1/6 Gareth Taylor says that he's still
keen on signing for Burnley, notwithstanding Keggy Keegle's arrival at Man City,
commenting, "I'd like to get things sorted out as soon as possible." In another
doubtless wide of the mark rumourette we are linked with Darren Caskey, released by
unpromoted Reading because they can't afford his wages. But aren't they owned by one of
the richest men in the country?
2/6 We're reported to be about to make a bid for Peter Crouch.
Maybe.
4/6 And we're now said to be about to make another bid for Eddie
Howe. Wonder if any of this is true? There’s really bugger all happening at the
moment. Can you tell?
5/6 Keegle's having a clear out and it seems we're linked with most
of them. In addition to the inevitable Taylor and the aforementioned Grant, we're supposed
to be interested, and not for the first time, in defender Andy Morrison.
6/6 Eddie Howe says, "I've heard nothing from Burnley. As far
as I am concerned I am staying at Bournemouth. As long as we are going forward and the
club is ambitious then I am happy. But I am ambitious." Bit of a qualifier at the
end, there. Kurt Nogan is transfer listed by Cardiff. Despite being signed for £100,000
from Preston last season - with supporters stumping up much of the money - he has hardly
played for them. Where did it all go wrong?
7/6 Paul Crichton is linked with a move to Blackpool, from where
former (briefly) Claret Junior Bent has just been released.
8/6 We are linked with a move for Heraklis and Greek Under 21
defender Stathis Tavlaridis. However, it should be said that Tavlaridis is currently
undergoing his national service. Ternent is reported as wanting to finalise a deal with
Taylor over the weekend. Gone on long enough, this one. Ternent says about ongoing
speculation, "I can't comment on rumours, but hopefully the players linked with us
show we are going in the right direction. We have been making progress for three years and
I intend to carry that on. We are one of the top 30 clubs in Britain, if you include
Celtic and Rangers, and that is the sort of level we are at." Blackpool say they
don't want to sign Crichton.
9/6 A swell time is had on our summer day out in Lewes. Meanwhile,
we're linked with another Greek, striker Dimitri Papadopolous, who plays for Iraklis. He
scored the first goal in Greece's Under 21 win against England. Ternent, however, says
there's nothing in it. He comments, "They have linked me with those because I went to
watch the England Under 21 international against Greece. I haven't got control over which
players are linked with Burnley Football Club but it is pie in the sky. It is pure
speculation." Both players are said to cost £1m. So let’s hear no more about
it.
11/6 A press conference to make a "major announcement" is
scheduled for tomorrow.
12/6 The announcement in question being our new sponsor and shirt
for next season. The sponsor is Lanway Corporate Business Systems, a local IT company,
which has signed a two year deal for an unspecified but record six figure sum. £175,000
or thereabouts? Barry Kilby comments, "We have always said we would not sell cheaply.
Any deal would have to fit in with the image of the club and we felt this would, so we are
very, very pleased. We have waited for the right partner. We had gambled on getting a
sponsor of the right type. It was in the budget so we are greatly relieved to get it
sorted out and in there. We are on course this year for a record turnover and, hopefully,
we will balance the books. Promotion to the Premiership would make it even better."
Lanway’s Managing Director, Stephen Ackers, says, rather winningly, "It's
something we have wanted to do for such a long time… this is a golden opportunity for
us to tie in with Burnley Football Club. The success of the club is going to have some
influence, although we have been looking at this for a number of years. It's always
something we've wanted to do and this year we felt is the right time to do it. It is
fantastic to be associated with Burnley." Andrew Watson adds, "We established a
policy with the Burnley Supporters' Club at the regular 'Meet the Board,' sessions, when
supporters acknowledged that changing the home and away shirt each season provides vital
finance to the club and, at the same time, gives supporters the chance to wear the shirt
worn by their heroes." Can this be true? The new home shirt is remarkably similar to
last season’s classic, apart from some detailing on collar and sleeves and, of
course, the sponsor’s logo, and it still looks pretty good. On sale from the end of
June. A new white away shirt will follow before the start of the season. For once, this is
a busy news day. It is also announced that Sir Ronald of Jepson has been appointed to the
coaching staff, where he will work with the young players. He will operate alongside
existing coaches Mick Docherty and Terry Pashley, while Jimmy Robson will concentrate on
the Centre of Excellence. Ternent says, "I'm going to try and build the youth side of
the club up again. That takes time but we're in the process of doing that. He's an
out-and-out winner. He's done most of his qualifications. He's only got to get his UEFA
'A' licence, but that takes about three years… Once he's learned a bit more on this
side of the fence then perhaps he may go on into management one day, who knows?... He
doesn't take any messing so he'll be good for discipline with the kids and I'm sure he can
teach them a trick or two." It's odds on that Taylor will join us. Apparently a three
year contract has been offered and agreed in principle, with the details to be finalised
once Taylor returns from his hols, and a signing expected on the post-Bosman day of July
1. Three years! Also weighing up an improved three year contract offer is Bradley Maylett,
who has a year left on his current contract. Ternent says, "He's still got a long way
to go and he still has a lot to learn, but he has a natural talent." Ternent adds,
however, that he isn't interested in Andy Morrison, saying, "I'm alright in that
department." Tranmere's Andy Parkinson is said to be moving, and Burnley are linked,
along with Norwich.
13/6 Norwich media suggest that Burnley made an offer for Andy
Parkinson, but Norwich are set to sign him.
14/6 Ternent says he’s now recovered from his ulcer, and
expects to get the all clear when he goes back to the hospital in August. The official
website reports that season ticket sales are heading for the 11,500 to 12,000 mark.
Figures are slightly ahead of the level this time last year. Shock news of the day is that
West Ham, currently a Premier League club, have somehow seen fit to employ Clarets reject
and official Enemy of Burnley Glenn Roeder-to-Nowhere, not to make the tea, not to sweep
the floor or even run a whelk stall, but as actual Manager of the team! Ha ha ha ha ha.
No, really. So, Roeder-to-Hell, the man who, along with waddle, presided over our near
relegation to the bottom division (remember going into the last game of the season needing
someone else to win?) will now be bringing his unique style of man-management to the
Boleyn Ground. That’ll be no training on Mondays, the team coach stopping at half a
dozen different motorway service stations to pick up the players, and public criticism of
players for not being good enough to lace some old has-been’s boots. And that’s
Mr Roeder to you, sonny. Combined with his unique eye for spotting talent (if only Notts
County could have been persuaded to stump up that twenty grand for Glen Little, things
could have been so different), it’s bound to make for an exciting ride in E13 from
now on. Will all those players wanting to leave please form an orderly queue? And I wonder
why there’s no mention of his year at Burnley on his CV? Glen Little is,
unfortunately, unavailable for comment. West Ham fans celebrate his appointment by staging
a protest at the club. The club announce that the annual friendly cricket match against
Burnley Cricket Club, a fine tradition, will take place on Tuesday 17 July.
15/6 The club advertise for new turnstile operators. Okay, nothing
happened.
16/6 Happy birthday to Stan Ternent, 55 today.
18/6 We schedule another friendly, at home to Chelsea on 4 August,
with a 2.30 kick off. This replaces the planned match away to Shrewsbury. Very bad news
for the Shrewsbury Clarets. Allegedly this is a more attractive match. Personally, I
thought a day out in Shrewsbury sounded rather appealing. Chelsea Coach Gwyn Williams
says, "We're going to Tuscany to lock ourselves away and train three times a day then
come back and play games against Leyton Orient and QPR and then go up to see Uncle Stan
and Uncle Sam… It's also a step up in opposition… When he was here Stan liked
people who worked hard and got on with it but then he wanted to go back up north and he's
done well at Bury and Burnley and moved them both up. It will be interesting to go back to
Burnley." It’s claimed Ternent wanted another game against opposition from a
higher level. Paul Smith is linked with Bury. He says about leaving Burnley, "I think
it was time to move on. I had been there eight or nine years and, if I was going to move,
I think the time was right to move at this moment. I made a lot of friends, not just at
the club but in the town, and I had enjoyed my time with Burnley, but you have to move on.
It's a fresh start for me and I can't wait."
19/6 In the league cup (not sponsored by anyone we intend to
publicise) first round (why are we still in the first round?) draw, we’re drawn at
home to Rushden and Diamonds. This sparks minor media interest, as they’re the league
newcomers, and have never played in this competition before, and indeed, have never played
against us. TV coverage could be a possibility. Of course, an away match against them
might have been more interesting, but that’s not going to happen. In one of the many
rule changes which have blighted this increasingly peripheral competition, all ties are
one legged and will be decided on the night. Shrewsbury are reported to be cross at the
pulled match. At a sponsors night, the club maintain that the target next season is the
play-offs. Andrew Watson says, "Our aim is to be in the top six and be a club in the
top two divisions for the next twenty years, hopefully with some of that time in the
Premiership." The club launches a range of ‘enhanced’ matchday sponsorship
offers.
20/6 The Chelsea match seems to go to Barry Kilby’s head, as
he says, "I know a friendly is a friendly but it will be nice to see these teams at
Turf Moor, and hopefully we will have them in a real context at some stage."
21/6 The fixtures come out! Always one of the best days in the
calendar, this. For the third season running, our season starts away, as we kick off with
a return to Hillsborough, where it's to be hoped that the balti pies will be as good as
last time but the performance rather better. The first home game comes a week later, and
is the same as the corresponding fixture last year, as we play Wimbledon. On Boxing Day,
as usual we’re away, with Rotherham providing the venue for our customary defeat.
Easter Monday is rather kinder for southern-based supporters, offering a jolly day out in
the excellent drinking town of Portsmouth. As for other southern games, the ever grand day
out that is Gillingham is rather wasted on a Tuesday in October, while on the other hand
we can’t complain about going to Watford for a midweek match again, at the end of
January, as it frees up a Saturday for something better. Our first London game is away to
those nice Millwall people on 25 August, while our two trips to Selhurst Park are made
quite close together, on 1 December and 12 January. We finish off with something we
haven’t had for a long time – a home game against Coventry. As ever, these
'fixtures' come with the caveat that, due to tv interventions and internationals, games
will be moved, while there are already more midweek fixtures than usual due to the absurd
fact that the season ends prematurely on Sunday 21 April. Meanwhile, another of the
planned friendlies is called off. This time it's the match against Huddersfield, which
had been scheduled to take place on Thursday 2 August. No explanation is offered, and no
replacement game is suggested. These friendlies seem to be remarkably movable feasts these
days. Norwich confirm that Burnley have accepted an offer for Paul Crichton, who they're
now in talks with. Ternent says, "There have been two clubs interested in Paul, one
he has been dealing with for some time, which is Norwich City, and one that he will not be
joining." £100,000 is the suggested fee. Glen Little is reported to be having a
'special boot' made to cut down on his hamstring injuries.
22/6 Paul Crichton completes his move to Norwich. The final,
perhaps surprising fee, is £150,000, with up to a further £50,000 payable depending on
appearances. Ternent says, "Paul is now 32 and he's a first-team goalkeeper. I had to
think long and hard about it but they are paying us £150,000 plus 25 and 25 depending on
appearances, and I can use that. He needs first-team football and I can't guarantee him
that with Nik as first choice. He's done well for Burnley Football Club and Burnley have
done well for him. He got a promotion with us, which was the first one of his career. He
goes with our blessing and we wish him all the best." He goes on, "I am going to
bring another goalkeeper in, a young one. We have other youngsters here as well and we'll
see where that takes us." Crichton says, "I've come here to play in the
first-team." We finally finish signing Taylor. He'll join us on 1 July. Bradley
Maylett also signs his extended contract. Peter Swan joins Ossett Town of the Unibond
League First Division as player / coach.
23/6 A select gathering of London Clarets enjoys a very fine day
out in Farnham.
25/6 Dundee, Hearts, Kilmarnock and, err, Hartlepool, are all
linked with Paul Smith.
26/6 Paul Crichton speaks about his time at Burnley. He says,
"I spoke to the gaffer about my position but the way Nik was playing there was no way
I could get back in the team. Nik deserves to start and if he carries on the way he has
been I was going to be sat watching the lads for another 46 games, so it was time to call
it quits. It's sad to be leaving but life goes on. I've had a great time and I'm sad to be
leaving a few friends, but football comes first. I had a great couple of years at Burnley.
I helped keep the club up at first and then we got promoted. The gaffer's been good to me
and the fans have been superb, and it will be good to be playing back at Turf Moor with
Norwich." Regarding speculation that we might once again try to sign John Aliosi,
Ternent rather confusingly says, "It's been well documented that Aliosi is a player I
would like to have here, but I believe he's going to Crystal Palace in a £1.5m deal. The
fee might be a bit too high for us at this moment in time. But that doesn't mean I
couldn't put all my eggs in one basket. If it was the right player I would. We put
£1million in for Ian Moore and £750,000 for Steve Davis, and they proved to be good
signings for us. So I wouldn't be against spending a lot of money on one player."
It's reported that Brentford's Martin Rowlands has turned down an offer from Burnley.
27/6 Rotten news from ITV Digital, who move our opening game of the
season to Sunday 12 August, with a 6.15 kick off. This is, excuse my language, really
beginning to take the piss. And then there's Burnley's rather too enthusiastic
announcement that this is a good thing because they make a few more quid… Watson
comments, "This is good news for the club… It will increase the profile of the
club considerably and is also worth quite a bit of money to the club." Anyone missing
from this equation? The club also announce an open day at Turf Moor on Saturday 21 April,
the same day as our AGM. Holland’s Pies are chosen as the new pie supplier at Turf
Moor. All well and good, but what about the balti? Paul Smith is now linked with two clubs
with Burnley connections, Halifax and York.
28/6 Guess what? Our home game against Man City will now
kick off at 6.15 on the Bank Holiday Monday, again to be televised on a tv service no one
seems to have. Can’t see any potential public order problems there, then. Our game at
Bradford, which clashes with, of course, England’s match, is now moved to Sunday 2
September, although with some relief we note that the kick off time remains at three
o’clock. For now. Kilmarnock are now thought favourites to sign Paul Smith. Stuart
McCall confirms that he did talk to other clubs – which might include us –
before he, to our relief, signed a new deal at Bradford.
29/6 Satire is at long last proved to be dead as two more
‘fixtures’ are moved. One is minor: we play Birmingham away on the Wednesday
instead of the Tuesday, which is no big deal, although you do wonder why they don’t
set these sort of dates before the ‘fixtures’ come out. The other is our second
clash with a sod-you-England match; we will now play Watford on Friday 5 October, at 7.45.
The club respond to criticisms of their pleased reaction to the moved Sheffield Wednesday
game. Andrew Watson says, "We understand that this fixture causes inconvenience to
some supporters. Indeed, it is a slight inconvenience for all of us. All staff and
directors are fans too… If it wasn't for the television money, Burnley Football Club
would not have the wage bill and quality of manager and players that it currently has.
Therefore, we would probably not be in the top thirty clubs in English football. The
television company concerned will pay almost £3m to Burnley Football Club next year.
Therefore, they are very welcome at this club… Luckily, the game is relatively
local." Grr. The club announce that one young player has been given a one year
professional contract, while a further five have been taken on as scholars. The new
professional is Mark Rasmussen, a centre forward and England Schools player from the North
East. Rasmussen played one game for our reserves on trial last season (Oldham away, in
which he scored). He was spotted by our North East scout Jack Hixon, along with two of the
scholars, both midfielders, Steven Richardson, and Sean Blakey (which could cause problems
if he ever plays in the same team as Glen Little). Richardson has also played for England
Schools. The other new scholars are locals. Richard Chaplow, a midfielder, comes from
Accrington, and went through the Turf Moor Centre of Excellence, as did Robert Grimes, a
striker from Burnley. The most notable new scholar is defender Paul Scott, whose brother
Chris, father Derek, grandfather Brian Miller and uncle David Miller all played for
Burnley. Welcome to them all.
30/6 Astonishingly, not a single match is moved today. Is
this allowed? We are linked with another Greek player, Panayotis Syros, possibly on loan,
while there’s also speculation that onetime triallist Eugene Dadi might be coming
back. And, after three years of doing this, I call time on writing this diary. Hope
someone’s enjoyed it. Hope someone’s read it, even. Cheers.
