Born into a family of Burnley
supporters in the 1960s I was soon regaled with stories of Championships, FA Cup Finals
and European nights. This glorious era was characterised by goal-scoring heroes such as
Ray Pointer, Andy Lochead and Willie Irvine.
By the time I was old enough to go to matches myself I could hardly
wait.
Unfortunately the reality proved to be somewhat less glorious. The
Clarets had entered a decade of steady decline, ultimately needing a last gasp victory
against Leyton Orient in 1987 to avoid dropping out of the League altogether.
I found myself to be part of generation clinging to distant memories
and desperate for the slightest hint of a reversal in fortune. Goal-scoring heroes were
few and far between.
When Frank Casper signed Roger Eli from Northwich Victoria in the
summer of 1989 as a ‘utility player’ with half a dozen or so lower-league clubs
already under his belt he appeared to be latest in a long line of ‘never has
beens’ who had come to graze on the Turf before finally hanging up their boots.
Bradford born, Roger’s career had started at Leeds and he will be best remembered at
Elland Road for a hairstyle popularised by the likes of Brendan Batson a decade earlier.
His early outings did nothing to suggest that he would add anything
special to a very mediocre Fourth Division team. However in April 1990 he got a decent run
in the side, this time playing up-front (having previously performed defensive duties),
his return of six goals in four games propelling the Clarets into the promotion frame.
His tenth and last goal of that season came in front of a near
20,000 Turf Moor crowd who witnessed the 2-0 defeat of Blackpool.
Play-off failure was a bitter pill to swallow for the Burnley
faithful and after an indifferent start to the following season Frank Casper ‘fell on
his sword’ and Jimmy Mullen, his assistant, stepped-up after a successful trial
period. The Clarets won eight on the bounce under the new boss and were suddenly top of
the league.
Roger thrived in the role given to him by Mullen. He had now
‘re-created’ himself.
He had a hairstyle not unlike Jamaican chanteuse Grace Jones and as
he ran powerfully at defenders he must have seemed nearly as frightening. The record books
at the time indicate that at this time he stood 5ft. 10in. tall and weighed 11st.
3lbs. He certainly made the most of what he had got. Incredibly strong and with an
awkward, angular gait, he was very difficult to knock off the ball and he routinely
out-jumped taller defenders.
In tandem with Mike Conroy the pair terrorised the rest of the
division as the Clarets scored at will. Starved of star performers for too long, Roger
soon established himself as a cult figure amongst the Burnley faithful. He was brave and a
great chaser of lost causes. Attitude rather than natural ability saw him perform way
above expectation time and time again. The season was littered with personal successes: a
hat-trick against Chesterfield; a superb chip to secure the points against Doncaster; an
equally important late goal, and quality strike into the bargain, to see off Maidstone in
the tense end-of-season run-in; the crashing header past Peter Shilton to square a
thrilling FA Cup tie with Derby. Aside from the goals he won
some crucial penalties: in one memorable incident at Scunthorpe he was clipped from behind
by their centre back and went down as if he had been picked-off by a sniper.
The story of him taking to the table of a Morecambe night-club for a
rendition of the anthemic ‘No, Nay, Never’ certainly did his standing no harm
either.
In January Roger picked up an injury that was to seriously limit his
contribution towards the glorious climax to the season. He only played fitfully from then
on and didn’t feature at all in the final few games when the Champinship was
ultimately secured.
In the euphoric celebrations which followed victory at York in April
I was a little saddened to see Roger in his suit and tie. He more than anyone deserved to
be part of the eleven on the field that night.
The injury proved more serious than we all thought. Burnley started
the next season without him and struggled at the higher level. Everybody expected an
upturn in fortunes as soon as he returned, but when he did he lacked the pace and power
that had been his trademark. He struggled through a handful of games over the next two
seasons before finally being released.
I am not exactly sure what Roger did after leaving Turf Moor. He
certainly didn’t play professionally in England again as far as I am aware, although
there was some talk of him going to the Far East.
His anecdote in the Granada video ‘Burnley Are Back’
suggested he might be looking to follow in the footsteps of fellow Yorkshire
ex-professional Charlie Williams, but ‘The Golden Shot’ was destined never to
return to our screens and light entertainment bosses lost the opportunity to bring
Roger’s talents to the attention of a national TV audience.
In the past couple of years he has been invited back to Burnley on a
regular basis and always receives a warm and friendly reception. One of the reasons he
remains so popular is that his star was very much in the ascendancy when injury
effectively ended his career. Mike Conroy laboured through the following season at a
higher level to little effect, and his achievements during the Championship year were
cruelly overshadowed as a result.
Burnley fans traditionally warm to a brave centre forward. I was
brought up on stories of Andy Lochead’s heroic performance
against Naples when he had a set of Italian studs scraped across his balding pate.
That’s why I will be eternally grateful to Roger Eli, a
goalscoring hero I can tell my kids about.
