Fixture (n): something securely fixed in place
Friendly feelings
Divided we fall - time for the boo-boys to get a life
Swept away - Broomes says "no thanks, Burnley"
Goodbye to the undynamic duo
Beresford blow
Click here for August 2002 comment entries.
19 August - another fixture (flexture?) change
It was bound to happen, and the only surprise is that it took so long. Another game has been moved - Preston away on Saturday 2nd November will now kick off at the rather odd time of 5.35. The "reason" for the change is that the game will be shown live on Sky. A repeat of last season's fixture would do nicely!
Other than the general depression after the Brighton and Wolves games, nothing much seems to be happening at the moment. The only Club news is bad news - we now have eight players with one kind of injury or another. Perhaps the most worrying of those are Steve Davis and Nik Michopoulos, who apparently both picked up knocks on Saturday. Let's hope we get a couple of loan signings or something by the weekend, as realistically we probably need to get four points at least from the next two games. The concept of losing to Neil Warnock's Sheffield United doesn't bear thinking about.
15 August - international call-ups for Gareth and Dimi
We'd like to congratulate Gareth Taylor, who's been named in the Wales squad for their upcoming friendly against Croatia. And Dimi Papadopoulos, who's in the squad for Greece's U21 friendly against Romania - though we're sure we heard Barry Kilby say at our AGM that he wouldn't be eligible now. Do under-21 squads still have over-age players? When will this ever end?!
Closer to home, the Club site reports that we have some injury worries ahead of our ritual mauling on Saturday. Grant, Maylett and Armstrong seem certain to be out of the reckoning. Arthur will be available on Saturday, but thereafter will start his 3-match ban. The Club will not be appealing against the decision, as it seems no-one has any video footage of the incident! I suppose we can always hope that Gary Hart has a sudden fit of conscience, but we won't be holding our breath.
On a lighter note, the Club site was also responsible for giving us our best laugh-out-loud moment for some time. Quoting some comments from Stan, they came up with the following gem: "Glen Little has a slight strain on his thigh, but I'm hopeful he'll be alright whilst Paul Weller is feeling his knee...". Yes, we know it's childish, but you have to laugh!
Meanwhile, our friends at Clarets Mad have revealed that the Club may be about to get Everton's Paul Gerrard and Lee Carsley on loan. Gerrard is of course a name we've been linked with before, and a well-respected keeper to boot. Carsley is of course an ex-Bastard, but there's still time for him to repent.
12 August - is it all falling apart already?
In the aftermath of the Brighton debacle, a few thoughts spring to mind. Number one: who were the morons booing Barry Kilby at half time? Barry, remember, is the person largely responsible for what the Club is today, i.e. an established First Division football club. The person who has put (if memory serves us correctly) over £3 million into the Club. The person who has presided over our rise from the depths of Division Two. Can anyone explain the mindset of those people who were booing him?
Something else we didn't much care for was Stan publicly slagging off Robbie Blake - apparently he was "hopeless, and looked like he was playing in diver's boots". That may well be the case - no, that was the case - but firstly, he wasn't the only (or worst) offender, and secondly, the singling-out-individuals stuff is probably best done behind closed doors. Hopefully, Stan's words will have a galvanising effect, but they could equally well prove divisive.
Off the field, it was pleasing to note that the Club has banned ITV from entering Turf Moor. If the majority of Football League clubs are persuaded to do likewise, there could be a noticeable impact on ITV's football round-up programme. OK, we know it won't really matter in the long term, but it's important to make the point.
Also off the field, but less pleasing, the Club has been featured in the national media because no / four / eleven thousand (depending on which publication you read) fans have demanded refunds on their season tickets. The inference, presumably, being that because we've made no signings it isn't worth supporting Burnley any longer. Is the world going mad? Probably, these people (if they exist) are closely related to Saturday's boo-boys.
Lastly, talking of the national media - some of our members were filmed by the BBC at King's Cross on Saturday morning! They were doing a feature on the disgrace that is the West Coast mainline, and wanted our comments on the travel situation and Virgin's train service! An opportunity too good to resist. Travel Secretary Paddy, plus Katherine, Joan and Barbara, were all interviewed. The only thing is, although we were told the piece would be shown on Saturday's tea-time news, it doesn't seem to have actually made an appearance! Just to prove that it wasn't all a dream, though, we have a photo of Katherine being filmed.
7 August - Broomes signs for Preston
Today brought the unwelcome (but not exactly unexpected) news that Marlon Broomes has signed for Preston. Hands up who didn't see that coming. We're in two minds about the whole thing. Partly, we hate Broomes for getting our hopes up - using us to keep fit / in the shop window, and then jumping ship as soon as something better came along. However, we also know that if we had the choice between an eight-week contract and a two-year one, we'd probably do the same thing. On balance, it's probably fair to just say he's now guaranteed that he'll always be a Bastard, and leave it at that.
On a brighter note, the rumour is that the original Marlon is still interested in coming back to Burnley, perhaps later in the season - money, of course, permitting.
6 August - Burns and Harris leave the Football League
More departures today, but we won't be shedding any tears over them. It was announced this morning that the Football League's Chairman, Keith Harris, and its Chief Executive, David Burns, have quit. Of course, the recent ITV Digital court case (which is expected to cost the League over a million pounds in legal bills) made their departure virtually certain - it was just a matter of when.
Their resignation statements were quite interesting. Burns stressed that he hadn't been responsible for the ITV Digital deal, and talked up the progress the League had made during his tenure. Most emphasis seemed to be on how he has improved the League's image, and on the dynamic (?) executive team he leaves behind. Well, we're glad to see the important things have been focused on - no worrying over trivialities like the clubs and their supporters.
Harris mentioned that he could now concentrate properly on other full-time roles he had elsewhere. The thought immediately occurs: if he had "other full-time roles", what on earth was he doing as Chairman of the League? The statement beggars belief. What are these other "roles"? Did they impact on his League work? If he hadn't got time to do justice to his job(s), then surely the issue should have been addressed earlier? Happily, though, Harris believes that leaving the League will improve his lifestyle. (Must be difficult to have any kind of lifestyle with your head so far up your arse, we would have thought.)
It's now uncertain what will happen at, or to, the Football League. Rumours of a reorganisation of Divisions 1-3 persist, with talk of a "mini Premiership" Division One and the combination / regionalisation of Divisions 2 and 3. We'll just have to wait and see. As to who takes over, we can only hope for strong leadership which (quoting from the League's own website) "facilitates financial success, stability and development of professional football clubs".
5 August - one Marlon goes
Today brought the unwelcome news that Marlon Beresford has signed for York City. OK, so it's only a 3-month contract, but it almost certainly means that we won't be seeing him turn out for Burnley this season. We're still in with a chance of signing Marlon Broomes - Stan having expressed his wish to do so - but (inevitably) Preston are now rumoured to be after him as well. We'll just have to wait and see. Realistically, we're probably better off signing Broomes than Beresford, and there is always the option of a loan keeper should something (heaven forbid) happen to NTG.
August 2002 comment entries
Firmo's view on transfer windows
Time to seize the day
Responses to "Is Stan still the man?"
Is Stan still the man?
"London Clarets World"
Further comment on the ITV Digital debacle
Firmo's view on the ITV Digital verdict
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As with all articles on the site, the views expressed in this section are those of the individual contributor, and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Burnley FC London Supporters' Club.
