Burnley F.C.

Burnley Football Club is an English football club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Founded on 18 May 1882, it was one of the first to become professional (in 1883), and subsequently put pressure on the Football Association to permit payments to players. The club entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1885–86 and was one of the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888–89. From the 1950s until the 1970s, under chairman Bob Lord, the club became renowned for its youth policy and scouting system, and was one of the first to set up a purpose-built training ground. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.

Burnley have been champions of England twice, in 1920–21 and 1959–60, have won the FA Cup once, in 1913–14, and have won the FA Charity Shield twice, in 1960 and 1973. They have been runners-up in the First Division twice, in 1919–20 and 1961–62, and FA Cup runners-up twice, in 1946–47 and 1961–62. The team also reached the quarter-finals of the 1960–61 European Cup. Burnley are one of only five sides to have won all four professional divisions of English football, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Preston North End, Sheffield United and Portsmouth. When the team won the 1959–60 Football League, the town of Burnley became the smallest to have an English first tier champion.

The team have played home games at Turf Moor since 1883, after they had moved from their original premises at Calder Vale. The club colours of claret and blue were adopted before the 1910–11 season in tribute to the then Football League champions Aston Villa. The club is nicknamed "the Clarets", because of the dominant colour of its home shirts. Burnley's current emblem is based on the town's coat of arms. The team have a long-standing rivalry with nearby club Blackburn Rovers, with whom they contest the East Lancashire Derby.

Early beginnings and Clarets' glory (1882–1946)
The club was founded on 18 May 1882 by members of rugby team Burnley Rovers, who voted for a shift to association football, since other sports clubs in the area had changed their codes to football. The suffix "Rovers" was dropped a few days later. The team played their first-ever match on 10 August against local side Burnley Wanderers at home ground Calder Vale and won 4–0. In February 1883, the club was invited by Burnley Cricket Club to a pitch adjacent to the cricket field at Turf Moor, where it has remained since. That same year saw them win their first silverware; the Dr Dean Trophy, a knockout competition between amateur clubs in the Burnley area.

By the end of 1883, the club turned professional and signed several top quality footballers. As a result, Burnley refused to join the Football Association (FA) and its FA Cup, since the association barred professional players. In 1884, they led a group of 35 other clubs in the formation of the breakaway British Football Association to challenge the supremacy of the FA. This threat of secession led to an FA rule change in July 1885 allowing professionalism, which made the new body redundant.

Burnley made their first appearance in the FA Cup in 1885–86; however, most professionals were prohibited entry due to FA rules that year, so they fielded their reserve side and lost 11–0 to Darwen Old Wanderers. In October 1886, Turf Moor became the first professional ground to be visited by a member of the Royal Family, when Prince Albert Victor attended a match between Burnley and Bolton Wanderers. The club was among the 12 founders of the Football League in 1888–89 and one of the six based in Lancashire. William Tait became the first player to score a league hat-trick in the second match, when his three goals gave Burnley their inaugural win in the competition. In 1889–90, they claimed their first Lancashire Cup, after beating local rivals Blackburn Rovers in the final. Nicknames at this point were "Turfites", "Moorites" or "Royalites", as a result of their ground's name and the royal connection.

Burnley were relegated to the Second Division for the first time in 1896–97. The team won the division the next season; only two of 30 matches were lost before promotion was gained through a four-team play-off series called test matches, although the last game against First Division club Stoke was controversial. The tie finished 0–0 as both needed only a draw for a top flight place; it was later named "The match without a shot at goal". The Football League soon withdrew the test match system in favour of automatic promotion and relegation and expanded both divisions from 16 to 18 clubs after a motion by Burnley was tabled. They were relegated again in 1899–1900 and found themselves at the centre of controversy when their goalkeeper, Jack Hillman, attempted to bribe opponents Nottingham Forest in the last match of the season. This was one of the earliest recorded cases of match fixing in English football. The side continued to play in the Second Division and even finished in bottom place in 1902–03 (but were re-elected), as the club got into financial difficulties.

Harry Windle was named chairman in 1909, after which the club's finances turned around.He appointed manager John Haworth in 1910, who changed the club's colours from green to the claret and blue of Aston Villa, the then First Division champions, as Haworth and the Burnley committee believed it might bring a change of fortune. In 1912–13, they won promotion to the first tier and reached the FA Cup semi-final. Burnley won their first major honour the following year, beating Liverpool in the 1914 FA Cup Final. Bert Freeman scored the only goal, as Burnley became the first club to defeat five top tier sides in one cup season. Tommy Boyle became the first captain to receive the trophy from a reigning monarch (KingGeorge V).

The team finished second to West Bromwich Albion in 1919–20, before winning their first ever First Division championship in 1920–21. Burnley lost the opening three games, but went unbeaten in the following 30 league matches, a then English record. Haworth's death in 1924 was followed by a steady deterioration of their position, which culminated in demotion in 1929–30. They struggled in the second tier and avoided a further relegation in 1931–32 by two points. The years through to the outbreak of the Second World War were characterised by uninspiring league finishes.

Golden era (1946–1976)
In the first season of post-war league football, Burnley gained promotion through second place and reached the 1947 FA Cup Final but were defeated by Charlton Athletic after extra time. The team's defence was nicknamed "The Iron Curtain", since they only conceded 29 goals in 42 league matches. Burnley finished third in their first season back in the top flight as they began to assemble a squad capable of competing for honours.

Alan Brown was appointed manager in 1954, and Bob Lord chairman a year later. The club became one of the most progressive around under their tenures. Burnley were one of the first to set up a purpose-built training centre (Gawthorpe), and they became renowned for their youth policy and scouting system, which yielded many young talents.Brown also introduced short corners and free kick routines. In 1958, former Burnley player Harry Potts was appointed manager. His squad mainly revolved around the duo of captain Jimmy Adamson and Jimmy McIlroy, the team's playmaker. Potts often employed the then unfashionable 4–4–2 formation and he implemented a total football playing style.

Burnley clinched a second First Division title in 1959–60. They had not topped the table until the last match was played out. The squad cost only £13,000 (equivalent to £300,000 in 2021) in transfer fees—£8,000 on McIlroy in 1950 and £5,000 on left-back Alex Elder in 1959. The other players came from their youth academy. With 80,000 inhabitants, the town of Burnley became the smallest to have an English first tier champion. They travelled to the United States after the season ended to participate in the International Soccer League, the first modern international American football tournament.

The following season, Burnley played in European competition for the first time in the 1960–61 European Cup. They defeated former finalists Stade de Reims in the first round but went out against Hamburger SV in the quarter-finals. The team finished the 1961–62 First Division as runners-up to newcomers Ipswich Town after winning only two of the last thirteen matches, and had a run to the FA Cup Final but lost against Tottenham Hotspur. Adamson was named FWA Footballer of the Year, however, with McIlroy as runner-up.

Nonetheless, although far from a two-man team, the controversial departure of McIlroy to Stoke City (1963) and Adamson's retirement (1964) coincided with a decline in fortunes. Even more damaging was the impact of the abolition of the maximum wage in 1961, which meant clubs from small towns, like Burnley, could no longer compete financially with sides from bigger towns and cities. The team managed, however, to retain a First Division place throughout the decade, and even finished third in 1965–66 to qualify for the 1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

Potts was replaced by Adamson as manager in 1970 after a 12-year spell. Adamson hailed his squad as the "Team of the Seventies", but he was unable to halt the slide as relegation followed in 1970–71. Burnley won the Second Division title in 1972–73, and were invited to play in the 1973 FA Charity Shield as a result, where they emerged as winners against Manchester City. In 1975, the team were victims of one of the great FA Cup shocks of all time when Wimbledon, then in the Southern League, won 1–0 at Turf Moor. Adamson left the club in January 1976, and relegation from the First Division followed later that year. During this period, a drop in home attendances combined with an enlarged debt forced Burnley to sell star players such as Martin Dobson and Leighton James, which caused a rapid decline.

Period of decline and subsequent recovery (1976–2009)
The team were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in 1979–80. Under the management of former Burnley player Brian Miller, they returned to the second tier as champions in 1981–82. However, this return was short-lived and lasted only one year. Managerial changes continued to be made in a search for success; Miller was replaced by Frank Casper in early 1983, he by John Bond before the 1983–84 season and Bond himself by John Benson a season later.Bond was the first manager since Frank Hill (1948–1954) without a previous playing career at the club. He was criticised by the fans for signing expensive players increasing Burnley's debt, and for selling young talents Lee Dixon, Brian Laws and Trevor Steven. Benson was in charge when Burnley were relegated to the Fourth Division for the first time at the end of the 1984–85 season.

The team avoided relegation to the Football Conference, the highest level of non-league football, on the last day in 1986–87, after they won against Leyton Orient and their rivals failed to secure enough points to surpass the club in the league. The board had attempted to purchase almost bankrupt Welsh club Cardiff Cityand relocate it to Turf Moor, if Burnley were relegated, in what would have been the Football League's first franchise operation.

In 1988, Burnley played Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Final of the Associate Members' Cup, but lost 2–0. The match was attended by 80,000 people, a record for a match between two sides from the fourth tier. The team won the Fourth Division in 1991–92 under manager Jimmy Mullen. He had succeeded Frank Casper in October 1991 and won his first nine league matches as manager. By winning the fourth tier, the Clarets became only the second club to win all four professional divisions of English football, after Wolverhampton Wanderers. Burnley won the Second Division play-offs in 1993–94 and gained promotion to the second tier. Relegation followed after one season, and in 1997–98 only a last day victory over Plymouth Argyle ensured a narrow escape from relegation back into the fourth tier. Chris Waddle was player-manager that season with his assistant Glenn Roeder, but their departures and the appointment of Stan Ternent that summer saw the club start to make further progress. They finished second in 1999–2000 and were promoted to the second tier.

During the 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons, Burnley emerged as serious contenders for a promotion play-off place. In early 2002, financial problems caused by the collapse of ITV Digital brought the club close to administration again. Ternent was sacked in 2004, after he avoided relegation with a squad composed of many loanees and some players who were not entirely fit. Steve Cotterill was then appointed as manager but was replaced in November 2007 by Owen Coyle. The 2008–09 season, Coyle's first full season in charge, ended with promotion to the Premier League. Sheffield United were defeated in the Championship play-off Final, which meant a return to the top flight after 33 years. Burnley also reached the semi-final of the League Cup for the first time in over 25 years but were beaten on aggregate by Tottenham in the last minutes of the second leg.

Premier League football and back in Europe (2009–present)
Promotion made the town of Burnley the smallest to host a Premier League club. The team started the season well and became the first newly promoted side in the competition to win their first four home games. However, Coyle left the club in January 2010 to manage local rivals Bolton Wanderers. He was replaced by Brian Laws, but the team's form plummeted and they were relegated after a single season. Laws was dismissed in December 2010 and replaced by Eddie Howe, who was succeeded by Sean Dyche in October 2012.

In his first full season in charge, Dyche guided Burnley back to the Premier League in 2013–14 on a tight budget and with a small squad. The team went down after one season but won the Championship title on their return in 2015–16, when they equaled their 2013–14 club record of 93 points, and ended the season with a run of 23 league games undefeated. The side stayed up this time; the 2016–17 season ended with them in 16th place. The club completed construction of Barnfield Training Centre that season, which replaced Gawthorpe. Dyche was involved in the training ground's design and had willingly tailored his transfer budget as both he and the board focused on the club's infrastructure and future. Burnley finished seventh in 2017–18, which meant qualification for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League and a return to European football after 51 years. The team failed to reach the group stage, as they were eliminated in the play-off round by Greek club Olympiacos.

In December 2020, American investment company ALK Capital acquired an 84% stake in Burnley for £200 million. It was the first time the club was run by persons other than local businesspeople and Burnley supporters and the move was criticised by some supporters within the club.