Three home games, three wins. That’s how Burnley have started their first top-flight season since 1975/76.
Burnley are a welcome throwback to the days before football was sanitised, a club representing a much-maligned working-class area, with a wonderful heritage, making an effort to play good football, and having tremendous strength and team spirit.
The club’s revival over the past decade has been mirrored by other old Lancashire clubs, including Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End and Blackpool, who all recovered from some pretty dark times.
Only Blackburn remained at a respectable level in the 80s, the rest sunk as low as the Fourth Division.
Stan Ternent took Burnley back to the second tier in 2000. They had previously spent 1994-95 there.
The next two seasons saw a push for the play-offs, followed by a descent into mid-table humdrum under Steve Cotterill, before the arrival of Owen Coyle.
Coyle imposed his style on the team, and moulded them into an effective, skillful and hard-working unit. It didn’t take long before they would come up, and were deserved winners over Sheffield United in last season’s play-off final.
The team combines strength and skill in abundance.
Danish giant Brian Jensen keeps goal. Clarke Carlisle brings his experience to defence. Graham Alexander did a Kevin Muscat and converted from full-back to midfield, also scoring penalties like Muscat.
Icelandic international Joey Gudjonsson, however, is more the Nordic Kevin Muscat in terms of reputation.
Ahead of these players are Chris Eagles, Chris McCann, Wade Elliott (scorer of the play-off winner), Kevin McDonald and Robbie Blake- all players of no little skill. Little Ecuadorian Fernando Guerrero is another pickup for the season, a Real Madrid product who’s made a few substitute appearances.
Burnley are well-placed to survive in the Premiership if they can sustain their home form.
Outside of the top teams in the major leagues, home form is all important for survival, something Stoke exploited last season.
Their prosperity in the Premiership is to be hoped for.
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