Next Game – Crystal Palace (home)

Last updated : 07 August 2003 By Tony Scholes

The pitch has had its final cut, the lines have been given an extra whitening and Turf Moor is set to host its first league game since we threw one in against Sheffield Wednesday last April.

Ten of the sixteen players we had on duty that day will not be involved this coming Saturday for one reason or another. Gareth Taylor and Mark McGregor are injured whilst Ian Moore is suspended, the other eight have all now left the club.

Crystal Palace

Neil Shipperley
But what about Palace. Firstly Steve Kember after a number of runs as caretaker boss has been given the job on a permanent basis. He’ll have to do well though, impatient Chairman Simon Jordan wants Premiership football back at Selhurst Park. Having been relegated from the top league three times since its formation in 1992 they are now about to start their sixth consecutive season in the Nationwide First Division.

They haven’t threatened to return in that time and their best showing of tenth in 2001/02 season was the only occasion they have finished in the top half. They finished in 14th place last season and their poor showing cost manager Mr. Misery Trevor Francis his job.

Needless to say there has been a change of personnel over the summer, as is the case at all clubs, with players coming and going.

Alex Kolinko, Will Antwi, Steven Thomson, Robert Smith, Julian Gray and SamTogwell have all been released whilst Craig Dobson, Dele Adebola and David Hunt have all moved out on free transfers to Cheltenham, Coventry and Leyton Orient respectively.

The only new signing so far is Neil Shipperley who has decided to play for a real football club again after previously being with Franchise although another former Franchise player Michael Hughes is training with them. Kember hopes to have him signed up in time to make his debut against the Clarets.

Past Results in the last 20 years

Season

Div

Ven

Result

Att

Scorers

a

2000/01

1

h

1-2

14,973

Cook

a

1-0

18,531

Branch

WC

h

2-2

5,889

Cooke Payton(pen)

WC

a

1-1

5,720

Cooke

2001/02

1

h

1-0

14,713

Cook

a

2-1

18,457

I Moore(2)

2002/03

1

h

0-0

12,407

a

1-1

16,344

Taylor

Click HERE to see all our results against Crystal Palace since the first meeting, a 4-2 win in 1969 at Turf Moor.

One from the past

Burnley 4 (Dobson, Wrigley, Casper, Coates) Crystal Palace 2 (Kember, Queen)
Football League Division One – Saturday 18th October 1969

Burnley had dropped to the bottom of the league a week before our first ever league game against Crystal Palace in 1969 but a midweek 1-0 win at Sunderland had seen us climb four places to 18th just one place behind Crystal Palace on goal average.

Frank Casper - his goal put Burnley in front
There had been some fun during the week leading up to the game when Burnley Chairman Bob Lord turned on the press, and not for the first time. This time he said of them, "The Press grab all the hospitality you can offer, drink you out of the place and eat everything on the table."

The NUJ were furious and called in the Press Council, the Football League and the Football Association who met and condemned Lord and said, "Mr. Lord’s comments have grossly slandered the Press in the matter of alleged abuse of Turf Moor boardroom hospitality." They also condemned him for the withdrawal of normal facilities from many journalists and recommended that any journalist covering a game at Turf Moor to boycott any offers of hospitality by the club.

Bob of course retaliated, "I’m surprised you haven’t reported me to Harold Wilson (then Prime Minister)," he fumed. "I didn’t mean ALL the Press but to those of them whom the cap fits, wear it."

When asked if he would apologise to those he had wronged he stormed, "I apologise to nobody. The Football League and the FA can do what they like it will not affect Burnley FC’s attitude and no matter what happens there will be no reinstatement of those reporters who were banned from facilities."

The Clarets had scored only two goals in the previous five home games so when Palace took the lead through their current manager Steve Kember with just 78 seconds on the clock things didn’t look good. And it got worse after 38 minutes when Gerry Queen doubled the Londoners’ lead.

Burnley looked out of it but Martin Dobson gave us a lifeline by pulling a goal back with just five minutes of the first half left, it came about after a mix up between the Palace keeper and one of his defenders but who cared, it meant we went in at half time just one behind.

Harry Potts made a change during the interval bringing on Doug Collins for the ineffective Eric Probert and he helped turn the game on its head with a masterful 45 minutes.

Within a minute and a half of the second half getting underway and a first (and as it happened last) league goal for centre-half Wilf Wrigley who headed in from a precision Collins’ free kick.

Just a few minutes later and we were in front and it was Collins again this time threading through a pass for Frank Casper who gave the keeper no chance with a shot right into the corner.

From 2-0 down Burnley were now turning it on and looking like a top side rather than one struggling near the bottom and it was no surprise when goal number four came with 20 minutes to go. Ralph Coates went on a jinking run down the right and cut in to hit a shot that spun in off a defender’s boot.

Collins was the hero though, his play had changed the course of the game but there were others who impressed. Coates’ performance was described as fabulous after the game whilst this was considered Steve Kindon’s best performance yet in the first team.

Incredibly just a week later, at home again, we went 2-0 down to Sheffield Wednesday and came back to win 4-2 again. Exciting times at Turf Moor.

The teams were,

Burnley: Peter Mellor, John Angus, Les Latcham, Arthur Bellamy, Wilf Wrigley, Eric Probert (Doug Collins 45), John Murray, Ralph Coates, Frank Casper, Martin Dobson, Steve Kindon.

Crystal Palace: John Jackson, Phil Hoadley, John Loughlan, David Payne, John McCormick, Roger Hynd, Steve Kember, Robert Woodruff, Cliff Jackson, Gerry Queen, Anthony Taylor. Sub not used: Bartram.

Referee: W J Gow (Swansea).

Attendance: 12,640.