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Farewell to the Admirable
Fixtures unveiled
Another friendly off
At least it's only two games in Douglas
League cup tie the wrong way round
It's Chelsea instead of Shrewsbury
Fixtures to be announced
West Ham going down - official
Jeppo is back!
All hail Lanway Computer Systems
Click here for June 2001 comment entries
It's farewell to the Admirable, as Paul Crichton has left the club, having joined
Norwich. The price - £150,000, with up to £50,000 more payable depending on appearances
- is perhaps surprising. He wasn't the best goalie in the world, but neither was he by any
means the worst. His finest hour was probably the away game at Brentford right at the end
of the 1999-2000 promotion season, where he produced a display of world class reflex shot
stopping. I could never quite manage to avoid being nervous when the ball went into the
box, though. We wish him well, except if he plays against us, obviously, when I'd hope for
one of his concentration lapses - although he'd have to go some to be as dodgy as the
Norwich goalkeeper who played against us at Easter.
Meanwhile, it's been announced that Bradley Maylett has signed
his three year contract extension, giving us the hope of seeing this young and exciting
talent develop for the next four years, while Gareth
Taylor has accepted his contract offer and will join us
finally on 1 July. Welcome. [24/6]
Thoughts on Crichton
So, the ‘ fixtures’ for next season
have been announced. Always a special day in the calendar, this: that first glance at the
opening and closing games, the hunt for the big days out, the Christmas and Easter
matches, the disappointment of midweek games, the calculation of how many games
you’re going to get to and the careful plotting of another nine months of your life
around this entirely arbitrary schedule. Truly, the day the fixtures come out is a magical
one, a day of hope and anticipation, and a day for dreams. Sure, in recent years this list
of days has become somewhat devalued, because you know out there lurk evil tv companies,
the increasingly unpredictable weather, crassly scheduled international matches and –
let’s look on the bright side – perhaps a cup run. You know by now to do no more
than pencil these dates in your diary. And of course, nonsensically, this season is
scheduled to terminate in the middle of April, with three fewer Saturdays than usual and a
corresponding surfeit of annoying midweek matches. But, for once, let us shirk the moan.
For this is a day for looking forward. Savour it. Not that we think it’s the case
this time, but there have been whole seasons where this moment has been as good as it
gets.
For the third season running, our season starts away. We kick off
with a return to Hillsborough, where hopefully the balti pies will be as good as last time
but the performance rather better. Put your money on 1-1. The first home game comes a week
later, and is the same as the corresponding fixture last year, as we play Wimbledon. The
August bank holiday match is a placid encounter at home to Man City, who will doubtless
once again be ‘too good for this division’. On Boxing Day, as usual we’re
away. We do get sent to some places. After a Christmas trip to Barnsley last time,
it’s something very similar this year, with Rotherham providing the venue for our
customary defeat. New Year’s Day, when neither the supporters nor team ever seem to
be at their best, offers a home match against Bradford. Easter is rather kinder for
southern-based supporters, as Easter Monday promises 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. West Midlands-based Clarets have an embarrassment
of local riches on offer next season, but unfortunately two of these – Birmingham and
Walsall – are during the week. Our last away game will see us chorusing the Grimsby
Fish Song once more, while we finish off with something we haven’t had for a long
time – a home game against Coventry.
There are other highlights, but instead of me going on, click here to view the full list as it currently stands.
All in all, it’s not a bad fixture list, although curiously
many of the tastier away games come before Christmas. But of course, the beauty of it is
that you never know quite where those great wins, grim defeats or cracking days out are
going to come from. They’re out there, somewhere, lurking in wait on that list now.
The season, with its highs, lows and surprises, stands before us. What a marvellous game
this is. [21/6]
At the same time that all the above was announced,
one game was called off. That’s the pre-season friendly against Huddersfield,
which had been scheduled to take place on Thursday 2 August, but now won’t. No
explanation has been offered, and as yet a replacement game hasn’t been suggested.
These friendlies seem to be remarkably movable feasts these days. It would appear that you
certainly can’t count on matches taking place any more. I know nobody was going to
get too excited at playing a second division side at home, but I do hope no one had
already made arrangements to spend a week in Burnley on the basis of having three games to
go to in a week. Quite a few people had plans to go to Shrewsbury and were put out by the
decision to pull that match. To lose one fixture looks like misfortune; to lose two… [21/6]
While on the subject of friendlies, one other piece
of news is that the match against the Isle
of Man will be played in Ramsey rather than Douglas
(where the other two matches, against Wrexham and Oldham, will be played). This is good
news for anyone thinking of going to the Isle of Man, as I did last year, because Douglas
is a miserable and charmless place, and Ramsey just has to be better. Who knows, we might
even revenge ourselves for the Isle of Man’s unprecedented win last
summer? By the way, an updated Manx pub guide will follow before the start of the
tour. [21/6]
Well, the league cup draw - sponsored by some
ghastly smooth beer company, apparently - has handed us a home match against Rushden and Diamonds, probably to be played on 21 August. I suspect this is more interesting to
Rushden and Diamonds than to us, what with them being league newcomers and this being
their first ever game in the contest. That may also spark media interest, and there's even
a chance this one might make it onto the box. Before you get too excited, bear in mind
that all media coverage will be looking for a Rushden and Diamonds win, thereby providing
an allegedly heart-warming story and a micro act of 'giant-killing'. Ho hum. Of course, a
tie the other way round would have been fantastic, giving me the opportunity to tick off a
ground we've not played on before and take an afternoon off work to go for a few pints,
but it was not to be. As they keep mucking about with this increasingly peripheral
competition, this is now a one legged tie with a result guaranteed on the night. And if
they win, I'll burn my Doc Martens.
[19/6]
One other item to note is that the away friendly at
Shrewsbury has been pulled, and we're now scheduled to play Chelsea at Turf Moor on
Saturday 4 August instead. I suppose in footballing terms this is potentially a more
interesting game, but I've always felt that the sole purpose of friendlies is to give the
supporters a chance of doing something different. A day out on the pop in Shropshire would
have made a pleasant alternative to going to Turf Moor, which is, after all, something
we're going to have the chance of doing at least 24 times next season. It's particularly
bad news for the Shrewsbury Clarets - and yes, there are some - who were looking forward
to a chance of seeing Burnley on their patch. Ah well. [19/6]
While we're on the topic of what they still insist
on calling fixtures, despite the fact that they're anything but, the 2001-2002 ones are
due out on Thursday (21st) morning. They won't be on this site until sometime after, as we
are required to go to work for the purpose of earning money to pay our internet telephone
bills, and your best bet to get them early will be the official site at www.burnleyfootballclub.com or Clarets Mad
at www.claretsmad.co.uk. Bear in mind that
because of some tomfoolery about the World Cup or some such nonsense, next season finishes
a scandalous three weeks early, which means three fewer Saturdays and three more harder to
get to midweek games. And don't get me started on that one again. [19/6]
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 wash the kit, but as actual Manager of the team! Ha ha ha ha ha. No, really.
That man must have a pathological hatred of Claret and Blue. Villa fans, be warned. 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 lick some old has-been’s boots. And that’s Mr Roeder to
you, sonny. Although I've always thought of him as 'Satan's little helper'. 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 was, unfortunately, unavailable for comment. [14/6]
Hats off to Rocket 'Ronnie' Jepson. Jeppo,
with a string of coaching badges in his back pocket (you've got to do something when
you're suspended) has no sooner retired from football than he has rejoined the club as
youth team coach. His job will presumably be to pass on the youngsters everything he knows
about cunning, graft and survival, and keep the kids in line, a job to which he seems
ideally suited. We've always suspected Jeppo would make someone a good manager, so who
knows? He'll work alongside Mick Docherty and Terry Pashley, with Jimmy Robson now
concentrating on the Centre of Excellence.
Elsewhere, it looks odds on that we'll sign Gareth Taylor,
with a three year contract having been offered. Three years! Also receiving a similar
offer is brilliant Brad Maylett, which sounds good to us. [14/6]
The club revealed a new home shirt and club sponsor
on 12 June. We are now sponsored by a company called Lanway Computer Systems, and
their logo will now be carried on the shirt. As for the shirt, it's quite similar to last
season's classic shirt, apart from some minor details. For more, visit the official club
site at www.burnleyfootballclub.com or
Lanway's site at www.lanway.co.uk. [13/6]
Thoughts on the new shirt
June 2001 comment entries
Farewell to the Admirable
The new kit
June diary
July news and comment archive
Archive main menu
As with all articles on the site, the
views expressed in this section are those of the individual contributor, and do not
necessarily reflect the view of the Burnley FC London Supporters Club.
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