The Longside Reference

 Two of the greatest games in recent history came in this season, Beating the mighty Liverpool 1-0, and going to White hart Lane to defeat Spurs, two games constantly talked about.

While league form was inconsistent beating Kevin Keegan's Newcastle United, putting seven past Charlton Athletic who had former European Footballer of the year Allen Simonsson in their team, scoring four against Sheff wed Middlesbrough and Carlisle in the league, only winning 12 League games all season.

Having two fantastic cup runs, possibly the involvement in the cups was to the detriment to Burnley's League form, An FA cup run that saw Burnley reach the quarter final, a League Cup run what saw Burnley reach the Semi-Final.

Brian Miller who was in his first stint as Manager of Burnley, would be dramatically replaced two days after his 46th birthday, and hours before Burnley defeated Ricardo Villa, Osvaldo Ardiles, Garry Mabbutt, Grahame Roberts, Ray Clemence, Steve Archibald and the rest of Tottenham Hotspurs the current  FA Cup holders, on their own patch. Frank Casper who was put in caretaker charge the day of the game, the way it happened is just another way chairman John Jackson upset the Clarets faithful.

Burnley who had a vibrant young team, who should have never been struggling at the foot of the second division, but that is where we were, winning only 5 games in the league in his 24 games before Jackson wielded the axe with Miller the recipient, Burnley with the talents of Steven, Phelan, Overson, Laws, and local lad Andy Wharton breaking through, and  with the experienced pros such as Martin Dobson, Steve Taylor, Alan Stevenson, Irish Internationals Tommy Cassidy and with Billy Hamilton fresh from his exploits in Spain82.

Relegation on the last day of the season, a defeat at Crystal Palace, sealed Burnley's fate, with only 4 points separating Burnley in 21st place, and Cambridge United in 12th. Burnley's 12 league games in the last month and a half was their undoing, relegation it was, Frank Casper was not offered the job after his cup heroics, as John Jackson wanted an Outsider!