The Longside Reference

2006/07 was a season for the die-hards, a season what saw Burnley go four months without a win (19 games), not forgetting the 125-year anniversary

The loan players of the previous season have gone, Lowe, Bermingham, Dyer, Lee Grant, Ricketts and Bardsley. In came Steve Jones and Stephen Foster from Crewe Alexandra.

The season started well wins over Queens Park Rangers and Leicester City and a draw away at Sheffield Wednesday saw Burnley sat proudly at the top of the Championship. But it wasn't to last one point in the next three, and defeat in the League Cup against lower league Hartlepool United, August was one of frustration.

September came with Gifton Noel Williams scoring a hat-trick off the bench against Barnsley an Andy Gray goal against Stoke saw the side from the Potteries leave Turf Moor pointless, with Burnley sitting pretty on the top ten of the championship.

A scintillating display against Norwich away at Carrow Road live in front of the TV cameras saw Andy Gray score twice and one apiece for James O'Conner and Alan Mahon in a 4-1 win. Burnley followed this by beating Hull City 2-0 at Turf Moor. Two scoreless draws followed before another fantastic game against Preston North End with an Andy Gray goal in the last minute saw them off at Turf Moor by 3 goals to two. Burnley went through the whole of October without losing.

November started in the same way with a first career goal for Chris Mccann in the 1-0 home victory over Ipswich Town, but three defeats followed against Cardiff, West Bromwich and Birmingham before Burnley ended the season with a victory over Leeds United.

Burnleys Christmas slump was a worry for the Burnley fans, but with the Clarets sat in 6th place, no one could envisage the catastrophic drop in form Burnley were about to go through. December 2nd Burnley took a respectable point of Ipswich Town at Portman Road, then defeats in eleven games along with 8 draws saw Burnley not win a competitive game until April 3rd when a Plymouth Side came to relegation threatened Burnley who sat in 18th place looking over their shoulder at the drop-zone.

Panic seemed to set in at Burnley, Cotterill re signed Ade Akinbiyi in January who came back looking like he should be competing in Mr Universe so muscle bound was he. Mike Pollitt came in on loan, which saw Brian Jenson hand in a transfer request, Pollit only managed one game due to Chris Kirklands injury at Wigan saw the stopper recalled. Joey Gudjonsson was signed for £150.000, as was Steve Caldwell from Sunderland.

The loand market was also used when Manchester United player Eric Djemba-Djemba came in, along with Graham Coughlan and Paul McVeigh. Djemba-Djemba was a quality signing, after an initial settling in period of three games, he lifted Burnley, and with Paul McViegh who scored 3 in 8 appearances also was inspired, Coughlan not so inspiring, he managed just one start and one substitute appearance.

Burnley went into League game 39, sat in 18th Place with 42 points, it wasn't good enough. Burnley sat in 6th Place with 32 points four months earlier (19 games earlier).

Game 39 Plymouth Argyle, less than ten thousand brave die-hard fans attended that day, and saw Burnley return to thier early season form beating the south coast side 4-0 and it could easily been more, Goals from Michael Duff, Wade Elliott, Steve Jones and Paul McViegh saw off the Pilgrims.

A John Spicer goal at St Andrews, saw Burnley make it 2 wins out of 2! Burnley then beat Cardiff City 2-0, a defeat at Leeds followed by two more victories against Norwich and West Brom, before the Clarets ended the season by losing the final two games against Sunderland and the Coventry.

As seasons go, this is one as hard to work out as the Bermuda Triangle. Injury to Andy Gray could be the reason? A season which saw Mich Hyde leave, Frank Sinclar leave, John McGreal play his last game, debuts for Steve Foster, Steve Caldwell, Stee Jones and Joey Gudjohnsson while loan players Lee Grant, Djembe-Djemba, Coughlan, McVeigh and Mike Pollitt graced the Claret and Blue Shirt.

This season is reviewed from start to finish in Dave Thomas' book 'Russians Don't Land Here", a book that reviews every game, every transfer story, every event through the eyes of the author and the fans.