A Good Year for Claret tells the story of the 1999-2000 season, as viewed by season ticket holder Bill Evans, who lives in North Wales.
Overall I found it an enjoyable read, but then anything about the Clarets is always worth a look. Like Hego, I scour the shelves for books that may include references, and recently read a chapter of a book about fathers and sons in football that contained a bit by Mike Summerbee. (He remembered Burnley with some affection, but thought it a shame that he joined at the start of the decline).
Firstly, the gripes. At £6.99 and 110 pages, I thought it quite pricey, but on a small print run I suppose that is to be expected (as I got it as a present it didn't matter to me). The other thing is that it is not a review of the season as a whole, just the home games, plus Wrexham away and the Scunthorpe game, as viewed on the screen at Turf Moor. It rarely tells you what the scores were in the intervening away games, so you are presented with the fact that we are in 2nd or 5th etc., which I found meant that it doesn't give the full picture. Very little background is given to any game, and you are plunged straight into each one with a team line up. The opposition are not profiled, so often you don't know how well they were doing, who their best players were and any recent meetings between the sides. I think that all of these would have added a little depth to the match commentaries, and in years to come would put each one in context.
After the Scunthorpe game, my favourite memory of the season is the FA Cup win at Derby, and this barely gets a mention, despite being our first victory on top division soil for nearly twenty years.
But the biggest sin is that there are a number of factual mistakes that could easily have been picked up in proof-reading by any Burnley fan. Getting the wrong christian name for a player is unpardonable, and although probably a simple slip, it makes the book look unprofessional.
Having said all that, Bill Evans is definitely at his best when discussing the characters and situations that are not directly related to the games. I thought his attempts to order the ham salad bap at the Cafe Claret at each game were amusing, as were the incidents with the incomprehensible drunk and the bloke in the pub that stole his sandwich. Similarly, the people around him at the game and their discussions are amusing and interesting. More anecdotes and more background would have made it a better book and a prominent feature of any Claret bookshelf. As it is, it is worth a look, and a memory of a great season, but fails to tell the whole story.
Final verdict: 5/10.
