Home is where the
heart is
This is the time of year for making reckless resolutions,
so why should we be any different? Here and now,
I propose to make my own rash promise, and one in
which I invite other Burnley exiles to share: in
2003, I will go to more home games.
Oh sure, for those of you in Burnley, this is a
doddle. Nothing easier (although not enough of you
do it). But for Burnley's considerable diaspora,
getting to home games is harder than it sounds. I
felt sorry for those home-based Clarets who in recent
weeks had to make the long and weary trek back from
Watford, Gillingham and Brighton less than entirely
satisfied. In turn, spare a thought for those who
undertake such trips each time they attend a routine
home game. Over Christmas, someone asked me what
was the longest football journey I faced this season.
Without hesitation, I replied Burnley.
This is one of the reasons why for many years now,
I have gone mostly to away games. More than this,
I have been an advocate of following Burnley away.
When I lived locally I was just like many of you
reading this: a model home supporter. I never missed
a home match, rarely went away. Like many people
who live within a few miles of the ground, I had
a season ticket and rolled up week in week out whatever
the opposition, whatever the competition. There was
no such thing as an insignificant home game. In comparison,
away games were few and far between. Trips were limited
to the immediate North West and Yorkshire vicinity,
with more adventurous journeys undertaken if things
got exciting near the end of seasons.
The pattern
held for a short while even after I moved to London
in 1994. For the rest of the 93/94
season, I would trek up to Burnley about once a fortnight
and exercise the Longside season ticket. I still
only went to the local away games, except now those
local games were in the South East – Charlton, Orient,
Fulham and Brighton. I reckon it was promotion at
the end of that season that changed that pattern.
Suddenly we were, albeit briefly, in the First Division,
and there were big, exciting games to look forward
to. There were trips to play famous teams on grounds
you'd heard of. I became hooked on going to away
games. I came to enjoy not just the southern matches,
but the trips up to the North East to see us play
Middlesbrough and Su'lan'. This is where it turned
around for me. I developed the habit of going to
almost all the away games, supplemented by occasional
visits to Turf Moor. There were always new grounds
to tick, and compulsory games in the South East,
and then those matches in great drinking towns – which
between them accounted for pretty much the entire
away fixture list.
I’ve done my bit to promote the art of away travel.
I’ve written of how I enjoy away games, and I do.
I’ve laboured countless hours compiling away pub
guides in the hope of encouraging folk to get more
enjoyment out of travelling away. But at the same
time I've had this nagging feeling that, in going
to far more away games than home, I'm financially
supporting the opposition. Following Burnley up and
down this land has entailed me giving my hard-earned
to all sorts of objectionable institutions. I've
put money into clubs I can't stand. I've coughed
up for Millwall, and Palace, and Sheffield Utd. I
even handed over my dosh to our dreaded neighbours
and rivals.
It was,
I think, that visit to Deadwood Park on April Fools’ Day
that crystallised these thoughts that have gnawed
at me since. Giving them my money
really stuck in the craw. I vowed to contribute not
a penny more than was necessary to watch the game.
I would not buy a programme. I would shirk the refreshments.
I would pay only what it cost to get in and see Burnley,
and would spend the money I might otherwise have
spent on something from own club shop, and therefore
make a financial contribution to the club I support
instead of giving money to our rivals.
Then there's the question - raised previously on
this site - of the poor away followings that come
to Burnley. By trying to promote a more positive
image of the town, and by trying to make away supporters
feel welcome, we can do our bit to try to get them
to come in numbers, contribute to the atmosphere,
and come back again. But at the moment, on most occasions,
you'll see more Burnley supporters at the away match
than you'll get away fans visiting Turf Moor in the
corresponding fixture. This means we're effectively
subsidising other clubs. We're giving them more money
than they give us - and at a time when our club is
strapped for cash.
In recent
years I’ve grown uncomfortable with being
a Burnley supporter who rarely visits Burnley. The
nadir was reached in the 98/99 season, when I didn’t
get to my first home game until November. I felt
bad about this, and vowed to go more regularly in
future. It hasn’t always been possible – particularly
when last season so many games were moved from Saturday
afternoons – but this year, with the club’s financial
problems, I knew the time was right. Now is a good
time to go to home games. I am trying, and this season
will break double figures for the first time in years.
Yet others seem to have chosen this very season
to stay away. I was perplexed to hear anecdotal reports
this summer of people returning their season tickets
and asking for refunds out of apparent disappointment
at the club's 'lack of ambition'. In case these people
didn't notice, our world was turned upside down the
day ITV reneged on their deal. That was the day when
'speculate to accumulate' was replaced by 'slim down
to survive'. Our ambition shifted. It was no longer
about having a crack at the Premier League; it was
about avoiding administration. This was our new reality,
but it seemed that after a few good years some people
couldn't come to terms with it.
There are times when I feel I will never understand
people. Do you stop supporting your team because
they haven't signed any players for a while? If you
say you support a side, how can you turn your back
when the hour of need truly comes?
This isn't a Burnley phenomenon. All around the
world, supporters drift away in times of hardship.
I've always been a bit uncomfortable when Clarets
of recent vintage have made much of our great support.
It's not a claim that currently holds much water,
if you look at the First Division attendance table,
and I don't think it ever did. Back in the days when
we graced the top flight, weren't our attendances
fairly low? And if you want an example of how far
crowds can fall when there's nothing worth seeing,
look no further than the 1986/87 season, when prior
to The Orient Game, a couple of thousand was the
order of the day.
Yet for
people of my era who grew up knowing Burnley only
as a crap lower division side, how much of a
hardship is ‘yet another’ season of First Division
football? These are still times of relative success
on the pitch, and don’t forget that. Okay, so this
is shaping up to be one of those seasons you don't
get excited about, but let's be grown up about this.
Not every season can deliver excitement right to
the end. Perhaps we've been spoilt. In recent years
it seems every season has been alive in the final
lap. We've either been pushing for promotion or fighting
relegation. Have we come to expect a rollercoaster
ride? And more than that, have we got bored with
the First Division? If so, that's incredible. A handful
of years back we were a poor Second Division side
with more realistic prospects of sliding into the
Third than rising to the First. Then, the consensus
amongst all but the most optimistic supporters was
that Burnley's true position of aspiration was to
be a decent, established First Division side with
occasional play-off campaigns and cup runs. Remarkably,
this is what we now have. We are where we wanted
to be. Now that we have achieved what many thought
was the best we could hope for, is it no longer enough
for us? Have we become blasé? Can it really be the
case that, if the club can't offer the prospect of
another crack at the Premier League, people are going
to lose interest?
But Burnley
need you right now. The great ITV Digital swindle
holed our financial plans below the water
line. In football terms Burnley was a relatively
well-run ship, but in the context of the First Division
we're quite a small club and the loss of the money
that was due has hit us hard. My understanding of
the situation is that our debts are not as high as
many, but it is turnover that is the problem. Simply,
the club needs to get more money coming in on a weekly
basis to pay the bills and keep the creditors happy.
That’s where we come in. This is why the club has
resorted to trying to squeeze the punters in a thousand
different ways. Of course, being Burnley, they set
about this in a fairly unsubtle manner, giving over
their official web space almost entirely to advertisements
and irritating people with junk phone calls. Such
tactics had the effect of putting people's backs
up and making them less inclined to stick their hands
in their pockets, which was unfortunate. It was never,
however, a reason to stay away.
Fortunately the threat of administration - and it
does seem to have been a real and very near threat
- appears to have receded a little, but there is
no room for complacency. Our club desperately needs
financial support. Going to home games is a great
way for people to put some money in - while at the
same time getting something in return, in the shape
of the chance to watch excellent players like Blake
and Little wearing Claret and Blue in a fine setting.
I was shocked by reports that the money made from
the recent League Cup tie against Spurs would only
cover the losses caused by lower than expected gates
this season. What should have been a windfall ending
up going on the bottom line - because people gave
up when the going got a bit tough.
This is
when your club needs you. Don’t let it down.
In the light of recent shocking events, we certainly
don’t need decent supporters to stay away right now.
There really has never been a better time to go to
a home game. There has never been a better time to
bring a friend along. If you’re thinking of going
to an away game, why not consider taking in a home
game instead? For those living outside Burnley, the
costs are likely to be similar, and you’ll be giving
your money to Burnley FC rather than the opposition.
My plea for exiles is please, if you can, watch your
football at Turf Moor. My plea for locals is to please
recognise how fortunate you are to have Burnley FC
on your doorstep. Don’t take it for granted.
I’m bound to say that, if you live in the South
East or London, this supporters’ club makes life
rather easy for you. Without wishing to turn this
article into an official website style advert, we
run day trips to Burnley from London for every Saturday
home game. It’s easy, it’s cheap and you get to spend
your day with other Burnley supporters. Why not try
it sometime? See our travel page to find out what’s
booking.
Advert
over. However you get there, and wherever you’re
coming from, please do try to get to Turf Moor
and give the finest club in England your support.
Happy New Year, and I look forward to seeing you
on the Turf!
Firmo
2 January 2003
As
with all articles on the site, the views expressed
in the comments section are those of the individual
contributor, and do not necessarily reflect the
view of the Burnley FC London Supporters Club.
