Home
Magazine - latest issue
Magazine - archive
Fixtures / results
Match reports
News
News archive
Player of the year
Meetings with Burnley FC
Firmo's view
Pub guide
Survey
Photos
Burnley FC history
London Clarets history
About this site
Credits
Site map
Site search
Contacts
E-mail us

 

1/2 Anthony Shandran is brought into the squad for the game against Crewe. Ternent says he's close to getting into the first team.

2/2 We’re ‘linked’ (here we go again) with Coventry’s John Aliosi. You may remember him banging in quite a few goals for Portsmouth the other year, before being signed by Coventry, after which he went very quiet. Aliosi is 24, Australian, and available, although he recently turned down a move back to Portsmouth. Coventry media seem to be taking it seriously, and suggest we may have offered anything up to £1.75m! Meanwhile, Ternent goes a bit daft and advocates (a) summer football and (b) scrapping the offside rule. I'll have a pint of whatever he's having.

3/2 Jesus wept. Crewe 4 Burnley 2, in a game with four – yes four – penalty decisions, given by the star of the show, Mr Alan Kaye of Wakefield. Take a bow, Kaye. The less important facts are as follows. Scorers: Branch 12, Cook 60 (pen) / Street 5, Smith 40 (pen), 44 (pen), Ashton 85. Team: Michopoulos, Thomas, Davis, Weller, Branch, Little, Smith (Maylett 66), Ball, Cook, Mullin (Payton 79), Moore (Shandran 81). SNU: Armstrong and Crichton. Att: 6,994. See our match report. We go 10^th. Afterwards Ternent says, "I've just been fined two grand for commenting on officials at previous matches, so you'd better ask me sommat else." Elsewhere, onetime Burnley youth player Andy Oakes keeps premier league goal for Derby, with a clean sheet in their 1-0 win against Su’lan’. Good bit of business. Meanwhile, Cooke scores another for Stokey, and even comedy defender Brian Reid grabs one for Blackpool.

5/2 Ternent says he’ll be keeping up the attacking, exciting football we played at Crewe. Only half sticking to the familiar script, he comments, "I'd like to stick to a more entertaining formation and see where it takes us." Has the world gone mad? The reserve team game against Preston is postponed, due to a waterlogged pitch at Bamber Bridge.

6/2 Burnley confirm that they have contacted Coventry about Aliosi ‘at Chairman level’, although Coventry say they know nowt about it. Ternent comments, "If we can afford him then I will speak to the player to see if he fancies the move. He will definitely strengthen the squad." Ternent adds that he made an enquiry in the summer, but was quoted a price of £2m. Ian Moore says that "the goals will come." The club say they are looking into the possibility of buying a dome for Gawthorpe to be used as a facility for youth training. Either that, or they could move to Greenwich.

7/2 It already threatens to get tedious. Acting Coventry manager Gordon Strachan says they did hear from us about Aliosi a bit back but it’s since gone quiet.

8/2 In a statement on the club’s progress on the official website, they state, "15 supporters club branches as far afield as London and the South West, London has over 200 members." Nice of them to mention us, although of course we're not a branch of anything, and 360-odd members is some way over 200, although I suppose that's technically correct. Received wisdom is that a deal for Aliosi may be closer as Coventry sign John Hartson.

9/2 Bolton Wa’ers rudely interrupt the Aliosi speculation by enquiring about taking him on loan. Later, after discussing the asking price with Ternent, Kilby says it isn’t going to happen anyway. He comments, "We are not prepared to pay the price Coventry are asking. I don't think we will be pursuing this. Our valuation differs from Coventry's. If the situation changes in the future then we will act accordingly." He adds, "We have the luxury of not having to panic." Ternent says he has several more targets he is waiting to hear about. So, anyone else whose surname starts with A? Before the weekend's game, Ternent comments, "I intend to continue with the attacking policy and going for it. That's what we're going to do. We'll be exciting. Whether we win or lose I can't guarantee but we'll be exciting." Blimey.

10/2 Burnley 1 Crystal Palace 2. An exciting defeat it is, then. Scorers: Cook (12) / Forsell (75), Morrison (92). Team: Michopoulos, Davis, Cox, Weller, Branch, Mellon, Johnrose, Cook (Smith 46) (Maylett 76), Little, Payton (Mullin 79), Moore. SNU: Armstrong and Crichton. Att: 14,973. See our match report. The match is televised live in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, so now you know why we lost. The game goes ahead after a pitch inspection, with our new covers apparently having torn and poured water onto the pitch. Ball misses the game with flu-like symptoms. We stay 10^th. Ternent says, "I think there were a lot of chances in the match but if you play exciting football sometimes it doesn't win football matches." He adds, "I thought the fans were excellent. I've been accused of saying all Burnley fans boo, which I've never said." More memorably, this is the day on which Harry Potts Way officially opens, in a street sign unveiling ceremony opposite the club offices. The ceremony is attended by Harry’s widow Margaret, Burnley MP Peter Pike, Burnley’s Mayor, lots of Burnley FC people and representatives from supporters’ clubs, including Cozzo from us. Hats off all round, and our supporters’ club has every reason to feel proud of the part we played in the permanent commemoration of our greatest ever Manager at Turf Moor. Elsewhere, Alan Lee scores a hat trick for Rotherham, Kevin Henderson (I always imagine him in a headband for some reason) bags a brace for Hartlepool and Ian Duerden does likewise for Kingstonian against the club they just signed him from, Doncaster. Having a less memorable day is Marlon Beresford, who contributes an own goal to Sheffield Wednesday’s relegation campaign. The youth team lose 6-0 at Tranmere, but at least the game wasn't postponed for a change.

11/2 Gareth Taylor speculation is back on (refer back to earlier diaries) while a new one, for a change, is Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe. He’s 23, a central defender, and yes he did used to play with Ian Cox. Bournemouth say they have had a number of enquiries, including from us, but no firm offers. Three other first division clubs are linked with him - Bolton, Fulham and TV Middlesbrough. Interestingly, he was not picked for Saturday’s game. Hmm. NTG’s cult status is assured as he wins Sky tv’s ‘Nationwide Save of the Month’ for his late point-saver at Gillingham. Need we mention that it was a phone vote?

12/2 There may be trouble ahead for Sheffield Wednesday. Paul Jewell's sacking means the return of high pitched cab driver Peter Shreeves to temporary control of 'the Owls'. His assistant last time round was chris waddle, who is once again said to be interested in 'helping out'. It's all much for on-loan Marlon Beresford, who scarpers back to TV Middlesbrough sharpish.

13/2 Despite speculation, or indeed an apparent statement of fact from the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, Ian Cox does not play in Trinidad and Tobago's friendly trip to the Valley to play a Charlton XI. Bugger. He is, however, confirmed to have been training with the squad, under the charge of coach Ian Porterfield.

14/2 Burnley Reserves 6 Stockport Reserves 1, and yes, inevitably the words 'Valentine' and 'massacre' do figure in the reporting. Scorers are Shandran (2), Kevan (pen), Mullin, West and Williamson. Team: Crichton, West, Armstrong (Scott 55), Brass, Williamson, Boardman, Maylett, Mullin (Devenney 45), Shandran, Kevan, Smith (Pilkington 55). SNU: Leeson and Paxton. Devenney goes off injured, leaving us to finish with ten men. And still win by miles. Ternent confirms he'd like to sign Howe, he being one of the usual number of players the gaffer is tracking, but speculation says he could cost £1.5m. Everyone seems to cost £1.5m these days.

15/2 Craig Mawson is linked with a loan move to Halifax, having played for their reserves during the week while on trial.

16/2 Forget the loan move, he signs permanently, or at least on a contract until the end of the season. Mawson is 21, and has never played a first team game for Burnley. Indeed, he's yet to make his league debut, having been glued to the bench during his recent spell at Lincoln. At Halifax he rejoins former Burnley goalkeeping coach Tony Parkes, who now coaches at the Shay, and as he comes from Keighley, he won't be moving far. But we never did find out why he was he nicknamed Killa. The club's official website says that Gareth Taylor will join on loan on Monday, providing he comes through Man City's cup match okay. Taylor is 27 but has been around a bit, and he's been sticking them away in the reserves. He hasn't played for the first team in a long time, but has been called into the squad because of cup tied new signings. The Howe trail goes cold. Kilby says, "We put a figure in for him at our worth. Just like the John Aloisi thing they have come back to us and we're not prepared to pay. I had several discussions with the agent and we did table a bid for Howe. They came back with a much higher figure but at that we're not interested. It's as simple as that." Our offer might have been around £600,000. Meanwhile, John Aliosi says he intends to stay at Coventry and see if Strachan gets sacked, sorry, to fight for a place. Following the opening of Harry Potts Way, the campaign to recognise Burnley legends continues apace. The latest wheeze comes from fledgling supporters' club the Central Lancashire Clarets, who have written to Alastair Campbell (a member of ours) to suggest that Jimmy McIlroy is made Sir Jimmy. Arise, Sir Jimmy.

17/2 Grimsby 1 Burnley 0. Scorer: Enhua (55). Team: Michopoulos, Davis, Cox (Payton 61), Thomas, Branch, Armstrong, Johnrose (Cook 58), Weller, Mullin (Maylett 69), Little, Moore. SNU: Crichton and Mellon. Att: 6,044. See our match report. This is thought to be the first time a Chinaman has scored against a Greek in a Grimsby-Burnley encounter. We stay 10^th. Ternent sounds off after the match, commenting, "We could have won every one of our last few games but we are getting caught with our pants down. I can't remember the last time we won. I'm becoming a good loser. We have got to do better. We got 38 points from our first 20 games and now we have 42 points from 30. That means we have got just four points out of a possible 30. Tell me what is going wrong. They are the same players. I thought we had enough chances to win the game. The goal we gave away was Towneley Holmes stuff. We are just not good enough at the moment." He goes on, "The players are well aware of what is going on. They are professional players and understand the expectation level at this club. Even though we will stay up in the First Division it has been very disappointing in the last few weeks. The place was full again with 1,500-1,800 of our fans and we have a duty to them." Of the Gareth Taylor deal, he mystifyingly adds, "It's like the old thing when the guy says, 'can you give me a sentence with definitely in it'. The little boy says, 'I am definitely going to the picture house with my mum and dad tonight.' The meaning of the sentence is not definitely but possible. What if the picture house catches fire - he won't be able to go to the picture house. Gareth Taylor could get injured or this that and the other. On the face of it he will arrive on Monday. But it isn't definite." Meanwhile, Eddie Howe bloody scores for Bournemouth. Mawson is sub not used for Halifax. The youth team beats Oldham 4-2, with two goals from Damian Hindle and one each from Robert Grimes and Joel Pilkington.

19/2 Taylor finalises his one month loan deal with us. His shirt is Andy Cooke's old number nine. Lashings of internet speculation say that Ternent offered to resign after Saturday's defeat, and asked not to see the players until tomorrow's game. It's further rumoured that Sam Ellis is in charge of the team. It's usually this time of year, isn't it? A public meeting held by Burnley Cricket Club over their relocation plans finishes hot-tempered and inconclusive. Mark Ford makes an upward move from Torquay. Alright, he joins Darlington for £15,000.

20/2 Blimey. Burnley 2 Fulham 1. Scorers: Moore (72), Little (87) / Hayles (50). Team: Michopoulos, Cox, Davis, Thomas, Branch, Cook, Armstrong, Weller, Little (Johnrose 90), Moore (Mellon 90), Taylor. SNU: Crichton, Mullin, Payton. Att: 15,737. See our match report. We stay, yes, 10^th. Ternent comments, "The fans and the noise they made reminded me of the 1960s. It was fantastic, but to be fair we gave them a lot to shout about. That is the difference they can make and I'm sure if you ask the players they will tell you it gave them a fantastic lift." Little says about his goal, "I always seem to score important ones." Armstrong's booking means he'll miss Stockport away. He's done well to get five yellows when he's hardly played. Cooke, Henderson and Lee all score to continue their good runs for their current clubs.

21/2 Bolton Wa'ers Reserves 1 Burnley Reserves 2, playing inexplicably at 2 o'clock at Leigh RMI. Goals come from Boardman and Paul Smith. We field two triallists, Paul Bernard and Egil Ulfstein. Bernard is a former Oldham player who Aberdeen bought for £1m, but after injuries he's to be released this summer, aged 28. Ulfstein is a 29 year old central defender currently at Brann, who has apparently played for Norway. However, he goes off injured early. The full team is: Paxton, Scott, Boardman, Brass, Ulfstein (Kevan 15), West, Maylett, Bernard, Shandran, Williamson, Smith. SNU: E Davis, Leeson, Salisbury, Waine. Gareth Taylor says he'd like to stay at Burnley. Tranmere's ridiculous flouting of the Three Goal Rule, in coming back from 3-0 down to beat Southampton 4-3 in the Cup, turns out to be bad news for us. FA Cup 6^th round day is the same day we're due to play them at home, so that's another home game postponed. We're now facing four successive away games after Huddersfield at home.

22/2 Ian Cox is going to be a long time between matches at Turf Moor, then, as he'll miss the game against Huddersfield, having been called up for Trinidad and Tobago's World Cup qualifier away to Jamaica. Ternent is a bit cross, having thought he'd struck a deal with Ian Porterfield that Cox wouldn't be Caribbean bound until after Saturday's game. The World Cup match isn't until the following Wednesday, but FIFA have enforced their release rules. Ternent's comment has a classic ring. He says, "I'm a bit naffed off with that Trinidad mob." So are we. What's the point in not picking him at the Valley if he's going to be thrown in at the deep end for a second cap in a critical game? Ternent goes on, "I'd done a deal with Mr Porterfield that if he went to the training camp he could fly out on Saturday night. Now he has reneged on that deal. It's something I could do without. I trusted him, but it just goes to prove you can't trust the man. Ian's been called up and I think it was pre-meditated." Ooh. The other main gripe is that, while Cox, Shaka Hislop of West Ham and Ronnie Mauge of Bristol Rovers are not available to play this weekend, one Dwight Yorke of you know who is. The President of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation, Oliver Camps (does he?) confusingly attempts to explain it thus. "In Dwight's case, you have to understand the players' position. He is not in the best situation with his club and if we had made him come it may have gotten worse. We feel we have to help him get out of the situation by supporting him. The other guys, Cox and Bristol Rovers midfielder Ronnie Mauge, are not in that kind of position in their clubs. They are stable and we just feel that their managers were taking advantage of us." Yeah, and if only Manu had the massive squads of Burnley and Bristol Rovers. At least the Wimbledon away game, ridiculously postponed from a mild winter's day, is rearranged, for April 10 at 7.45. Meanwhile - we leave the daft ones until last - a rumour says that Ternent will shortly be promoted to Director of Football, with Sam Ellis stepping up to be manager, and a 'senior player' (who? how wide?) becoming assistant. Forget we mentioned it when it turns out not to be true.

23/2 The Burnley Express run an unofficial referendum on the Cricket Club move, publishing a tear out voting paper. Howe rumours linger. Blokes in pubs will insist he's already in Burnley having the medical. Ternent says nothing new has happened there, that he's still looking at Paul Bernard, and that he isn't interested in Neil Harris of Millwall.

24/2 Burnley 1 Huddersfield 0. Scorer: Davis (48). Team: Michopoulos, Weller, Davis, Armstrong, Thomas (Payton 71), Branch, Little, Ball (Mellon 69), Cook (Johnrose 69), Taylor, Moore. SNU: Crichton and Mullin. Att: 16,191. See our match report. A poor game, but we win it. We stay, oh, have a bloody guess. This is our first home and away win against one club, and our first 'on aggregate' triumph if you put the two scorelines together (so that's the end of that one, Woody). It's also significant because now we have 48 points. Last time we were in the first division, we finished the season with 46. Ternent says, "It was an extremely important victory for us… We've had a bit of an iffy run and now we've strung two wins together back-to-back and six points makes an unbelievable amount of difference." This is the last game of the season at which bookings will count towards suspensions, and there are no new suspensions. Elsewhere, Graham Lancashire scores for Rochdale, but unfortunately the opposition, Shrewsbury, get 7, and Ford marks his Quakers move with a goal. We wish him well. Really. Before the game, a London Clarets contingent tours the Moorhouse's Brewery, and enjoys three pints and pie and peas for a fiver! Somehow, it makes the game better.

25/2 In a new rumour, or a revision of a very old one, we were once again linked with stalwart of the Fruit XI 'Matty' Appleby, as we were many moons ago, when he joined Barnsley from Darlington instead of us. However, as he's currently out with a hernia problem, it seems unlikely for the moment. Dwight Yorke emphasises the fact doesn't have to fly out to the Caribbean until after the game by scoring a hat trick.

26/2 The yawnsome Payton off to Wigan rumour, long now a favourite of unofficial sites is revived… by the official site! Must do better. Soon. Nothing else much happens, really. Eddie Howe rumours diminish as Southampton are now said to be interested. Andrew Watson makes a statement on the official site about the club's finances in which he reveals that the club will not break even this year, having spent more than they anticipated on player costs, including wages. He urges mores supporters take up the 'Clarets Savers' Alliance and Leicester savings account. Take up has not been high.

27/2 A new name, and another central defender. This time we're supposed to be interested in Lee Wilkie. He's 20, he plays for Dundee, and he's 6'4, so there may be something in it. He's played for Scotland Under 21s, and has promisingly been sent off four times in his career already, according to the CISA website. Meanwhile, both Payton and Ternent are said to be cross about the latest rumours. Payton's said to be particularly annoyed that he's always being linked with lower division clubs. Ternent says, "I didn't give Andy a three-year deal in the summer to let him go." Better complain to the official rumour mongers, then.

28/2 Hats off to Ian Cox, as he plays the full 90 minutes for Trinidad and Tobago, picking up his second cap and his first as a Claret. Unfortunately, it finishes 1-0 to Jamaica. Meanwhile in colder climes, our last full international, Phil Gray, makes his customary late substitute appearance, as Northern Ireland lose 4-0 to Norway. West Brom Reserves 3 Burnley Reserves 0. Odd, the reserves usually win away. Briscoe makes a return, coming through half a game without trouble, youth player Earl Davis plays in his first reserve match and Paul Bernard gets another game. Ternent says of Bernard, "He is someone I have been tracking for some time." The full team is: Crichton, West, Briscoe, Brass, Earl Davis, Bernard, Maylett, Mellon, Shandran, Payton, Mullin. Subs: Boardman, Salisbury, Scott, Smith, Williamson. Amusingly, prior to Saturday's game there, we are linked with Portsmouth's allegedly unhappy, now ex-caretaker manager, Steve Claridge. He's 34 and has been around, but Forest seem more likely to get him. Crewe might be interested in taking Micky Mellon off our hands. But isn't Dario Gradi supposed to be a good judge of a player? Away ticket details for the Blackburn away match are unveiled. Season ticket holders are being asked to produce three current season away stubs, and the price includes a £4 compulsory surcharge for coach travel from Turf Moor. This is on the 'strong advice' of the police. Blackburn did this for their game at our place, but their supporters got travel for free. The club explains that, due to the financial losses of recent years, they cannot afford to do this. We again have a full set of fixtures, as the Tranmere home match is rearranged for Tuesday 24 April, with a 7.45 start.