Championship hero is special guest

John’s back at the Turf this Sunday, a former player of both clubs, but it is as a Claret that he will be best remembered. He was a full England international and provided countless goals for the Burnley forwards during his time at Turf Moor.

He made his Clarets debut in the 1956/57 season and by the time he moved on to Manchester United in 1964 he had played well over 250 games for us and taken his goal tally into three figures, including 86 in the league.

That is an amazing record for a winger but he was so strong with either foot and he could get round the outside of full backs to cross with his right or cut in and hit fantastic shots with his left.

It was perhaps unfair that he wasn’t available as the 1959/60 season reached its climax, and that his understudy Trevor Meredith became the hero, but he was straight back into the side in the following season as we went into Europe and he lit up the tie in Paris against Reims with a wonder goal.

As often happened, finances dictated that a player should go, and with Willie Morgan waiting for his opportunity John moved to Old Trafford where he collected another championship medal.

When it was time to leave he had the opportunity to return, but chose to sign for Blackburn where he played for four years before ending his career with Bury three years later just before his 35^th birthday.

To many younger Burnley fans John will be best known for Connelly’s Plaice, his Brierfield fish and chip shop that he run until he retired in 2003, but John was a top, top player who represented England on twenty occasions and that should really have been more.

This weekend he will be back on the Turf Moor pitch and hopefully some of that fantastic wing play will rub off. He was the last Burnley player to score an FA Cup goal against Blackburn and he, like us, will be very much hoping that it is one record he won’t hold come the final whistle.