I knew I’d seen the name ‘The Book of Eli’ somewhere. It’s a Denzil Washington film, one of those post-apocalyptic things where one lone survivor has to save the world, or in his case make some incredible journey carrying the one copy of a book which holds the secrets of saving mankind – anyway something like that.

     And I knew I’d heard the name Eli somewhere else from way back – and yep it was a story I heard in my childhood days when there were these things called Sunday Schools (do they still exist) that I had to go to and Eli was the name of a priest, the one who taught a young lad called Samuel who then became a prophet.  There are some great stories in the Bible Old Testament and being religious has nothing to do with whether or not you enjoy them – they’re just damned good history stories for kids to read and listen to, and in my other life I never got tired of reading them to kids in the classes I took. They sat spellbound as well.

      Anyway the third Eli name I knew was that of Roger Eli and when Warren Graham emailed to ask was I interested in doing a few of Roger’s stories for the Longside Reference, of course I said yes, when it became clear that Roger had a fund of stories to tell and was interested in meeting up.

     In my head I carry this list of possible books to write one day, and remembering that the 91/92 season was one of them I put two and two together and thought hmmm, Roger Eli, 91/92… that night in York, promotion… and I thought hey we could be onto something here.

     And then thinking that the Coyle book will be off my hands in January; the draft has to go to the publishers by the end of the month, so that means I can start something else, I thought yep, a Roger Eli book… here we come.

     Strange how some players become cult figures and heroes, and in Roger’s case he didn’t play that many games for the club, something like 70, and only enjoyed one real season in the limelight, but yet his name is one of those that trips off the tongue and he is a true hero. That year he was Player of the Season, and scored Goal of the Season. That’s some achievement and will live with him forever. Of course it was a season to remember – the end of seven long years in the wilderness of the old 4th Division. The triumph at York was as badly needed and welcome as a long gulp of champagne (preferably Moet and Chandon) after a long trek through a desert.

 
     They were horrendous times; times that I was never part of for various reasons, not seeing a Burnley game for years in between ’87 and ’99. And there’s many a supporter will say that you can’t be a REAL supporter if you weren’t there in that awful time, or one of the pitiful  1,500+ who were there for the Colchester game (I think) one night when things were at their lowest ebb. It must have been a desolate sight at a ground that once held 55,000 for a European Cup game, and they must have been dreadful afternoons trudging home after a defeat to the likes of Rochdale.  

 
    So people were ready and desperate for ‘91/92 and the joy and euphoria must have been unparalleled. It was manager Jimmy Mullen who put together the team and I look at the picture of Super Johnny Francis clinging to the fencing at York after the goal he scored in the dieing minutes and even though I wasn’t there my neck comes out in goosebumps every time.

     So: Roger and I met on Friday the 19th. We’d emailed a few times and he was pleased to meet up. As luck has it, his business office is in Bingley, not too far from Rodley in Leeds. And in Bingley there is this excellent garden centre restaurant called The Potting Shed a couple of miles away at Harden.  So there we met, and having been before and knowing that they do a pretty good Full English it seemed a good idea to have a breakfast. I told Mrs T I had a salad and an apple. Well she does worry a bit.

     We started at 10am, ate and talked, and then I said at one point I’m going to guess what time it is, because I realised we must have been there some time,  and guessed at 11.30, and blimey it was 12 0 clock the time had gone so fast. Roger is a good talker although it must have been me doing the most because I looked at his plate and he’d finished, and mine was only halfway through. Or, it was just that he was a fast eater, he always did have pace. And here’s the first bit of gossip – he left his tomatoes.

     So: we agreed a book was definitely on. On the London Clarets website I’d come across a cache of old articles and amongst them was the story of the season written by a guy called Andrew ‘Firmo’ Firmin who I happened to know, dozens of pages and every match covered. And yep he was OK for me to dip into as much of his material as I needed. And earlier I’d rung Frank Teasdale to ask could I call on him to tell me his memories, and his angles and stories. He remembered Roger straightaway and sang his praises and said that’s fine, call me when you need to and I’ll see what I can do. Frank Teasdale had a less than easy time as Chairman at a time when the club was penniless and promotion for him that season was as sweet as it was for any supporter. After that game at York and the wild celebrations in the dressing room he had to slip out to clear his head on the carpark and just pinch himself to take it all in. 

 
     And so the first meeting with Roger was more or less just a kind of get to know you sort of thing as the place slowly filled up with folk. Like all garden centres at this time of year there was a huge Christmas area filled with trees and lights and all that naff tat that gets dragged out of the stockroom and fills up the place. Santa wasn’t there yet though.  The breakfast was darned good and we talked of this and that and one thing that fascinated Roger was the problem of what happens to footballers when their careers are finished. For sure he has done well in business but others certainly haven’t (dare I tell you he and his co-directors have corporate tickets  at Man U).

     After their game is over many are just at such a loss as to what to do next. Drink, women, depression, gambling, is a problem for more than just a few. The lucky ones are those that are grounded, or who have put some money aside and are astute enough to know how to handle it and make it grow. But the truth is that for every mega star who has millions in the bank there is a legion of others who don’t, and lower down the leagues, or way back 20 years ago, there are so many who go back to what might be deemed as ‘real’ life and hit hard times. The jolt from a life of cameraderie, company, excitement, adulation, and adrenalin, to a life of anonymity, ordinariness and mundane routine is not easy to handle. Anyone remember Gary Charles? 

  
     The names tripped off Roger’s tongue, Frank Casper, Jimmy Holland, Doc Iven, Jimmy Mullen, Steve Davis, Andy Farrell, John Deary, Johnny Francis, the real story of how Steve Harper ‘accidentally’ broke his arm in training (he laughed as he told me), trips to Russia (where the drinkers in the party certainly found their way round and down the plentiful bottles of vodka) and Bermuda. There were some big drinkers that’s for sure. How many of them we tell you about we’re not sure. He spoke of the insensitivity and poor timing of Chris Pearce’s release. Footballers are disposable and dispensable when their value and use is over. His own injuries came into the conversation and that modern surgery would have prolonged his career. Maybe even back then, better care and diagnosis might have helped. Injuries that damage a career are emotive subjects and football can be a cruel profession.

     But he certainly spoke affectionately of Chairman Teasdale – a man who received threats and abuse on so many occasions from angry supporters, some of them on his own doorstep when they waylaid him. And then when he came to talk of Burnley fans – if they love you they love you forever, but if they don’t take to you they can be so cruel. He talked of their passion and how intimidating Turf Moor can be. Clearly he had a rapport with the fans and they took him to their hearts as they did with Johnny Francis.

     God and the Burnley crowd loves a trier but they’ve no time for shirkers.

     The nitty and gritty of writing a book is pretty straightforward. He and I will meet at least once a fortnight. With other books I have done it takes about 9 months to get the final draft completed and then it’s read, re-read, double check, and proof it before it then gets sent to the publisher in November. There the copy-editor goes through it and they out their stamp on it. A good 50%+ of the book needs to be in his voice, either from his own writing or from the notes I take and then put into his voice. I’ve got Andrew Firmin’s 100 pages of the promotion season we can blend it all into.

     But it’s more than just the glorious 91/92 season. Before that came the play-offs the previous season that ended at Torquay. Then if Frank Teasdale is willing to give his own insights and recollections, all of those will be woven into it. I’ll talk to as many of the players from the time as I can. Roger will try and track down as many as possible and we’ll do a Where Are They Now Section.One was Steve Davis, and we all know where he went.

     “From believing as a child that one day I would become a a professional footballer… but not being aware of the pitfalls that can happen to any professional footballer… a few humourous moments along the way… to the very first day entering the jaws of pro football and the humour and hardwork of life as an apprentice with Leeds United… whilst painting the stadium on my very first day, falling off the ladder at the sight of the former Leeds United great Don Revie walking down to the entrance… maybe the racist element and how it affected me in my early years… and at Burnley maybe I’d like to open up as much as I can regarding the managers, the players, away days, relationships with the supporters; the tours to Russia and Bermuda and the humour along the way to winning the last ever 4th Division title… the matches and the build-up to the games, maybe the injuries and the final rejection of a free transfer…”

     Did I think it could work, he asked. I’m darned sure it can. There’s a legion of fans ready to re-live that season. And there’s nothiing that fans like more than to hear of all the weird and whacky things and what goes on behind the scenes, and a nice bit if gossip as long as it’s not defamatory or upset anyone – we’re not into that.

 
     Another possibility is to take the old video of the season and see if it can be put onto a DVD. A book like this where so many people have clear and fond memories will certainly lend itself to a dinner/re-union/launch. For me it’s a change to do a book about a time as recent as ’92. The Irvine, Potts and Jimmy Mac books all went back to a time and a generation that belongs 50 years ago. To me their stories are like yesterday because I was there, but for younger folk, that’s what they are – just stories.

     Along the way the plan is once a month from January, to do a diary of the book and its progress for the Longside. Maybe in the next bulletin I can relate to you the story of the time he was at Nottingham Forest and the legendary Brian Clough took charge of the side of youngsters he was in for a week.

     His career was all too brief, brought to an end by crocked knees. But for one glorious season he was an integral part of a side that put Burnley back on the upward path. The story, from the snippets I’ve heard so far, should be a good one.

Dave Thomas November 20th 2011