Would it be this bit of business?

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That or Mike Duff for 30k. Talk about value for money.

Steve Kindon in the 1978 season.

I would suggest that we need criteria to measure against

financially it would be Sean Dyche - as he has brought more money into the club than anyone in it's history

Emotionally - buying back the Turf rides high

Quality of player by proportion of financial outlay - there are a few and that is subjective and possibly generational too

Peter Noble

Michael Duff for me.

Unbelievable VFM.

Absolute quality.

Jimmy Mac?

Heaton has to be up there as one of the best ever signings from a player POV

Heaton by far

Always think of the sale of Wayne Thomas to Southampton then picking up Clarke Carlisle for what I think was about a sixth of what we received as one of our best bits of business!

MattBFC wrote:Always think of the sale of Wayne Thomas to Southampton then picking up Clarke Carlisle for what I think was about a sixth of what we received as one of our best bits of business!

Yeah I remember the new coming through on the radio of Clarke signing and laughing with my Mum that we had upgraded the quality of defender massively and made a fortune in the process. Thought it was one of funniest and best things I had ever heard

Dobo for free. Captained two champion sides and paid for a stand.

Many possibilities here but I'm going for Mike Conroy. Signed for £40k from Reading where they were playing him at left back! Absolutely lethal in the 1991-92 team and scored some belting goals. The two goals at Northampton were brilliant in so many ways.

Controversial even for me but was Duff really as good a value as people make out. Not saying he hasn't been a brilliant servant for the club but he didn't cost us just £30k. We paid him a decent salary every year and for most of his time at Burnley he was third choice centre back or make shift right back.

Its probably a too emotive a subject to discuss properly on this forum but saying what a bargain for £30k is a bit misleading. By that logic Jensen must be one of the best ever signings cos he didn't cost us a penny and we got nearly 300 appearances out of him as well as him being one of the key players in that promotion under Coyle

Devils_Advocate wrote:Controversial even for me but was Duff really as good a value as people make out. Not saying he hasn't been a brilliant servant for the club but he didn't cost us just £30k. We paid him a decent salary every year and for most of his time at Burnley he was third choice centre back or make shift right back.

Its probably a too emotive a subject to discuss properly on this forum but saying what a bargain for £30k is a bit misleading. By that logic Jensen must be one of the best ever signings cos he didn't cost us a penny and we got nearly 300 appearances out of him as well as him being one of the key players in that promotion under Coyle

Good point. I'd have Arfield ahead of him on that front. Sure there are a fair few who we paid higher fees for too

TBH, Barnes must be right up there, for what he cost and for how much money he's saved and made for us!!

Devils_Advocate wrote:Controversial even for me but was Duff really as good a value as people make out. Not saying he hasn't been a brilliant servant for the club but he didn't cost us just £30k. We paid him a decent salary every year and for most of his time at Burnley he was third choice centre back or make shift right back.

Its probably a too emotive a subject to discuss properly on this forum but saying what a bargain for £30k is a bit misleading. By that logic Jensen must be one of the best ever signings cos he didn't cost us a penny and we got nearly 300 appearances out of him as well as him being one of the key players in that promotion under Coyle

I don’t know whether he was our best ever signing - I doubt it personally but he was an excellent signing not just because he was very cheap in terms of initial transfer fee (and most likely wages too) but more because of how long he remained at the club and his impact on the dressing room etc. He had a great attitude and he was a very decent player.
As for him being a 3rd choice centre back or make shift right back for “most of his time at Burnley” i’m not sure how that’s possible given he played nearly 350 games.

Finding it difficult to pick one best signing but in my lifetime the likes of Steve Davis, David Eyres, Ben Mee, Ashley Barnes, Tom Heaton, Glen Little etc etc....all had a big impact and cost little relative to other players at the time and the impact they went on to have for the team....Duff would be in the list somewhere

Mike Duff closely followedd by Tom Heaton

Rumpelstiltskin wrote:Peter Noble

Absolutely,what a great signing and super player he was ..

TVC15 wrote:As for him being a 3rd choice centre back or make shift right back for “most of his time at Burnley” i’m not sure how that’s possible given he played nearly 350 games.

He was pretty much first choice at RB his first 3 seasons and 3rd choice CB at a time where our squad was so threadbare we have to fill holes as much as we could.

After those 3 season he averaged playing around 50% of games and I don't think he had any major injurys and so was obviously seen as a utility player who could be back up at both CB and RB

Not taking anything away from Duff I just think that he wasn't this bargain star player everyone made him out to be looking back with rose tinted glasses. I would say he probably just about justified his wage every season he was here and not much more which in itself is still good cos a lot of players end up being a waste of money

He had plenty of injuries - and one recurring one to his thigh which kept him out of a lot of games.
For the 4 seasons from 2010 he played nearly 70% of the games....and nearly 100% in the first 3 seasons you mentioned which as I said does not suggest that make shift or 3rd choice as fair or accurate descriptions.

Too wide a question. If you are looking at cost ( overall cost ( ie inc wages etc) against what was delivered on the pitch it is probably someone from either the 1920s or 1960s.

Andre Grays.......Record Signing Confirmed for me we were heading for the Top Table.And I'm sure the prize was 100 million on getting promotion ?

Since following the clarets there have been numerous astute signings-Martin Dobson, Frank Casper, Paul Fletcher, Keith Newton, Alan Stevenson from that particular era. A little later Robbie Blake, the re-signing of Steve Davies, and Glenn Little from Glentoran ,and most recently still Tom Heaton, Joey Barton, Andy Gray, Charlie Austin, Ben Mee, Scott Arfield and Kieran Trippier. Ashley Barnes has been a great find too

But my choice is Martin Dobson-started as a striker, then became the most polished Burnley midfielder I have seen then went to sweeper in the final period

Trevor Steven. Class player.

Sam Vokes for £ 350k ....

He scored 37 goals in the two promotion seasons, scored 12 of our 39 goals in the 2016-17 season to keep us up, and 4 goals in 2017-18, all in winning performances, including our wins at Chelsea & Southampton. He then scored our first goal in Europe for nearly 50 years ...

We then sell him for an estimated 20 times what we bought him for ...

Devils_Advocate wrote:Controversial even for me but was Duff really as good a value as people make out. Not saying he hasn't been a brilliant servant for the club but he didn't cost us just £30k. We paid him a decent salary every year and for most of his time at Burnley he was third choice centre back or make shift right back.

Its probably a too emotive a subject to discuss properly on this forum but saying what a bargain for £30k is a bit misleading. By that logic Jensen must be one of the best ever signings cos he didn't cost us a penny and we got nearly 300 appearances out of him as well as him being one of the key players in that promotion under Coyle

Every player costs us money in wages. Wages that are relevant to the level, and the era, we are playing them. Dobo's annual wage, for example, wouldn't even match the weekly wage of our best paid player today!

Paul Stewart

Makes me appreciate lads like Trippier, Duff, Heaton, Mee and Barnes even more !

I’ll go for Ben Mee (and Tripps as a double swoop)

For me it's got to be Jimmy Mac. Absolute magician with the ball at his feet.

Keith Newton.

It does seem strange how Duff is considered one of the best signings - don't get me wrong, he was a great signing. But we still paid for him whether a small amount or not.
Heaton give us promotions to the premier league, is club captain and an England international... and he didn't even cost £30K
Dyche's first transfer window was unbelievable, and second come to think of it.

The summer of 2013 in terms of value for money was the best transfer window I can remember. Heaton, Jones and Arfield with Kightly coming in on loan absolutely transformed us. Jones, in particular, was like two signings with what he brought out in Marney with he himself being a huge upgrade on McCann.

Value for money v current and future return means the only answer for me has to be:

14yr old Dwight McNeill

conyoviejo wrote:Absolutely,what a great signing and super player he was ..

Noble was an outstanding player and captain. He was highly respected by the people in the know, namely Paisley, Shankley and Clough.

ashtonlongsider wrote:Keith Newton.

. Some player.

bobinho wrote:Michael Duff for me.

Unbelievable VFM.

Absolute quality.

And Crouchy?

Taffy,so good we did it 3 times

Good shout for Mee and Heaton. What about Grewcock? A little bit of quality in very dark times.

Owen Coyle, who fired up an existing team and reached the promised land and Sean Dyche, who has organised and developed our club and achieved greatness, beyond expectation.

Rumpelstiltskin wrote:Peter Noble

100% yes for me .

Surely it can only be Sean Dyche.

Reader, if you seek his monument – look around you.