Can we borrow a couple of your players

Burnley's loan debutant Malcolm Smith

Loan deals were very rare and it would be another three and a half years before Martyn Busby became the second although he was quickly returned to QPR after a less than successful month.

There have been 54 others to have worn the Claret & Blue of Burnley at Football League level whilst on loan and that includes four of the current first team in Marlon Beresford, Paul Cook, Steve Davis and Gareth Taylor.

The last to turn out on loan for the Clarets was David Johnson at the end of last season and that is somewhat surprising given that we have been told on umpteen occasions this season that money was available for loan players when necessary.

In fact it has been a season of loan deals in the First Division, a season that has seen all but three clubs make at least one loan signing at some stage. Apart from ourselves only Leicester and Preston haven’t made a single loan signing although Leicester have not been allowed to whilst Preston have instead made any number of permanent signings.

Last summer the rules were somewhat relaxed regarding loan deals in the Football League and many First Division clubs saw it as a way forward in financially worrying times. And make no mistake many of these clubs, according to the reports, are in a far worse state than our own club. Would we want to swap for the debts of a Bradford, Coventry, Derby or Sheffield Wednesday?

The new rules permitted eight short term loans (four at any one time) plus an increase to four long term loans. A club could also name up to five loan players in a match day squad.

With Burnley seemingly harder hit by the collapse of ITV Digital than any other club it was always going to be the way forward for us. Stan said it and Barry Kilby assured is that money was available for loan players. In fact as recently as February the Chairman told us to expect at least one new signing for the Derby game as names such as Bryan Hughes and Matt Jansen were bandied around.

But it didn’t happen, we did not make a single loan signing all season. And when we had resigned ourselves to that we expected a quiet transfer deadline day last Thursday only to be hit with the news that Glen Little had been allowed to move to Reading in a loan deal to save money.

Tommy Mooney at Stoke, the first of his three loan clubs this season

And who can forget the performance of Steve Kabba in the farcical 6-5 defeat at Grimsby, he run us ragged at the back and score two of the goals. Kevin Davies scored for Millwall on the Turf and then there were the performances of Vincent Pericard and Steve Stone for Portsmouth and Jermaine Pennant’s for Watford in the league game at Vicarage Road.

It has not all been bad news though, two loan players have picked up Turf Moor red cards this season. Tommy Mooney was dismissed by the fourth official when we beat Stoke and in the 3-1 win at Coventry, in one of the funniest incidents ever at the Turf, Craig Hignett saw red for a gesture towards the assistant. A chant of "You’ll always be ……" accompanied his long walk from towards the tunnel.

Mooney in fact, officially a Birmingham player, has spent time with three different clubs in our division this season. He was at Stoke for three months but more recently had a short period at Sheffield United and is currently with Derby.

No one can match that all though Steve Banks, Michael Boulding, Paul Ritchie, Carl Robinson and Nicky Southall have all had loan periods at two First Division clubs.

Is it a successful policy? I would suggest that Neil Warnock is more than happy with it. They have had a total of nine loan players, although a couple of them have no joined on a permanent basis. Their current league position suggests they got it right.

Two clubs have beaten them and have brought ten in, they are Coventry and Stoke. It is fair to say that the policy has not been quite as successful but where would they have been without them?

Steve Kabba celebrates a goal during his successful loan spell at Grimsby

By the time last week came along I don’t think there was a Clarets fan expected us to bring in a loan player, sadly the time had gone. We should have done it in February and boosted the squad. The chance had gone and with it almost certainly any play off hopes we might have had.

It was all left mainly to the clubs at the top and the bottom to strenghten for the difficult days ahead. But that didn’t mean the top two. Leicester, as reported, cannot make any signings. The embargo is in still in place even though the club are now out of administration.

Neither did Portsmouth make a move, mind you for a club that has made eight loan signings and a host of permanent signings since the season started it was hardly necessary.

So for now Burnley’s list of loan players remains at 57 (that includes Sheffield Wednesday’s Rodger Wylde who never made a first team appearance) and for only the second season in the last twenty-two we have not brought in at least one.

Who knows where a couple of astute loan signings might have taken us? Certainly during the Christmas period and also in February (when they were promised) it could have made a hell of a difference. But we had to crack on without them and have instead sent some of our own players out on loan.

I’m sure Stan would have loved to have strengthened his squad, he will have had players he would have been keen to bring in although we will not get to know who.

We’ve missed out, other clubs have benefited and maybe the league table would have looked a bit better for us.

Let’s just hope that emergency supply of money, available if needed, is still there next season when a loan signing or two could still be just what we want.

Below is a list of all players who have signed for First Division clubs on loan deals this season.