Books about Burnley FC by Dave Thomas
How Burnley almost defied the odds to stay in the Premier League in 2014/15 When Burnley took their place in the Premier League again at the beginning of season 2014/15, just about every media pundit and expert in the land predicted they would be hopelessly out of their depth and no doubt humiliated. By the…
The biography of Football’s most controversial chairman This is the story of Burnley Chairman Bob Lord who ruled the club from 1955 to 1981, overseeing 20 years of success and then six years of decline and near bankruptcy. It is reasonable to say that this is the book that Burnley fans, and anyone that has…
Once upon a time on 21 April 2014, something extraordinary happened. Little Burnley gained promotion to the Premier League, providing the most improbable end to one of the season’s most magical and unpredictable stories. Pre-season, this small town Lancashire club had been a relegation favourite, with its tiny budget, threadbare squad and little-known manager. But…
Burnley FC has a long and proud history but it was the Charles Buchan Football Monthly magazines that brought the club to a more widespread national prominence through the 1950’s and 1960’s. The club was well established in the old First Division and there was a conveyor belt of great players being produced at the…
Read more The Charles Buchan Best of Burnley Soccer Gift Book
We all have dreams. This is the story, along with pictures by Peter Chippendale, of how Bertie achieved his own dream, becoming the mascot at Burnley Football Club. A Bee Named Bertie is available exclusively in the Club shop.
This is the story of Burnley Football Club in the early 1980s, a time of short-lived success and then turmoil. Derek Gill was part of a group of men who were all highly accomplished individually, but in the boardroom a toxic mix. This is the story of acrimony and ultimate failure using the diaries of…
This is Barry’s story of how he became involved with the club and oversaw its great recovery. He became chairman of Burnley Football Club at a critical time when the club was drifting without money. He invested in it, revitalised manager Stan Ternent who won promotion, thus beginning the climb to the Premier League in…
Clive Holt was a director at Burnley Football Club for nearly 35 years, leaving the board in 2020. During that time, he saw everything from the Orient game in 1987 when Burnley almost lost their league place, to promotions with Jimmy Mullen, Stan Ternent, Owen Coyle and Sean Dyche. His knowledge of the workings…
Champions Again!The Astonishing 2022/23 Season with Vincent Kompany By Dave Thomas When Vincent Kompany arrived at Burnley in the early summer of 2022, Burnley was a club with an uncertain future. Owned by ALK an American company, just relegated, no manager, saddled with debts, facing a firesale of the best players, the football experts were…
The Pennine Derbies Burnley, Leeds, Todmorden and Me By Dave Thomas This is a book about growing up, becoming a Burnley supporter, schooldays, college days, teaching and becoming a Headmaster, and then in 2002 writing football books. It begins in small-town Todmorden where Dave Thomas grew up and ends up in Leeds where he now…
Sold for A Stand By Dave Thomas Martin Dobson, Geoff Nulty and Leighton James were just three of the players sold by Burnley chairman Bob Lord to pay the bills. In so doing, there was never any chance that manager Jimmy Adamson would see his dream come true that the team of 1972/73 would become…
Jimmy Adamson was very much an enigma, a great player of the 50s and early 60s, a title winner, man-of-the-match in the 1962 Cup Final, a revered coach whose name is still remembered in the game, but a manager who was sometimes not the easiest to get on with, and whose spirit was shattered by…
The story of Burnley cult hero Roger Eli and the promotion season of 1991/92. Roger began his career at Leeds United but had his best seasons at Turf Moor where he finally settled before his football career finally ended. At Burnley he was voted Player of the Season in ’91/92 and scored the Goal of…
Paul Fletcher was a member of the famed team of 1972 to 1975 at Burnley FC. It so nearly became the Team of the Seventies. He was one of the best headers of a football ever at Turf Moor. After his playing career ended at Blackpool he went on to become an after-dinner speaker, motivational…
This substantial book begins with chapters on Owen Coyle’s predecessor at Turf Moor, Steve Cotterill and the foundations he laid for the later success that Owen Coyle brought; promotion, Wembley, Carling Cup nights and the Premiership. It examines the saga of Owen Coyle at Burnley Football Club and the controversial walk-out that stunned Burnley. As…
Dave Thomas has now completed work with Jimmy McIlroy on both a biography and a very special and prestigious ‘coffee table’ scrapbook. THE BIOGRAPHY Jimmy is regarded as Burnley’s greatest ever player and still lives in the town. The biography looks in detail at his life, humble beginnings and career at Glentoran, Burnley, Stoke City…
From Charles Sutcliffe to Jimmy Hogan during the club’s early years; from the 1947 Cup Final to the 1962 Cup Final; from games against Rochdale during the wilderness years to games against Manchester United in the glory years; the Clarets have a history that is rich and varied. Within the pages of this second volume…
If you enjoyed It’s Burnley Not Barcelona by Dave Thomas you will enjoy 2006/07 Russians Don’t Land Here. As the name suggests this is the story of the season, and mixed in are player profiles, interviews with the chairman Barry Kilby, the chief exec Dave Edmundson, head of youth development Vince Overson, director Ray Griffiths,…
This book, in words and illustrations, tells the story of Burnley manager Harry Potts, whose partnership with chairman Bob Lord produced the club’s greatest years in the sixties. The Potts story is told through the eyes of his wife Margaret and through the narrative of writer Dave Thomas. Their interwoven stories tell of the love…
Written by Dave Thomas, this book tells the remarkable story of Willie Irvine from his boyhood days in Northern Ireland up until the present day. Willie was one of a family of 8 brothers and sisters and had several stepbrothers and sisters that he never knew. When his father died in 1944 with Willie only…
This hardback substantial book takes a serious look at various figures, personalities and events featuring in the long history of Burnley FC. The book is structured around the work of eminent sportswriters and journalists who over the years have written substantial pieces about the club. In addition to those books which are solely about Burnley…
This book charts and describes a most peculiar season (2002/03), it does so with wit, humour and more than just a few laugh out loud bits. Games are accompanied by Brysonish descriptions of other towns be they Bradford or Blackpool. Did you know for example that over half the world’s horse manure can be found…