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 the ‘Team of the Seventies.’
It is always said that Dobson was the first to be sold but there were others before that, Brian O’Neil, Dave Thomas and Steve Kindon. Every player sold would, today, fetch an astronomical price. After Dobson was sold the story grew that he was sold to pay for the new Bob Lord Stand.
The 50th anniversary of the promotion and Division Two title win in 1972/73 was in 2023, and this book has been written to commemorate and celebrate that. Whilst it was being written, Burnley stormed under Vincent Kompany to win the Championship and promotion to the Premier League, exactly 50 years later.
Burnley Football Club has produced some great teams. The ‘Team of the Seventies’ was one of them. Sadly, it never won anything; just legions of admirers, many of whom still talk about them today.