Correct ... I suspect the Football Gods chose to punish both of them with a spell in non-league football ...

I for one, can have little sympathy for Luton, as they were one of the original signatories to the formation of the Premier League, and have yet to kick a ball in said division, as they were relegated at the end of the 1991-92 season, and have never returned to the top flight .... Your starter for 10 - Who is the other Club for whom this is also the case ?

Going back again to the original topic .... and both our club's decent first half of the season With the sole exception of Sunderland in 1997-98 ( they got 90 points and finished 3rd, losing out to Charlton in the play-offs ), 89 points has always been enough to clinch automatic promotion since the formation of the Premier League. The average 3rd place finish has been achieved on 84 points or so in that time, although this year may be an outlier. There are 10 points that separate Blackburn in 3rd place ( 42 ) and Birmingham in 17th ( 32 ). This indicates that these teams are fairly even and on any given day, could beat each other. If our form was to drop off, and finish with say 7 wins, 6 draws and 7 losses, we'd finish on 83 points .... the form teams, Middlesborough would then need 44 points from 20 games to tie with us eg: 13 wins, 4 draws & 3 losses and West Brom would need 45. A record of W9, D6, L5 would get your lot to 74 points, which, given the " dog eat dog " nature of the Championship, could well be enough for a play-off place. Any thoughts ?

I'm always one to keep my feet on the ground when it comes to Burnley, but I think we're safe from the drop now ....

In my heart of hearts, I suspect we'll get promoted, not necessarily as Champions, with something to spare ... However, over the years, I've seen us score 5 away at Grimsby and still lose, score 4 at home to Sheffield Wednesday but lose 4-7, and perhaps worst of all, lead 0-2 at Darlington in the League Cup with 8 minutes to go and lose 3-2 !! We are also the only top tier Club to lose at home to non-league opposition twice in the FA Cup .... If anyone could do a " Devon Loch ", it's us ..... 😉

I must admit I've thought " David Brent " could have adopted a more conciliatory tone in his posts. All clubs have their bad trots and the last thing you need is some berk from your local rivals rubbing it in, and pointing out the " bleedin' obvious " !! I think " Longsiders " and I get a very fair hearing on here, far more so than I suspect one of you would get in " The Beehole End " or " Up the Clarets " .... Best wishes to all of you and yours for the New Year !!

That thought did occur to me, to be fair !

Ian Wright and Gary Neville are being disingenous here .... We all know that back in their playing days, both of them, Neville particularly, would have been surrounding the Referee screaming for a penalty if that self same scenario for the Argentine penalty had happened to their team ...

There's certainly been a few goals in your last two fixtures .... 🙄

He needs to be careful what he wishes for ..... Coventry City are the only viable tenant, and he could find himself with a huge " white elephant on his hands ! There was a sandwich shop near us that did good trade, and the greedy Landlord, not a pleasant man by all accounts, tried to increase the rent and make the two ladies responsible for sub-letting the flat above. What he didn't realise was that the hairdresser next door was retiring, so the ladies took over her lease, moved out over a long weekend and re-opened a week later paying less rent. The original shop and flat have stood empty for nearly two years now ....

Rather hoping this won't be the " kiss of death ", but I hope the Dutch rack up a few goals today to humiliate these dreadful, corrupt, untrustworthy hosts ....

“It’s a Lada vs a Ferrari.” - Stan Ternent 😉 Stan was always good value for a quote ... " A blind man on a galloping horse could see that was a penalty " .. " I got a letter from a fan, complaining about me smoking in the dug-out, he said I was setting a bad example to young supporters .. I wrote back, on Club notepaper " Dear Sir, P**s off, Regards, Stan " ...

1) " I never comment on a Referee's performance, Brian, and I'm not breaking my rule for that incompetent Pratt " ( Ron Atkinson ) 2) " Of course there are better Centre-halves than you, Jack, but you possess the qualities I need in the system I wish to employ " ( Alf Ramsey to Jack Charlton 1966 ) 3) Italian Journalist to Bob Paisley, pre-match before the 1977 European Cup Final, " Have you been to Rome before, Mr Paisley ? ", " Aye, just the once ", " A scouting mission ? " .... " No, 1944, on the back of a Sherman tank ! " 4) Post match interviewer, " Can I have a quick word ? ", Manager " Velocity ! " ( Martin Buchan/Gordon Strachan ) 5) " I wouldn't say I'm the best manager in the Country, but I'm definitely in the top 1 " ( Brian Clough ) 6) " I'm sorry Gentlemen, It's my day off " ( Alf Ramsey to the assembled Press, at his home the day after England's world Cup win ) 7) " Kevin Keegan's a great player, but I wouldn't fancy his chances knee deep in dust ! " ( Bill Shankly, on hearing of a proposal to allow fans to have their ashes scattered on the Anfield pitch ) 😎 " Tom Finney on the right wing, but I'd have to think about the rest " ( Tommy Doherty, on being asked to name an all-time British XI ) 9) " We try to equalise before the opposition score ! " ( Danny Blanchflower to a bemused European Press, asking about Northern Ireland's tactics at the 1958 World Cup ) Some old chestnuts here, can anyone suggest some additions ?

Am I the only one to be slightly amused to see that the German team is managed by Herr Flick ?

Jack Hixon ( 1921 -2009 ) worked as Burnley's scout in the North East for many years, before cost cutting led to him moving on, eventually to Southampton. Apart from the others mentioned, he also recommended Stan Ternent to Burnley. His final connection to Burnley was Steve Davis, who went to Southampton initially but played for Burnley over 3 spells between 1989 & 2003 making 327 appearances.

Many thanks to you and others for the good wishes, I visited him yesterday in his care facility in Clitheroe ... He recalled his army number and could recite Latin quotes, but couldn't remember Mum's visit the previous day. He has a wonderful attitude to his condition ... he suffered a bad heart attack 27 years ago on holiday in Boston, resulting in a six-way bypass. His view then was that his natural life was over, and every day since has been a bonus. Since then, he's seen both his daughters marry, had 4 more Grandchildren and seen our Granddaughter, his great Granddaughter come into this world. He considers himself a lucky man ! As for the baby grow, mine should have been black & white, as he's a Nottingham lad who supports Notts County. We moved to Clitheroe in 1975, when I was 11, and I chose Burnley ( apologies for that ! ). I did however turn out for Blackburn Rugby Club for 15 years, if that's any help .... 😎

Dad was a Grammar school lad, grew up on a Council estate, lost his Dad ( lorry driver ) when he was 7 during the war ... but he reckons he was recommended for a Commission because he'd been made Head Boy at school. I suspect he didn't have the arrogance ( or confidence, depending on your view ) of the " Public School types " ... He went on to Cambridge on a choral scholarship, first in his family to go to University, and spent his whole career running factories producing Greetings Cards, and specialist glass. He's 87 next month, been married to Mum for 63 years but now suffers from vascular dementia. I got a golden ticket in life's lottery when I was born to those two people ...

I wouldn't disagree with any of that ... When my Dad did his National Service between 1954-56, he was fortunate to gain a commission, and was a 19 year old 2nd Lieutenant serving in Egypt and Cyprus, commanding a Royal Signals section. He said the best advice he got was from the Regimental Colonel, " your Sergeant and his Corporal are both WW2 veterans, they know more about the job than you ever will, use the phrase " Carry on Sergeant " often, and things will run fine ". If only the Venkys had heeded that advice, taken a back seat, let John Williams and Allardyce crack on with things, and write the occasional large cheque, then how different things could have been. They could have become legends in the town, be lauded as " model owners " and enjoy popping over from India to be feted at every turn ... It would probably have cost them considerably less in financial terms as well ...

Crikey, I hope you're not referring to this post from May 2019 ... which was my attempt at a " wind up ", in my early days posting on here ... " The Football Association and the Football League have backed a proposal from The National Association of Football Statisticians to downgrade the first 22 years of the FA Cup, to the equivilant of the FA Amateur Cup which commenced in 1893-94, and ran until the 1973-74 season. The years affected run from 1872 to 1893, and the winners of the Cup for those years will not be permitted to claim these successes as FA Cup wins on their official Club websites or publications. Explaining the reasoning, N.A.F.S. Secretary, Dr John Hickson said " Any objective analysis of the early years of the " FA Cup " reveals a large number of " byes ", " walkovers " and hugely one-sided results, and in the modern age, we no longer feel it appropriate that these early incarnations of the greatest Club knockout Cup should be classed as true F.A. Cup Competitions ". He added, " The dominance of Public School Old Boys and Military Clubs in the early years, as well as mis-matches with the early Professional Clubs coming up against "true amateur " sides, does not sit well in the modern professional age ". An FA spokesman endorsed the decision, which is expected to be passed unopposed at next month's FA Council meeting, where the renaming of the Football Association, as the " English Football Association " is also expected to gain approval . Some of the affected downgrading concern Clubs no longer in existance, such as Wanderers, Royal Engineers and Clapton Rovers. David Singleton, West Bromwich Albion's head of media relations said, " We accept this decision with some reluctance, but understand the reasoning behind it " . West Bromwich Albion will no longer be able to claim their 1888 & 1892 victories on their official " Roll of Honour" . Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Preston North End are also affected losing one victory each, but the Club most affected is Championship side Blackburn Rovers who will have 5 of their FA Cup wins effectively deleted from the history books. No one at Blackburn Rovers was available for comment, although a source inside the Club said " they were studying the implications of the decision closely, and a statement is expected to be issued in due course "

I'm sorry, but that's tosh .... At the time of the " April Fools day " massacre, we were virtually broke, having suffered the ITV digital fiasco, whilst Rovers had both parachute payments and Walker Trust funding ... Rovers had their metaphorical foot on Burnley necks and never let up, nor would we have expected them to. I'm sure when Craig Hignett slammed the 5th goal past Nik Michopoulos on 1st April 2001, you were sitting there shaking your head muttering, " Sorry lads, I cannot join in with this jubilation, it's like beating up a cancer patient " ! 🙄

Enough said .....

That's kind of you, J*B .... don't know if longsiders is local but I'd enjoy that ! Blackburn Rugby Club might be an option on a Saturday afternoon ...

In peace as ever ... I, for one, deliberately didn't post yesterday ... having seen a few winters and having been on the other side of the equation a few times, the last thing one needs is some b***end from the opposite camp rubbing your nose in it ! Having spent Remembrance Sunday morning saluting with my six-fingered hand, and pointing in wonderment at planes, the game was strange. It was as if JDT had not seen or learnt anything from our rout at Bramall Lane. " Derby " day defeats aren't easy to take at the best of times, but there seemed to be no cohesion, fight or passion from the Blues, and that's another matter ... I can quite understand your frustrations ... I wish Tella had not made that gesture to the Rovers player, these things have a habit of coming back to haunt you. One early mistimed tackle at Ewood, a red card, a vociferous home crowd, Brereton-Diaz having a stormer and things could easily be reversed next time round .. Having said all that, if you'd have offered both sets of fans the current League table on 1st August, we'd have all taken it ...

Morning all, I see the usual insults have started, good to see ... Many thanks for all of your good wishes for yesterday's " Promise Party ". People were kind enough to say that my temporary elevation to the Clergy went well, and the " Bride & Groom " had a fabulous day. Although he has severe learning disabilities, the lad we look after made his own little speech about how he felt about his " girl " .... not a dry eye in the house !! Thanks again, and enjoy the game .... but not too much ! 😎