Caught in a Bubble

Tomorrow sees the resumption of hostilities in the oldest derby game in world football – Blackburn Rovers versus Burnley.

I’m one of only 3,000 Burnley fans being allowed to travel to the game, which has been designated a ‘bubble fixture’, where extraordinary police powers are invoked as a supposed means to maintain order and reduce the likelihood of violence and disorder.

This means I’ll have to be at Turf Moor, Burnley’s ground, at shortly after 9am tomorrow, to travel to Ewood Park, Blackburn’s ground, for a 1pm kick-off. The journey is just 11 miles – and our convoy of 60 coaches will take on the short journey down the M65 to get us inside the ground 2 – 3 hours before the game starts. Blackburn pubs won’t be opened before the game and there will be a massive police presence. It’s incredibly draconian and it places enormous inconvenience upon ordinary decent supporters of both clubs (the return fixture at Turf Moor is subject to the same measures) but, let’s face it, there is some history...

I’m not entirely sure where the rivalry and animosity originally comes from – but it’s a lot more than just your average local rivalry, like those that form the basis of so many other derby games. I’ve heard people say that the rivalry dates back to the civil war or the reformation – where the towns were on different sides. I’ve heard its origins were sectarian – blue and white Blackburn were supposedly a protestant club - there was certainly an imported Presbyterian Scottish element to their early history, as they were the first club to embrace ‘professionalism’ in the nineteenth century. Meanwhile Burnley’s roots may well have been more Catholic – the town saw huge Irish immigration in the nineteenth century, as its mushrooming population growth was fuelled by the ‘potato famine’ and the industrial revolution – some of my own forebears were amongst this wave of immigrants. Indeed, before we adopted our famous Claret & Blue, between 1900 and 1910 Burnley wore green shirts. I’ve also heard that as the towns industrialised, disputes arose about goods moving up and down the Leeds Liverpool canal. Burnley people alleging that Blackburn took the best cotton off the barges before they got to Burnley.

The industrial revolution however, saw football progress into a mass sport – and then as today, Lancashire was at the forefront. Both Burnley and Blackburn were amongst the founder members of the world’s first football league in 1888 and this is what arguably makes the East Lancashire Derby between these two mill towns the oldest in world football.

In the post war era, despite being champions of England 50 years ago, Burnley and its football club went into decline – the process hastened by the abolition of the maximum wage for players - a move which was bound to tilt the game in favour of the city clubs over the town clubs, due to their generally greater resources.

By the early 1980s both clubs were pale shadows of what they had once been, but the rivalry was as intense as ever – an article from the Guardian in 2000 comments:

“Burnley have not beaten their bitter rivals since 1979. In 1982-83 Blackburn achieved a league double over the Clarets with Simon Garner scoring twice at Ewood Park in April in a 2-1 victory. The visiting Burnley fans responded by throwing a smoke bomb on to the pitch and a bottle at the Rovers goalkeeper Terry Gennoe before tearing down the roof of the Darwen End. When Garner slotted home the decisive penalty, the travelling support tried to burn the stand down, despite being in it at the time, as a full-scale riot erupted.”

In the years that followed that notorious game, Burnley’s demise was complete as we had to win our last game of the season in 1987 to stay in the football league. As we began to claw our way back a few years later, we were beaten in the Fourth division play-offs by Torquay. As the dismal second leg petered out, a light aircraft buzzed Turf Moor with a banner trailing behind it – “Staying down 4 Ever – Love Rovers. Ha ha ha.”

I was in the Cricket Field Stand that night and if I’d had access to a shoulder launched anti-aircraft device I would have used it.

Shortly after that Jack Walker started pumping his millions into Blackburn and the club who had Margaret Thatcher as their honorary vice president, ascended to the pinnacle of English football ‘winning’ (buying) the title in 1995. Meanwhile, we were being relegated to the third tier after an inauspicious one season stay in the second. It was a loathsome period. We were well and truly in the doldrums and Blackburn were firmly ensconced in the happy, shiny world of the Premiership with all its millions. Many Burnley fans – myself included – blame them in part for the hideous parody the game has become...where hyper-spending has artificially created a playing field that is less even than it has ever been - the uglification of the beautiful game. Blackburn were undoubtedly complicit in starting that ball rolling – and helped sell the soul of the game for the one bite of the cherry it gave them in ’95.

The two clubs last met in the league in 2000 when we were humiliated by 0 – 2 and 5 – 0 reverses. In truth that season we were a third tier team punching above its weight in the Championship, whilst they were a Premiership outfit in all but name - they had their multi-millions and we had a brass buttons budget. Our manager at the time, Stan Ternent described the expectations of Burnley fans as 'wanting champagne football on beer money'.

Our only subsequent meeting was in the FA Cup in 2005 - a 0 – 0 draw at Turf Moor was followed by a 2 – 1 defeat at Ewood, but at least this time our pride was intact after a very creditable performance against a much superior squad.

However, since then things have changed. Blackburn’s turgid, functional, clatter-ball, lack of style has seen them become firmly established as a lower Premiership also ran. Meanwhile, with a modicum of (by current day standards) modest investment and the appointment of the charismatic and inspirational Owen Coyle as manager, Burnley have gelled into a team that has become renowned for easy-on-the-eye football that is both entertaining and effective. That culminated in a superb run during the spring that saw Burnley make the championship play-offs, and a swashbuckling display at Reading saw us then go to Wembley to blunt the Blades of Sheffield United.

As Wade Elliott’s wonder goal hit the back of the net that afternoon, I picked up my son, Jack and we went absolutely mad. It’s not lost on me that Jack’s namesake – my Grandad, who went to school just 300 metres from Turf Moor – took me to my first game along with my Dad, when I was just five years old. As the final whistle blew that day at Wembley I held both my kids aloft – Jack and Ella – both in their Burnley kits and I felt as proud as punch. I don’t mind admitting that my bottom lip had a bit of a wobble. I could barely believe we were back in the big time – there have been points when I didn’t believe I’d live to see the day.

No sooner had the initial celebrations died down than we were chanting: “Bring on the Bastards!” And, despite the presence in the Premiership of world class teams Like Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United – the first fixture I looked for when this season’s list was released was Blackburn, aka "Bastard Rovers".

So, tomorrow, at last, we meet the old enemy. I have to say, I know a good number of Rovers fans – friends, acquaintances and business associates. All of them decent sorts - but tomorrow that goes out of the window. As I’m taken in a quasi-military operation to Ewood, I’ll be wishing for one thing only – that they have their most awful day in thirty years of football and I have my best.

To outside observers, it may seem parochial - a fixture caught in a timewarp, but the old cotton mill derby stirs the passions like no other. For those of us in the Claret corner of East Lancashire, this is the first time for thirty years we meet Blackburn with more than just hope. This time we know we’ve got as good a chance as we’ve had in a generation. I can barely describe how much I want this result. It would mark a right of passage and confirm – Burnley are back!

BRING ON THE BASTARDS!!!!