Harry Potts

[Terrier]

Without doubt a great manager for us certainly in his 1st spell but
my question is how does he compare to dyche?

Same small club but different conditions, for instance jimmy mc,
Could we hold on to one of the best midfielders in the world or even get a player of such caliber to the club in the 1st place,in todays world of football?

Jimmy and at least 5 or 6 other players of the early 60s team wage wise would be very hard to hold onto today.

For me sean's workplace nowadays with a club like ours in the prem is far, far harder, even the smaller clubs seem to have more
financial clout than us and getting even relatively unknowns to sign for us seems tough.

Dyche gets stick because of our style of play but i am sure given
a bigger and better squad things would change, for me even though on paper potts has arguably more success dyche is the better manager for keeping little old burnley in the biggest and richest league in the world!

[warksclaret]

We literally had a team of top international players during Potts early years

[Devils_Advocate]

Got to be either fishing or drunk if your comparing Dyche to Mr Potts

[mikeS]

John Haworth the best Burnley Manager since the club was formed.
Potts the best Burnley Manager since Haworths time.
Dyche the best Burnley manager of the last 50 years.

[ClaretTony]

Harry Potts was a wonderful manager and brought the league title, European Cup football and an FA Cup Final to Burnley. It wasn't a level playing field then but nothing like today's situation.

When he arrived, he inherited some fantastic players, led by Jimmy Mac, who went on to win the league. Sean Dyche inherited a squad that was likely to finish bottom half of the championship.

So difficult to compare because such different situations at the club. Both right up there for their achievements.

[bfcjg]

Potts might not have been able to do what Dyche does, Dyche might not have been able to do what Potts did, different times, different eras but for me Dyche nicks it as Potts IMHO would have struggled a bit with what Dyche inherited.

[boatshed bill]

I thought Harry Potts was fantastic. Different times, different values...
and no need for the stupid sky interviews.

[Royboyclaret]

John Haworth the best Burnley Manager since the club was formed.
Potts the best Burnley Manager since Haworths time.
Dyche the best Burnley manager of the last 50 years.

Harry Potts was simply the best manager we have ever had, better than John Haworth and in a different league to Sean Dyche who in fairness has done a decent job in recent times.

Harry galvanised a squad of wonderful footballers to win the the League Championship, reach an an FA Cup Final and take part in the European Cup in the most exilerating time in the history of our famous football club.

Simply the best, without any doubt.

[ElectroClaret]

I recall HP walking on to the pitch in a European game when the opposition were stealing ten yards or more at a time at free kicks and rolling the ball back to where it should have been taken. Almost got thumped by their players.
Might have been Rheims, memory's fading.
No doubt someone'll know.

A Clarets giant.

[Lew200100]

He was an absolute gentleman as well. As a young lad I had no idea what a legendary figure at Burnley he was. He would pick me up from my house and take me to training and chat all the way there and same again on the way home. Never did he let on who or what he had done for us. Harry just gave advice freely like a dad which in a football ego driven environment was fantastic as a young lad.

[ClaretTony]

He was an absolute gentleman as well. As a young lad I had no idea what a legendary figure at Burnley he was. He would pick me up from my house and take me to training and chat all the way there and same again on the way home. Never did he let on who or what he had done for us. Harry just gave advice freely like a dad which in a football ego driven environment was fantastic as a young lad.

Only got to know him & his wife Margaret after he’d finished at Burnley. Lovely couple and as you say, an absolute gentleman.

[minnieclaret]

I recall HP walking on to the pitch in a European game when the opposition were stealing ten yards or more at a time at free kicks and rolling the ball back to where it should have been taken. Almost got thumped by their players.
Might have been Rheims, memory's fading.
No doubt someone'll know.

A Clarets giant.

Absolutely agree with your sentiment but watch the video of the Reims match. They were taking the FK from exactly where the foul occurred. Pure and simple time-wasting.

[whentheballmoves]

I recall HP walking on to the pitch in a European game when the opposition were stealing ten yards or more at a time at free kicks and rolling the ball back to where it should have been taken. Almost got thumped by their players.
Might have been Rheims, memory's fading.
No doubt someone'll know.

A Clarets giant.

I think that was the infamous Napoli away game? I could be wrong - I often am!

[Quicknick]

Potts might not have been able to do what Dyche does, Dyche might not have been able to do what Potts did, different times, different eras but for me Dyche nicks it as Potts IMHO would have struggled a bit with what Dyche inherited.

I don't think he would have. In 1977/78 he turned things round to such an extent in Division 2 that we went from bottom to a final position of 11th. Our record in the second half of the season was better than anyone else's.

[Terrier]

But sacked after 11 winless games in 79/80 a season we ended up getting relegated to div 3.
Can not remember the circumstances how this came about, but a sad end to his managerial career at the turf.

[bfcjg]

I don't think he would have. In 1977/78 he turned things round to such an extent in Division 2 that we went from bottom to a final position of 11th. Our record in the second half of the season was better than anyone else's.

But as terrier pointed out he was sacked, Dyche has gone from strength to strength, a truer comparison would have been Dyche coming in instead of Laws for example and stabilising us then progressing in the top flight which to a certain extent he has.

[ClaretTony]

But sacked after 11 winless games in 79/80 a season we ended up getting relegated to div 3.
Can not remember the circumstances how this came about, but a sad end to his managerial career at the turf.

Desperately sad the way he left but probably shouldn’t have been given the job again.

That 11 games was 19 if you include the end of the previous season. It did mean his last win as manager was at Ewood.

[tiger76]

Impossible to compare the 2 as they both managed in completely different eras, but the advantage we still had in Harry Potts early tenure, was the maximum wage still existed, this and our ability to scout players allowed us to compete on a relatively equal keel to the big city clubs.

Even so Harry Potts achieved wonders with BFC, and it's unlikely we'll ever experience those heights again.

However in a similar vein Sean Dyche has taken us on a great journey, and touch wood it's not finished quite yet.

[Silkyskills1]

I recall HP walking on to the pitch in a European game when the opposition were stealing ten yards or more at a time at free kicks and rolling the ball back to where it should have been taken. Almost got thumped by their players.
Might have been Rheims, memory's fading.
No doubt someone'll know.

A Clarets giant.

2nd leg at Reims where the second half of the game was on TV if I recall correctly.

[Jakubs Tash]

Impossible to compare the 2 as they both managed in completely different eras, but the advantage we still had in Harry Potts early tenure, was the maximum wage still existed, this and our ability to scout players allowed us to compete on a relatively equal keel to the big city clubs.

Even so Harry Potts achieved wonders with BFC, and it's unlikely we'll ever experience those heights again.

However in a similar vein Sean Dyche has taken us on a great journey, and touch wood it's not finished quite yet.

Agreed. Very different eras indeed. Football now is certainly not the more ‘level playing field’ of football as it was in Potts’ era.

[ClaretTony]

Agreed. Very different eras indeed. Football now is certainly not the more ‘level playing field’ of football as it was in Potts’ era.

It wasn't a level playing field then but it's on a bloody steep hill now.

[Jakubs Tash]

It wasn't a level playing field then but it's on a bloody steep hill now.

Yes. I didn’t say it was a level playing field - I was making out it was more of a level playing field when compared to today’s game.

[ClaretTony]

Yes. I didn’t say it was a level playing field - I was making out it was more of a level playing field when compared to today’s game.

Totally different then which is why it makes it impossible to compare Harry with Sean Dyche. On the first occasion I spoke to Sean Dyche it was in the old Centre Spot by the photograph below. He asked about them and, on pointing out Harry, I said to him that he'd be fine if he did a quarter as well. I think it is more than fair to say he's fine.

[JTClaret]

It's got to play a part that the wage cap was abolished the season after Burnley won the league.
As a 'manager' managing the players and club, Dyche has got to be up there with any manager. I can't think of another who has done so well with so little.

[Herts Clarets]

It's got to play a part that the wage cap was abolished the season after Burnley won the league.
As a 'manager' managing the players and club, Dyche has got to be up there with any manager. I can't think of another who has done so well with so little.

Sean Dyche has had more money than all our other Managers in history combined......

[ClaretTony]

Sean Dyche has had more money than all our other Managers in history combined......

That can’t be disputed

[Terrier]

Another debatable point as thanks to man city etc its getting hard
to buy anyone decent under 20 mill, so yes he has had most money but in a period when money goes no where near as far regarding the standard of player!

[ElectroClaret]

Absolutely agree with your sentiment but watch the video of the Reims match. They were taking the FK from exactly where the foul occurred. Pure and simple time-wasting.

Have to admit I've never seen footage of the incident, Minnie. But its a fairly well known incident and I'm basing my recollections on reports of the match I saw ages ago, and also Bob Lords book, "My Fight for Football", in which he details the goings-on there.

So I don't really know how many yards (if any) were stolen.

[JTClaret]

Sean Dyche has had more money than all our other Managers in history combined......

Oh, there's no denying that.
Although to compare how money has changed... Ben Gibson cost the same as Newcastle paid for Alan Shearer (and it was a world record fee then). There's only been 8 (permanent) Burnley managers since then. He's also been here 9 years.

For where we are, the the current football world, he's still spent pittance.

[Hipper]

Although he didn't stay long the manager that changed our attitude to what was possible in this modern era was..... Owen Coyle.

He took a team of journeyman players, somehow gave them a belief in themselves, changed them from the Cotterill defensive mindset into a team that attacked, had that fabulous cup run and to top it all, got us in the Premier League via the play-offs. Absolutely incredible. That was something I never believed could happen again and it did.

Whether he could have kept that up is debateable but he was the manager that started this modern era for Burnley.

[ClaretTony]

Oh, there's no denying that.
Although to compare how money has changed... Ben Gibson cost the same as Newcastle paid for Alan Shearer (and it was a world record fee then). There's only been 8 (permanent) Burnley managers since then. He's also been here 9 years.

For where we are, the the current football world, he's still spent pittance.

I remember Keegan claiming that the £15m they paid for Shearer would never be beaten and we have now signed players for the same price while Grealish has just moved for £100m. I wonder just how much Shearer would cost now.

[JTClaret]

I remember Keegan claiming that the £15m they paid for Shearer would never be beaten and we have now signed players for the same price while Grealish has just moved for £100m. I wonder just how much Shearer would cost now.

You'd imagine he'd have to be the same kind of figures as being spoken about for Kane (and/or Haaland). So £150m.
If someone uses those figures and says transfer fees are 10x what they were 25 years ago, I bet you wouldn't be far wrong:
Viera - £35m (considered a bargain)
Collymore - £85m
Zola - £45m
Solskjær - £15m

Even Glen Little would be over £1m and Paul Barnes over £4m