Does Andy Payton going to Blackpool on loan for a month count as shock news? Only, I suppose, in the sense that a long rumoured move has finally happened. Clearly, it's been a while since Ternent regarded Payton as an automatic choice. Since being dropped at Tranmere in October last year, he has been in and out of the side, often as sub. This season, he has only been sub, and one not used, or used only for a few minutes, much of the time. Even when one of the first choice strikers has been out, he hasn't been chosen. There has never been a shortage of rumour about a move. Over the last couple of years, Payton has been 'definitely' going to Wigan and Bristol City. Recent speculation has all centred on Blackpool, who have of course recently flogged Blackburn youth reject Brett Ormerod to Southampton for a significant sum.
So in a few days, two of our long-serving senior players have been sent out on loan, first Cook to Wigan, and now Payton. Both of them have gone for a month, but you'd struggle to find someone who thinks they will be back. It's hard to escape the feeling that Stan is using the legitimacy conferred by our presence at the top of the league to assert his authority. Let no one mistake who is in charge. Ternent is the boss, and there are no sacred cows. Payton's latest brush with the law could possibly have been the final straw, but it seems clear to any Burnley observer that he and Ternent have not enjoyed the warmest of relationships for a long time now.
Clearly, it's hard to argue with Top of the League. But personally, I wish Payton wasn't going anywhere. Yes, he's a Natural Born Claret, Burnley lad through and through, etc, but more than anything, he's a goal-every-two-games scorer with a season after season record of consistency. Payton is a bloody good striker, and he's still got goals to score.
Taylor and Moore have struck a good partnership (while Payton always looked ill at ease playing alongside Moore), and goals have been coming from all around the team, but neither Moore or Taylor look prolific. We could still do with another proven goalscorer. Even with Payton confined to the bench, there was always the hope that he'd come on in a tight spot and poach a goal.
If Ternent thinks he needs to let Cook and Payton go, then I suppose that once again we have to trust his judgement, and fall back on our faith. Stan Is Always Right, and all that. But both of these departures leave the squad looking thin on quality. In reserve, up front we've got Papa, who is occasionally not in Greece, and Tony Elvis, who is this year's Jepson. In midfield, we've only got Ball and, if desperate, Johnrose, and after that we've really got problems. If Stan has decided these two need to be moved on, I would hope that he has replacements in mind, before injuries and suspensions take their toll.
Payton's goals were crucial in keeping us in the second division and getting us into the first. We couldn't have done it without him. Cook's performances this season have played a big part in getting us to the top of the first. It's disappointing that they've both gone, and still hard to come to terms with. I know we're improving, and there has to be a turnover. The team is getting younger, and some faithful servants will have to be left behind as we progress. We must try not to be sentimental, although it's a sentimental game and Burnley is a sentimental club. But sentiment aside, I believe both of these players still have much to offer. It looks like they'll be doing it for other clubs now. In the long term, both of these moves probably do make sense. But in the short term, I want us to stay up there at the top of the division, and we're short of two players of undoubted quality that we had a week ago.
If Andy Payton has played his last game for us, he goes with our heartfelt thanks for his massive contribution to the cause. He has been one of the outstanding Burnley players of the last few years. He's scored so many goals that it's impossible to pick out a favourite. You didn't have to like him as a person to appreciate what he's done for us. Cheers, Andy. Pity it had to be Blackpool, too.
