Clarets back home with another big win
After the disappointment of the defeat at Fulham a week earlier the Burnley team of sixty years ago turned it on again for the Turf Moor crowd with an easy win against Bolton.
We were into December and the thoughts of most people in Burnley had turned to Christmas and once again it was the Co-op leading with the festive bargains. A pair of fleece lined men’s gloves cost just 17s 9d and a Penguin men’s umbrella came in at £1 11s 6d. But the big buy of the week was proving irresistible with men flocking with their divi numbers to buy a Christmas present for their wife, none other than a gay shortie dressing gown for only £4 2s.
Residents though were given a warning over Christmas cards with the Post Office making it clear that if they weren’t addressed correctly they wouldn’t be delivered. A spokesman spelled it out: “Many people fail to write clearly and then wonder why their correspondence is held up. Time is wasted trying to read difficult handwriting some of which is impossible and we just can’t deliver them. The post town MUST be in BLOCK CAPITALS and MUST be the last line.”
For some, Christmas was to be a real worry with news that there were estimated to be 5,300 job losses in the textile industry and a further 400 in the mines. The town had a dilemma with some areas of Burnley having job shortages and others where jobs couldn’t be filled. Maybe no one had considered travelling to work on the bus in 1959.
Children who were members of the Odeon Club got a massive surprise when they came along on Saturday morning with a special visit from actor Kenneth More. In September the outstanding film ‘A Night to Remember’starring More had screened at the Odeon and now here he was giving the town’s children a morning to remember. Dignitaries and scouts were there to greet him, part of his tour of major towns promoting a new film ‘North-West Frontier’. He stayed just an hour before having to rush off to his next port of call at Accrington.
The town’s trades people were trying to get the half day closing moved from Tuesday to either Wednesday or Thursday. The whole area had Tuesday and that meant the public couldn’t shop on a Tuesday afternoon as far as from Padiham to Barnoldswick. They thought another day would give the shops in Burnley a big boost and would attract shoppers from far and wide (presumably Padiham and Barnoldswick). Those poor Padiham people were seriously suffering. Burnley had decided they would no longer supply them with 160,000 gallons of water a day as they’d agreed in 1957. There was still no word from the water probe though.
Burnley welcomed two people from Spain during this week. Isabel and Werner Habersaat (both aged 23) had arrived by Land Rover from Barcelona to start a new life in Burnley where Werner’s Swiss parents already lived. Werner set about looking for work in town. What was his line in work? He really had been a waiter from Barcelona.
Councillor J. H. Sutcliffe voted against the proposed Spring trip to Vitry-Sur-Seine as a protest at the £490 we had spent on their visit to Burnley. “Was it right to spend rate payers money in this way?” he asked. Mayor Councillor Miss Edith Utley, Councillor R. Bushby and Councillor D. Newlove would make the visit along with Burnley Grammar School Head Boy Terence Maher. Terence, was about to study languages at Oxford, had acted as interpreter on Vitry’s visit to Burnley and had made a special study of the language to impress the French Mayor.
It was a quiet week in the courts but our friend was back, the lad who kept stealing from his parents. Last week we reported he’d stolen a suitcase among other items. This week we learn that he’d got tea, sugar and milk in the suitcase. While on remand he’d befriended a young boy who took delight in stealing bicycles but before that had stolen another £2 10s and had spent all but 2s 1d of it. His dad said there was no use him coming home and so he was sent to an approved school.
New houses were on the market in town as part of the development at Marsden Cross. Bungalows were available from £2,150 and 3-bed semis from £2,375 and all with small bore central heating.
Burnley Cricket Club took the sporting headlines after finally confirming their 1960 professional to replace the late Collie Smith. The new man was Indian all-rounder Dattu Phadkar who had spent two years at Rochdale in 1957 and 1958 having previously been in the Lancashire League with Nelson. Phadkar had also had an outstanding game for Burnley as a substitute professional against East Lancs in 1956 and much was expected of him. Meanwhile Nelson pro Johnny Wardle had asked the club for a reduction in pay, he believed no player was worth what they were paying him. I bet they didn’t delay in accepting that.
Burnley had been away in Blackpool for special training during the week but Adam Blacklaw came home early as his wife Sheila presented him with a son, Craig. He was all ready to go though against Bolton as Harry Potts yet again named an unchanged team as Burnley looked to add to their total of 16 goals in the last three home games.
This hot-pot of a Lancashire derby had too much pepper and was a change from the football diet of recent weeks. Some portions of it were not the kind one would like to sample every Saturday. There was more than a touch of brawn about some of the exchanges, and it is something which the home section of the crowd did not appreciate. In fact there were more prolonged demonstrations of disagreement with the actions of players than at any other match seen at Turf Moor all season. This, to use a polite word, robust play is earning for the Burnden Park team the name of the Bolton Bashers, which is as distasteful as it is unfortunate, and some of the stopping methods were reminiscent of the last meeting of the teams in April. It is regrettable because there are only certain offenders and it gives a false impression of a side who are capable of playing excellent and attractive football.
Constant harrying caused Burnley to struggle to place their forwards in command and when the breakthrough came midway through the first half it was unexpected. John Connelly’s cross shot struck the inside of the far post and Ray POINTER, racing in, found the rebound at the right height to head it past Eddie Hopkinson. Rather fortunate, but a chance well taken.
It was in the second half that Bolton really began to demonstrate that their fine, powerful physique was not for show only and Roy Hartle was spoken to for bringing down Pointer with more force than ceremony. Burnley retaliated in the best possible manner with a goal, CONNELLY leaving the right wing position to Jimmy McIlroy and popping up in the midst of a retreating defence to score from his partner’s centre.
McILROY gave Burnley a third goal in a crowded area after Jimmy Robson and Pointer had both had shots blocked, with cheers of relief all round from the home crowd, who must have felt that the Fulham failures had been a temporary lapse and happy scoring days were here again.
Probably the outstanding memory of this far from pleasant match was the final incident – the penalty. McIlroy was through when Hopkinson brought him down with a rugby tackle. The man in possession did not take any particular evasive action, thought he must have guessed what might happen once he had pushed the ball past the keeper. He went down full length with a thud and referee Mr Murdock arrived on the scene pointing to the fatal spot. Instant hubbub, which increased when it was observed that McIlroy was to take the kick.
Two penalty misses in two international matches are not occurrences likely to inspire joy in the man entrusted with such responsibility, even though one’s team might be three up at the time. It means either a return of confidence or an ignominious hat trick. The crowd knew McIlroy’s weakness for kidding the goalkeeper into going the wrong way. Would he indulge in this pastime again? The goal must have looked as small as a front garden gate to the Irishman as he addressed the ball. No subtlety this time, just an honest to goodness slam and it was in the net amid loud and prolonged cheers. McILROY had broken his spell; Burnley had won 4-0 and brought their goal aggregate for the last four home matches to 20.
That left Burnley still sixth in the table, three points behind leaders Preston but now ahead of Blackburn. Others above us were Spurs, West Ham, Wolves and Fulham. Down at the bottom Leeds had rejoined Luton in the bottom two. Leicester, courtesy of a 3-3 draw against the bottom club, had moved ahead of Leeds on goal average.
The teams were;
Burnley: Adam Blacklaw, John Angus, Alex Elder, Bobby Seith, Brian Miller, Jimmy Adamson, John Connelly, Jimmy McIlroy, Ray Pointer, Jimmy Robson, Brian Pilkington.
Bolton Wanderers: Eddie Hopkinson, Roy Hartle, Syd Farrimond, Graham Stanley, John Higgins, Malcolm Edwards, Brian Birch, Freddie Hill, Dennis Stevens, Ray Parry, Doug Holden.
Referee: Mr A Murdock (Sheffield).
Attendance: 25,706.
First Division Results
5th December 1959
Birmingham 4 Manchester City 2
Burnley 4 Bolton 0
Chelsea 0 Sheffield Wednesday 4
Leeds 1 Fulham 4
Leicester 3 Luton 3
Manchester United 3 Blackpool 1
Newcastle 4 Arsenal 1
Preston 0 Everton 0
Tottenham 2 Blackburn 1
West Brom 0 Wolves 1
West Ham 4 Nottingham Forest 1
League Table
| Pos | Team | pld | w | d | l | f | a | ga | pts |
| 1 | Preston | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 40 | 29 | 1.38 | 28 |
| 2 | Tottenham | 20 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 43 | 23 | 1.87 | 27 |
| 3 | West Ham | 20 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 41 | 31 | 1.32 | 27 |
| 4 | Wolves | 20 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 56 | 39 | 1.44 | 26 |
| 5 | Fulham | 20 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 43 | 41 | 1.05 | 26 |
| 6 | Burnley | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 48 | 32 | 1.50 | 25 |
| 7 | Blackburn | 20 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 36 | 32 | 1.13 | 23 |
| 8 | Sheffield Wed | 20 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 35 | 22 | 1.59 | 21 |
| 9 | Manchester United | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 47 | 40 | 1.18 | 21 |
| 10 | Bolton | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 25 | 24 | 1.04 | 20 |
| 11 | West Brom | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 36 | 31 | 1.16 | 19 |
| 12 | Newcastle | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 40 | 39 | 1.03 | 19 |
| 13 | Arsenal | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 34 | 37 | 0.92 | 19 |
| 14 | Chelsea | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 37 | 43 | 0.86 | 19 |
| 15 | Manchester City | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 42 | 46 | 0.91 | 17 |
| 16 | Everton | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 32 | 37 | 0.86 | 17 |
| 17 | Nottingham Forest | 20 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 23 | 35 | 0.66 | 17 |
| 18 | Blackpool | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 27 | 35 | 0.77 | 15 |
| 19 | Birmingham | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 0.74 | 15 |
| 20 | Leicester | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 30 | 48 | 0.63 | 14 |
| 21 | Leeds | 20 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 29 | 50 | 0.58 | 13 |
| 22 | Luton | 20 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 19 | 39 | 0.49 | 12 |
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