1/11 Injuries are a bit of a problem after the cup win
against Barnet, with Little (groin), Smith (knee) and West (hamstring) all doubtful. The
Reserves' game at Stoke is postponed, for some reason.
2/11 Burnley 5 Wrexham 0! At last we give
someone the stuffing they deserve. Scorers: Mullin (43, 70), Mellon (46), Little (49),
Branch (82). Team: Crichton, Brass, Thomas, Davis, Armstrong, Mullin, Mellon, Little, Cook
(Lee), Payton (Jepson), Cooke (Branch). Subs not used: Cowan and Weller. Att: 8,944. See our match report for details. We climb to second in the
league, one point behind leaders Wigan.
3/11 Our euphoria is short-lived. After running through
some £30,000,000 of Fat Jack's cash, the magnificent Brian Kidd is sacked as manager of
dear friends. If only they'd allowed him the time to finish the job.
5/11 The club announce that the new town centre shop
will open in December, selling merchandise and eventually, tickets and financial products.
6/11 Luton 2 Burnley 1. Scorers: Cooke (51) /
Midgely (49, 69). Team: Crichton, Brass (Jepson 72), Armstrong (Lee 86), Davis, Thomas,
Little, Mellon, Cook, Mullin, Cooke, Payton (Branch 82). Att: 7,205. See our match report for details. Preston Youth 5 Burnley Youth
3. Do they ever win?
8/11 Barry Kilby steams into the FA for allowing
England’s match against Scotland to be scheduled for Saturday afternoon, thereby
wiping out the domestic programme and doubtless reducing our gate for the game against
Blackpool. He obviously still reads our website!
9/11 Stoke Reserves 3 Burnley Reserves 3, with
goals from Weller, Devenney and Shandran. We were two goals down before fighting back.
Team: Mawson, Robertson, Devenney, Scott, Williamson, Jepson, Weller, Kevan, Lee,
Shandran, Branch. Subs not used: Bowden, Savage, Kelly, Davis, Paxton. Shandran’s
good form has seen him included in the first team squad. Mark Robertson is brought into
the Australian Under 23 squad to play a friendly against Tunisia and so will not be
available against Blackpool. Armstrong is struggling with an Achilles injury he picked up
at Luton.
10/11 Matt Heywood and Chris Scott are both thought to
want to go out on loan in order to get some games.
11/11 Burnley reveal that they plan to become a telecom
provider, competing with BT! This is one of the affinity products through which Ray
Ingleby hopes to increase revenue. A telecom company will sell Burnley-branded packages,
for which the club will receive a commission. Mortgages, insurance and credit cards are
also planned. Ingleby gives an interview in the Lancashire
Evening Telegraph in which he admits that his motives for getting involved in the
first place were financial. Having cash to spare after floating on the stock market and
looking for an investment, his accountant suggested Burnley, with a plan to take Burnley
up and then float them. He points out that success for Burnley would have been a
pre-requisite for this. When Burnley supporters started to get in touch with him and asked
him to keep trying, he gradually got sucked in, started going to games and was hooked. He
now describes himself as a "fanatic" who goes to nearly every game.
12/11 The club say that they are planning to raise an
additional £1 million before Christmas through new investment and banking channels, some
of which Ternent will be given to spend in the second half of the season. This should keep
our momentum going and avoid, as it’s now commonly known "doing a Preston."
Ingleby says that this is based on a three-year plan, which sees us getting into the First
Division at least. Speaking again in the Lancashire
Evening Telegraph, he comments, "As a board we are committed to continue spending
more money than we are receiving to get us out of this division. We are losing money but
we are doing that in the full knowledge that we have to get out of this division, if not
this year then no later then next year. We are giving Stan all the available money to get
us out of this division." Ingleby also says that he is pleased to serve as Vice
Chairman under Kilby, would not have invested in the club if he did not think Kilby was
the right man for the job, and has put his differences with Frank Teasdale behind him. He
says that what happened was for the best, and believes his campaign to take-over the club
created the opportunity for Kilby to move in.
13/11 Ahead of the game against Blackpool, Armstrong,
Cowan, Smith and West are all doubtful, leading to speculation that Chris Scott or Paul
Weller could fill in at full back. London Clarets celebrate Woody's 40th
birthday in Burnley in predictable fashion.
14/11 Burnley 1 Blackpool 0. Scorer: Mellon
(77). Team: Team: Crichton, West, Armstrong, Davis, Thomas, Mellon, Cook, Little, Mullin
(Branch 70), Cooke (Jepson 89), Payton. Subs not used: Brass, Johnrose, Weller. Att:
12,898. See our match report for details. Mellon's goal comes
after a match load of abuse from the Blackpool fans. He celebrates by running backwards
towards them pointing out the name on his shirt. The sponsors then join in on the fun by
naming him man of the match. Potential new investors who the club are trying to woo are
said to be at the match.
15/11 A ludicrous story has Burnley set to swap Andy
Payton with Wigan's Stuart Barlow. Hmm, so that's a bloke who's scored goals everywhere
he's played at all levels for some guy having one good season after ten years in the
Pontin's League? Yeah, I can see that happening. It has been rumoured that Wigan have
enquired about Payton, who is currently holding out for a new three year contract when his
current deal expires at the end of the season. Both clubs are quick to deny the story,
with current Wigan boss and Clarets managerial failure John Benson saying he'd deserve to
be sacked if he let Barlow go. Payton is currently going through a rare lean spell of
seven goalless games, but Ternent backs him, hinting of problems he's faced by saying,
"He's ten out of ten with what he's going through at the moment."
16/11 Burnley Reserves 3 West Brom Reserves 1,
despite the sending off of John Williamson after 61 minutes for fouling a player who once
considered himself too good to sign for us, Fabian Defreitas. The goals come from Shandran
with two and one from Lee. Team: Burnley: Mawson, Scott, Devenney, Brass, Williamson,
Johnrose, Weller, Kelly (Kevan 30), Lee, Shandran, Branch (Bowden 89). Branch creates two
of the goals but limps off. Eamon Kelly is originally thought to have broken his leg, but
X-rays later reveal that this isn't the case.
17/11 The
Lancashire Evening Telegraph tantalise us with the headline ‘Branch in Cup Injury
Boost’. Apparently it means he’ll be fit. Tom Cowan returns to training. The
community programme is given a grant of £10,417 by the Nationwide Building Society
towards the club’s Family Village scheme.
18/11 John O’Kane, crap left back of last
season’s vintage, goes on loan to Bolton. Ahead of our FA Cup game, Rotherham manager
Ronnie Moore says he watched Burnley play Blackpool and, "they frightened the life
out of me."
19/11 Glen Little says he’s back to his best and
is aiming to score between eight and ten goals this season. Phil Eastwood, now of
Morecambe, is called up for the squad of the FA XI to play a Unibond League XI, whatever
that means.
20/11 Burnley 2 Rotherham 0 in the FA Cup Second
Round. Scorers: Cook (67), Mullin (75). Team: Team: Crichton, West, Armstrong (Branch 78),
Davis, Thomas, Mellon, Cook (Jepson 87), Little, Mullin, Cooke (Lee 90), Payton. Subs not
used: Brass and Johnrose. Att: 8,110. See our match report for
details. Meanwhile, the exciting draw for the Auto Windscreens
absolutely-not-a-joke-competition Shield is made. Burnley will face… Wigan away! The
game will come just over a week after our league match there.
21/11 Burnley are drawn away at Derby in the FA Cup
Third Round on 11th December. This will be Burnley’s first visit to Pride
Park. Our game away at Gillingham, which had been scheduled for that day, is off.
22/11 Gerry Harrison goes to Bolton on loan from
Su’lan’. Has he done all 92 clubs yet? Peter Swan says he hopes to make a
comeback in the Reserves next week. He confesses to worrying about whether he’d ever
return to playing. Burnley FC feature in a Radio 5 broadcast in the 'Glory Years' series.
23/11 Ahead of the approaching AGM on 16th
December, the club unveil a record loss of £1.8 million. Nevertheless, Kilby maintains
that further investment is necessary to get onto the gravy train of the First Division
ahead of the anticipated formation of a Premier League Division Two. Debts are now down
£1 million to £3 million, helped by the £3.9 million raised by the rights issue, but
turnover is slightly down. Kilby says this is a calculated plan of action, with the
intention of ‘doing a Watford’. Wigan find another 500 tickets for us after we
sold 4,500. Adrian Heath walks out of the manager's job at Sheffield Utd. How unlike him
to flounce out when the going gets tough!
24/11 Reading 0 Burnley 0. Perhaps the dullest
football match of all time? Even the presence of the hated referee Kevin Lynch can’t
liven it up. Team (4-4-2): Crichton, West, Armstrong, Davis, Thomas, Mullin, Mellon, Cook,
Little, Cooke (Branch 46), Payton (Lee 79). Subs not used: Brass, Jepson and Johnrose.
Att: 6,149. See our match report for details. Cooke is subbed
at half time as a precaution after picking up a slight injury. We move to third. Payton
doesn't travel with the squad, as his wife gives birth to a girl the day before the game.
25/11 Tony Blair and Edward Heath are both revealed to
be making guest appearances on the club’s forthcoming official
history video ‘Rhapsody in Claret and Blue’, but don’t let that put you
off. Alistair Campbell also contributes. More than 1,000 copies have already been ordered.
5,000 Derby tickets go on sale.
26/11 Ternent and Ellis are said to be watching various
reserve team games in pursuit of a new keeper. Ahead of the game at Wigan, Clarets
managerial failure John Benson says how pleased he is that we are doing well and tips us
for promotion. Grr! John Gayle moves from struggling Scunthorpe to struggling Shrewsbury
while another old boy, Paul Comstive, becomes assistant manager at Southport, and Michael
Williams joins Halifax, although probably not for long.
27/11 Wigan 1 Burnley 1. Scorers: Payton (16) /
Haworth (42). Team: Crichton, West, Armstrong (Branch 60), Thomas, Davis, Mellon, Little,
Cooke (Lee 71), Mullin, Payton, Cook. Subs not used: Jepson, Brass, Johnrose. Att: 11,986.
See our match report for details. Wigan police and stewards
find themselves utterly unable to cope with the first large football crowd to appear at
the ‘JJB Stadium’. Despite this being an all-ticket match for Burnley, the
unreserved seats in the stand fill up and a number of supporters are left without anywhere
to sit. An unfinished stand is finally made available, but the closeness of the two sets
of fans leads to a stand off, subsequently mis-reported as a 'pitch invasion' and 'scenes
of seventies style crowd violence'! On the pitch, Burnley dominate the first half and are
unlucky to go in level after a moment of slack defending. The second half is much more
evenly balanced. We never find out whether John Bond is present. Ternent says we've shown
we can live with anyone in the division. The youth team beat Wigan youth 1-0, Alex Kevan
scoring a penalty.
29/11 Burnley are linked with Gary Ablett, currently
available for transfer at Birmingham. Ternent says this is nonsense and points out that we
have plenty of defenders.
30/11 Barry Kilby and Ray Ingleby participate in an
opening meeting with supporters organised by the Clarets Independent Supporters
Association (CISA). The big news to emerge from the night is that Ingleby is still very
keen on a floatation at some later stage, and the club would consider this if, once in the
first division, this is what it would take to generate the cash to get into and stay in
the Premier League. The prospect this would offer of cashing in at a later stage is being
put forward to tempt would be investors into putting money in the club now, with £1
million worth of shares still up for grabs. Kilby says the club are trying their best to
be open with the supporters. A report of the meeting is available on the CISA website. CISA present a cheque of £250
towards the Gawthorpe Fund before the meeting. Meanwhile, Oldham Reserves 2 Burnley
Reserves 2. Burnley were 2-0 up. Scorers: Cowan and a Jepson penalty. Team: Mawson,
Robertson, Cowan, Brass, Swan (Scott 45), Johnrose, Weller, Jepson, Lee, Shandran, Smith
(Devenney 66). Paul Smith makes a return from injury, and Peter Swan tentatively plays the
first half, admitting to feeling a bit stiff afterwards. He thanks the other players for
helping him along and pays tribute to the team spirit created by Ternent, making the point
that Ternent always tries to make sure a player will fit in when he signs him. Jepson
later requires stitches in a leg wound.
