Welcome to issue 128 of the mag.
Firstly, I would like to apologise for the late
publication of this issue. This was basically due to Christmas; the printers’
schedules are usually so full that we struggle to get in unless we book weeks in advance,
so it’s either a wafer thin edition with absolutely nothing in it, or this
choc-a-bloc huge cornet with raspberry sauce on top edition. I’m sure you’ll
agree that the latter is far more satisfying!
Well, what a difference a week makes. If
I’d been writing these notes a week ago I would have been scathing of events both on
and off the pitch, but, amazing as it may seem, Burnley have finally shown some ambition,
Teasdale’s reign as chairman is over and the reshuffled board plus Kilby have put
their hands in their pockets and pulled out money instead of the usual excuses. Over one
million pounds has been spent to bring in Steve Davis and Michael Mellon from Luton and
Tranmere respectively. Also joining the Clarets us Graham Branch from Stockport. All three
players have proven track records (are you reading this Waddle?). Davis needs no
introduction and Mellon and Branch are both highly regarded players. Certainly John
Aldridge at Tranmere didn’t want to let Mellon go, but fortunately for us, their
financial dire straits meant that they had no alternative. Branch left Stockport after
allegedly falling out with manager Megson; they wanted him off the wage bill and allowed
him to leave on a free. It makes a change to see us benefiting from a manager who
can’t get on with his players instead of the other way around. This recent turn of
events now means that the pressure is on Stan Ternent to produce results. He has been
given cash and has spent well, but now the team is his and no longer Waddle’s and
results will now be laid squarely at his feet. No longer can he use the ‘not my
team’ excuse; against Bristol Rovers on Saturday, eight out of the starting eleven
were Ternent’s signings. The last two results have been promising, but let’s not
start getting carried away, it only takes one bad result to bring everybody’s morale
crashing back to earth, and let’s face it, we conceded three goals against a very
average Bristol Rovers side. Fortunately for us, our strikers were on form and saved the
day, no little thanks to our three new signings. This is not to take anything away from a
battling performance. It would be nice to see so much commitment consistently applied.
Enough upbeat talk and back to typical Burnley
happenings. As I write this, and after the euphoria of the new signings, Burnley have
announced that as of next season we will be changing our kit manufacturer. Yes,
that’s right, remember all that money you spent buying your kids a new shirt, well
it’s wasted, down the drain. As of May both the new shirts will be obsolete leaving
your kids out of date and you out of pocket. How very typically Burnley to wait until two
weeks after Christmas to inform you that what you bought at Christmas has a life span of
just five months. Get your pen out and complain, it’s not as though we actually got
them on time anyway, so by the time the season ends we’ll have been wearing them for
all of nine months. Well done Burnley, another magnificent PR cock-up.
Never mind though, I’m sure CISA will try
to take credit for the change by citing their club shop ban. What next, dockside protests
as the Adidas chief executive arrives on a family holiday, or a red card vigil outside the
launderette where the Smith family wash their home shorts? Sad! Do something original
CISA.
