ARTICLE: Lord sees off challenger Bates

[ClaretTony]

When a future Premier League chairman was shown the door at Turf Moor

See link
http://www.uptheclarets.com/lord-sees-o ... nger-bates

[CleggHall]

Bob Lord versus Ken Bates?
Devil or the deep blue sea?
Search me, I can't make my mind up on this one but both are typical of the so-called successful businessmen who seek to run our football clubs.

[yorkyclaret]

I suppose it always begs the question – did Bob Lord do the right thing in keeping him out of Turf Moor?

You seriously ask that?

[evensteadiereddie]

As it's turned out, yes he did. The Lord legacy - mentality - still survives arguably even if, thankfully, a little watered down. Hence our superb position on and off the field.
Some may argue we have a small-town mentality - I don't think so, I think the club are very shrewdly laying down the foundations for an even brighter future, being part of the Premier League circus but very much on our terms.

[ClaretTony]

I suppose it always begs the question – did Bob Lord do the right thing in keeping him out of Turf Moor?

You seriously ask that?

Was just a question that each needs to answer themselves.

[Royboyclaret]

"I suppose it always begs the question – did Bob Lord do the right thing in keeping him out of Turf Moor?"


I think that's one of those hypothetical questions which is very tough to answer CT.

Bates was just as much a controversial character as our Bob and remember that Lord remained chairman at Burnley for a another 17 years after the failed Bates' bid during which time lots of good things happened at Turf Moor even though towards the end that was certainly not the case.

I suppose the moral of the story was.......Don't mess with Bob Lord.

[ElectroClaret]

It was said at the time of the Munich disaster that BL was unkind to United.

The Football League suggested that other clubs should help MU with players.
Lord said Burnley were quite prepared to do so, but also said we were not prepared
to "wreck our First Division side in order to help Old Trafford regain it's feet."
He reminded people that "we in Burnley have not the scope surrounding United in the city of Manchester."

United tried to buy Albert Cheeseborough, Lord told them where to go and this, i believe,
sparked the infamous "Teddy boys" incident.

I've never seen what was wrong with Lords view then, nor now.

He was right about Bates as well.

[Buxtonclaret]

Bates was a 'lifelong Burnley supporter', or have l not read it right?

[Rodleydave]

I had a meeting with Bates when doing the Jimmy Mac book. Bates was full of admiration for Lord but said three things stopped him from being a truly great football man... he had no money... and had no people skills... and as a result of that no entreprenurial skills to raise the money he needed to bankroll his visions eg the enormous ground re development plans he had that all came to nothing.

[dsr]

I reckon Lord's abilities and character were summed up by his position as Vice President of the Football League. The rest of the League were happy to have him as vice president, and running the show to a large extent, because he was good at it. But they wouldn't appoint him President, even when the sitting president suddenly died or was incapacitated (can't remember which), because they didn't like him.

He was always there on FA Cup draw day - none of that celebrity waffle and joking they do now. The FA Cup draw was a serious business in those days.

[Bfc]

In the early 50s, Ken Bates lived on Brunshaw Rd just above the Turf and his mother in lived on Mittella St on the same block as George Bray.
I've an Oldham v Shrewsbury programme from the time when Bates was chairman and Jimmy Mc was manager. Bates programmes notes to an outsider would look like fresh ideas on changing the face of football. They weren't, they repeated what Bob Lord had spoken years earlier.
Re club shares, I own Bob Lords last share.

[BurnleyPaul]

Do we think that if Ken Bates had bought into Burnley that we would have sold Jimmy Mac?

How different might things have been then....

[levraiclaret]

Bob Lord just got a mention on Talksport during a piece by Martin Kelner on David Storey deceased, the writer of This sporting Life.

[Buxtonclaret]

Says on his Wiki page he grew up supporting QPR!

[ClaretTony]

I reckon Lord's abilities and character were summed up by his position as Vice President of the Football League. The rest of the League were happy to have him as vice president, and running the show to a large extent, because he was good at it. But they wouldn't appoint him President, even when the sitting president suddenly died or was incapacitated (can't remember which), because they didn't like him.

He was always there on FA Cup draw day - none of that celebrity waffle and joking they do now. The FA Cup draw was a serious business in those days.

He stood against Lord Westwood (Newcastle) for the presidency of the league and boasted about how he would win by a landslide. It was a landslide, but not in Bob's favour. He was fuming, claimed he'd forgotten more about football than Westwood would ever know and that he only lost because Lord came at the wrong end of his name.

[ClaretTony]

Do we think that if Ken Bates had bought into Burnley that we would have sold Jimmy Mac?

How different might things have been then....

We'd already sold him, this was almost two years later.

[Clarets4me]

Eric Cookson, who first attempted to buy Luther Wilkinson's shares, was an interesting enough character in himself. Ken Bates was a fellow director of the Howarth Construction Company, so Lord would have known of the connection between the two.

Howarth Construction were initially awarded the contract to re-develop Burnley's town Centre in the 1960's and i'm fairly sure built the Kirby Hotel. The work was well underway on the rest of the work, when Eric Cookson and Ken Bates had a falling out, and Cookson sold his shares. Haworth eventually went under, before the redevelopment was complete, & another firm completed the work.

Born in 1919, Cookson had a " good war ", being a tank Commander, in the Grenadier Guards. He proposed to his wife, Rose, by turning up outside her family home in Fulledge in a tank, carrying a ring and a dozen Red roses! He was tall, and had more than a passing resemblence to Leslie Phillips, the actor. He continued to have several Business interests in Burnley, including Sunnybank School on Manchester Road. He was incredibly well travelled, for the time, and a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society.

To the end of his life, he lived in the House he'd built on Colne Road, " Domus ". Built in 1958, It is an amazing house, influenced by American & Scandanavian designs of the time and is now a Grade 2 " listed building ".

http://www.mswhewetsons.co.uk/property/ ... y-162.html

Bates had rung Cookson, after he'd heard of his wife's passing, and subsequently, whenever Chelsea played at Blackburn, Bates would invite Eric to join him and his guests at the Northcote for a pre-match lunch. Eric Cookson passed away around 15 years ago, being found in his study, with a half finished Scotch at his side, watching his other great love, Formula 1.....

[CleggHall]

Lord Westwood of Newcastle only saw half the picture compared to Bob Lord!