Turf Moor is one of the most atmospheric old style grounds in football. I have sat in the away end, but also in the home stand for a game against Hull. Tonight it is the money men of Chelsea who are the visitors.
Turf Moor is one of the most atmospheric old style grounds in football. I have sat in the away end, but also in the home stand for a game against Hull. Tonight it is the money men of Chelsea who are the visitors.
Burnley were, of course, one of the founders of the Football League and were champions twice (1920-21 and 1959-60). For a long time they were associated with Bob Lord who also had an outspoken role as a traditionalist in the game generally. He was also described as a butcher, but it wasn’t a one shop outfit (fourteen in total). He was better described as running a meat processing business.
Co-chairmen Mike Garlick and John Banaszkiewicz are local businessmen. The club has stayed afloat on parachute payments from their previous year in the Premier League in 2009-10 and selling players, mostly recently Charlie Austin to QPR for £4m in 2013. Turf Moor’ s gate receipts for last season were about the same as Manchester United net from a single home game.
Last season’s top wage was £7,500 a year which will increase to £20,000 this year. The budget last year was in the bottom six of the Championship. This year it is equivalent to the eighth highest in the Championship. Of six new signings, only three involved fees, the biggest £1.5m.
Burnley want to make a go of it, but even if they finish bottom, they will go down with a big cheque (Cardiff got £62m for finishing bottom last year) and enhanced parachute payments of £59m over four years. It may be bargain basement football by Premiership standards, but it is also very sensible and prudent.