There’s not a lot that can be said about Payts that hasn’t already been said, but watching his DVD is a reminder that without his goals we would have been relegated back to the basement division in both 1998 and 1999 and I’m not so sure we would have come close to promotion in 2000 but for his 27 league goals.
You can never underestimate the value of a natural goal scorer in the side and Payton was, for me, the best we have had since Willie Irvine back in the 1960s.
Tomorrow, as he walks out onto that pitch again to make the half time draw we will all have different memories, different goals that we’ll recall. His personal favourite came against
It’s two years since he was out there, along with Paul Cook at the end of his time as a player at Burnley – I suspect he’s going to get the same sort of reception all over again tomorrow.
Welcome back to the Natural Born Claret – Andy, Andy Payton.