The big news was that the Prime Minister Edward Heath was coming to Burnley. That was the headline story in the local press at the time with Conservative Central Office confirming that he would be in the Burnley area for two days in late November.
The Beatles and the Rolling Stones were two headline acts to appear at the Nelson Imp in its pomp, but now it was revealed that Heath, on the evening of 22nd November, would address a mass meeting of party members there.
Local leader of the Conservatives, Councillor Albert Pickup had no doubts that his visit would be a tremendous boost for the town and, in particular, for party morale.
Our MP, Dan Jones, welcomed the news and said: "If we can advance the Prime Minister's education with regard to the industrial situation in this area, the visit will have achieved something.
"He once asked me why I had spoken so strongly in the House about the Rolls Royce crisis when I was representing the people in a textile area. This remark clearly indicated to me that Mr Heath has much to learn about the industry and the people of North East Lancashire.
"I am genuinely pleased that he is coming to Burnley, for after all, I invited him to do so when he had been in office for only a few months."
If Heath was going to be made welcome then I'm not so sure the French from twin town Vitry-sur-Seine were. Their reluctance to even let us know they didn't intend coming when invited had upset councillors and the Mayor, Councillor Frank Booth, went on BBC's Look North programme to discuss the situation.
With Burnley looking for twinning options in both West Germany and Holland, Booth told viewers: "I certainly agree with the principle of twinning arrangements. My council and the Twinning Committee are keen to continue.
"There is no reason why some satisfactory solution cannot be reached but it must be on a far, far better foundation than it has been for the past 14 years."
If it was beginning to look as if the French weren't welcome, the same couldn't be said for the Welsh after Bayview United FC from Aberavon had visited the town to play two football matches against local Sunday League teams including Parkside.
They were made so welcome that Mr Viv Rees, secretary of the Welsh club, wrote to the Burnley Express. He wrote: "May I please express to the generous and warm hearted people of Burnley, our sincere thanks for the wonderful weekend we spent in your town. For many of our party it was their first visit to Lancashire, but the warmth of your folks will be an everlasting memory to us all."
The trip had been organised by Burnley's Welsh goalkeeper Jeff Parton and the team won one and lost one of their two games before heading home.
It wasn't just football matches the Welsh were here for. The Burnley Express wrote about international dogs being among the winners at the annual sheepdog trials at Cliviger. It turned out that international meant some of the seventy dogs taking part were from Scotland and Wales.
John Heap, with his bitch Meg, was the only local winner. I bet Meg got a treat when they got home.
Next time you catch a bus in Burnley, be careful not to provoke the driver. One passenger did just that only for the bus driver to draw a knife and inflict a two and a half inch wound on the passenger's forehead.
The father of six pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding and possessing and offensive weapon. He was fined a total of £25 and was additionally ordered to pay a police surgeon's fee of £19.45. The court was told that the passenger had, in fact, assaulted the driver in a previous incident some months earlier.
Thankfully, I wasn't on a bus for the trip to West Ham United. Having taken the mammoth trip to East Fife by car it was the train this time, indeed the League Liner, and what a farce that was.
The train was over an hour late leaving for Burnley in the morning and to reduce the lost time we were herded into what looked like cattle trucks and taken to Blackburn to pick up the League Liner. It did make up some time but it was still late getting into Euston leaving all the Burnley fans with a race against time to get there for kick off.
Burnley's commercial manager Jack Butterfield, came down the train to inform the 450 passengers that coaches had been organised, at a further cost of course, to get us to the ground but we worked out that it would be better going via London Underground. We got there in ample time but those who took the coaches were late and missed kick off.
Butterfield got some stick on the way home from those who had taken up his coach option, but he went into battle and said he was demanding an explanation and some compensation.
We took on a West Ham side who hadn't started the season very well. They were next to bottom after four games, none of which had been won. They had four points from four draws while Burnley had won three of their four away games.
The Burnley team had stayed at Kinross after the East Fife game and flew directly from Edinburgh to London on the Friday with manager Jimmy Adamson confirming that Doug Collins, rested for the Texaco Cup game, would return to the side at the expense of Billy Ingham who had stood in.
These, historically, have been the games where Burnley don't do quite so well; playing a team who are still to win a game, we had a reputation for handing them their first win on a plate.
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| Colin Waldron scores the winning goal ... |
But this one went to form with the Clarets winning a controversial game 1-0 with a second half goal.
The star of the show was undoubtedly captain Martin Dobson. Peter Higgs, from the Burnley Express, wrote: "The most heartening feature of Burnley's fourth away victory of the season was the return to top form of Martin Dobson.
"At his peak the Burnley skipper is one of the best midfield men in the country and on Saturday he displayed the range of his talents to the full. Covering the ground with that long graceful stride he was at the heart of most of Burnley's best attacks.
"This was the Dobson who finished last season in tremendous form. This was the Dobson whose performance on Saturday had at least one national newspaperman demanding that he be included in the England team."
It would be some months before Dobson did get that call up, but he was a player who, when on form, as he was in this game, was every bit a player of international standing.
The game contained some of the best and worst features of Burnley against a West Ham side who were clearly out of form, a club that, at the time, was dogged by internal troubles. At times we struggled to impose ourselves, but there were also spells in the game when we had some real purple patches and looked very good.
We started really well and dominated the early part of the game. Twice, Leighton James was denied by last ditch tackles and it looked only a matter of time before we went in front. Unfortunately, we lost that early grip and allowed West Ham to come into the game more and twice we were very fortunate to remain level after poor defensive blunders; Alan Stevenson doing really well on both occasions to deny first Ted MacDougall and then Trevor Brooking.
Brooking did get the ball in the net but the whistle had already gone for offside. Even so, by half time it was Burnley who perhaps looked the more fortunate of the two to go in with the score at 0-0.
The second half was a different story. We started well, as we'd done in the first half, but this time there was no let up. West Ham never got back into the game as they struggled, particularly with James down the left flank.
And Taffy looked the main goal threat. He fired one shot just wide then thundered in a great drive which Bobby Moore just about managed to head away. Goalkeeper Mervyn Day produced a spectacular one handed save to deny Dobson but the goal was on its way.
With 20 minutes of the second half gone, a clearance was headed back by Dobson to Colin WALDRON who had moved up with the attack. The centre half played a short pass to Geoff Nulty and then raced through to take the delightfully chipped return on his chest, walk round Moore and send a right footed shot under the diving goalkeeper.
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| ... and turns to celebrate with Paul Fletcher |
During the celebrations for the goal there was a heated exchange between MacDougall and Doug Collins and this was a prelude to the West Ham centre-forward being sent off six minutes later.
In the 71st minute MacDougall was fouled by Collins in the centre circle. The referee gave a foul, but MacDougall then walked across to Collins and appeared to butt him in the face. Referee Ron Crabb had no alternative than to send off MacDougall.
West Ham gave it a go in the last few minutes. Moore, who had been outstanding at the back, was pushed up and he, and then Bryan Robson, both forced Stevenson into late saves.
But Burnley held out and the 1-0 win saw the Clarets move back up to second in the table.
The game was later shown on Match of the Day and the coverage left Burnley fuming to the point where they confirmed that the BBC's handling of the match would be brought up at the next board meeting.
It all came about when Jimmy Hill made critical remarks about Collins and suggested that the PFA should look into the question of players feigning injury.
Adamson was furious and said: "The television people are doing a great disservice to football by analysing players' actions and taking them to the cleaners. It's like big brother is watching you.
"They are not content to show the match but, with the aid of slow action replays, they are trying to show people up. It's unfair to the referees who have to make a decision on the spur of the moment. It's unfair to the players who are being over exposed with every little action being picked up. It only adds to the pressure and it is sickening."
Adamson explained what had happened in the 71st minute, refuting Hill's claims. He added: "MacDougall butted Collins in the face and he had to be sent off. That's the only point that matters.
"It's easy to be an armchair critic. Football is all about instinctive things which are done in the course of a game. The after the match investigations are doing the game no good at all."
The players travelled back with the supporters on the League Liner and it was clear that Collins had bruising to his face from the incident.
The teams were;
WEST HAM UNITED: Mervyn Day, Keith Coleman, Frank Lampard, Billy Bonds, John McDowell, Bobby Moore, Bertie Lutton (Kevin Lock 80), Pat Holland, Ted MacDougall, Trevor Brooking, Bryan Robson.
BURNLEY: Alan Stevenson, Peter Noble, Keith Newton, Martin Dobson, Colin Waldron, Jim Thomson, Geoff Nulty, Ray Hankin, Paul Fletcher, Doug Collins, Leighton James. Sub not used: Billy Ingham.
REFEREE: Mr R. Crabb (Exeter).
ATTENDANCE: 23,604.
Coventry's home defeat against Everton allowed us to climb above them back into second place and with Leeds drawing against Stoke it took us to within three points of the top of the league.
It was very much a day of draws with six of the eleven fixtures ending all square and no team won by more than one goal with the Merseyside pair of Everton and Liverpool the only teams to score more than once.
First Division Results
Saturday 6th October 1973
ARSENAL 1 BIRMINGHAM CITY 0
COVENTRY CITY 1 EVERTON 2
DERBY COUNTY 1 NORWICH CITY 1
IPSWICH TOWN 0 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0
LEEDS UNITED 1 STOKE CITY 1
LIVERPOOL 2 NEWCASTLE UNITED 1
MANCHESTER CITY 1 SOUTHAMPTON 1
QUEENS PARK RANGERS 1 CHELSEA 1
SHEFFIELD UNITED 1 LEICESTER CITY 1
WEST HAM UNITED 0 BURNLEY 1
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 1
Burnley's Goalscorers (League Only)
3: FRANK CASPER, DOUG COLLINS, MARTIN DOBSON, PAUL FLETCHER
2: LEIGHTON JAMES, GEOFF NULTY, COLIN WALDRON
1: RAY HANKIN
First Division Leading Goalscorers
7:
DEREK DOUGAN (WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS)
6:
ROGER DAVIES (DERBY COUNTY)
PETER LORIMER (LEEDS UNITED)
5:
MICK CHANNON (SOUTHAMPTON),
JIM McCALLIOG (WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS),
MALCOLM MacDONALD (NEWCASTLE UNITED)
4:
TOMMY BALDWIN (CHELSEA),
BILLY BREMNER (LEEDS UNITED),
MARTIN CHIVERS (TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR),
ALLAN CLARKE (LEEDS UNITED),
ALAN GREEN (COVENTRY CITY),
KEVIN HECTOR (DERBY COUNTY),
GEOFF HURST (STOKE CITY),
DAVID JOHNSON (IPSWICH TOWN),
MICK JONES (LEEDS UNITED)
RAY KENNEDY (ARSENAL)
MARTIN PETERS (TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR),
BRYAN ROBSON (WEST HAM UNITED),
KEITH WELLER (LEICESTER CITY),
ALAN WOODWARD (SHEFFIELD UNITED)
The League Table
| Team | pld | w | d | l | f | a | pts |
| LEEDS UNITED | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 18 |
| BURNLEY | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 10 | 15 |
| COVENTRY CITY | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 9 | 14 |
| DERBY COUNTY | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 10 | 13 |
| LIVERPOOL | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 9 | 13 |
| EVERTON | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 9 | 12 |
| LEICESTER CITY | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 12 |
| NEWCASTLE UNITED | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 13 | 11 |
| ARSENAL | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 12 | 11 |
| MANCHESTER CITY | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 11 |
| QUEENS PARK RANGERS | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 14 | 10 |
| SHEFFIELD UNITED | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 10 |
| IPSWICH TOWN | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 17 | 10 |
| SOUTHAMPTON | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 9 |
| CHELSEA | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 14 | 8 |
| STOKE CITY | 10 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 11 | 8 |
| MANCHESTER UNITED | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 8 |
| TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 8 |
| WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 8 |
| NORWICH CITY | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 6 |
| WEST HAM UNITED | 10 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 4 |
| BIRMINGHAM CITY | 10 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 3 |