Madejski disaster – where next for sorry Clarets?

Last updated : 10 September 2002 By Tony Scholes

Stan Ternent - considering his future
There was no doubt that this performance had it written all over it as the Clarets were humbled by a side who surely must be one of the worst teams in the division. They say a picture paints a thousand words and just to look at the faces on the Clarets’ fans as they got up to leave just about said it all. As I saw each one I suppose it was just like looking in a mirror.

Stan said he was embarrassed and is considering his future and so he should be embarrassed, but this has been coming for a long time. This is not about losing the first four games, this is all about Burnley having picked up 26 points from the last 26 league games, quite bluntly we have been the worst team in the division since last Christmas and there certainly seems no sign of any improvement whatsoever.

We held Reading for over half the game but our negative style meant we were never really going to threaten them and to be honest we could count ourselves very fortunate to be level at half time due mainly to our hosts’ appalling shooting. They never had to put any work in to get the ball as we constantly gave it away cheaply.

After making an early change in the second half we switched to 4-4-2 and started to look as though we might want to win the game but within no time disaster struck. It came as no surprise that it came after we had once again just given the ball away and the guilty party on this occasion was goalkeeper Nik Michopoulos.

The second goal was just laughable. We won a free kick for handball on the edge of the Reading box. I dared to joke that this would not bring about a goal, after all we must be the worst side in any division in the country when it comes to free kicks. On this occasion though I was wrong, Blake’s free kick hit the Reading wall and within seconds, and I mean seconds, it was 2-0 as they broke quickly.

That brought about an exodus of Burnley supporters who missed out on the farcical third as Cureton hit home from distance. Michopoulos (and I am watching from the far end of the ground) appeared to show no interest whatsoever and not for the first time in his Burnley career stood and watched it sail in to his right.

Burnley Football Club has to start taking a long hard look at itself and I don’t mean next week, it has to start today. That is if they are home yet with news that the team coach had broken down on the route home.

I have huge respect for Chairman Barry Kilby and I’m sure if I had seen him at the end of the game he would have had the same expression on his face as any of the fans. Barry has made mistakes though and he cannot sit this morning and just worry about the situation as we fans will clearly do, he has to start making decisions because otherwise we will be playing Second Division football again next season.

Those decisions will have to involve the two senior members of staff in manager Stan Ternent and Chief Executive Andrew Watson. Between them they have to get it right, between them they have got so many things wrong and now is the time for them to take stock and start getting things right for Burnley Football Club.

They must start by creating a positive image and we really do have to stop bleating about the loss of ITV Digital money, the attitude is flattening the club beyond belief. I can tell them that the fans are also sick and tired of feeling they are being ripped off. Last night we turned out in a third different kit in as many games. This amber and black striped kit is apparently a 120th anniversary kit and a replica of Burnley’s first ever kit. Bollocks – this is nothing like a replica of an old kit, this is nothing more than a third kit to market.

Can I also suggest that the begging phone calls to fans stop – I can assure them that the call which usually starts with "Barry Kilby has personally asked me to phone ….." is doing them no favours at all. The fans believe we are now a club who are concerned only in how much money they can get out of us.

We know that the club is in a poor financial position and I will say here right now to any fans who are not members of the Clarets Foundation to consider joining at £2 per week, it will help the club. But they must stop these calls.

They must also start running the thing properly. Andrew Watson has constantly gone on about having a Premiership quality management staff. My recent dealings involving the Foundation, ticketing and kit sponsorship have shown the club to be a poor non league outfit never mind Premiership and as yet none of the problems I have highlighted have been resolved.

Burnley Football Club is at a low ebb, it appears to have no motivation and this is clearly reflecting on the field of play. I, like all those whose faces I saw last night, have one thing in common. We care passionately about Burnley Football Club and we are hurting. We are hurting very badly indeed.

Some of us are more confident than others and as I said at the beginning of this strangest of match reports I don’t want to sound alarmist. We do though, everyone of us, need to be realistic and it is pretty damned obvious that unless things change we are heading back down.

The only thing we can do is continue to support the club that we all have so much feeling for. There is no doubt that the support is going to dwindle further and to be honest I don’t blame anyone for not going.

But for those of us who remain we can only await the next moves by the club and hope they are the right ones. There are so many rumours of players being unsettled, there are so many rumours of just how bad the finances are and suggestions that the club is for sale.

To add to these we now have, once again, the threat from the manager that he is considering his future after last night’s performance. He compared it to the 4-0 defeat at Fulham in 1998, I wouldn’t disagree with him.

Let’s get back to being a positive caring club, let’s fight the problems together. If that doesn’t happen then I fear the worst. The shock on those faces last night will turn to anger if nothing is done. We just quite simply cannot carry on like this.

To end I will return to the game and I have to say that I thought Coxy was outstanding in the first half when we were defending in front of us. It seemed to be him clearing the danger almost every time. Other than that there is very little more I can say.

Now about the stadium. The dreadful smell and the hold ups from our first visit are things of the past it has to be said that the Madejski Stadium is very impressive indeed and must afford the spectators the most comfortable seating anywhere with an incredible amount of leg room.

It does lack atmosphere though, or is this just the Reading fans, and apart from a lone drummer totally lacking any skills with his instrument the game was almost played in silence. They do though provide the disabled with excellent facilities and I spoke to some Burnley fans in the visitors disabled area last night and they were very impressed with it.

This is something else that Burnley Football Club should be looking at because the disabled at Turf Moor are stuck out in the open in the corner at pitch level which is pretty appalling. But for now they must concentrate on turning things round.

We have been a relegation team now for over half a season and that has to change.

To end I must say that I have hated writing this – I would much rather have been telling you how well we had played. It would have also been easier to say we played badly and left it at that. I can’t do it though, there is no point me editing a web site if I am going to avoid the issues.

We do though all need to get behind the club as best we can. I was sickened last week when I listened to a club employee tell me that Kilby’s board were ruining all the good work done by Frank Teasdale’s administration. I can tell you that Kilby cares about this club and will do his best to get things right. We must support him but Barry you really do have to take a grip of things and make decisions.