We have the quickest of special guests

Last updated : 29 March 2002 By Tony Scholes

The guest is Steve Kindon and he is without any doubt whatsoever going to get a fantastic reception from all four sides of Turf Moor. He was nicknamed Skippy by the Clarets fans for his unique running style and pace and for those of you too young to remember him he was quicker than even David Johnson.

He came to prominence in the 1967/68 FA Youth Cup winning team, playing on the left wing. Alongside Dave Thomas he really was one of the stars of the show. He was in the first team at seventeen, making his debut against Bobby Moore and West Ham. He had the ability to destroy team with his incredible pace and strength and also packed a thunderous shot. In the 1969/70 season, even though he played all his matches on the left wing, he was our leading scorer.

Having made the left wing position his own he found stiff competition in 1971/72 from an up and coming youngster, Leighton James, competition that he eventually lost. In the summer of 1972 after scoring 28 goals in 109 league games for the Clarets he was transferred to Wolves for £100,000 and that was still a very big transfer fee.

At Molineux he was a great success too and the fans loved him. They converted him from a winger into a central striker during his time there and one performance is easy but painful to recall when he helped destroy the Clarets at the Turf, the final score was a 5-1 defeat.

He scored 28 league goals for Wolves too, in 138 appearances before Harry Potts brought him back to Burnley in desperate times in November 1977. He signed on the same day as former Liverpool midfielder Brian Hall arrived from Plymouth.

We had five points from fourteen games and we some distance behind at the bottom of the league but he proved to be an astute signing and we didn't just avoid relegation but we finished in the top half. He scored 12 goals in 27 appearances.

It was only a temporary reprieve though and two seasons later things were just as bad, if not worse, Harry Potts was replaced by Brian Miller and Steve played the first three games under the new manager. They were all lost and the third, a 2-1 defeat against Orient, proved to be his last game.

He had made another 76 league appearances for us and scored another 18 goals. He also played a major part in the Anglo Scottish Cup success of 1978/79. He was magnificent in the first leg of the final at Oldham. He scored six goals in nine games including two at Oldham and one in each of the two legs against Celtic as we won both games.

His next and final port of call was Huddersfield. He went there in December 1979 and helped them win promotion from Division Four. I can imagine he must have frightened 4th division defenders to death. After scoring 35 goals in 73 games for them, including one at Burnley in a 3rd division game he was forced to retire through injury.

He continued to work at Huddersfield Town for a while but now can be seen on the after dinner circuit. He'll never be forgotten by the Burnley fans of the time and certainly the same can be said from his time at Wolves.

Finally that pace of his. In one game at the Turf, I'm sure it was against Manchester United, he came back to help out the defence at the Bee Hole End. From the left back position not far from his own touchline he hammered to ball up the field and then gave chase. He was first to it some 35 yards from goal at the other end.

Welcome back Steve, the wonderful reception you will receive will be richly deserved.