Way back in 1968 the Chester Report on the State of Football (link below) commented on Burnley page 42 (para 143) calling them

a 'phenomenon'. This was because we had been in the First Division for so long while other small town clubs had gone

down. This was explained in the report as being the result of good management which was undoubtedly true -Alan Brown, Harry Potts and Jimmy

Adamson were excellent. It was also down to Gawthorpe producing a string of top players many of whom were sold on to big clubs.

By 1968 Gawthorpe's supply of top youngsters was drying up as the large clubs developed their own scouting networks and top

training facilities. By the mid 1970s the good managers and players had gone and there followed 45 years where Burnley were not a

'phenomenon'.

https://archive.org/details/op1269254-1 ... 7/mode/2up



Fast forward to where we are now and Burnley after several seasons in the Premiership are once again a 'phenomenon'. This can be

explained by the skills of Sean Dyche and a very well managed club from top to bottom. However, the funds needed to keep a club in the

Premier League are getting bigger and Barnfield is unlikely to produce many gems as things stand- although Category 1 status was

worth striving for. The decision to sell the club is as yet to be seen as a good one. ALK Capital know that Burnley are punching

above their weight and will not endorse lavish outlays but they may have to loosen the purse strings a little - they cannot let their reputation

be tarnished by the manager walking out in protest if he is left again with a threadbare squad. However, ALK will probably not panic if the

club are relegated as their business model is about making a small town club successful not to make them into Manchester City. Their biggest

contribution might be the technology they bring to recruitment (link below) although the benefits of that wont be seen for years.

https://www.cityam.com/modernising-burn ... a-new-era/



Although we should be pleased that we are still in the Premier League next season Burnley Football Club has reached a similar crossroads

as to where it was 50 years ago. Mistakes were made then and for years afterwards that nearly led to oblivion but hopefully the club is now

in better hands. In this most unusual of seasons we should probably be happy with where we are - but a big summer lies ahead.

Interesting stuff

When I saw that City Am article last week I was struck by two things
- that is the first time anyone other than Alan Pace has really stuck their head over the parapet for the media
- that it was effectively in an outlet aimed at city types - who may or may not be interested in becoming a partner in one or more of ALK's ventures - much more than football fans, and certainly not at Burnley fans

It has been mentioned before but there is a certain lineage at work here ...

Alan Brown, who managed Burnley to three top-half finishes from 1954-57 , oversaw the building of the training ground at Gawthorpe. He departed for Sunderland, who were trying to recover from an illegal payments scandal, with their Chairman and three directors suspended. Brown instituted a " strict code of conduct ", and in 1961, signed a certain Brian Clough, who then scored 63 goals in 73 matches before suffering the Boxing Day 1962 injury that ended his career.

Clough entered Management with many of Alan Browns ideas, and of course, in 1987, Sean Dyche joined Nottingham Forest's youth system. When he joined Burnley, guess what .... he brought in a " strict code of conduct " and after our promotion, oversaw the re-building and updating of the training ground at Gawthorpe ... Funny how things work out !

The following couple of pages from those mentioned above show that very little has changed since it was written, the financial numbers are greater (and there is now the dependency on TV rather than gates in the top flight for the smaller clubs) but the general gist is completely unchanged

From the Chester report, page 47, 'para 163 - recommendations. I note that none of the five recommendations were implemented at that time.

https://archive.org/details/op1269254-1 ... 3/mode/2up

BurnleyBob wrote: ↑

Mon May 24, 2021 3:45 pm

.
By 1968 Gawthorpe's supply of top youngsters was drying up as the large clubs developed their own scouting networks and top

You picked a strange year there, we won the Youth Cup, but I get your point.

I was expecting a 50,000 word financial report from Chester Perry when I saw the title of this thread.

Another wind-up threat OP.

Burnley yeah Bob...

You're going to love it in The Championship AREN'T YOU?

You really want to be there DON'T YOU?

That's where the club really belongs ISN'T IT?

Yeah Bob.

... And the club is really about training young boys and girls at the Barnfield barn field Res. ISN'T IT?

'Meanwhile local hopefuls of a better life than Padiham pull their chewing gum and hang around the gates.'

Some photographs from the Civic Trust collection of Gawthorpe 1950s to the 1970s.

Lovely photos, especially the last one.

Is that the start of the 1975-76 season? I see Summerbee and Morgan in there. Is number 20 Colin Morris? I'd be interested to know who the others are to the right of Billy Ingham.