1/2 Kilby says we can expect another £1m
investment from the sale of shares to non-shareholders. He comments, "I have talked
to people and been told there's another £1 million investment out there." Of the
small subscribers, he says, "I am delighted with the ones and twos. It's £200 a time
and that's a lot of money. It's good to expand the sharebase and for them to be able to
come along to the AGM and have their say. If anybody else wants to write in, that's the
way to do it."
2/2 We are linked with a move for Richard Cresswell,
the £1 million rated York striker recently called into the England under 21 squad. Any
deal may involve a part exchange for Payton. Oldham Reserves 1 Burnley Reserves 2.
Scorers: Williamson, Heywood. Team: Kval, Pickering, Devenney, Scott, Heywood, Williamson,
Maylett, Brass, Henderson (Shandran 83), Ford, Eastwood. SNU: Vindheim, Graham, Kelly,
Mawson. This lifts the reserves out of the relegation zone.
3/2 It looks like Lee Howey might finally join
Northampton. The two chairmen are discussing a £50,000 move. Howey is near the end of his
final loan month, and is Northampton’s second highest scorer with three goals.
Football expert chris waddle ruminates on the difference between club and international
management and says Venables should replace the sacked Hoddle as England coach. Glen
Roeder may lose his job as England’s defence coach if the next coach wants to bring
his own staff in. Here’s hoping. Jimmy Mullen is interviewed for Hartlepool manager,
but is thought to be a long shot.
4/2 The board meeting which was due to be held today is
now put back to next Monday. They are due to discuss the rights issue and membership of
the board, plus the now eighty plus applications for new shares. Ternent praises Andy
Cooke for improving his disciplinary record, and says he expects him to score twenty goals
this season.
5/2 There is a rumour that Paul Barnes, out of favour
at Huddersfield, is set to rejoin us for a fraction of the fee he cost them. Bury recently
bid £80,000 for him but that was turned down. Gerry Harrison is hoping to sign
permanently for Luton before we play them at the weekend. He hopes for a good reception on
his return and says, "I think I should because I didn't let them down. I would like
to say a thank-you to them. I have been out in Burnley since and they have been good to
me." He adds that he doesn’t regret leaving, even though it hasn’t worked
out at Su’lan’. Steve Davis expresses the hope that there will be no hard
feelings from the away fans, describing Luton as a selling club. Graham Branch comments
that he is happy at Burnley after his bad experiences at Tranmere and Stockport and hopes
to find the consistency which has eluded him so far in his career. Ashley Hoskin is
appointed coach of Accrington Stanley, while former Claret Ian Duerden credits Andy
Payton’s advice for his recent burst of goalscoring form.
6/2 Burnley 1 Luton 2. Mellon (29) / Fotiadis (34),
Doherty (88). Team: Crichton, Moore, Morgan, Mellon, Davis, Reid, Little (Swan 78),
Armstrong, Cooke, Payton (Robertson 57), Branch (Maylett 69). Att: 10, 285. The poor home
form continues. Neil Moore is sent off for two yellow cards in the second half. Mellon,
after having scored the opener, is caught in possession for their equaliser. Steve Davis
is jeered by the Luton fans. He comments, "I was half expecting it... I just tried to
play with a smile." To make matters worse, Little limps off with another injury.
Clearly not his old self after his earlier lay off, Little has an abductor strain, and
will be out for the next couple of weeks. Of the game, Ternent comments, "We have got
to do much better than that. That was not where we are coming from. We did better in the
second half with 10 men and I'm disappointed we lost the game two minutes from the end
because we deserved better.... In the first half we were particularly poor. In the second
half we were alright but we didn't give ourselves a chance." Ternent criticises the
referee for Moore’s second booking, but adds, "Being booked before and then
going tackling someone from behind when you're not allowed to do that now was stupid...
I've no sympathy with him whatsoever. He's a seasoned professional and I've told them in
the dressing room you can't do that." Micky Mellon’s booking means he will miss
the match at Wycombe, along with stupid Neil Moore.
8/2 The board meet and unanimously vote to accept Ray
Ingleby onto the board. No-one else joins or leaves at this stage. Teasdale stays on.
Turkington does not join. Kilby will now arrange a meeting with Ingleby to discuss how
they will work. Kilby comments, "He's obviously younger than the rest of the board
and I hope he will bring a new perspective to one or two of our problems, particularly on
the commercial side." David Parry is likely to be Ingleby’s representative at
meetings. Clive Holt also agrees to invest a six figure amount. All applications for
shares under the rights issue are approved. Afterwards, Kilby says, "Everything has
got to be geared towards getting out of this division." He hopes to raise as much
money as possible to stage a serious promotion campaign next season. He adds, "The
crux is to get a business plan sorted and think how we can best spend this precious
resource." Predictably, there doesn’t seem to be anything in the Paul Barnes
story. Gareth West agrees to a second week with Third Division Rochdale. Chorley are
refused a request to take Phil Eastwood on loan. The match at Wigan is made all ticket for
Clarets.
9/2 The second board / supporters meeting takes place. See our report for details. Speaking at the meeting, Ternent
reveals he wants a £500,000 upgrade of the Gawthorpe training facilities to enable the
club to develop young players better. One of the funding ideas being considered is for
supporters and supporters groups to raise money via a trust fund. It’s unlikely this
could be met even from new funds. At the moment, the facilities make it hard to train
young players, and although the Turf Moor gym was recently redeveloped, a condition of the
lottery funding was public access, which makes it difficult for the club to use. Ternent
says, "I was brought up in that sort of system and a lot of the better players that
came through from Burnley were home grown. We need to produce our own, it's vitally
important now... If we produce one Glen Little it would pay for itself." It’s
also revealed that a Turf Moor museum is planned. Clive Holt admits that ticket prices
will go up next season. The new strip suppliers will shortly be named. Next time, the
supporters will be consulted. Ternent says he has the best strikeforce in the division and
will not be trying to sign Cresswell. Ingleby says he will have his private jet painted
Claret and Blue.
10/2 Teasdale confirms he won’t be leaving.
Despite a history of hostility between him and Ingleby, he says, "I have never said
anything about Ray Ingleby or David Parry. You won't find any quotes. And if anybody puts
that amount of money in nobody, including me, would want to prevent them from being on the
board. I said that publicly and on Monday I voted on it. It's right." Ternent denies
that he is about to sell Andy Cooke to Wolves. A £750,000 deal had been rumoured, with
current Wolves assistant John Ward allegedly involved.
11/2 Ternent reveals that Brad Maylett will be offered
a professional contract, along with several other young players this summer. Ronnie Jepson
returns to training.
12/2 Burnley sign Lenny Johnrose from Bury for
£225,000 on a three and a half year deal. Johnrose is 29, and was signed from Hartlepool
for £5,000 in 1993. He also used to play elsewhere, though we can’t remember for who
at the moment. A former striker, he’s now a midfielder. He is the fourth former Bury
player at the club. Bury manager Neil Warnock comments, "I'm disappointed that Lenny
has opted to go to Burnley where it's reputed he's got more money." Earlier, there
had been rumours that the afternoon press conference would announce Teasdale’s
retirement.
13/2 Burnley 1 Reading 1. Reid (89) / Caskey
(54). Team: Crichton, Pickering (Robertson 84), Morgan, Mellon, Davis, Reid, Moore (Payton
45), Armstrong, Cooke, Johnrose, Branch (Maylett 65). Att: 9,366. See
match report for details. Chris Casper plays for Reading. There is considerable
speculation that Andy Payton has been dropped to the bench after a training ground
confrontation with Andy Cooke. The club later say it was a back strain, and it may force
him to miss the next game. Steve Davis is booked and this will ominously cause him to miss
the home match against Gillingham. Afterwards, Ternent says, "I accept
responsibility. I picked the wrong team and we weren't at the races in the first
half."
15/2 Paul Weller has his second stomach operation, and
appears to be progressing well. It’s suggested that up to four new directors might
join the board as a result of the forthcoming sale of new shares. Phil Eastwood joins
Kettering on loan with a view to a permanent move. Ternent admits that the wage bill is
now over budget and he is looking to cut some fringe players. We are once again linked
with Bury (of course) player Nick Daws, who may cost around £750,000. Gavin Ward is said
to be about to join Wrexham on loan. It's rumoured we have bid a million pounds for
Richard Cresswell. It's also said that Glen Little's girlfriend is pregnant, and as she
refuses to move north from London, Glen will be looking to leave in the summer.
16/2 Ternent complains that the bookings Mellon and Davis
picked up at their previous clubs count towards their suspension at Burnley. He also says
he will continue to sign players, and has three or four that he has been tracking.
17/2 Burnley Reserves 2 Barnsley Reserves 0. Goals
come from Shandran and Maylett. Team: Mawson, Scott, Devenney, Ford, Heywood, Williamson,
Moore, Graham, Henderson (Shandran 23), Kelly, Maylett.
18/2 Mark Robertson and Kevin Henderson both pick up groin
strains, and will miss the trip to Wycombe. Gavin Ward turns down a chance to join Wrexham
on loan. Lee Howey's move to Northampton may break down at the death as they could choose
to spend all their cash on Bristol City's Steve Torpey.
19/2 Thankfully, it isn't so, and we finally get rid of Lee
Howey. Northampton are foolish enough to give us £50,000 for the pleasure of taking him
off our hands. Yes, they gave us money. It's rumoured we may offer Payton plus £500,000
for Cresswell. Gerry Creaney joins Notts County from St Mirren. chris waddle now joins
Boston United of the Dr Marten's League, at least for a while. Ternent says we cannot
afford to lose at Wycombe.
20/2 Wycombe 2 Burnley 0. Simpson (51), Scott (52).
Team: Crichton, Pickering, Morgan (Swan 54) (Heywood 62), Brass, Davis, Reid, Armstrong,
Payton, Cooke (Maylett 54), Johnrose, Branch. Att: 5,195. See match
report for details. Lenny Johnrose is sent off for a two footed tackle after 25
minutes, and Pickering joins him for a second yellow card towards the end. The referee was
Brian Coddington, of Darlington fame. Ternent is predictably furious after the game,
commenting, "The fans paid their hard earned cash to make the long trip down here,
and although I have to be careful about what I say about the referee's performance, they
are entitled to say what they want, and I think they'll be as disgusted as me. I don't
know what I can say other than being critical of the ref, and I can't do that as I'll get
in trouble with the FA. However I think that it could have been a totally different story
if we'd have had all eleven on the field for 90 minutes and I just couldn't understand
what the ref was doing." Chris Brass adds that the ref had "double
standards." Peter Swan is stretchered off with a serious knee injury. Crichton and
Payton both pick up knocks.
22/2 The club worry that our recent spate of sendings off
could see us up before the FA again. Mark Ford seeks talks with Ternent after again not
making the squad despite Mellon’s absence at Wycombe.
23/2 Tony Parks jacks in the goalkeeping coach job to go and
join the impressive Burnley rejects collection at Scarborough, who are propping up the
league. Coventry Reserves 0 Burnley Reserves 0. Little comes through unscathed,
playing for an hour.
24/2 Peter Swan will be out for six weeks after damaging knee
cartilage. This will require surgery.
25/2 Gavin Ward joins Stoke on a free transfer. There had
been rumours that we would sign him before the transfer deadline. Vinnie Jones finally
forces QPR to pay off his contract, but it looks like he prefers a career in movies in
preference to playing football for a living.
26/2 Lenny Johnrose is given a three match ban for his
sending off at Wycombe on top of previous bookings. He will miss Wigan away and Man City
and Preston at home.
27/2 Burnley 0 Gillingham 5. Taylor (14, 27, 40, 42
pen, 48). Team: Crichton, Pickering, Armstrong, Mellon, Moore (Little 45), Reid, Brass
(Jepson 45), Payton, Cooke, Johnrose, Branch. SNU: Morgan. Att: 8,981. See match report for details. The team leave the field at half
time to the boos of those remaining. Five minutes later, the players are sent back out
onto the pitch to, according to Ternent, face the humiliation of the fans. The fans, for
the first time, start calling for his head in numbers. Jepson is reported as being shocked
at being asked to play before his rehabilitation is complete, and is said to be ready to
retire at the end of the season. Later, Lenny Johnrose contacts Radio Lancashire to
support Ternent and says he was right to force the players back out at half time. Johnrose
argues that players must take responsibility for their actions. He is currently out
serving a three match ban. Ternent calls all the players in for training on Sunday. Adrian
Heath is at the game, thought to be watching Glen Little.
