Pathetic Burnley hammered at Fulham
Burnley were faced with one of their toughest assignments of the season when they travelled to Fulham in December 1998 to take on a side that seemingly had more money to spend than the rest of the division.
We’d beaten Blackpool at home on the previous Saturday, courtesy of a controversial penalty, before going out of the Auto Windscreens against Preston in midweek.
It was a week when the Clarets Independent Supporters Association called for the Burnley FC board to resign when the accounts were published showing a loss over the year of £800,000 and debts totalling almost £4 million.
Frank Teasdale’s response was to tell supporters it was not all doom and gloom but CISA chairman Peter Heywood reported: “We are involved in another relegation battle and have been knocked out of every cup competition in the first round. When is someone at the club finally going to accept responsibility for what has happened? When is someone at the club going to hold up their hands and admit they’ve got it wrong? Who is going to admit that the club is in a mess and that they are to blame? Someone has got to accept that the desperate financial situation is their fault and do the decent thing by tendering their resignation. As things stand, sorry really doesn’t seem to be the hardest word.”
If things continued to be worrying off the field, it wasn’t too much better on with injuries ruling out players from key games. For the trip to Fulham, Stan Ternent reported that he was hopeful that Gordon Armstrong, Mark Robertson, Steve Morgan, John O’Kane and Peter Swan would all be available but hr was still without long term casualties Paul Smith, Neil Moore and Ronnie Jepson who had been joined by Glen Little who had received surgery for a hernia.
Ternent was looking to add to his squad with the capture of Vinnie Jones who was in dispute with his club QPR. Jones said he’d love to come and help out Stan although the finances were a stumbling block to any deal should QPR be prepared to let him go.
One player not mentioned in the list above was Paul Weller who had undergone surgery to remove his large bowel and would now need six months rest. Ternent had visited him at Burnley General Hospital and said afterwards: “Hopefully the operation will clear the problem. As far as I know there are no complications and he can rest before coming back next season. It’s a desperate situation for the lad, but he’s a battler and I would expect to see him back in the running next season.”
Andy Payton was available again for the game having completed a suspension and Morgan had also completed his suspension. There was one other concern with Andy Cooke having picked up an injury having been kicked on the calf by Preston’s Michael Jackson.
If we were hoping for some kind of upset at Craven Cottage, we were very much disappointed as the Clarets fell to a simply embarrassing 4-0 defeat. Opting for a man marking system in the first half with Chris Brass, Brian Reid and Matty Heywood tasked with looking after Paul Peschisolido, Barry Hayles, a recent recruit from Bristol Rovers, and Geoff Horsfield.
All three did well but further forward, Simon Morgan, Steve Hayward and Neil Smith ran the game for Fulham in the midfield.
We got almost to the half hour before falling behind but the goal had been coming for some time. Fulham won a throw in which was worked to Hayward who crossed quickly for MORGAN to head home from ten yards.
It should have been 2-0 only four minutes later but we scrambled the ball clear. Then Hayles had a goal disallowed for offside, but with seven minutes left we conceded a second. Three times we should have cleared the ball and failed and that left MORGAN to ram the ball home for his and his team’s second.
We changed the system at half time but it did little to improve things. Hayles missed a sitter but two minutes later, Peschisolido got down the flank and this time HAYLES made no mistake in converting.
It had become embarrassing by this stage and the only positive thing was only conceding one more goal, this one scored by man of the match PESCHISOLIDO who was sent clear by Horsfield.
Fulham came close to more goals but Burnley somehow kept it down to four after another totally unacceptable performance that left supporters raging at the final whistle as the players and management left the field after a flare up as our players showed some fight for the first time all afternoon.
Manager Ternent wasn’t happy either. After the game he said: “We were totally dominated throughout the game. We were outplayed and outbattled and that’s how hard the job is that I have taken on.
“We are a lot better side than we showed but all credit to Fulham. They are a very good side. Their desire, their passion and their play was far superior to ours and, if that’s the standard, then we are a miles away at the moment. In a word, we were pathetic.”
More concerningly, he added: “I am not critical of the players, I am critical of their attitude, their endeavour and their commitment. I take that as read before we start and I didn’t get that. I am disappointed, but I have come to expect it during my time at the football club.
“We are very hit and miss and, until such time as I am in a position to strengthen the team, I am going to have to put up with it. That wasn’t my team out there. When I do get my team you will see a marked difference, but we have to get on with what have got and try and make the most of it. I am not protecting the players. I have told them what I think and that’s the end of it.”
With the board room changes, which had seen Barry Kilby join, it was a time of change and Ternent said on that: “Until such time as that is all sorted out we have to grin and bear it. But we are not pulling any punches. There has to be a major turnaround at Burnley Football Club in the playing staff if we are going to be successful. If I get my way, that is what we will do.
“I felt they let themselves down. They certainly let me down and they let the supporters and everyone connected with Burnley Football Club down. And that’s what I told them in the dressing room.”
The teams were;
Fulham: Maik Taylor, Gus Uhlenbeek, Rufus Brevett, Simon Morgan, Chris Coleman, Kit Symons, Steve Hayward, Smith (Francois Keller 75), Geoff Horsfield (John Salako 85), Paul Peschisolido, Barry Hayles. Sub not used: Paul Trollope.
Burnley: Paul Crichton, Matt Heywood, Brian Reid, Gordon Armstrong, Chris Brass, Mark Robertson, Matt Hewlett (Brad Maylett ht), Mark Ford, John O’Kane, Andy Cooke (Kevin Henderson 73), Andy Payton. Sub not used: Phil Eastwood.
Referee: Ray Oliver (Sutton Coldfield).
Attendance: 9,983.
The December results up to and including the day of our game at Fulham are below.
Division Two Results
Tuesday 1st December
Wigan 2 Fulham 0
Saturday 5th December
Blackpool 1 Chesterfield 1
Tuesday 8th December
York 2 Lincoln 1
Saturday 12th December
Blackpool 0 Wycombe 0
Bournemouth 2 York 1
Fulham 4 Burnley 0
Lincoln 0 Colchester 0
Macclesfield 2 Luton 2
Manchester City 0 Bristol Rovers 0
Millwall 1 Reading 1
Northampton 1 Chesterfield 0
Notts County 2 Preston 3
Oldham 0 Walsall 2
Stoke 0 Gillingham 0
Wigan 1 Wrexham 1
Burnley Goalscorers (League)
11: Andy Payton
5: Andy Cooke
2: Rune Vindheim
1; Gordon Armstrong, Phil Eastwood, Glen Little, Brian Reid
Burnley Goalscorers (Cups)
3: Andy Payton
1: Andy Cooke
Leading Goalscorers
11: Richard Cresswell (York), Andy Payton (Burnley)
10: Carl Asaba (Gillingham), Barry Hayles (Fulham, 9 with Bristol Rovers), Andy Rammell (Walsall), Mark Stein (Bournemouth)
9: Martin Williams (Reading)
8: Stuart Barlow (Wigan), Carlo Corazzin (Northampton), Shaun Goater (Manchester City)
7: Grant Brebner (Reading), Kurt Nogan (Preston), Paul Shaw (Millwall), Darren Wrack (Walsall)
League Table
| Pos | Team | pld | w | d | l | f | a | gd | pts |
| 1 | Stoke | 21 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 30 | 15 | 15 | 44 |
| 2 | Fulham | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 32 | 16 | 16 | 42 |
| 3 | Walsall | 21 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 24 | 8 | 42 |
| 4 | Preston | 20 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 37 | 21 | 16 | 37 |
| 5 | Gillingham | 21 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 29 | 18 | 11 | 34 |
| 6 | Chesterfield | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 32 |
| 7 | Bournemouth | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 31 | 21 | 10 | 30 |
| 8 | Luton | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 26 | 21 | 5 | 30 |
| 9 | Manchester City | 21 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 24 | 19 | 5 | 30 |
| 10 | Reading | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 26 | -2 | 30 |
| 11 | Wigan | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 27 | 21 | 6 | 29 |
| 12 | Millwall | 21 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 22 | -2 | 29 |
| 13 | Blackpool | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 28 |
| 14 | Colchester | 20 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 19 | 23 | -4 | 25 |
| 15 | Wrexham | 21 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 21 | 28 | -7 | 25 |
| 16 | Bristol Rovers | 21 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 24 | 25 | -1 | 24 |
| 17 | York | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 26 | 36 | -10 | 24 |
| 18 | Burnley | 21 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 22 | 34 | -12 | 23 |
| 19 | Northampton | 21 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 19 | 23 | -4 | 21 |
| 20 | Notts County | 20 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 23 | 28 | -5 | 21 |
| 21 | Macclesfield | 21 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 28 | -9 | 20 |
| 22 | Oldham | 21 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 34 | -15 | 17 |
| 23 | Wycombe | 21 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 26 | -10 | 16 |
| 24 | Lincoln | 21 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 20 | 38 | -18 | 13 |
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