MARK KENDALL 

Date and Place of Birth 20th September 1958- Blackwood, Gwent died 1st May 2008   Transfers to and from Burnley from Swansea City - December 1991 returned - January 1992   First and Last Burnley Games Chesterfield (a) - 1st January 1992   Blackpool (a) - 11th January 1992   Other Clubs Tottenham Hotspur, Chesterfield (loan), Newport County, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Swansea City

Burnley Career Stats

Profile by Tony Scholes

I think it is fair to say that Mark Kendall wasn't the most successful goalkeeper in the history of Burnley Football Club, and for many he is often labelled as the worst after a calamitous performance in what proved to be his last game at Blackpool.

He was one of three loan goalkeepers, and one of five goalkeepers in total, to be used by Burnley during a season that saw us climb out of the fourth division as champions after five long years.

Nottingham Forest's Andy Marriott had enjoyed a successful loan period but had returned to his club and manager Jimmy Mullen restored Chris Pearce to the side for three games, but he turned to Kendall and brought him in on loan from Swansea in time for the New Year's Day game at Chesterfield.

Kendall was 33-years-old and had enjoyed a successful career, mainly with Newport County and Wolves, that had begun at Spurs. He'd signed for the London club straight from school and was offered professional terms after a successful apprenticeship. He made his league debut in a first division game against Norwich in 1978 just a couple of months past his 20^th birthday as a replacement for the injured Barry Daines. He had a good first game and kept his place in the side for the remainder of the season.

Having lost his place the following season he went out on loan to Chesterfield in 1979. On his return there didn't appear to be much prospect of first team football and in September 1980 he signed for Newport County for £45,000 which was a club record.

For the next decade he played regular first team football making no fewer than 419 league appearances, firstly for Newport and then from 1986 to 1990 for Wolves. He was in the Newport side that had some great success in the European Cup Winners Cup and then the Wolves side that won back to back promotions in 1987/88 and 1988/89. In the first of those two promotion winning seasons at Wolves he kept no less than 28 clean sheets and was in goal at Wembley when they beat us in the Sherpa Van Trophy Final.

He made his last permanent move in 1990 when he signed for Swansea City as cover for Lee Bracey. It was during the second of two seasons at Swansea when Jimmy Mullen signed him for the Clarets. He was known to Mullen; Kendall was goalkeeper at Newport during the time that Jimmy was player/manager.

The move was initially a loan move but the plan was for it to be made permanent with Kendall becoming our goalkeeping coach.

His Burnley debut went well enough, a 2-0 win at Chesterfield and any goalkeeper would be happy with keeping a clean sheet on his debut. His second game was at home in the FA Cup against Derby, a game that ended 2-2, and then came Blackpool.

It proved to be an unmitigating disaster for him. He was heavily responsible as we crashed to a 5-2 defeat at Bloomfield Road and he was promptly returned to South Wales. He never played again for Swansea and so that game at Blackpool proved to be his last ever Football League appearance.

He retired from professional football at the end of that season and for a while joined the newly formed Newport before joining the Gwent police force. He did play further games for Ebbw Vale and Cwmbran Town.

The story of Mark Kendall, who also played for Wales at Under-21 level, came to a sudden and very sad end on the 1^st May 2008 when he collapsed and died at his home from a heart attack at the age of 49.

There's no doubt that Mark Kendall had been a very good goalkeeper during his career, but Burnley fans just couldn't ever forget that performance at Blackpool. He was remembered by Burnley fans on this web site at the time of his death as many of our message board posters left messages of sympathy, but he could never have been remembered with any affection as a goalkeeper as he was by the fans of Spurs, Newport and Wolves.