1/9 Barry Kilby says he thinks the
plans to scrap the current transfer system will be bad for football.
2/9 Burnley don’t play but Phil
Gray becomes the first Burnley international cap since 1984 when he comes on as a sub in
Northern Ireland’s home World Cup qualifier against Malta after 61 minutes. Not only
that, but he becomes Burnley’s first international goalscorer since fellow Northern
Ireland striker Billy Hamilton when he scores the game’s only goal after 70 minutes.
Gray says he was disappointed not to start the match and hopes his goal will make Sammy
McIlroy consider him for a starting place in their next game, against Denmark. Meanwhile,
the pools panel gives us a 0-0 draw. Burnley Youth 2 Stockport Youth 3. Our scorers
are Paul Barratt and Tony Bowden. Elsewhere, in a where-are-they-now moment, the other
Steve Davis is sent off while playing for Northwich Victoria, while Gerry Harrison scores
for Halifax with a long-range strike.
3/9 Laughable weekend speculation
links Man City’s striker Shaun Goater with us, on the grounds that we need a striker
and he’s slipped out of their team.
4/9 Chris Brass returns to training.
The Teamtalk website namechecks the London Clarets
in its build-up to the two London away games. They say, "Neither the trip to Crystal
Palace on Saturday or the awayday encounter at Fulham on the following Tuesday has been
made all ticket. The move will ensure the Clarets receive full backing at both Selhurst
Park and Craven Cottage, especially as the London-based branch of the supporters' club is
one of the biggest in the capital." Although we’re not keen on that
‘branch’ business – we’re a branch of no one – it’s nice to
know our relentless publicity campaign in paying off. Rumours have it that Man City's
recently dropped defender Richard Edghill and Leicester's new striker Trevor Benjamin will
join us on loan. Hmm.
5/9 Hartlepool 3 Burnley 2 in
the League Cup, meaning that although we lose 3-2 on the night we go through 6-4 on
aggregate, and into the second round for the first time since 1996. As Glen Little says
before the game, "Usually it’s the other way round and we're going there four of
five nil down." Scorers: Cooke (18), Payton (82) / Miller (30 pen), Fitzpatrick (38),
Stephenson (90). Team: Crichton, Thomas, Davis, Cox, Weller (Maylett 85), Briscoe, Cook,
Ball, Little, Cooke (Branch 79), Gray (Payton 46). SNU: Jepson and Mullin. Att: 1,090. See our match report. This is the lowest league cup attendance of
the night. Kevin Henderson again plays for Hartlepool. Their penalty is retaken after a
first missed attempt, on the grounds that Crichton moved. We are supposed to be
0interested in the scorer, midfielder Tommy Miller. Although we put out a first team,
Ternent makes his pre-match declarations that we are taking it seriously look a bit hollow
by not turning up. This sparks the usual speculation that he was watching a player. Cooke
says he was pleased to get his first goal, but adds, "If another goal doesn't come
straight away there's no need to panic, you just keep playing and as long as you keep
getting in the side every week that's the way to look ahead."
6/9 Burnley Reserves 2 Preston
Reserves 1, from 1-0 down. Our sccorers are Lee (pen) and Shandran. This is
Michopoulos' first game. Team: Michopoulos, Heywood, Smith, Mellon, Armstrong (Brass),
Boardman, Maylett, Jepson, Lee (Shandran), Mullin, Branch (Devenney). SNU: Mawson and
Williamson. In the League cup second round draw, we pull out the less than plum tie of
Crystal Palace. The first leg is at home, while the second leg will be our second of (so
far) three visits to Selhurst Park this season. John Miles, a teenage striker on
Liverpool’s books, is said to be coming to the club on trial. Further rumour suggests
that we could offer £1.1m for Wayne Allison.
7/9 Ternent says, in view of Northern
supporters facing another long trip to London, that he thinks the League Cup should be
regionalised. Glen Little says he’s looking forward to the two games against Palace,
having started his career with them as a schoolboy. He comments, "I was quite
disappointed at what happened at Palace and fairly bitter at the time. I've got nothing to
prove to anyone but it would be nice to go there and maybe prove I was a better player
than what they thought." Ternent and Cox are both also ex-Palace. Our favourite
rumour in a long time says we may be interested in Les Ferdinand.
8/9 Ticket prices for the home League
Cup match against Palace are announced. For anywhere in the ground, it’s a mere £7
for adults and £3 concessions. Ternent is revealed to have been on scouting trips on
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Ahead of our game, current Crystal Palace
manager Alan Smith says, "I've known Stan a long time and I'll know what to expect. I
know how his side will play and there won't be any surprises."
9/9 Crystal Palace 0 Burnley 1.
Scorer: Branch (77). Team: Crichton, Cox, Davis (Mullin 46), Thomas, Ball, Briscoe,
Weller, Little, Cook, Cooke (Branch 71), Gray (Payton 56). SNU: Jepson and Maylett. Att:
18,531. See our match report. After the game, Alan Smith says,
"I don't want to build Stan Ternent up like Sir Alf Ramsey but he's been a manager
since he was 28 and if you look at his record and see how many times he's won 1-0, I've
lost count." So, is that what you expected, Alan? Davis is taken off at half time
with a back injury, while Gray has a hamstring injury. The London Clarets special guest at
the match is our new honorary member Ralph Coates. We go 8th. Blackpool Youth 2 Burnley
Youth 0.
10/9 The team go en masse to watch
next opponents Fulham hammer Barnsley 5-1.
11/9 The players stop in London and
train at Chelsea’s training ground. Meanwhile, Steve Davis sees a specialist about
his back injury. Before the game at Fulham, referring to his 'not my team' outburst after
our December 98 drubbing, Ternent says, "I will be going with what I consider to be
my own team. I know whether we win, lose or draw that I have a far better team now than we
were at that stage of my tenure as Burnley manager. That's what I had inherited. These are
my own players." Acknowledging that our game is not a glamour tie, Palace also cut
prices for the second leg. It’s £10 for adults compared to £18 on Saturday and £5
concessions.
12/9 Fulham 3 Burnley 1.
Scorers: Cook (10) / Goldbaek (53), Saha (64, 80). Team (4-5-1): Crichton, Weller, Thomas,
Armstrong (Payton 67), Cox, Briscoe, Little, Ball, Cook (Branch 61), Mullin (Mellon 74),
Cooke. SNU: Jepson and Maylett. Att: 11.863, which is disappointing for a top of the table
side. We drop to 11th in the table. See our match report.
Despite an excellent rearguard performance, we go down to the best team in the division.
Armstrong, playing as sweeper, captains the side in the absence of Davis. Gray's injury
keep him out too. Briscoe is sent off for two bookable offences, while Cooke is nearly
sent off for one; the referee shows him a red card by mistake. Briscoe will miss the
second leg league cup match at Palace. Ternent is unhappy about a penalty we don't get,
saying, "I think there was one decision in particular that I felt changed the course
of the game. It would have made it very difficult for Fulham to come back if he had given
the penalty decision. Football is full of important decisions and that was one of them
that went against us. I thought it was a blatant penalty but unfortunately at places like
Craven Cottage they don't give them." Of Briscoe's sending off, he comments,
"Sometimes a striker gets in and has a great chance on goal and misses it. That's a
mistake. A defender makes a tackle, somebody has quick feet and just beats him to it,
that's a mistake and that's a mistimed tackle and the referee sends him off. We're not
allowed to tackle anymore. It's gone haywire and I don't know where it's all going to end.
Something's got to be done but it has to come from higher up. Somebody like the manager of
Burnley isn't going to change things, I wouldn't have thought." He also says that
Fulham's Fabrice Fernandes elbowed Weller in the face, adding, "I told Jean Tigana
and I'm sure he'll look into it. If I can see that on the video then I think some action
should be taken." Chris Coleman, who fouled Cooke for the penalty that wasn't given,
comments, "To be honest I have seen them given. I tried to get in front of Andy
Cooke, who is always a handful, and I have seen them given. We both fell at the same time
so that got me out of a bit of trouble but I couldn't have complained if it had been
given."
13/9 The FA confirm that they will
look into Fernandes' elbow if they are asked to.
14/9 Davis is reckoned to have a good
chance of playing on Saturday, Ternent having decided not to risk him at Fulham. Despite
speculation that the alleged fuel crisis is going to see matches called off, the club say
Grimsby have told them they can get to the game, and they are 95% sure it will go ahead.
15/9 We are supposed to be interested
in Stoke's Graham Kavanagh, and to be prepared to offer Alan Lee plus cash to get him.
Kavanagh is 27 and plays as an attacking midfielder.
16/9 Burnley 1 Grimsby 1.
Scorers: Cooke (19) / Butterfield (11). Team: Crichton, Cox, Davis, Thomas, Weller (Mullin
36), Ball, Cook (Branch 63), Briscoe, Little, Payton, Cooke (Jepson 84). SNU: Mellon and
Maylett. Att: 15,413. See our match report. Weller is taken off
with an abductor strain, while Little hurts a shoulder. We go 12th. The home
match against Crewe, postponed due to internationals, is rearranged for Tuesday 31
October. However, it subsequently emerges that this is the date of the league cup third
round matches. It’s speculated that we will be signing a young Leeds player from
loan, with reserve striker Tony Hackworth one name suggested. Burnley Youth 3
Chester Youth 0. Scorers are Barratt, Bowden and A Smith.
18/9 It’s now rumoured that Kevin
Dixon, the Leeds reserve midfielder, will come in on loan. The club are alleged to be in
talks with NTL about a range of internet-related issues, including a possible stake in the
club. It’s also said that a couple of ‘dot.com’ companies have expressed an
interest in sponsoring next season’s shirt.
19/9 Burnley 2 Crystal Palace 2
in the league cup second round first leg, and not a bad recovery from 2-0 down.
Michopoulos makes his debut, with Ternent saying that he needs to see him in action before
he can consider extending his deal. Scorers: Cooke (68), Payton (pen 83) / Forsell (17),
Black (47). Team, starting 4-4-2: Michopoulos, Thomas, Davis, Cox, Branch (Jepson 70),
Mullin (Maylett 50), Ball, Briscoe, Cook (Mellon 32), Cooke, Payton. SNU: Crichton and
Lee. Att: 5,889. See our match report. Crichton had been ever
present since signing for the club permanently in November 1998. Palace miss a penalty at
2-1 up. Speaking about a goal disallowed for a foul by Jepson, Assistant Manager Sam Ellis
says, "I thought the goalkeeper jumped out of his way. Mind you I'd jump out of his
way if I saw Ronnie coming." Ellis maintains that we have the advantage going into
the second leg. Little and Weller both miss the match with their injuries.
20/9 Burnley Reserves 1 West Brom
Reserves 4. Lee scores the goal, and Brass and West come back from injury. Team:
Mawson, West, Pilkington (Devenney 45), Armstrong (Williamson 45), Heywood, Boardman
(Leeson 45), Brass, Kevan, Shandran, Lee, Smith. SNU: Paxton and Scott. A bit of a dismal
showing, despite in being a ‘family fun night’ when people get in for free. The
youth team are drawn at home to Rochdale in the Lancashire Youth Cup, to be played on
Tuesday 19 October. The team are supposed to have met Ian Wright when they stayed down in
London recently, and Ternent is supposed to have had a chat about coming back. Supposedly.
21/9 Five Burnley players leave…
on loan. Alan Lee goes to Rotherham, Paul Smith to Oldham, Chris Brass to Halifax (where
onetime Burnley reserve keeper Tony Parks is the acting manager and Gerry Harrison now
plays) and Chris Scott and Michael Devenney to Leigh RMI, where they will play alongside
thoroughly decent ex-Claret Andy Farrell. Ternent says that, with there being very few
reserve games these days, it should give the players valuable match practice. Rotherham
went for Lee after watching him in yesterday’s reserve match, and are thought to be
keen on signing him permanently. They have a vacancy to fill and some money to spend, Leo
Fortune-West having recently been signed by Cardiff. Their manager Ronnie Moore says,
""I hope to agree a fee over the weekend," while Ternent says, "Just
because I have sent them out on loan doesn't mean I have washed my hands of them."
22/9 Ahead of the game, Steve Bruce
reveals that he was rejected by Jimmy Adamson after being on Burnley’s books as a
schoolboy. Payton says it would be nice to score against the club that sold him to us, but
after being top scorer there and given his exploits since adds, "I've got nothing to
prove."
23/9 Huddersfield 0 Burnley 1.
Scorer: Payton (17). Team: Michopoulos, Cox, Davis, Thomas, Ball, Briscoe, Mellon, Little
(Mullin 70), Cook, Cooke (Branch 50), Payton (Jepson 75). SNU: Armstrong and Maylett. Att:
14,016. See our match report. Nikolaos Michopoulos goes in goal
after Paul Crichton gets stuck in traffic on his way to the game, and goes on to have an
excellent match. After the game, Ternent says Michopoulos will be staying. He comments,
"He's a good keeper and, on that performance, he's here to stay. He had been on a
month's contract but we signed him up again yesterday. He's a Burnley player now. Crichton
hasn't done anything wrong but we've got two top-class keepers now. Nick is a tremendous
talent and I was delighted with his performance." The result puts us in 11th,
level on points with Blackburn. All five of our loaned out players play for their clubs.
Oldham draw 1-1, Rotherham 2-2, while Halifax beat Brass’ other former club, Torquay.
Leigh draw 1-1 with Forest Green. The youth team game against Bury is postponed.
25/9 We are supposed to have bid
£500,000 for Carl Asaba from Gillingham and £1,000,000 for Ian Moore, Stockport’s
striker and current top scorer. Moore is a 24 year old ex England under 21 player, signed
by Stockport from Nottingham Forest in 1998, and it's thought Stockport need to sell.
Stockport Director Dave Jolley says, "Burnley made an enquiry last week for Ian Moore
but we felt their offer of £1 million wasn't enough. Ian has scored six First Division
goals in just nine games this season and is still only 24. Our valuation of him, at £2
million, isn't unreasonable." It’s thought we may up our bid to a groundbreaking
£1.2m, although it's not known what Ternent, who likes to do his deals in private, thinks
of this attempt at a public auction. Interestingly, Ian Moore's dad is Ronnie Moore, the
Rotherham manager, and Rotherham are, of course, said to want to sign Alan Lee. Stockport
sources suggest we may also be after their central defender and captain Mike Flynn. Some
sources speculate that Crichton may go to Gillingham in a part swap for Asaba. He’s
24, and always scores against us. Asaba will be eligible for a Bosman in the summer, so
Gillingham may prefer to cash in. Yet another rumour has us about to sign Southampton
striker James Beattie. Beattie used to play for Blackburn, and is said to have turned down
a chance to move to Palace in preference for a move back up north. Meanwhile, on a busy
day, one deal does go through. We sign Michopoulos on a free transfer, handing him a three
year deal. Ternent says, "Nikolaos is a great signing for the football club. He has
shown in a short space of time that he is a quality player with great experience."
26/9 Crystal Palace 1 Burnley 1 AET,
meaning that we go out of the league cup on the away goals rule. Scorers: Cooke (45) /
Linighan (90+). Team: Michopoulos, Thomas, Branch (Gray 84), Davis, Cox, Armstrong,
Mellon, Ball, Little (Cook 81), Cooke, Payton (Jepson 84). SNU: Crichton and Maylett. Att:
5,720. See our match report. Ternent gets involved in a
disagreement with the Palace bench during the game, and particularly with Ray Houghton.
Afterwards, Ternent says of Houghton, "He knows what I feel about him. He wouldn't
work for me, let's put it that way. He probably wouldn't want to. Too much to say. A very
successful coach and manager! What's he won? I don't know who's running the place at
Palace. I don't know if the kit man's running it, Ray Houghton, the other one with the
blond curls or Alan Smith. I'm not too sure who's in charge." There are also one or
two arguments between Burnley players, and the referee has to stop Alan Smith from running
on the pitch.
27/9 Stockport Reserves 0 Burnley
Reserves 1. Shandran scores. Team: Paxton, West, Pilkington (E Davis 76), Heywood,
Williamson, Boardman, Maylett (Derbyshire 83), Bowden, Shandran, Johnrose, Kevan. SNU:
Clarke, Barrett, Salisbury. Paxton saves a penalty on his first reserve game start. The
maddest rumour of all time suggests that Rochdale want to sign Andy Payton! In yer dreams.
28/9 Craig 'Killa' Mawson goes out on
a month's loan to Lincoln. Pushed down to third choice at Burnley, it's thought he'll be
sub goalie as cover to Lincoln's number one, Alan Marriott (not Andy Marriott as some seem
to think). Matt Heywood could be next to go on loan, with Hartlepool having watched him
playing in the reserves.
29/9 Phil Gray is again in the
Northern Ireland squad for their games at home to Denmark in Belfast on 7 October and away
to Iceland in Reykjavik on 11 October. This means he will miss the Tranmere away match.
Although he scored the winner in their last game, he looked a long way short of match
fitness when he came on at Palace. Speaking in the Lancashire
Evening Telegraph, Ternent, in a rare break with tradition, goes public on a possible
signing. He says of Ian Moore, "I certainly haven't given up hope on it. I'm hopeful
that in the not-too-distant future that he could become a Burnley player and again that
would be more competition for places. He's the right age, he's a goalscorer and he's a
very good player. I think he would fit in really well with Burnley. But I have enquiries
in at other places as well, who shall remain nameless." Of Stockport's method of
conducting transfer business, Ternent says, "When I speak to whichever club it is
then I would expect confidentiality, certainly from our end. That's the way I have always
been brought up to do it and that's the way I do it. If the other club want to let it out
that from their end then I've no control over that. If Stockport want to conduct an
auction, or for whatever reason they've done it, it's up to them." Meanwhile, Moore
seems to be resigned to leaving Stockport. On GMR radio he is quoted as saying, "With
the way the club is, we are a selling club. At the end of the day, they may have to sell
me to clear some of the debts." Rotherham are thought to be preparing a bid for Alan
Lee. If we get back the £150,000 we paid for him, it will match their transfer record.
Andy Ritchie, the Oldham manager, says he wants to sign Paul Smith, depending on whether
we want to sell and how much we want, while Smith seems to hint at leaving, commenting,
"I'm enjoying helping them out and we'll see what happens after that."
30/9 Burnley 1 Portsmouth 1.
Scorers: Weller (88) / Claridge (74) . Team: Michopoulos, Mellon, Cox, Davis, Thomas
(Jepson 75), Briscoe, Little, Cook (Weller 57), Ball, Cooke (Branch 51), Payton. SNU:
Crichton, Johnrose. Att: 15,494. See our match report. Although
the game conforms to the current go-behind-and-get-a-home-draw template, Blackburn Rovers
provide a considerable silver lining. They lose at West Brom, meaning that we have 13
points and sit in 10th place, while they have 12 points and lie 13th
in the table. This is the first time we have been above them in the league since 9 October
1982! Of the dissatisfaction from some supporters expressed at the game, Ternent says,
"They are terrific supporters and I do understand their frustrations, but we're
getting there. I've said this on so many occasions and the point I'm trying to make to
them is that they have to be patient." He also says, "When I took over it was a
right Fred Karno's circus." Eh? After the game, Andy Payton calls the Radio
Lancashire phone-in, responding to a caller reporting rumours around Turf Moor that Payton
is about to go to Wigan for £500,000 to help fund deals for new strikers. Payton points
out that he has signed a three year contract and says, "Burnley are my club. I love
this club." In response to a question about other strikers who may be coming in, he
adds, "As long as it is good for Burnley Football Club then I'm not bothered."
Craig 'Killa' Mawson is sub not used for Lincoln, while the other five loanees play.
