JOHN PENDER 

Date and Place of Birth 19th November 1963 - Luton   Transfers to and from Burnley from Bristol City - 13th September 1990 (£70,000, initial loan) to Wigan Athletic - 21st August 1995 (£40,000)   First and Last Burnley Games Stockport County (a) - 14th September 1990   Mansfield Town (a) - 14th August 1995   Other Clubs Wolverhampton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic, Bristol City ---------------------------------------- Wigan Athletic, Rochdale

Burnley Career Stats

Profile by Tony Scholes

Over the years there aren't too many players who have captained a Burnley side to promotion, and when you look at those who have captained two promotion teams the numbers are reduced even further.

Martin Dobson is one, and the only other to my recollection is John Pender. He captained the side that won the last ever Fourth Division title in the 1991/92 season and two years later proudly led the Burnley team up the old Wembley steps to the Royal Box as Second Division Play Off Winners.

Pender's first club were Wolves. He served his apprenticeship at Molineux and was just 18 when he established himself in the first team as a replacement for Joe Gallagher. It was during his first full season in the first team at Wolves that he first played at Turf Moor, he was in their side that beat us 1-0 on Easter Saturday 1983.

Wolves won promotion that season and Pender moved into the old First Division, but for Wolves certainly there was soon a decline as they were immediately relegated three times in three seasons.

Pender lost his place after the second relegation. He'd replaced on future Claret in Gallagher but had now lost his place to another in Peter Zelem, and that prompted a move to Charlton Athletic in the summer of 1985.

Again he was involved in a promotion to the top flight, playing in the Charlton side that brought First Division football back to the Valley for the first time in thirty years. But after just over two years he was on the move again, this time to Bristol City. His first transfer, to Charlton, was valued at £35,000 but his value had now increased and he cost the Bristol club £50,000.

He was in the side that reached the semi-final of the League Cup in 1988/89 season but he scored an own goal against Nottingham Forest in the first leg at Ashton Gate and it was Forest who went through.

In 1989/90 Burnley had used any number of central defenders. Captain Steve Davis (that's the first one) has been the mainstay but he'd been partnered by Mark Monington, Steve Gardner, Andy Farrell and three loan players Mark Harris, Neil Buckley and the second Steve Davis.

In the summer of 1990 it became common knowledge that manager Frank Casper's main target was Pender but as the season kicked off he was still a Bristol City player. Casper though got his man, initially on loan, and he was in the team for the third league game of the season. After a short time the move was made permanent for £70,000.

This season proved to be Burnley's best since we'd been dumped in the basement division and he formed an excellent partnership with the first Steve Davis. It helped the side into the end of season play offs but defeat to Torquay proved costly with Davis moving on in the summer to Barnsley.

Pender, almost a year into his Burnley career, was appointed captain and by the time the season kicked off he'd got a new central defensive partner, this time the second Steve Davis. If his partnership with the first Davis was a good one then that with the second Davis was even better.

They were without doubt a formidable pair and both popped up with goals, Davis more often than Pender it has to be said. Their first season together brought with it the Fourth Division Championship and before the last home game of the season Pender proudly lifted the old Barclays Trophy.

His performances at the back and his leadership had been major factors, and yet it is one incident at the other end of the pitch that I recall most vividly. We were twice in front in the big top of the table clash with Mansfield in November but twice they drew level. Then Pender got on the end of a late corner to head home, Captain Fantastic I believe Mr Tyldesley called him.

He took the promotion in his stride as we firstly established ourselves in the new Second Division and then moved up again. The first season after promotion was a decent one for Burnley but the second, despite some of the away performances, led us to Wembley.

What a day and Pender created history by becoming the only Burnley captain ever to go up those steps as a winner, and he so deserved to. In four years at Burnley he'd proved to be Mr Consistency. He'd been a virtual ever present alongside his two Davis partners and had formed top alliances with both in the centre of our defence.

Sadly for John he never really got the opportunity to play for us at the higher level. Jimmy Mullen signed Mark Winstanley in the summer of 1994 and Pender was the player he was signed to replace.

Despite the poor defensive displays, despite the shockingly poor run of results, Pender was never really considered and he made only five league appearances all season. How much difference his presence might have made we will never know, but he sat on the sidelines as Burnley were relegated.

Wistanley was out for the first week of the 1995/96 season and Pender stepped in for the opening league game against Rotherham and the League Cup tie at Mansfield. They proved to be his last games for Burnley, and with no chance of a return to the first team he signed for Wigan a week after that Mansfield game for £40,000.

He was soon named captain at Wigan and led the side to a mid-table finish. He later moved on to Rochdale and continued to play for them until 1999 when he retired at the age of 35.

Pender played no less than 220 games for the Clarets. He was a tough, strong central defender who was particularly good in the air. He also proved to be a good captain. He'd played at the highest level of English football for both Wolves and Charlton and I will always wonder whether that 1994/95 season might have been better had he not been discarded so quickly.