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When We Were Kings launched
London Clarets in the press again
When a Stan is born
The Claret and Blue Carnival
Full house for Friday
Scarves on for the lads
No news is good news
Did you catch us in the Observer?
Football for a fiver's fine by us!
Latest addition to the Clarets web family
Click here for November 2001 comment entries
28 Nov - When We Were Kings launched
The new Burnley video When We Were Kings has now been launched. It covers our two European campaigns of the 1960s
and was put together by Stewart Binns, who also made the Rhapsody in Claret and Blue video. Sounds like an ideal Christmas
present for the Claret in your life!
Click here to read Trippo's account of the launch.
28 Nov - Did you see us in the Observer again?
Did you see us in Sunday's Observer again? In the light of the news about the alleged breakaway 'Phoenix League',
the Observer mailed round their First Division contacts to get the fans' reactions. Hearteningly, it was all against the plan.
Here's what we said, as it appeared in the following day's newspaper:
It stinks. Welcome to protectionist football: two ‘elite’ divisions and the rest will be hung out to dry. Odd, these club chairmen, champions of the free market to a man, don’t want to face the risks of rising and falling on merit. It’s interesting to see such ‘successful’ clubs as Sheffield Wednesday and Forest being linked with this.
There's lots more we could say about this. I feel a rant coming on...
27 Nov - When a Stan is born!
We always like receiving tales of Claret devotion from afar. Here’s a heart-warming story from Malaysia!
Kuala Lumpur
19th November 2001
I would like to take the opportunity of announcing the birth of a new Claret in the form of Stan Bradley. He came kicking and screaming into the world with the aid of the excellent Malaysian hospital staff at 8:26pm. We are subject to Turf Moor Time + 8 hours at present.
It must indeed be rare in modern times for a babe to be born when the Clarets are two points clear at the top of the division... any division!
Despite being surrounded by poor quality Malaysian football and the worldwide obsession with Premiership TV coverage, I will endeavour to instill in the little chap a greater depth of appreciation for the beautiful game, i.e. Burnley FC.
Whilst his mother believes him to be named after a certain Mr Mathews (she being a Potter) I believe many readers will suspect the truth. However, early hair indications suggest a greater affinity with Mr. Laurel!
Stan and I eagerly await the Christmas video packages to confirm just what we are missing. It is only a pity that a barrel of Moorhouse’s cannot be dispatched also. Wetting his head with Tiger lager is hardly the same.
Best wishes to all things Claret from the steamy tropics.
Richard Bradley
Malaysian Claret
November 2001
If you know of any more instances of children being named in honour of Uncle Stan, or indeed any of the players or
management staff, e-mail us and let us know!
22 Nov - The Claret and Blue Carnival
The momentum has built nicely for tomorrow’s game against Grimsby. What once seemed a run of the mill, badly scheduled match now looks more like a Claret and Blue Carnival. The club, which we ocasionally criticism, should be congratulated for demonstrating marketing flair and imagination in pricing the game at a mere five pounds. The Burnley public, too, have showed their true colours in snapping up every single ticket and making it a home sell-out. Let’s hope some of them are tempted to come back a bit more often. The response of the Claret community of unofficial websites has been immensely heartening, too. A variety of sites have done their best to promote the match, and when the Clarets Mad site urged everyone to wear their Burnley scarves and fill the ground with colour, the response from other sites in backing the idea has been excellent. We’ve all got behind it, and it goes to show that, whatever rivalries may surface sometimes, we all want the same thing: success for Burnley. So hats off to ourselves! The official Burnley website have even got behind the suggestion, offering a cash prize of £100 for one person who joins in with the Claret and Blue Carnival. It’s all building up very nicely. As if that isn’t enough, before the game there’s the parade of Claret Europeans, as Burnley players who took part in our two European adventures tread the Turf once more. This is to promote the forthcoming video, When We Were Kings. If you can, get there early to pay your respects to such Burnley greats as Jimmy McIlroy, Brian O’Neil – recently voted the hardest ever Burnley player on this website – and London Clarets member Ralph Coates! Along with all this there will be the opening of the new Clarets Superstore, and today the club has revealed that the much-awaited, long hoped-for Hollands’ balti pie will be available for a trial tasting, provided you get there early enough to grab one. It all looks set to be a mouth-watering night. And of course, we go into it still, despite the confident predictions of the media… TOP OF THE LEAGUE!
20 Nov - Sell out!
The official club website [www.burnleyfootballclub.com] is reporting that all three home stands are now sold out for Friday's home game against Grimsby. The 'all seats a fiver' initiative has proved remarkably successful, underlining the fact that admission price does play a significant part in people's decisions to attend. Perhaps we could do this once a season? So if you're going on Friday, don't forget your ticket - and, of course, don't forget your scarf (see below).
19 Nov - Don't forget your scarf this Friday
Our good friends at the Clarets Mad website [www.clarets-mad.co.uk] have been in touch about Friday’s game against Grimsby. This is, of course, the game where Burnley FC are offering tickets for a mere five pounds (and apparently they’re selling fast, so if you haven’t got one, get one now!). The club’s aim is to fill the ground, give occasional supporters the chance to see our current, exceptionally good team, and provide us all with the opportunity to offer Stan and the lads resounding thanks for our brilliant progress this season. Clarets Mad are now suggesting that we could make the game a carnival of Claret and Blue as well, if everyone takes a Burnley scarf with them. It’s simple, it will look great on the telly, and between us, we could make Turf Moor as colourful as it’s ever been. If you don’t have a scarf, don’t worry, as the newly redeveloped Clarets Superstore on Harry Potts Way officially opens that same night, so you can always pop in and buy one. Naturally, this initiative has this site’s full support, and we hope that our members and readers who are able to get to the game do so and wear their Burnley scarf with pride. Click here for more information about the scarves campaign.
18 Nov - No news is good news
One of two people have inquired about the absence of news updates from this site lately. Well, there really hasn’t been anything to report. Nothing’s happened. Apart from on the pitch, of course. Our response to the Wolves defeat has been absolutely magnificent, and we should free proud of Stan and the team for what they are achieving. Not only has the team gone unbeaten since that defeat, but I believe we are playing the best football of any Burnley team I’ve seen. We were fantastic at Coventry, and our reward of going back to the top of the first division is nothing other than what we deserve. Hats off to all! Off the pitch, meanwhile, all is calm and quiet. Even the club’s AGM was uneventful, and that used to be a laugh a minute soap opera not many years ago. No one seems to be coming or going either. There was a rumour that Kevin Ball would be off to Hull, but they’re in the third division, we’re top of the League and, as his assured performance in central defence at Coventry showed, he’s still a very important player for us. Stranger things have happened, but not many. With Alan Moore and Di Branchio returning, we’re almost in danger of injuries clearing up, too. Even ex-Clarets are having a quiet time of it. Alan Lee has finally scored a couple for Rotherham, which we’re pleased about, as there are other sides we’d prefer to get relegated. The great Tin Man, meanwhile, recently picked up a two-match touchline ban as Oxford’s Assistant Manager. Ah, it’s good to know he’s still out there somewhere, isn’t it? Otherwise, the games are where the story is, and otherwise all would seem to be serene. Which is, when you think about it, how things should be. Let other clubs provide the back story – which usually includes another Man City signing and a new manager for Sheffield Wednesday – and we will simply stroll on and calmly accumulate points. At Burnley, right now, it looks like no news really is good news. Go and give thanks at home to Grimsby this Friday, if you can.
11 Nov - Did you catch us in the Observer?
Unless you read it, as of course you should, you may not be aware that Sunday newspaper The Observer has recently boosted its coverage of First Division
football - with a little help from the fans. They now carry comments from both of the managers and a home supporter on each Saturday First Division match.
Obviously we haven't played many Saturday home matches lately, and as there are a few Burnley sites involved it isn't always our turn, but at half past five after the
game it came to pass that they interrupted our pint and demanded instant comments on the action. It was a privilege above all others to appear on the same page as Stan. They manufactured surprising
coherence from my random comments, so in case you missed it (on page 12, after all the rugby), this is what was said:
Was it a good match?
It was a weird one. We played some really good football, more than we have done for a while, and our general approach work
was really good, yet they had the best chances. But they mostly came to defend and they did it well.
Who played well / who had a nightmare?
Arthur Gnohere, our French / Ivory Coast defender, was excellent. Paul Cook and Glen Little also played well. Their keeper, Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, was excellent, too, although Prosinecki was useless. He just turns it on when he fancies it, and he didn’t today.
Yes, we did have to spell 'Gnohere'. We'll try not to let fame change us.
6 Nov - Football for a fiver's fine by us!
You’ve doubtless caught elsewhere the announcement that for the home game against Grimsby, tickets will cost a mere five pounds. This initiative from the club has come in response to a string of disappointing home attendances. Despite what has been a very successful season to date, gates are actually down on last year. Many people think that this can only be due to the increased cost of admission, which may finally be pricing regular football out of the reach of many local supporters. When there are a few home matches close together, as this month, it seems that people have to pick and choose their games. Sunday’s home match against Sheffield Utd, for example, televised throughout the region, drew the lowest gate of the season. I’ve always felt that there is a clear and direct relationship between matchday prices and attendances, and it’s been proved time and again at other clubs that when prices have been cut for unpopular but relevant games, gates have gone up. The club should be congratulated for realising this and acting on it. This initiative should be welcomed. Now it’s over to you. If you can possibly get to this game – unfortunately, Friday night kick offs are not accessible for many of us – then please do. Take advantage of the discount, go and cheer the Clarets on, and thank Stan and the lads for giving us such a great season so far. Who knows, if it works, it might happen again. The success of this promotion is in your hands. So, it's Friday 23 November at 7.45, alright?
1 Nov - More Clarets stuff on the web
Not much to report at the moment, so we'll just point you in the direction of a couple
of places you might want to visit on the net. Claretsfans.com is the latest
internet venture of long-standing evil web genius Alan Boys, which means it's
automatically worth a look. At the moment the site's still being put together - and it has
a remarkable resemblance to an earlier version of the official Burnley website that Alan
ran - but it promises to put the emphasis on interaction, with a matchday chat-room, the
original Burnley message board, lots of downloads and an unmoderated e-mail group.
Meanwhile, thanks to Matt Smith for pointing us in the direction of a good interview
with Glen Little on the PFA site, givemefootball.com. If you haven't seen the
interview already, click
here. On the same site, you can also choose your Fans' Player of the
Month. Vote for anyone you like - as long as it's a Claret.
November 2001 comment entries
More on Watford
An apology for being top of the Football League
The view from Sweden
Watford: cultural oasis of the South
Colin Blant
November diary
December 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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