Frank's back for Derby game
Last updated : 26 August 2005 By Tony Scholes
We’d just got back into the First Division and had started in top form with Frank playing better than he had ever done. In one week he turned in what I consider to be his finest two performances for Burnley as we went to White Hart Lane and then Molineux and beat Spurs and Wolves 3-2 and 2-0 respectively.
His performance at Wolves, crowned with a typical Casper strike, had to be his best ever and little did we know that three days later the return game against Spurs would bring a start to the injury problems that would end his career.
He’d caused something of a stir six years earlier when we actually paid out £27,000 to bring him from Rotherham, the first cash signing since Alex Elder had arrived from Glentoran in the late 1950s.
Casper was soon a crowd favourite but struggled with the rest of the side as Burnley finally lost their place in the First Division and it was in Jimmy Adamson’s side that he came into his own, and for two seasons had taken himself to the verge of full England honours.
Then came the injury, followed by another later in the season at Leeds, and his career was all but over. In 1975 he played a few games, coming back and scoring his 100th league goal against QPR but was forced to retire and joined the coaching staff, firstly as youth coach, then first team coach and eventually on two occasions as manager.
He was never quite as successful in the dugout as he was on the pitch and in October 1991 he left the club to pursue business interests, handing over to Jimmy Mullen. He still lives in town and remains a Claret.
Now I’m off to go and look at that goal against Wolves again on video.
