Next Game – Gillingham (home)

Paul Shaw

This has all been done without Andy Hessenthaler being able to bring in many new players and even worse recently he has had to lose players and members of his staff as the club have had to cut costs by letting people go. First team coach Richard Hill and Youth Team Manager Kevin Bremner have both left. Even the Head of Media and the Ticket Office Manager lost their jobs.

When we were soundly beaten down at the Priestfield Stadium they had just completed the permanent signing of Nicky Southall from Bolton after a loan spell. But there have been no further signings since Southall returned to the club, not even a loan player.

Probably the best way to describe their season is inconsistent, there have certainly been good spells and some not quite so good. They got off to a fantastic start back in August and had maximum points from the first three games with three 1-0 wins but then came a run of one win in ten games.

They were in a run of form just before Christmas but once again they have hit a sticky patch and again have won just one of the last nine league games. That was at Watford and came courtesy of a goal from our former loan player Paul Shaw.

Four days later though they suffered their worst defeat of the season when they went down 6-0 to Wolves at Molineux.

The win against Watford was the last time that player/boss Hessenthaler played and there will probably be some significance in that. There’s no doubt that we have always found them to be a lot better side when he does play.

That though could be something from the past, he is currently debating on whether to retire from the playing side at the age of 37 and after three years of management. He has been at Gillingham since the beginning of the 1996/97 season after Tony Pulis paid Watford £235,000 for him.

Tommy Johnson

Gillingham should have won the game, they were much the better side, and only an inspired performance by Gavin Ward in the Walsall goal kept them out. The winning goal from Jorge Leitao just after half time was a fluke, a clearance from goalkeeper Vince Bartram bouncing off his shin.

Hessenthaler has come in from some stick from the fans after he said in the after match press conference that he was thinking more about having a beer on the beach than on winning matches for the remainder of the season. Apparently the remarks were tongue in cheek but weren’t reported that way locally.

The Gills line up was: Vince Bartram, Nayron Nosworthy, Barry Ashby, Chris Hope, Roland Edge, Nicky Southall, Danny Spiller, Simon Osborn, Paul Shaw (Akwasi Edusei 79), Tommy Johnson (Leon Johnson 89), Mamady Sidibe. Subs not used: Richard Rose, David Perpetuini, John Wallace.

Leading the scoring for the Gills this season is Paul Shaw with twelve and that despite the fact that he plays in midfield. Rod Wallace is just one goal behind him.

There’s nothing in the game other than pride but neither side is in form with Burnley having won just once in their last eleven games and Gillingham once in nine.

Click HERE to see our preview from the away game and HERE to see Gillingham’s results this season.

He played for both

Born in the North East he was actually spotted by the Clarets playing schoolboy football in Burnley. His family had moved from his North Shields birthplace to Australia but on their return settled in Burnley.

He signed as a pro in the summer of 1979 and didn’t have to wait too long for his first team debut. That came in the November and a 2-1 defeat against Orient. Vince Overson made his debut in the same game, the first home game played after Brian Miller replaced Harry Potts as manager.

There were a couple of substitute appearances before his next start and that was the last game of the decade at Notts County when the struggling Clarets pulled off a surprise 3-2 win with Cavener scoring twice.

He wasn’t set to become a goalscoring sensation though, by the end of that game he had scored just half of the league goals he was going to get for the Clarets.

The others came the following season in a 2-1 home win against Brentford and a 2-1 defeat at Plymouth. That 1980/81 season saw Phil establish himself as a first team regular but with the Clarets changing system the following season along with the emergence of Trevor Steven he was out in the cold again for most of the time.

It was the same the following season after promotion when he played in just six league games. A 3-1 home win against Barnsley, Frank Casper’s first league match in charge in January 1983 proved to be his last appearance for Burnley.

He had a loan spell with Bradford City towards the end of that season before being released and he then signed for Gillingham after a short spell in Sweden.

He hardly played in his one year at the Priestfield but then had a more successful time with Northampton for a couple of years before ending his league career at Peterborough. In the summer of 1986 he went into non-league football for a short time before retiring from the game.

Click HERE to see all our results against Gillingham.

Burnley 2 (Ball 55 Johnson 62) Gillingham 0 – Nationwide League Division 1, Tuesday 6^th April 2002

Gillingham hadn’t come to play any football at all, they weren’t interested in winning the game but content to sit back and bore everyone to tears. It needed some inspiration or some piece of good fortune to get us in front.

Sadly as we played out the first half neither of them were forthcoming and at no stage did we ever look as though we might score a goal. Half time came and there hadn’t really been a chance for the Clarets and we trooped off with the score 0-0.

But ten minutes into the second half it was hardly inspiration rather more good fortune but who cared, we got ourselves in front. To be fair it was a good move and ended with Glen Little getting to the line down the right and pulling the ball back.

In a mass of confusion the ball finally found itself in the net with just about nobody at the time knowing who had scored it. Who cared? It was Burnley 1 Gillingham 0.

To clear it all up the record books have given the goal to Ian Moore, Burnley’s best player on the day, but in fact his effort was going away from the goal and the vital touch that turned it in came from Bally. In fact it was a great effort from the former midfielder who saw the ball bounce off his shin just a yard out for his third and last Burnley goal.

Just a few minutes later and he points were wrapped up when David Johnson scored his fourth goal in four home games and this was the best of the lot. Steve Davis made a great run before releasing Johnno who despite being fouled shrugged off the defender before hitting the ball back across the keeper and into the far corner.

Whether there was ever any intention to keep Johnson no one will ever know but this proved to be his last goal for Burnley too.

The scores elsewhere had not been favourable elsewhere at half time but the final scores looked a lot better with Wimbledon losing and Norwich only earning a point. Surely we were going to do it now.

The teams were,

Burnley: Nik Michopoulos, Dean West, Steve Davis, Arthur Gnohere, Mitchell Thomas, Glen Little, Kevin Ball, Tony Grant (Paul Weller 88), Lee Briscoe, Ian Moore, David Johnson (Gareth Taylor 78). Subs not used: Gordon Armstrong, Paul Gascoigne, Andy Payton.

Gillingham: Jason Brown, Barry Ashby, Guy Butters, Chris Hope, Ty Gooden, Paul Shaw (Guy Ipoua 67), Marcus Browning, Mark Saunders (Kevin James 77), Paul Smith, David Perpetuini (Richard Rose 28), Iffy Onuora. Subs not used: Vince Bartram, Danny Spiller.

Referee: Colin Webster (Shotley Bridge, County Durham).