Summertime...
The living is easy
What a lovely close season it's been don't you think?
OK so its rained a lot, but the sunshine has been in my heart as I have reflected more on
the Clarets' glorious ascent to the Nirvana of Div. 1.
Three weeks before the Big K.O. and looking at the
league table, we are level on points with Blackburn Rovers (both on nil) and below them
only on alphabetical order. We are actually above Wolves, and big spending Fulham who have
followed the London fashion and brought in a foreign manager, Jean Tigana, who older
viewers will remember as a cohort of the fabulous Platini. He isn't aware yet of his
team's function in relation to Burnley, which is to come and look at the rolling hills,
shiver a bit, give us the points, and bog off back down south again.
However the first real highlight of the close season
was the fixture list and to know when we would be playing the Unmentionables, whom I
mentioned earlier on. Late December on Sunday afternoon and already the build has begun
with a website called Rovers vs. Clarets recently set up. Whilst I am looking forward to
this fixture, I am concerned that the unprecedented pressure on our players to win this
match will get to them and wonder about the effect it may have on the rest of the season
should they lose. Nevertheless, good value I thought as it gives us five whole months to
fantasise about a Payton hat trick. The most you get with the National Lottery is a few
days.
Fish are jumpin'
Another feature of the close season is the anticipation
of new faces and the hopeful disappearance of a few of your favourite bits of deadwood.
Let's face it, in the past, the close season has been more about the latter than the
former. However I can honestly say that there isn't a single Burnley player who I would
like to discard. Even the three players that have left I feel we could have taken on
board. For me Wrighty's spell was a success. If you simply add up the points gained from
his goals we wouldn't have made the top two, its as straightforward as that. The other
factor was the demoralisation created amongst supporters of other clubs, including
Blackburn, at this bold and daring move. There can be little doubt that Wrighty's
contribution maintained the impetus and some of the sceptics I know were converted by his
appearance on the subs. bench at Cardiff when suspended. It looks as if he really is going
to retire, but best to go out on a high for Wrighty.
Time moves on and Stan has been busy behind the scenes
carefully building brick by brick what I consider to be a formidable squad of players. In
the past the tendency has been to dive in for players because they become available and
then wonder what to do with them. Stan's approach is one of stealth, meticulously stalking
players he senses would augment the team.
So far I like all the signings he has made. Boardman it
would seem is cover for the back three and a youngster is a good idea, as another senior
player would just be kicking his heels, as, if available, the back three will pick itself.
However the writing looks on the wall for Brass and Heywood as well as possibly Armstrong,
who looks to have fallen out of favour with Stan after he was subbed after 20 minutes of
the Bristol Rovers game.
Briscoe looks another good acquisition, as he is able
to play either wing or full back as well as midfield. He is a bit of a risk as he hasn't
played regular football, and another factor is that apparently Waddle rates him, on the
other hand he did sign Payton, and furthermore Stan hasn't paid a penny for him.
Similarly Phil Gray is vastly experienced, but then so
were Winstanley, Robinson and Harper last time, and looks likely to add some back up and
challenge for places up front. This could be a key signing as neither Payton nor Cooke had
real competition for places last year, not that the Guvnor needs much, as my mind wanders
to that fabulous "Cruyff" turn and whipped in left foot drive against Cambridge.
Overall I am very happy that the promotion winning
squad has been maintained intact and will be given a chance, unlike last time when Les
Thompson was unceremoniously dumped in favour of Vinnicombe, which was OK until the latter
got injured and then Mullen struggled to replace him.
Up to now, thankfully there have been no fancy Dans and
big money signings. I am amazed at the number of fans who think the way to solve any
potential problems is to wave the chequebook around particularly when the results of this
approach have been so negligible. The number of signings we have had in the past who have
failed to live up to their fees are endless. Conversely, some of the greatest players in
the clubs history have been free transfers (Dobson) or nominal fee signings (McIlroy and
Elder). Even recently Mitchell Thomas was by far and away our most consistent player last
season, and Cook was a key player in the middle of the park.
For my money Stan is once again playing a very astute
game. He is going to give the promotion winners a chance. He has brought in back up and
additional players and not necessarily replacements so no-one is really threatened, thus
maintaining that vital team spirit which was such an outstanding factor last season, and
broke teams like Bristol Rovers and Wigan on its anvil. Stan will see how they go and it
may not even be necessary to make any buys at all. However he has sensibly kept his war
chest in the bank gaining interest rather than splash out for the sake of it to appease
popular sentiment.
Cotton is high
Looking ahead to the start of the season, which will be
under way by the time you are reading this, I am very confident that the Clarets will
achieve their objective, which will be survival initially and potentially mid-table
comfort a.s.a.p. I dismiss all wild talk of play offs, however I am quite confident that
the Clarets can hold their own at this level, and I firmly believe that Clarets fans
should be optimistic about this.
The first reason is that things have changed at Burnley
with the arrival of Barry and Ray. I note that they have taken the bold decision to start
the season without a shirt sponsor; although this is primarily because they couldn't agree
a deal with Time Computers, nevertheless they have refused to be exploited by advertisers
looking for a cut price deal. It’s a bold move to turn down a considerable chunk of
money, however they could find that the loss of revenue is more than compensated by those
like me who will now buy a shirt as it is not plastered with a tacky logo.
Along with the £35 juvenile season ticket this could
be another bold winner, which is a commercial risk but actually restores pride in our
club. I remember reading an article in one of the financial pages how clubs like Man Utd.
potentially adulterate their own brand image by plastering their shirts with logos of
other companies, and thereby decreasing the intrinsic and real value of their product.
Personally I would rather pay £50 for a logoless shirt than a tenner for one with a logo,
and I am sure others would too.
The second thing is that things have changed on the
pitch. Burnley players now go on to the pitch expecting to get a result irrespective of
the opposition. They may not always perform as we would like, but at no stage did the team
fail last season through lack of effort, and indeed many lost causes were rescued in the
dying moments of the game. Another contributory factor to this phenomenon was fitness.
Stan is UEFA class coach and there is no doubt that the level of fitness and stamina has
increased since he took over. Burnley teams are also more physically resilient. With a
large number of "Derby" games and key matches, the two openers being cases in
point, the team will need to be able to hold their own in the physical aspects of the
game. In short I cannot see any Clarets team being kicked off the park.
Another factor is the quality of the Second Division. I
personally think it’s a tough division to get out of and most teams survive when they
go up. Over the last two seasons we have even seen two sides, Man City and Watford, go
straight through, and Fulham have more than held their own. I acknowledge that Walsall
came straight back down, and probably we have more in common with Walsall than the other
two, as Burnley have been an habitué of the lower divisions for the past twenty seasons,
but I think we have more resources than them to effectuate the necessary changes. We also
have impetus and momentum, and we went up on merit.
Coming down from above, I don't think we have too much
to worry about. Watford are a First Division side in any case, but potentially pose more
threat as they are in considerably less turmoil than either Sheffield Wednesday or
Wimbledon, with the former seemingly in freefall. The Wombles are not much better with a
swathe of players feeling already that they are too good for this Division and are heading
for the rubber dinghies. The opening home game could be really interesting as the
opposition will be in the unusual position of being over-dogs. Missing a lot of their big
stars, with the rest wanting to follow them, with the home section hopefully packed to the
gunnels, the outcome may be more handsome than we dare imagine.
Of the play off failures, Barnsley weren't able to hold
on to their star player, who decided he wanted to go to Ewood to be with his boyhood hero,
Admiral Souey. Equally sides like Wolves have to re-build, having had to dispose of their
prize assets Keane and Akinbiyi in less than a year, leaving Steve Sedgley as their chief
goal scorer from last season. Bolton have also sold their Scandinavian forward to pay off
some of their debts and many of the other clubs are virtually skint, and forced to sell or
unable to buy.
For a change, there is an air of tranquillity and calm
over Turf Moor compared to our first few opponents. Bolton have suspensions and transfer
departures: half the Wimbledon side want to play for another team, Wolves have lost their
top scorer and Gillingham have a new, untried player manager - never easy to combine the
two roles at the best of times. So the Clarets have a golden opportunity to collect 7/8
points to kick start their campaign, cement themselves into a position of mid-table
comfort and then stay there.
It’s a big season for us supporters too, as along
with the club we are going up a Division. It's time to cast aside the negative and
accentuate the positive. It's time we realised that in Stan we have a manager who is
decisive and authoritative. He has brought in and then encouraged a batch of players to be
versatile and flexible. He recognises that the demands of the modern game are that players
may well be asked to perform a number of roles and adapt to changing situations in the
course of a game. One of Stan's major assets is his ability to think strategically, in
that he is focussed on 46 games and not just the next five. He brings out the best in
individuals, but the team is always greater than the sum of its parts, which is exactly
how it should be.
The players need fear no one. They went to Derby last
season and licked a Premiership side away from home that finished above the three
relegated sides, and since then Stan has strengthened the squad. Under Stan, those that
want to improve prosper, those that can't are out.
At the risk of sounding blasphemous and disrespectful,
has anyone else noticed that since Harry Potts died things have got better? I took a bit
of time, perhaps there was a big queue, but I think he is up there in heaven putting God
right. What else could explain the promotion preceded by Brian Kidd's tenure at Ewood?
It's still happening. Just when I was thinking things had got worse with Souness signing
Hignett, Carsley wants a transfer. What else can explain the sudden appearance here of
Barry Kilby, and the disappearance of Peter "Buttons" Shackleton. Maybe this
life after death business needs further investigation, I mean, will they serve up
Moorhouse's as well as the Sparrow can I wonder? I am seriously thinking of cleaning up my
act.
Bring on those Rubber Dingy Boys and anyone else you
like. We are ready.
Igor Wowk
July 2000
