10th Aug: A year ago today

[ClaretTony]

We've five games to look at today, three of them that opened the season and two that saw us move into the second game.

Taking a looking at those opening day games, they brought us one win, one draw and one defeat with the draw coming first way back in 1968 at Nottingham Forest. With over an hour gone it was still 0-0 but then Forest took the lead before adding another just over ten minutes later. We were still two goals behind into the final ten minutes but then Colin Waldron pulled one back before Frank Casper scored our equaliser on 86 minutes.

There were no debutants that day at Forest, nothing of a surprise back in the 1960s, but the collapse of ITV Digital had hit us in 2002 which saw us go into the new season with a home game against Brighton with no new signings.

On a day when chairman Barry Kilby was booed by supporters in all home stands when he came out to make a presentation because of the lack of new signings, we turned in a simply woeful performance on a day when manager Stan Ternent suggested Robbie Blake had played in diving boots.

Steve Melton gave Brighton a first half lead and things went worse for Burnley in the second half. First, Arthur Gnohere was sent off for a touchline clash and then Paul Brooker and Bobby Zamora added to our woes with further goals. Lee Briscoe did pull one back in stoppage time but there were more boos at the end after this dreadful performance.

What were you doing a year ago? It's hard to believe now but 10th August was the day we strode out to take on Southampton at home in the opening game of the 2019/20 season, a season that in some cases is still coming to a close. There doesn't need to be much prompting to remember this game but we won it 3-0 with three second half goals in 12 minutes, the first two from Ashley Barnes and then a third scored by Jόhann Berg Guðmundsson.

Having drawn 1-1 against Sheffield United on opening day in 2004, we travelled to Rotherham on the following Tuesday. It's not often successive away games are against the same club but our final game of the previous season had seen us hammered there 3-0 on a day when we actually saw our place in the league confirmed with Walsall losing. With the league rebranded as the Championship it was a further point here on a night where there was precious little to report. Although Danny Coyne got the man of the match rating, we were the better side overall.

Another home draw had kicked off the 2013/14 season against Bolton but this time we travelled to South Yorkshire for the next game and won all three points. Headed goals from Danny Ings and Sam Vokes five minutes apart gave us a 2-0 lead at half time although David Prutton did pull one back in the second half. The game ended 2-1, we deserved it on a day when Ross Wallace was outstanding on the right hand side.

At the time we could have done without Prutton's goal but I can't be too harsh on the man who now fronts Football League football on Sky. After all, his father-in-law is one of my all time Burnley favourites Brian O'Neil.

[NottsClaret]

I remember the game at Hillsborough, came away thinking we should be ok to stay up that season..

They had some poor Portuguese lad at left back, up against Trippier and Wallace - they tore him to bits. Every bit as hapless as Brian Easton. A Wednesday fan I know said after he was taken off at half time he was never seen again.

[ClaretTony]

I remember the game at Hillsborough, came away thinking we should be ok to stay up that season..

They had some poor Portuguese lad at left back, up against Trippier and Wallace - they tore him to bits. Every bit as hapless as Brian Easton. A Wednesday fan I know said after he was taken off at half time he was never seen again.

It was Rafael Floro and It was his only league appearance for them. He was only 19 and had come through the youth system.

I’d agree with you. We played well, Ings & Vokes looked like they might be forming a partnership and I did think we shouldn’t struggle.

[matttheclaret]

When we went to Derby a couple of weeks later and won 3-0 I started to think we were capable of a good season.

When we won at Ipswich in October though, I really did think something strange was happening

[ksrclaret]

That Sheff Wed game was the first league win of the most exciting, unexpected and satisfying seasons I've had watching Burnley. A side that I thought would be doing very well to finish 21st when the season began turned out to be the one I will remember forever as the best I've seen.

[Fretters]

When Stan referred to the diving boots, was he accusing him of diving too much or just being sluggish like he was wearing heavy boots?

[wilks_bfc]

I remember the game at Hillsborough, came away thinking we should be ok to stay up that season..

They had some poor Portuguese lad at left back, up against Trippier and Wallace - they tore him to bits. Every bit as hapless as Brian Easton. A Wednesday fan I know said after he was taken off at half time he was never seen again.

Not the first time that’s happened at Hillsborough

[wilks_bfc]

When Stan referred to the diving boots, was he accusing him of diving too much or just being sluggish like he was wearing heavy boots?

Sluggish. But wasn’t it later revealed that he was playing with a hernia?

[ClaretTony]

Sluggish. But wasn’t it later revealed that he was playing with a hernia?

The hernia was when he’d signed in the previous January. He’d had the surgery by this time.