The London Clarets
The 1991/1992 season
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The Year of the Phoenix The 1991-92 season game by game - part two August 17
August Somehow we got to South Yorkshire by public transport. This was real uncharted territory for us. We wouldn't normally have gone to this kind of game, but it was the first match of the season and we had a record to keep up. Can there be a less impressive approach to a town than the swoop past scrapyards into Rotherham station? Mike Conroy and Steve Harper both made their debuts, while Davis made his second debut as part of a central back three. Conroy scored, from close range after a John Francis pass, and became instantly liked for his celebration, which took him onto the away end fence. 1-0 at half time and it was going well. The atmosphere was good. But it didn't last. Rotherham came back and scored two goals in a few minutes to get the win. They weren't a bad side, seeking a return to the third division. But we left a bit disappointed at the way we'd given the game away. Little did I know it, but this would set the tone for my visits to Millmoor. I've been back several times, and I've never even seen a draw. Team: Pearce, Measham, Jakub, Deary, Pender,
Monington, Farrell, Davis, Francis (Lancashire), Conroy, Harper (Hardy). 20 August We went to this one, too. The dole money must have just about stretched. I’d worked out we could get there by train from Nelson, changing at Preston, particularly if we left a few minutes early to catch the train back from Wigan. I still remember the incredulity of the ticket man when I asked for two returns to Wigan. Wigan? Why would anyone want to go there? This was even in the days before we'd discovered the Swan and Railway. Ah, but this was the heady excitement of the Rumbelows Cup. The ground was almost surreal. For someone used to the grand surroundings at Turf Moor, Springfield Park was another world, an odd and ramshackle collection of low buildings. We stood on the gently sloping grassy bank behind the goal. And they’re in a higher division than us? It wasn’t exactly crowded. Casper was still messing about with his formation at this stage, so Ian Bray and Roger Eli came in, Andy Farrell and Harper dropped. Wigan scored right at the start, but Conroy quickly equalised. Already he was looking promising. Then Jakub was stretchered off. No great loss, we concluded. It took a penalty from nowhere to give Wigan back the lead. Some players contested a ball, no one appealed, no one in the ground pointed to it, but the ref gave it. Shortly after they added a third. We left before the end – the first time I had ever done that – to catch the train. All the way back to the station people asked if we knew what the score was. We struggled to understand why, if they were that interested, they didn’t go to the game. Team: Pearce, Measham, Bray, Davis, Pender,
Monington, Eli (Harper), Deary, Francis, Conroy, Jakub (Farrell). 24 August After two defeats, whatever the reasons, we really needed a win before it became officially a bad start to the season. We got it against Aldershot. Again, I would have been at this game, but can’t remember a thing about it. David Hamilton came in for Jakub. At half time at 0-0 we would have been worrying, but a penalty from Conroy and John Francis’ first of the season got us the points. I never watch the opposition, but I'm told by someone who knows better that future Claret Adrian Randall played for Aldershot and starred. Aldershot were a club in their death throes, and would not see out the season. This game was later officially decreed never to have happened. The goals were never scored, and we didn’t get any points after all. Strange. But this was an important win at the time. And Conroy, having scored in every game so far, was already looking a bargain. Team: Pearce, Measham (Farrell), Bray,
Davis, Pender, Monington, Eli, Deary, Francis, Conroy, Hamilton. SNU: Harper. 27 August We’d left ourselves with too much to do after the first leg, and so crashed out of the League Cup 6-3 on aggregate. The scored an early second half goal, but though we bounced straight back through an own goal, we were never going to catch them. Davis' first goal for us was sandwiched by two more of theirs, and we were out of the League Cup before it had really got going. David Hamilton came in for injured Jakub, with Paul France doing likewise for Measham. Team: Pearce, France, Bray (Farrell), Davis,
Pender, Monington, Eli, Deary, Francis, Conroy, Hamilton (Harper). 31 August Now, this was better. I kicked myself for not going. It's still a matter of regret that I have never made the short journey to Belle Vue. Bit of an oversight, this. As well as a big win, I missed two Burnley debuts. Casper had rightly identified weaknesses in his squad. Midfielder Mark Yates joined from Birmingham City for the still significant sum of £50,000. That was most of the Davis money gone. Also coming in was Andy Marriott, a goalkeeper, on loan from Nottingham Forest. Chris Pearce, although well-liked, had had a shaky start in goal, so this was a welcome move. Encouragingly, both new players were only 21. Yates had an immediate impact, scoring our third goal. The scoreline was down to three late goals. For much of the match it had been level. Big fat Billy Whitehurst's sending off would have left big gaps in the defence, and the introduction of Harper for the moribund Bray was also said to have made an impact. Plus, of course, there were two more goals for Conroy. This result put us third in a putative table, behind Blackpool and Crewe. We couldn't have guessed what an impression Andy Marriott was going to make. Talking about goalkeepers, I'm told that one Paul Crichton was the unfortunate player picking the ball out of the opposition net four times. Team: Marriott, France (Hamilton), Bray
(Harper), Davis, Pender, Monington, Yates, Deary, Francis, Conroy, Eli. So ended the first month of the season, with Burnley well poised, and some grounds for optimism. Was this the season we were finally going to do it? September would be the pivotal month. Firmo September 2001 Part three - September 1991 The 1991/1992 season menu |