards we set ourselves." While disappointed at
the performance, he praises his team’s resilience, adding "not losing is a very
good habit. Long may it continue." He goes on to thank the support for once again
turning out in numbers: "The fans have been fantastic all season but the away
supporters in particular are just terrific. I don't know how many of them were here but it
created a great atmosphere and all credit to them. I hope they are at Blackpool on
Tuesday." Cooke says he was pleased if a little surprised to be back in the team, and
is hoping to score before the end of a personally dismal season. Unfortunately, it seems
that everyone else wins. The A team draw 1-1 against Macclesfield.
12/4 Ternent says it’s by no means certain
that we’ll be allowed to keep Cook on loan, but he’s working on it. Mellon says
that it doesn’t particularly bother him to be playing Blackpool, despite the fact
that he still lives there. Payton is passed fit to play.
13/4 Blackpool 0 Burnley 2. Payton (26),
Little (57). Team: Crichton, Pickering, Cowan (Little 50), Mellon, Davis, Brass,
Armstrong, Cook, Cooke (Jepson 89), Payton (Branch 75), Johnrose. Att: 5,658. See match report for details . Burnley are under pressure before
Payton’s volley from nowhere, described by Ternent as a "touch of genius"
changes the course of the game. Ternent says, "There's no other way to explain that.
There's only Payton could score a goal like that I would have thought. It was a fantastic
goal," He describes the game as a big win and says we now need a couple more to make
sure. He adds, "I'm not bothered what other sides do and what they don't do. The only
thing that concerns me is how we perform and what results we get." Little’s goal
is a rare header. Tom Cowan twists his ankle and Johnrose sustains a gashed shin. Junior
Bent plays for Blackpool. Amusingly, a win would have ensured Blackpool mathematical
safety and they have champagne ready to celebrate it. We move to 16th from 18th.
14/4 Burnley Reserves 0 Wolves Reserves 3.
Pontins relegation now looks likely. An old nemesis, Steve Bull, scores against us. John
Ward is in charge of the Wolves team, and gets a good reception. Team: Mawson, Reid,
Morgan, Ford, West (Kelly), Heywood, Maylett, Graham (Collins), Eastwood, Shandran, Kevan
(Callaghan). We are joined on trial by 19 year-old midfielder Michael O’Brien,
currently in Everton reserves but due to be released at the end of the season. Crewe,
Oldham and Hull are also said to be interested. Northampton announce that we will have a
miserly 872 tickets in their horrid cheapskate ground for our potentially decisive final
fixture of the season.
15/4 We extend Paul Cook’s loan spell till
the end of the season. Ternent says, "A permanent move is a possibility but we will
cross that bridge when we come to it."
16/4 Gordon Armstrong says he enjoys playing at
sweeper, rating it as his best position. The Football League announce that a rugby-style
'ten yards rule' will be introduced in the Auto Windscreens Shield next season for
dissent, failure to retreat or time-wasting at a free kick. Have a horrible feeling we
might be the first side to turn an innocuous half way line free kick into a penalty.
17/4 Burnley 0 Bournemouth 0. Team:
Crichton, Pickering, Cowan, Mellon, Davis, Brass, Armstrong, Cook (Jepson 61), Cooke,
Johnrose, Branch (Eastwood 87). SNU: Reid. Att: 9,802. See match
report for details. Payton misses the game with a thigh strain, but is expected to be
back for Stoke. Steve Davis blasts our best chance of the game over, correctly predicting,
"It came across pretty quickly but I'm not making excuses and at least I'll get
myself on Sky!" Ternent comments, "Steve Davis owes us nothing. He's scored some
important goals for us so he's entitled to that." Davis adds that playing in a
settled team has made a difference and enabled the defence to play better together.
Ternent states again that he believes fifty points will be enough, given our high goals
scored total, and to get that now we can either win one game or draw the rest. Of the
unbeaten run, he adds, "It would be nice to get to eleven and that's not an
unachievable target."
18/4 London Claret Julian Booth runs in the
London Marathon. Hats off Jules!
19/4 On a slow news day, Ternent once again says
that he is not planning to sell Glen Little. However, he expects clubs to keep expressing
an interest, and ponders whether it would be fair to stop Little having a crack at the
premier league. Su’lan’ are alleged to have been interested, in the person of
Adrian Heath, but Ternent pooh-poohs such a notion: "I speak to Pe’er Ree every
day. He's a friend of mine and he has never asked about Glen Little."
20/4 The Gawthorpe Fund is said to stand at
£2,000. Meanwhile, Ex-Clarets in Sport buy James Ross' 1898 Second Division Championship
medal to add to the planned Turf Moor museum. Ross was also a member of Preston's double
winning side before playing for Burnley between 1897 and 1899. Dunfermline are said to
want to sign Brian Reid, who has not yet signed a new contract. Reid says he’s
enjoying himself at Burnley, wants to stay and needs to discuss it with Ternent, but is
currently concentrating on trying to get back into the team.
21/4 West Brom Reserves 2 Burnley Reserves 2.
A late goal costs us the win. Michael O’Brien plays. Team: Mawson, Maylett, Devenney
(Vindheim), O'Brien (Graham), Heywood, Reid, Poppleton, Doherty, Shandran, Eastwood,
Williamson. Shandran and Williamson get our goals.
22/4 Andy Payton says he would like to finish
his playing career at Burnley. Ronnie Jepson predicts a Burnley challenge next season,
adding "We have got a few good lads in the dressing rooms. The atmosphere is good and
that's what it's all about. The majority of lads can't wait until next season starts. It's
just a matter of getting us safe because everybody is looking forward so much to next year
it's untrue." Mark Robertson returns to fitness. The final match at Northampton sells
out within a couple of days of tickets going on sale.
23/4 Ternent says it isn’t win or bust at
Stoke tomorrow, and if we don’t reach the fifty point target there, we’ll do it
in one of the other games. He describes it as "another day at the office."
Pickering, meanwhile, despite being released by Stoke, says he isn’t bothered at
playing them, commenting, "I'm just going back there to get three points. It makes no
difference who we play, as long as we get three points." New General Manager Andrew
Watson, now in post, speaks about his job. He says, "My role is to come in and get
things right off the field of play. My skills to bring here are in the revenue generating
areas, which are absolutely vital. It's common knowledge in football that things have to
be right off the field if you are going to get it right on the field. In recent months the
chairman has invested money for the manager to sign some quality players and no doubt that
will continue if we get it right off the field of play. We have got to get it right to
support the manager." He adds that he sees a lot of potential for improvement in
generating the cash to back the team. Changes will be coming to our backroom operations.
"The chairman wants to make sure the club pays its way from its own activities. For
us to take this club forward we need to stay in this division and take it from there and I
am sure we will be able to do that. The manager and the players have done very well. On
current form we are fourth in the table. If we can carry that on next season and give the
manager the support he needs to get his squad together then it becomes an exciting season.
I have worked at a Premiership club for the last four years and now I have the chance to
build a Premiership club. I really think Burnley can become one. You have got to take the
Premiership as a role model and we have got to do all our activities just as well as a
Premier League club." He adds that his first big job is to sell more than the 6,300
season tickets sold last year. "If the manager wants to sign players he will want to
go into the market in May time and that's when supporters can renew their season tickets.
Not only do you save on five matches but you will provide finance to help the manager to
get things right for next season. The money is there to invest in players for the
manager." Northampton announce that home tickets for their match against us will now
only be sold to people on their customer database, after it became clear that Burnley
supporters were buying them.
24/4 Stoke 1 Burnley 4. Pickering (5),
Payton (11), Little (68, 90) / Crowe (31). Team: Crichton, Pickering, Cowan, Mellon,
Davis, Brass, Little, Cook (Jepson 85), Cooke, Payton (Branch 11) (Johnrose 46),
Armstrong. Att: 10,965. See match report for details. Ally
Pickering scores a stupendous volley from 35 yards in front of the fans who’d taunted
him, then reveals that he thought about not playing after the death of his father during
the week. He says, "I lost my old fella on Tuesday and I came to prove to my dad that
I could come here and do a good job. He's been everywhere with me so it was like a
personal thing for me. My mum made me play really. She said to me 'go there and show them
what they've been missing' so I came and scored a goal like that." Andy Payton’s
goal is his twentieth of the season, and last touch of the game, as he leaves with a
recurrence of his thigh strain. Glen Little moves up front to replace him. We have now
gone eight games unbeaten and reached fifty points. We stand five points clear of
relegation in the dizzy heights of fifteen, with a ridiculous chance of finishing in the
top half. Ternent says that now we have fifty, it might not be enough and now he wants one
more win! He adds, "I'm delighted for the players and everybody associated with the
club. We are on the up-and-up. It's been a long, hard season but hopefully another win or
two will see us where we want to be." He stresses that we will not slack off. Kevin
Henderson scores as Burnley A beat Wrexham A 3-0.
26/4 Steve Davis wins a place in the PFA
divisional team of the year for the third time. Payton and Little have reason to feel
miffed. The full team is: Maik Taylor (Fulham), Steve Finnan (Fulham), Rufus Brevett
(Fulham) / Jamie Vincent (Bournemouth), Sean Gregan (Preston), Steve Davis, Chris Coleman
(Fulham), Graham Kavanagh (Stoke), Darren Wrack (Walsall), Mark Stein (Bournemouth), Geoff
Horsfield (Fulham), Steve Robinson (Bournemouth).
27/4 Paul Smith hasn’t ruled out playing
before the end of the season, as he continues to recover from knee surgery faster than
expected.
28/4 Bolton Reserves 0 Burnley Reserves 0.
Relegation for the reserves will become a reality unless we beat Man City Reserves in our
final game. Or perhaps not, as with yet another league restructuring in the air, there
might not be any relegation. Henderson and Paul Smith both play to mark their return from
injury. Team: Mawson, Maylett, Morgan (Devenney 46), Vindheim, Heywood, Reid, Williamson,
O'Brien, Henderson (Ford 75), Eastwood, Smith (Shandran 60). Meanwhile, in the real world,
we drop four places to 19th as seemingly every side below us plays and wins. However,
Macclesfield and Lincoln can no longer catch us. Rumour has it that we will sign four or
five players in the summer. Kevin Keegan takes England to a friendly in Hungary, days
before he comes to Turf Moor as Fulham manager.
29/4 Speculation mounts that we will sign John
Mullin in the summer. It’s thought likely that Su’lan’ will release him. He
hasn’t figured much since a bright start to the season. Ternent confirms, "I
would be interested in John Mullin if I could get him in our wage structure. I think he's
pro-Burnley and the supporters think highly of him." He says that he is generally
interested in strengthening the squad. Rumours persist that Chris Lucketti and Nick Daws
of Bury are targets.
30/4 Ahead of our game against Fulham, Ternent
confirms that he thought about making a bid for Geoff Horsfield before Fulham, but decided
to he needed a defender and a midfielder (Steve Davis and Micky Mellon) instead. It now
looks like Andy Payton will not play again this season.
