photo credit: Identity Photogr@phy

Clutching my cup of Bovril I waited for my friend to join me, barely able to move due to the numerous layers of clothing I wore to protect me from the bitter winter cold. It had started snowing three hours prior and I was a bit sceptical as to whether I would be sat here this afternoon. Various thoughts ran through my head, the usual ones that ran through my mind at this time on match days whilst I waited to watch ‘my boys’ play. I was obviously planning a night out that night and I contemplated what dress to wear, which shoes would go with it, how would I style my hair? I was brought back to reality with the commentators voice from the match day video flooding my ears, “Burnley’s first goal in the Premier League, is something very, very special’. A smile crept on my face as I reminisced on being sat on that match on a late summer’s evening, when Robbie Blake’s strike secured a 1-0 victory over the previous league leaders Manchester United. That seemed an age ago not a short three years ago.

But times change and being a Burnley fan especially, you need to take the rough with the smooth. Since Burnley’s relegation from the Premier League life as a Burnley fan has more times than none seemed grim to say the least. The turning point was the sudden departure of the man that every Burnley fan referred to as ’God’, Owen Coyle. The man who had taken Burnley on a successful and very memorable cup run the previous season that saw ’Little Burnley’ face the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur which would eventually be appropriately dubbed ’Capital Punishment’ which allowed every single Burnley fan to ’Dare to Dream’. That cup run seemed magical to me as a Burnley fan. For weeks I had people telling me ‘You’ll get pasted tonight’, ‘This one’s Chelsea’s’ and the such like, but inside my heart I knew what Burnley could do and I was the one time and time again that walked into work grinning like the Cheshire Cat who had got the cream, dreaming of a day at Wembley. That day I dreamt of at Wembley didn’t happen due to the Tottenham winning the final match in Burnley’s cup run through aggregate. The familiar deflated feeling I had gotten used to engulfed me that night, to go from flying so high to riding so low again. But onwards and upwards were possibly the thoughts of many Clarets that evening, I can certainly speak for myself with that statement.

It was now time to concentrate on the league and getting as far up the Coca Cola Championship table as possible. In reality I personally thought that we wouldn’t make it to the playoffs let alone the Premier League. But as the games went on and the wins kept coming, I eventually found myself sat in a pub clutching a glass of rose wine with my eyes fixed firmly on the TV screen. Burnley vs. Reading. ‘Come on boys, we can do this’ I thought at numerous points that evening, eventually infuriating myself  and winding myself up more. The final whistle went. Burnley had done it! Burnley were in reach of the bright lights of the Barclays Premier League. Despite being so close we still had a mountain to climb. As any football fan knows it’s a funny old game and results can go either way.

The loud and rude sound of my alarm clock woke me up, 4am on a Bank Holiday Monday?! Are you serious? I groaned slightly and contemplated turning over and falling back asleep, then it hit me! ‘WEMBLEY TODAY’ I think that is quite possibly the easiest I have ever woke up ever. I text my friend, ensuring she was awake. I cant remember exactly what the text said but I think was something along the lines of ‘Wembley!’ continuously written over, and over again! To which she simply replied “LOL! Meet you @ 5’ the feeling I felt that morning was similar to that of a child on Christmas day, excitement running through my veins and being on such a ridiculous natural high! I was a little apprehensive of the coach journey down to Wembley from Turf Moor, I am not the best traveller by any stretch of the imagination and I had visions of the journey dragging on and on. The truth was it flew by because I was surrounded by people who loved the same thing I loved. Who were on the coach for the exact same reason I was. Burnley Football Club. I turned to my friend before we got to the stadium, gushing like a love sick teenager, “I hope Wade’s playing” I said. (Wade being Wade Elliott. Who I had developed a major crush on since he had first joined Burnley) “I’m almost positive he will be” came my friend’s casual reply. And sure enough as the teams walked onto the pitch I spotted him ‘Burnley’s number 11 – Wade Elliott’ not only did he play the full match but at approximately thirteen minutes into the game he scored a cheeky little goal that would inevitably change Burnley Football Club’s history forever. Needless to say as soon as the ball hit the back of the net I was deliriously happy. I looked at my friend (who at any given moment I would have quite happily lifted out of her seat) “Nice one Wadey!” she bellowed in the direction of the pitch before returning her gaze to me. “Oh no!” she cried “This is all I am going to hear about all the way home, all week, all month and probably all season aren’t I?” she chuckled. “You know it” I smiled in reply. The rest of the game for me personally seemed to drag on and on and all I really wanted was for the final whistle to go and the game to be over. Not because I was bored of the game, not because I couldn’t be bothered, quite the opposite. The rest of the game I was overcome with nerves, looking at the board to see how many minutes were left every so often, this of course only seemed to make time go slower. Eventually the whistle went and the stand of Burnley fans erupted into one huge, loud cheer. Oh My God! We’d done it, Burnley were in the Premier League. Hello?!! No longer would we be playing the likes of Sheffield United, Reading, and the such like, oh no, now it was a whole new ball game all together, we were up there with the big boys now. Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea. Did it sink in? There and then no not really, not even really when the fixtures came out. The first time I actually realised was probably that Wednesday evening as I sat and waited for the teams of Burnley Football Club and Manchester United to walk out! Burnley had played one game already in the Premier League the previous Saturday and as expected by everyone who didn’t wear Claret and Blue they lost. So it was obvious they’d lose against Man United right? Wrong! Thank you Mr Robbie Blake.

The belief of Clarets fans for much of that season was ‘We can hold our own, we can stay in the Premiership for another season, even if we do just make it by the skin of our teeth’ and that belief boded well for many fans until the worst news that any Claret fan ever wanted to hear Owen Coyle, ‘God’ had taken up a position with local rivals ‘Bolton Wanderers’ and almost overnight his ‘God’ status had turned into ‘Judas’ status. Personally did I care that he had gone? Yes I did. Not because he had been manager of the year or because he was the ‘Next Alex Ferguson’ but because he had brought our little club so far and dropped us  mid season and for that I truly hated him (and I think a small part of me still does). But no time for moping about it was time to drag myself back up there by the backs of my own sling backs and join my fellow Clarets in entrusting our faith in a new man. That man would be Brian Laws!!

As with all clubs when a new manager is appointed fans must be patient and trust him to get the team performing to their maximum potential, we Clarets understood that more than anyone. But after loss after loss and bad result after bad result came our way that left Burnley being ridiculed every week (particularly from local rivals Bas…sorry Blackburn Rovers) the fans slowly turned on the manager and chants of ‘Laws Out’ flooded Turf Moor on a weekly basis. We as fans got disheartened and lost all trust in Brian Laws and eventually faced the inevitable…Hello Championship Football AGAIN!! But we could bounce back. The same way numerous teams who had been relegated did, West Ham, West Brom and so on. But in order for that to happen one thing needed to happen to start this change…a new manager!

At first it seemed that the Burnley Board weren’t listening to the fans, they didn’t care what they wanted, they were happy with Brian and that was how it would stay, until one day Early January 2011. Sky Sports News reported that Brian Laws had left the club. A huge metaphorical sigh of relief was had by Claret fans everywhere. He’d gone. We could only progress now if we got a manager in who had a good reputation, who knew good tactics and knew how to get the best out of the team.  Of course speculation was rife on who it would be until it was officially announced that Eddie Howe would be the manager for this role. One of the youngest footballing managers around at the time who currently managed Bournemouth. Could he do it? Only time would tell.

With Eddie’s reign came a lot of changes, particularly in the summer transfer window. A lot of young, talented players were brought in. Some on permanent deals others on loan. Some of the regular faces that fans had grown to know and love were now gone. Stephen Thompson, Tyrone Mears, Chris Eagles and yes…Wade Elliott (for me that was probably the biggest blow of all, but I should have learnt by now that there is no loyalty in football). At first I hated the thought of going on to games and not seeing Wade there, he’d become part of the furniture for so many years, how was I going to cope?! A string of bad results didn’t help the cause either. Was Eddie really as good as everyone made out? The atmosphere at games changed slightly (where I sat anyway) the chants of ’Eddie Howe’s Claret and Blue Army’ were slowly drowned out with faint chants of ’Howe Out!’ Please not again, we need some kind of foundation for the players and fans alike to hold on to and believe in and that wasn’t going to happen by changing managers every season. But for the majority of Burnley fans their time was coming, the ones who never lost faith in Howe were about to dish out slices of humble pie to their fellow fans who hadn’t shared this belief and a year or so into his reign results started to go our way. We started winning more away from home (something we had struggled with immensely in previous seasons) two new defenders who were currently at Burnley on season long loans from Manchester City were given permanent deals, those two defenders were of course Kieran Trippier and Ben Mee, who had both proved popular with the fans. Our league position was improving dramatically leaving Burnley just points off the Play-off places, we were in a much better form and Howe’s smaller squad had finally come together and worked as a team week in and week out. And as I sat there clutching my cup of Bovril I began to smile at the prospect of ’Daring to Dream’ yet again. Something tells me I will be more aware of the reason why I am getting out of bed at 4am on a Bank Holiday Monday the second time around…. Thank you and Goodnight!!!

By Charlotte Lewis.

Iphone

Now as Burnley and Chicago are as far away geographically as you can I trust most of you don’t know who Theo Epstien is.  Theo Epstien is the President of Baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Cubs).  Why is this important well the cubs are my favorite baseball team and I’ve been following them my whole life to no avail.  They have not won a championship since 1908 which is as far as I know the longest championship drought in all of major league sports.  This team has had some utterly HOPELESS years and a few years back were bought by new ownership who want to transform the Cubs into the prennial contenders.  He tried the old way his first year as owner and discovered its not going to work so Hired Theo Epstien to transform it and hired him away from the Boston Redsox(who like the cubs had a huge world series drought) for the amazing sum of 18.5 million dollars. 

Now you are really asking yourself SO WHAT? What does Baseball and Football have to do with each other.  The Answer very little.  But there are Stark comparasions to what brings change and winning to an organization and Theo and Eddie both get it and know what it takes to build a “Winning organization” 

Theo and Eddie are both young guys in their late 30′s.  They both started young and had a huge belief in theirselves and in there systems.  They both believe that winning is a result of confidence and fundamentals.  They both understand that baseball and football are sports that require great systems to produce great players.  They understand that a young unproven player with potential can be bought for a low price and if developed the right way in the right system can then produce for their club and either be sold for a high price or retained by the club.  In order to develop these players the right way the fundamentals must be instilled in them and Both Theo and Eddie get this. 

Theo said when he accepted his new position with the cubs last novemeber he wanted to “instill a cubs way”  according to him thats running out all your hits.  Playing hard all the time.  Exercising good fundamentals.  Holding players accountable.  Building up the farm clubs(aquiring top prospects).  All of these things look to transform the Chicago Cubs of the future,  All of these are things that Eddie Howe does.  All of these are why both clubs are going to thrive and have great futures ahead.

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The deal was signed and sealed on Monday morning for an undisclosed sum of money, and means that Trippier will be keeping his talents with the Clarets for another three-and-a-half-years minimum. This will surely make Clarets fans very happy, as the 21-year-old defender has been one of the teams brightest stars since he arrived from Manchester City on a one-season loan last summer.

Speaking to the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, Eddie Howe said: “We are absolutely delighted to have Kieran on board. He has been a really huge part of our team, how we have played this year and how we want to go forward.”

“He has just got better and better and I can’t speak highly enough of him as a person and as a footballer. We are extremely grateful to Manchester City for trusting us and allowing Kieran to come here in the first place.”

Howe admitted that in the majority of the occasions when loan players were taken, it was with the aim of acquiring them on a permanent basis, and on this occasion, the big question was whether Man City were prepared to see Trippier leave them – luckily, they were agreeable.

He went on: “The fact Kieran wants to come here on a long term deal means it’s a two-way thing.

“We are equally delighted that he wants to be here and pledge his long-term future to us. That speaks very highly of what we are trying to do and how others see us.”

“It’s positive news on a lot of fronts and another part of the jigsaw and I am sure everyone connected with the club will be delighted at the news.”

Noting that when 2011 began Burnley was without a manager and suffering at the hands of a 2-0 loss at home to the soon-to-be-relegated Scunthorpe United, following the departure of Brian Laws – who had only been in the post for a year. There was only a little over two weeks left of the transfer window when new manager Eddie Howe came on the scene and snapped up new acquisitions Charlie Austin and Marvin Bartley in January. Sadly, the former non-league players were unused to Championship play, Suzanne noted, leading to a dislocated shoulder – and a season off the pitch – for Austin, and Bartley found himself facing suspension after he received the red card during a match versus Nottingham Forest.

It all seems like a world away now that both the players are back – and back on form! Suzanne Geldard noted that they have been “grabbing Clarets’ fans attention with some consistent, box-to-box displays,” although sadly last month Austin – who had become the team’s joint top scorer – managed to dislocate his shoulder again.

When it comes to players departing the Clarets, Suzanne noted the sad, if not unexpected loss of Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears, while Kieran Trippier ended his one-season loan from Man City. Fortunately, the signing of Keith Treacy and Junior Stanislas has become permanent and, she points out, has led “to increased competition on the left wing, and no shortage of creativity.”

Other players who are due to leave in 2012 are Graham Alexander and Clarke Carlisle – who is due to leave when his contract expires next summer – as part of Eddie Howe’s policy to move towards a younger squad, while Chris Iwelumo is away to Watford and Wade Elliott is off to Birmingham.

Ms Geldard concluded that “the young Burnley players are benefiting from the experience of playing together and growing with every game. If Howe is backed again in January, the Year of the Dragon – 2012 – could be full of promise.”

photo credit: adam.haworth

Burnley FC has moved tantalisingly close to the play-offs this season, following the Clarets’ third away win in a row on Saturday.

Burnley beat a badly hobbled Brighton, reduced to nine men by the close of the second half, by one goal to nil, after the defending team had players Romain Vincelot and Ashley Barnes sent off in the first 12 minutes of the game and the Clarets’ Kieran Trippier scored what emerged as the winning goal just after half an hour’s play.

Now the team will be heading home for the Christmas period, with games against Doncaster Rovers and Hull scheduled at Turf Moor during this time.

Team manager Eddie Howe is thrilled that Burnley is now just five points away from the play-offs and can realistically expect the Clarets to get into the top six places in the league.

Speaking to Clitheroe Today, Howe said that he wants to see the team’s excellent away form reproduced at home over Christmas, admitting that performance at Turf Moor has not been as stellar as their travelling form – Burnley has only won three home games this term.

“We need to improve our home form, there’s no doubt about that,” he told the paper.

“That’s our next big focus, to try to turn some of those defeats to wins at home, and if we can do that, and keep our away record strong, we’re going to have a really good chance.”

“Teams don’t make it easy for us at Turf Moor. I think a lot of teams respect us on our own patch, so it’s up to us to turn that around.”