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No Boxing Day match for us
Belated 'phoenix' update
Breakaway on?
Paddy in The Observer
Positive coverage for Burnley shocker
Canvey want more!
Roll up for the Reserves
Hats off to us!
New stuff on the web
FA Cup date set
And Burnley will play...
Payton off to Blackpool
Little and Gnohere going nowhere
Tin Man out of a job
Oh dear... Andy Payton
Finally they can't deny Stan Manager of the Month
Paul Cook shock
A dozen games have now been moved
Click here for December 2001 comment entries
26 Dec - Boxing Day defeat cancelled
The Boxing Day match at Rotherham was called off after a 1.45 pitch inspection, due to a frozen pitch.
It had initially passed a 12.00 inspection, oddly enough. Ah well, at least it means we don't get beat on
Boxing Day like we usually do. And of course, as we know, it's always good to have a game in hand.
24 Dec - Bit more on the 'phoenix' and club employee leaves
We're not really going to apologise for the lack of updates to the site lately. Frankly, in case you haven't noticed,
it's Christmas and we've got other things to do, like buying presents, going out and fighting for space at the bar
against all the amateur drinkers who only go to the pub in December. And we take the view that your life will be
similarly busy right now, and anyone who can be bothered to waste time surfing football websites at Christmas really
doesn't have enough going on. Anyway, we've been sort of following this absurd 'Phoenix League' story, so we'd
better draw your attention to the recent remarks of Chairman Barry on the official club website. If by any chance
you're not checking the official site at least once an hour for the latest news from Turf Moor 24 hours a day,
click here
to read them. Barry's comments that the club don't intend to resign from the League are what we wanted to hear, and we
welcome them. We agree with him that it is absurd, more than half way through a competition, to contemplate changing
the rules. Whichever two sides come top must go into the Premier League, and the three that finish bottom must be
relegated to the second division. It would be ridiculous if the competition we all began on level terms back in August
was negated by the actions of some clubs pulling out of the League. There should be only one reason for Burnley to
resign from the League in April - promotion. From our mail bag on this issue, it's clear there are strong feelings
and diverse views for and against a break away. If a new league is formed, it can only be after the reasons for a break
away have been clarified, a proper enquiry into the consequences of a new league has been undertaken and the issues
surrounding it have been aired. To change the whole structure of the game because a few clubs want it and everyone else
is scared of missing out would be indefensible. Nothing else has happened except that the club's 'media and PR'
guru Danny Reuben is soon to be leaving Burnley after a couple of years to take up a job with Bolton. As it's
officially the season of goodwill, we'll try not to say anything nasty about the man who gave us goal music,
people in golden suits and official club statements that are so badly written that they need to be followed by a
statement of clarification a couple of days later. I will merely point out that a few months ago we had cause to say
this in the context of the goal music: "This time I'll just content myself with observing that the saps who lavished
brain cells on this little wheeze are merely passing through the club. We will endure, and we'll see this nonsense
off." Say no more. Merry Christmas everyone, wherever you are.
19 Dec - Burnley to break away?
It's being reported that First Division clubs are set to resign from the Football League.
Click here for more and an instant view.
19 Dec - Paddy in The Observer
The London Clarets made it into the hallowed pages of The Observer once again this Sunday, with our comments on
Saturday's win over Stockport. As you know, we play a squad game, and this time it was travel supremo Patrick
O'Neill's turn to offer vague and incoherent responses to be duly turned into razor sharp analysis. For the
record (hey, if we go up, there may be a book in this season) this is what Paddy said: Was it a good match?
Not at all, though we played OK in the first half. The scoreline wasn't fair really as Stockport played better
than their position shows. You wouldn't believe from the game that we were top and they were bottom.
Who played well / who had a nightmare?
Stockport's striker Kuqi was dangerous and caused us a few problems. Our striker Ian Moore worked very
hard as usual. Good solid Yorkshire stuff from Paddy.
19 Dec - Burnley get flattering coverage shocker!
Whisper it quietly, but Burnley FC are the beneficiaries of a positive piece on the BBC's website. Written by
former Lancashire Evening Telegraph man Peter Oliver, it can be viewed by clicking
here.
You won't know anything you don't know already, but it's nice not to be slagged off for being top for a change.
18 Dec - Canvey - the club that wants you to pay more
Ah, the incomparable magic of the FA Cup... On Saturday, Burnley FC announced the
ticket prices for our forthcoming Third Round match against Canvey Island. And they were a little disappointing,
with a mere £4 across the board reduction for this hardly top-drawer tie. The club, however, has shown commendable
honesty in stating that they wanted to charge less. In fact, Burnley FC had proposed a flat admission charge of a
mere £6 for all parts of the ground, this apparently being the lowest price you can charge under the competition's
rules. But Canvey, that loveable 'pub side' from Essex, refused, and charmingly insisted on full, normal prices being
applied. The matter went to the FA, who disappointingly came out in favour of only slightly lower prices. Thus, when
you could have watched the game from the Harry Potts Longside upper for only £6, it will now cost you £14, while,
thanks to their own club, the supporters of Canvey Island will also pay £8 more than they might have. Hmm, wonder
what they think about their own club ensuring that they pay more than double what they could have to see the match?
So much for the romance of the cup, eh? It isn't just the big clubs who are increasingly undermining the
competition with cynicism. Don't be fooled by all the lame journalism that follows a cup upset. Canvey can only
see pound signs. They're the club that wants you to pay more. They want to make money, and they aim to take it
from your pocket. They're not the first club to treat the cup as a money making exercise, of course, but in their
greed, I think they've misjudged it anyway. FA Cup games no longer have the appeal they used to, and in recent years
attendances for these at Turf Moor have been low. Most of our League crowd consists of season ticket holders, for
whom paying on the day is a different proposition, particularly for a match just after Christmas, a few days after
another, far more important, home game, against unappealing opposition. At those prices, the gate will be low. At £6
a head, it would have been much bigger. The experiment of the Grimsby home game, where the home stands sold out at a
fiver a throw, proved this. If no one turns up, Canvey will get nowt. Apart from, we hope, a solid victory to put them
in their place. We've had one suggestion that, if you were thinking of going for £6 but now won't, you can
always send a cheque for £6 to Burnley FC. That way the club are rewarded for trying to do their best by the fans,
while Canvey won't get a penny of your money. For a full list of prices, see the official site
[click here
].
17 Dec - Roll up for the Reserves
Following the success of their 'get your scarves on for the lads' campaign for the home match against Grimsby,
our good friends at the Clarets Mad
website [www.claretsmad.co.uk] are once
again trying to do their bit for the club. This time, their aim is to get more people watching the reserves,
and specifically this Wednesday's home reserve game against Preston North End. The reserves are having a fine
season under Ronnie Jepson's tutelage, and for the first time in a while boast some genuinely exciting young prospects.
Despite this, not many are turning up to watch them. We accept that most of our members are never going to get an
opportunity to watch a reserve game (a few years ago, when there were more reserve matches, it was possible to take one
in on an extended weekend, along with a first team match, but those days are over). But if you do happen to be in
the area on Wednesday, why not go along and give them a cheer? Unfortunately, we’ll be there in spirit only, but t
his site is happy to support the 'Roll up for the Reserves' campaign.
Click here to view the latest.
14 Dec - Hats off!
Modesty should prevent us from mentioning this, but it's possible that some of our squad of regular contributors are
unaware of it, so at least we're letting them know. Football magazine When Saturday Comes has named its top five
independent club web sites - and we're one of them!
It's great that there's a Burnley site in there, and we're honoured that it's us. Without turning this into an
Oscar speech, I've been very lucky as site editor to have a great squad of contributors.
I've also been terribly fortunate to have an archive of London Clarets magazine writing that
goes back 25 years to draw on, and it's the writing by a huge number of contributors over those decades that
underpins this site, providing the 'immense archival depth' mentioned in the review. Hats off to all the writers!
I've always said this site stands or falls on the quality of the writing, and it's heartening
that the sites chosen have been done so on the basis of 'originality, wit and quality of writing', and that we're
said to 'provide a platform for some of the best webzine writing around'. Aww, I've always rated WSC.
I didn't have to bribe them that much. And with that, I think it's time for a celebratory drink...
13 Dec - New on the web
Not strictly football, but it may be of interest to Burnley exiles. The report of the Task Force on the riots
has now been published. The report, Burnley Speaks, Who Listens?, can be viewed in full as a PDF file on The
Guardian's website.
Click here
to do so.
To view PDF files, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Click here to download it.
While we're on, quite a reasonable article about Burnley FC appeared in last weekend's Sunday Times.
Click here to read it, although you
may have to go through a tiresome registration procedure.
12 Dec - Three o'clock on a Saturday - is this allowed?
It's been confirmed that the FA Cup
Third
Round Game at home to Canvey Island will be played on Saturday 5 January at three o'clock. It hasn't
been chosen for live TV coverage, so it seems that the media share our view that this isn't a particularly
compelling encounter. Expect brief highlights on Match of the Day if we win, and about half an hour if we
lose.
9 Dec - And Burnley will play...
It's Canvey Island
at home in the FA Cup Third Round, to be played on, or adjacent to,
Saturday 5 January. To be honest, this isn't a particularly thrilling draw for either side. From our point of view,
it's the sort of game that we can't really emerge from with any credit. The football establishment and the media
will, naturally, be hoping for a Canvey win, while if we win, it's a non-story. For Canvey, I suspect a draw
against Burnley was not what they set their hearts on when they beat Northampton, although it was only
Northampton, and just because you're non-league doesn't entitle you to a good draw. When the draw was made they did
their best not to look too disappointed, although the consistently anti-Burnley Mark Lawrenson took the
opportunity to voice disappointment on their behalf. Personally, all I ever ask for from the FA Cup is a chance
to go somewhere I've never been before, so for me, a home tie against anyone is disappointing. Can we switch it to
their ground?For the uninitiated, Canvey Island are currently top of the Ryman League Premier Division.
Their official website is at www.canveyfc.com.
I suppose it means we have a reasonable chance of getting into the Fourth Round - but we really want to be
concentrating on the League, don’t we? Speaking of which, our win at Preston this afternoon - our 7th away win of
the season - put us top by four points (it's been a long '24 hours' that we went top for), with 46 points from 23
games. When Stan set the team a target of two points a game, I thought, 'we'll never manage that'. Just a thought, but
with half the season gone, maybe we deserve to be there?
6 Dec - Payton goes to Blackpool
Well, the inevitable has happened and
Andy Payton has
gone to Blackpool on a month's loan.
Click here to read some instant thoughts.
It must have been a weird few days for Andy. Following his arrest on Sunday night he appeared in court
yesterday and received a £750 fine, 80 hours' community service and a three year driving ban after being found
guilty of failing to provide a breath specimen and failing to stop after an accident. As we said before, those are
the facts, which we report as a matter of record.
6 Dec - But Blakey and Arthur are going nowhere!
More positively, it was announced today that Super
Glen Little has signed a one year contract extension.
His contract was due to expire at the end of the 2002/2003 season, but it will now run until the summer of 2004.
This is excellent news, although the fact that this was announced on the same day as Payton's move could almost
lead us to suspect that someone at the club is trying to spin things. Anyway, clearly Glen wants to stay and we don't
want to sell him. So perhaps the 'Glen to go to...' speculation could end now? Thought not. Congratulations to
Blakey and the club for this undisputed great bit of business.The club later announced that new cult hero
Arthur Gnohere will
also be signing a contract extension. It is not long since Arthur signed a two year deal, but so impressive has he
been since winning a place in the side that he has now been offered a contract that would take him up to the end
of the 2004/2005 season. Again, this looks like good business, and nice playing of the Bosman system.
With two players out on loan, and two others signing longer contracts, you do get the feeling that Stan is
sorting out which of his squad he will need for the challenges ahead and which he feels he can do without.
6 Dec - Tin Man out of a job
Finally, sad news from Oxford, where great ex-Claret
Ted McMinn has lost his job as Assistant Manager. This was always on the
cards since Manager Mark Wright stepped down after racism allegations. Let's hope Ted finds something else quickly.
4 Dec - Oh dear... Andy Payton
Tuesday's Burnley Express [http://eastlancashireonline.co.uk]
confirms the rumour that had been doing the rounds on Monday, that
Andy Payton
was arrested and will appear before Burnley magistrates in connection with a road traffic accident.
Those would seem to be the facts. Anything else is speculation, which we'll resist.
3 Dec - Hats off to Uncle Stan!
Stan Ternent
is the First Division Manager of the Month for November. Quite rightly, Stan was given the award for having the best
record, with four wins and a draw from five matches. Still, we're surprised. In the past they've concocted complex
and spurious reasons for preventing Stan winning the award, and we quite expected them to do so again. I bet the
person who answers the phones at the Football League is relieved. Hats off to Stan! He might only have beer money,
but now he's got a bottle of champagne too.
3 Dec - Cooking hell!
I've said it before, but it's true: the interesting news stories happen when I'm away from the computer.
So it proved that on Friday afternoon, while I was out and about in London's busy West End,
Paul Cook went on loan to Wigan. With the move
being announced late on Friday afternoon, many people were blissfully unaware of this until Saturday morning.
And it's a strange one. Cook has been ever present for Burnley this season. Indeed, he hasn't missed many games
since joining us from Stockport to play a big part in our battle against relegation in 1999.
Not only that, but in Davis' absence he has been captain. He's also been
playing some of his best football of his time at Burnley in the last few games.
Top scorer Gareth Taylor has headed home a number of Cook crosses. Now, all of a sudden, he's playing one
division down for struggling Wigan - for whom he scored on Saturday.
It's all most mysterious and a little baffling, but with Wigan confirming that a permanent
transfer is in the offing, it looks like Cook has played his last game for us. If that's the case,
then we must thank Paul Cook for his significant role in the transformation of the club.
More on Paul Cook.
3 Dec - 6.15 still stinks
While updating the site, I'll just note that another game has been moved for live Sunday 6.15
televisation to the watching dozens
of ITV Sport subscribers. This time it's West Brom
, no longer at home on Saturday 2 February at three o'clock, but the following
day at the still-stinking time of 6.15. Once again, that's a potentially significant game that some people
won't be able to get to. Still, perhaps a few people with nowt better to do will flick over and watch it
by accident when Songs of Praise comes on.
December 2001 comment entries
Do we have to accept a league breakaway?
Thoughts on our win against Stockport
Fans United for Wimbledon
Hey Stan!
More views on Payton and Cook
Thoughts on Andy Payton's departure
In praise of Paul Cook
Thoughts on our win at Palace
December diary
January 2002 news and comment archive
Archive main menu
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.
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