Burnley F.C.

Burnley F.C.

Full name	Burnley Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Clarets
Founded	1882
Ground	Turf Moor, Burnley, England (Capacity: 22,546)
Chairman	Barry Kilby
Manager	Brian Laws
League	The Championship
2009–10	Premier League, 18th (relegated)
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Burnley Football Club (pronounced /ˈbɜrnli/), nicknamed The Clarets by fans, are a professional English football club based in Burnley, Lancashire. They were founder members of The Football League in 1888.^[1] The club colours are claret and blue, and their home ground since 1883 has been Turf Moor.

Burnley have been Football League Champions twice, in 1920–21^[2] and 1959–60,^[3] and have won the FA Cup once, in 1914. The Clarets also reached the 1961 quarter-finals of the European Cup. They are one of only three teams to have won all top four professional divisions of English football. The other two teams are Preston North End and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The club has spent most of its history in England's top two divisions, but remained outside the top flight from 1976 to 2009. From 1985 to 1992 they had a seven-year spell in the lowest tier of the Football League. In 1987 they narrowly avoided relegation to the Conference. Between 2000 and 2009 they played in the second tier of English football, until they gained promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 33 years after winning the 2009 Championship Play-off Final, but were relegated after a single season.

History

Early days (1882–1912)

The Burnley team of 1889

During May 1882, Burnley Rovers Football Club decided to shift their allegiance from rugby union to football. Playing in various blue and white kits for their first few years, the club played their first competitive game in October 1882 against Astley Bridge in the Lancashire Challenge Cup, that game ending in an 8–0 defeat. In 1883 the club moved to Turf Moor and remain there, only their Lancashire rivals Preston having occupied the same ground continuously for longer. Burnley first appeared in the FA Cup in 1885–86 but were ignominiously beaten 11–0 when eligibility restrictions meant that their reserve side had to be fielded against Darwen (near Blackburn). When it was decided to found The Football League for the 1888–89 season, Burnley were among the 12 founders of that competition.^[1] Burnley, now known as 'The Turfites', 'Moorites' or 'The Royalites' finished 9th in the first season of the league but only 1 place from bottom in 1889–90 following a 17-game winless streak at the start of the season.^[4] That season did, however, present Burnley with their first honours, winning the Lancashire Cup with a 2–0 final victory over Blackburn Rovers.

Before Burnley won a trophy again, they were relegated to the Second Division in 1896–97.^[5] They responded to this by winning promotion the next season, losing only 2 of their 30 matches along the way before gaining promotion through a play-off series then known as 'Test Matches'^[6]. Burnley and Stoke City both entered the last match, to be played between the two teams, needing a draw for promotion (or in Stoke's case to retain their First Division place). A 0–0 draw ensued, reportedly 'The Match without a shot at goal' and the League immediately withdrew the Test Match system in favour of automatic promotion and relegation. Ironically, the League also decided to expand the top division after the Test Match series of 1897–98 and the other two teams also went into the top division for the following year, negating the effect of Burnley and Stoke's reputed collusion.^[7] Burnley were relegated again in 1899–1900^[8] and found themselves at the centre of a controversy when their goalkeeper, Jack Hillman attempted to bribe their opponents in the last match of the season (Nottingham Forest), resulting in his suspension for the whole of the following season. During the first decade of the 20th century, Burnley continued to play in the second division, even finishing in bottom place in one season, although the indications of success just around the corner were evident in 1911–12 when only a loss in the last game of the season denied the club promotion.

Clarets' glory either side of World War I (1912–1930)

Burnley changed their colours from green to the claret and sky blue of Aston Villa, the most successful club in England at the time, for the 1910–11 season. The 1912–13 season saw them win promotion to the First Division once more, as well as reaching the FA Cup semi-final, only to lose to Sunderland. The next season was one of consolidation in the top flight, but more importantly their first major honour, the FA Cup, won 1–0 in the last final played at Crystal Palace against Liverpool. This cup final was historic in that King George V became the first reigning monarch to present the cup to the winning captain. World War I impacted the 1914–15 season, in which Burnley finished 4th in the First Division, before English football reorganised itself and took a back seat to the needs of the conflict. Upon resumption of full-time football in 1919–20, Burnley finished second in the First Division to West Brom but this was not a peak, merely presaging Burnley's first ever League Championship in 1920–21. Burnley lost their opening three matches that season before going on a 30-match unbeaten run, a record for unbeaten games in a single season that lasted until Arsenal went unbeaten through the whole of the 2003–04 season. Burnley finished third the following season but thereafter followed a steady deterioration of their position, with only 5th place in 1926–27 offering respite from a series of near-relegations which culminated in demotion in 1929–30.

Low points through World War II: (1930–1945)

Burnley struggled in English football's second tier, narrowly avoiding a further relegation in 1931–32 by only two points. The years through to the outbreak of the Second World War were characterised by uninspiring league finishes, broken only by an FA Cup semi-final appearance in 1934–35 and the arrival (and equally swift departure) of Tommy Lawton. Burnley participated in the varying football leagues that continued throughout the war, but it wasn't until the 1946–47 season that league football proper was restored.

Golden days (1946–1976)

In the first season of post-war league football, Burnley gained promotion through second place in the second division. Additionally, there was a run to the FA Cup Final, with Aston Villa, Coventry, Luton Town, Middlesbrough and Liverpool being defeated before Charlton Athletic beat Burnley 1–0 after extra time in the final at Wembley. Burnley immediately made an impact the top division, finishing third in 1947–48 as the club began to assemble a team capable of regularly aiming for honours. 1956–57 saw a club record 9–0 victory over New Brighton in the FA Cup—despite missing a penalty—and the following season former player Harry Potts became manager. The team of the 1950s revolved around the midfield duo of Jimmy Adamson and Jimmy McIlroy (a new stand was named after the latter in the 1990s) and these two were key to the championship-winning team of 1959–1960 managed by Potts (who now gives his name to the road which Turf Moor occupies). After a tense season in which Spurs and Wolves were the other main protagonists in the chase for the league title, Burnley clinched the championship at Maine Road, Manchester with a 2–1 victory on 2 May 1960 with goals from Brian Pilkington and Trevor Meredith. Although they had been in contention all season, Burnley had never led the table until this last match was played out. The following season Burnley played in European competition for the first time beating Reims and losing to Hamburger SV, lost in an FA Cup semi-final and finished fourth in the league and the highlights of the 1961–62 season were finishing second in the league and a run to The FA Cup Final, where a Jimmy Robson goal was Burnley's only reply to 3 from Spurs.

Although far from a two-man team, the departure of McIlroy to Stoke City and retirement of Adamson coincided with a decline in fortunes. Adamson reputedly turned down the England manager's post which then went to Alf Ramsey. More damaging was the impact of the 1961 abolition of the maximum wage; nonetheless they managed to retain their First Division place throughout the decade finishing 3rd in 1966 and reaching the semi-final of the League Cup in 1968–69. They also reached the quarter-finals of the 1966–67 Fairs Cup, in which they were knocked out by Eintracht Frankfurt. The remainder of the decade was otherwise one of mid-table mediocrity, with Potts being replaced by Adamson as manager in 1970. Adamson was unable to halt the slide and relegation followed in 1970–71 ending a long unbroken top flight spell during which, more often than not, they had been in the upper reaches of the League table. Burnley had several players with international caps in the 1950s–1960s including, for England Ray Pointer (3 caps), Colin MacDonald (8 caps), and John Connelly (20 caps), a member of the 1966 World Cup squad, for Northern Ireland Jimmy McIlroy (55 caps) and for Scotland Adam Blacklaw (3 caps).

Burnley won the Second Division title in 1972–73 with Adamson still in charge. In the First Division, led by elegant playmaker Martin Dobson, the side managed 6th in 1974 as well as reaching another FA Cup semi-final; this time losing out to Newcastle United. The following season the club achieved 10th place (despite Dobson being sold to Everton early in that season) but were victims of one the great FA Cup shocks of all time when Wimbledon, then in the Southern League, beat Burnley 1–0 at Turf Moor. Relegation from the First Division in 1975–76 saw the end of Adamson's tenure as manager.

Decline and near oblivion (1976–1987)

Graph showing Burnley's performance from the first season of the Football League in 1888–89 to 2007–08 when they finished 13th in the Championship.

Three non-descript seasons in the Second Division followed before relegation to the Third Division in 1979–80. Of 42 league games, Burnley could not manage a win in either their first or last 16. Two seasons later, now under the management of Brian Miller, they were promoted as champions. However, this return was short-lived, lasting only one year; albeit a year in which the team reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and the semi-final of the League Cup, recording victories over Spurs and Liverpool in the latter. Managerial changes continued to be made in an unsuccessful search for success; Miller was replaced by Frank Casper in early 1983, he by John Bond before the 1983–84 season and Bond himself by John Benson a season later. Benson was in charge when Burnley were relegated to the fourth level of English football for the first time ever at the end of the 1984–85 season. Martin Buchan (briefly) and then Tommy Cavanagh saw the side through the 1985–86 season before Miller returned for the 1986–87 season, the last match of which is known as 'The Orient Game'. For the 1986–87 season, the Football League had decided to introduce automatic relegation and promotion between the Fourth Division and the Conference league, the top tier of non-league football. Although, in retrospect, this has only served to blur the lines between professional and semi-professional leagues in England, at the time it was perceived that teams losing league status might never recover from this. Additionally, Burnley had a new local rival in Colne Dynamoes who were rapidly progressing through the English non-league system at the same time as the former champions of England were in the lowest level of the league. After a disastrous season (which also saw a first round FA Cup 3–0 defeat at non-league Telford), Burnley went into the last match needing a win against Leyton Orient. A 2–1 win, with goals from Neil Grewcock and Ian Britton, was enough to keep Burnley in Division Four, although even that achievement still relied on a loss by Lincoln City in their last game of the season.

Recovery (1987–2000)

In May 1988, Burnley were back at Wembley; this time to play Wolves in the final of the Football League Trophy. A capacity crowd of 80,000 people packed Wembley was a record for a match between two teams from English football's fourth tier, as Wolves won 2–0. In 1991–92, Burnley were champions in the last ever season of the Fourth Division before the league reorganisation, and two years later they won the new Division Two play-offs and gained promotion to Division One under Jimmy Mullen. That too was as a result of a match at Wembley, this time against Stockport County. Relegation followed after one season and in 1997–98 only a last day 2–1 victory over Plymouth Argyle ensured a narrow escape from relegation into Division Three. Chris Waddle was manager in that season, but his departure and the appointment of Stan Ternent that summer saw the club start to make further progress. In 1999–2000 they finished Division Two runners-up and gained promotion to Division One.

Recent years (2000–)

During the 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons, Burnley emerged as serious contenders for a promotion play-off place in the Championship. By 2002–03 the side's form had declined despite a good FA Cup run. This was repeated the following season and in June 2004 Ternent's six-year reign as manager came to an end and Steve Cotterill was appointed as manager of the club. Cotterill's first year in charge produced two notable cup runs, knocking out Premier League clubs Liverpool and Aston Villa, and a 13th place finish in The Championship. He was not able to improve on this the following season, and Burnley finished 17th.

The club's badge being displayed on large balloons in the build up to the Championship play-off Final, the game resulted in the Clarets reaching the highest level of English football for the first time in 33 years

Burnley made a good start to the 2006–07, but their form tailed away badly in mid-season leaving them threatened by relegation. The 2006–07 squad set an club record for consecutive league games without a win, with their 18th winless game (19 including a cup game) against Luton meaning they were one worse than the 17 league game streak of the 1889–1890 season. The winless streak was finally broken in April, as Burnley beat Plymouth Argyle 4–0 at Turf Moor and a run of good form thereafter saw Burnley finish comfortably above the relegation places and ensured they remained in the Championship for the 2007–08 season. The following season Burnley played poorly, and their style of football was criticised, eventually leading to the departure of Steve Cotterill in November 2007. His replacement was Owen Coyle. Coyle lead the team to a total of 62 points for the season, their largest total for eight years. In Coyle's first full season in charge ended with the Clarets' highest league finish since 1976, fifth in the Championship, qualifying the club for the play-offs. Burnley beat Reading 3–0 on aggregate in the semi-final, and went on to beat Sheffield United 1–0 in the final at Wembley Stadium, promoting Burnley to the Premier League, a return to the top flight after 33 years.^[9]

Burnley's home form in 2009–10 started well, including a 1–0 defeat of reigning champions Manchester United and an identical scoreline over top six club Everton shortly afterwards.Manager Coyle left Burnley in January 2010, to manage Bolton Wanderers, a club for which he played from 1993 to 1995. Coyle was replaced by Brian Laws, with Russ Wilcox as his assistant and Graham Alexander appointed as player-coach. Their form declined under the new management, and Burnley were relegated after a single season back in the top flight.^[10] Some compensation for the club in the wake of relegation came when they defeated fourth placed Tottenham Hotspur 4–2 on the final day of the season.^[11]

Club colours

In the early years, various designs and colours were used by Burnley. Throughout their first eight years these were various permutations of blue and white.[1] After three years of claret and amber stripes with black shorts, for much of the 1890s a combination of black with amber stripes was used, although the club wore a shirt with pink and white stripes during the 1894–95 season. Between 1897 and 1900 the club used a plain red shirt and from 1900 until 1910 the club changed to an all green shirt with white shorts. In 1910 the club changed their colours to claret and sky blue, the colours that they have now had for the majority of their history, save for a spell in white shirts and black shorts during the 1930s.

On 4 March 2007, Burnley's away kit for the 2006/07 season (yellow shirt with claret bar, yellow shorts and yellow socks) won the Best Kit Design award at the Football League Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

On Monday 4 June 2007 the new home kit for the 2007/08 season was released, echoing the 1950s shirt; all claret with a blue v-neck and rims on the end of the arms which sport the word 'Burnley'. It featured gold trim and a new gold logo for the 125th anniversary year of the club.

For the Championship match against Stoke City on 24 November 2007, Burnley wore a commemorative 125th anniversary shirt based on their first kit; blue and white stripes with black trim/shorts and white socks.

The 2008–09 home kit was claret with sky blue arms and a sky blue stripe under the right arm, while the away kit was mostly sky blue with a claret trim. The club have confirmed that for the 2009–10 season they will wear a kit similar to the kit worn when Burnley won the old First Division title (i.e. what is now the Premier League title) in 1959–60, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of that achievement. The club also adopted a new badge for 2009–10, closely based on the previous crest which was first used by the Champions during the 1960 Summer Tour to North America.

Shirt Sponsors

• 1982–83: Poco (housebuilder)
• 1983–84: TSB (bank)
• 1984–88: Multipart (commercial vehicle parts)
• 1988–98: Endsleigh (insurer)
• 1998–2000: P3 Computers (computer retailer)
• 2000–01: (No Sponsor)
• 2001–04: Lanway (IT infrastructure)
• 2003–04: Vodka Kick (away games) (alcopop)
• 2004–07: Hunters Property Group (estate agent)
• 2007–09: Holland's Pies (pie manufacturer)
• 2009–10: Samuel Cooke and Co Ltd (fuel supplier)
• 2010–11: Fun88.com Sportsbook & Casino (online gambling)
  Leukemia and Lymphoma Research (Junior Shirts) (charity)

Shorts Sponsors

2007–08 JD Sports

2008–09 TheHut.com (online retailer)

2010-11 Sealy (Bed Manufacturer)

Stadium

Burnley have played their home games at Turf Moor since 1883. It now consists of 4 stands, the James Hargreaves Stand (The Longside), the Jimmy McIlroy Stand, the Bob Lord Stand and the David Fishwick Stand for away fans. The current capacity is 22,616 all seated. Post-WWI crowds in the stadium averaged in the 30,000–40,000 range with the record attendance set in 1924 against Huddersfield in a FA Cup match when 54,755 attended the match.

In 2008, plans were made to extend the stadium to a capacity of around 28,000. This capacity increase would include a second tier attached to the Bob Lord stand, along with a complete re-development. In addition, a new stand was planned to replace the Cricket Field Stand, which would also hold a cricket pavilion and hotel. In late 2008, these plans were put on hold as general economic conditions worsened in the UK.

On promotion to the Premier League in 2009, it was estimated that approximately £1 million of work would be required to bring the ground up to Premier League standards.

On 25 November 2009, chairman Barry Kilby stated that at the end of the season, the club would look back into the proposed re-development of the Cricket Field stand.^[12]

On 16 December 2009, the new ground development plans were unveiled in the match day programme against Arsenal. These include a brand new Cricket Field Stand, re-development of the Bob Lord stand and 2 corners filled in.

Supporters

Burnley's supporters have a rivalry with Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End, Blackpool, Bradford City, Stockport County and recently Bolton, after Coyle's departure, who left Burnley to a 'side step' to Bolton Wanderers.^[13] Games between Burnley and Blackburn are known as the East Lancashire Derby

Some of the club's fans play Burnley FC Supporters Team in the Internet Football Association Supporters League, which is made up of over 80 similar teams. The club badge is based on the badge used by Burnley FC on the classic 1975–1979 'V' home shirt.^[14] The team was formed in 2007, when they were challenged to a game by their Preston North End counterparts, a game that ended in a 6–1 defeat. They subsequently entered the IFASL^[15]

Songs

"Dare to Dream (Mighty Burnley)" is the club's official song, written by local Guitar teacher Andrew Gilmour and his nine year old student Jasmine Clarkson. The song was hoped to boost morale for the fans as well as boost Burnley's promotion hopes. ^[16] The club's anthem is called 'No Nay Never', an adaptation of the traditional Irish song "Wild Rover", which has lyrics to offend the club's main rivals Blackburn Rovers, though Blackburn Rovers also have 'No Nay Never' as their anthem. Before kick-off, the song "Requiem for a Tower" by Corner Stone Cues is played. As well as this, "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba, which originated in Burnley, is played. When the team scores, the song "Tom Hark" by The Piranhas is played. Pigbag's most famous hit, "Pappa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" is also played prior to kick off. Burnley are well known for their atmosphere and songs and the most famous limrec sung by Burnley is 'We're The Longside'.

Players

As of 2 September 2010^[17][18]

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Lee Grant 2 MF Graham Alexander 3 DF Danny Fox 4 DF Michael Duff 5 DF Clarke Carlisle 6 MF Jack Cork (on loan from Chelsea) 7 MF Kevin McDonald 8 MF Dean Marney 9 FW Chris Iwelumo 10 FW Martin Paterson 11 MF Wade Elliott 12 GK Brian Jensen 14 DF Tyrone Mears 15 DF David Edgar 16 MF Chris McCann 17 DF Richard Eckersley

No. Position Player 18 DF Leon Cort 19 FW Jay Rodriguez 21 DF André Bikey 22 MF Ross Wallace 24 DF Brian Easton 27 FW Alex MacDonald 28 DF Kevin Long 30 FW Steven Thompson 33 MF Chris Eagles 36 DF Nik Kudiersky 37 MF Chris Anderson 38 MF Alex-Ray Harvey 39 FW Wes Fletcher 43 FW Dominic Knowles 44 MF Michael King

Players out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 26 MF Remco van der Schaaf (at Brøndby until the end of the 2010–11 season) 35 DF Chris Lynch (at Hyde until 13 September 2010)

Notable former players

For a list of players with over 100 league appearances for the club, see List of Burnley F.C. players

For a list of past and present internationals, see List of Burnley F.C. internationals

Current management

Position	Name	Nationality
Manager:	Brian Laws	English
Assistant Manager:	Russ Wilcox	English
First Team Coach:	Stuart Gray	English
Goalkeeping Coach:	Billy Mercer	English
Player-Coach:	Graham Alexander	Scottish
Chief Scout:	Tim Henderson	English
Physiotherapist:	Alasdair Beattie	English
Reserve Manager:	Ashley Hoskin	English

Club mascot

The club's mascot is Bertie Bee, who they share with Brentford's mascot by the same name. He wears the 1882 shirt and is popular with the Burnley fans. He became well known for rugby tackling a streaker on the pitch who had evaded the stewards, and appeared on They Think It's All Over after the event.

In the 2006–07 season, he was also joined by Holland's Pies Stan the Pie Man, due to a sponsorship deal.

Managers

Honours

League

First Tier

• Football League Division 1 winners: 1920–21, 1959–60
• Football League Division 1 runners-Up: 1919–20, 1961–62

Second Tier

• Football League Division 2 winners: 1897–98, 1972–73
• Football League Division 2 runners-Up: 1912–13, 1946–47
• Football League Championship play off winners (Promoted): 2008–09

Third Tier

• Football League Division 3 winners: 1981–82
• Football League Division 2 runners-Up: 1999–00
• Football League Division 2 play off winners (Promoted): 1993–94

Fourth Tier

• Football League Division 4 winners: 1991–92

Burnley are one of a few teams to win the championship of all top four professional divisions since the current structure emerged in 1958 (the others are Wolverhampton Wanderers and Preston North End).

Cup

European Champions Club Cup

• Quarter-Finalists: 1961

FA Cup

• Winners: 1913–14
• Runners-Up: 1946–47, 1961–62
• Third: 1973–74

FA Community Shield

• Winners: 1973
• Shared: 1960

Anglo-Scottish Cup

• Winners: 1978–79

Ferencvaros Vase

• Finalists: 1914

Club records

• Record League victory: 9–0 v Darwen, Division 1, 9 January 1892
• Record Cup victory: 9–0 v Penrith, FA Cup, Round 1, 17 November 1984 also v Crystal Palace, 10 February 1909 and v New Brighton, 26 January 1957 ^[19]
• Record League defeat: 0–10 v Aston Villa, Division 1, 29 August 1925
• Record Cup defeat: 0–11 v Darwen, FA Cup, 1st Round, 17 October 1885
• Record home attendance: 54,775 v Huddersfield Town, FA Cup, Round 3, Turf Moor, 23 February 1924
• Undefeated run 30 League games between 6 September 1920 and 25 March 1921 – a record for many years ^[19]
• Most League appearances: 522 Jerry Dawson
• Most League goals: 178 George Beel
• Most League goals in a season: 35 George Beel, Division 1, 1927–28
• Most capped player: 51 Jimmy McIlroy – Northern Ireland
• Record transfer fee paid: £3,000,000 Steven Fletcher, Hibernian, 30 June 2009
• Record transfer fee received: £7,000,000 Steven Fletcher, Wolverhampton Wanderers, 4 June 2010

Current players – most appearances

The 5 players with the most league appearances still at the club as of 12 May 2010 are:

Name	Apps	Goals
Brian Jensen	245	0
Wade Elliott	204	17
Michael Duff	173	4
Chris McCann	147	18
Graham Alexander	122	17

Current players – most goals

The 5 players with the most league goals still at the club as of 17 June 2010 are:

Name	Goals	Apps
Chris McCann	18	147
Graham Alexander	17	122
Wade Elliott	17	204
Martin Paterson	16	66
Steven Thompson	11	54

Top league goal scorers (season by season)

Season	Player	Goals	Apps
2009–10	Steven Fletcher	8	35
2008–09	Martin Paterson	12	43
2007–08	Andy Gray	11	25
2006–07	Andy Gray	14	35
2005–06	Ade Akinbiyi	12	29
2004–05	Robbie Blake	10	24
2003–04	Robbie Blake	19	45
2002–03	Gareth Taylor	16	40
2001–02	Gareth Taylor	16	40
2000–01	Andy Payton	9	40
1999–2000	Andy Payton	27	41
1998–99	Andy Payton	20	40
1997–98	Andy Cooke	16	34
1996–97	Paul Barnes	24	40
1995–96	Kurt Nogan	20	46
1994–95	David Eyres	8	39
1993–94	David Eyres	19	45
1992–93	Adrian Heath	19	43

References

External links

• Burnley FC Official Website
• Burnley FC – Vital Burnley
• Burnley FC – Clarets Mad
• The Longside forum
• The Longside
• Burnley FC – Clarets Trust