By Longsider
January 5 2004

Burnley skipper Graham Branch has blasted the loyal Burnley fans who turn up week in, week out paying good money to watch the Clarets. This comes on the back on Ray Ingelby's attack on the fans at the club's AGM last week. Burnley right now are a club in trouble. December has to go down as one of the worst months in recent years at the club with training ground bust ups, the AGM which showed the club had suffered big financial losses and of course our recent run of results which have left the side in the bottom 4 of the Division.

The thing that has irritated me though has been the attack the fan's have received from different department's within the club. It wasn't too long ago when the club where complaining about the stayaway fans but now it seems as though they want to moan about the ones who do turn up watching the side.

The club's vice chairman, Ray Ingleby, was the first to have a go when he blasted fan's for turning on chairman Barry Kilby at the recent AGM.

Ingleby had this to say:-
"In recent weeks, i have heard people in the Bob Lord Stand shouting and complaining at Barry and the Directors....that is unacceptable for me and it's the first time i've heard it happen here for years"

Whilst i don't agree that Barry Kilby deserves excessive stick i can see why some people hold him responsible for the club's recent demise. The fact is that Barry Kilby sanctioned player's wages and transfer fees prior to the collapse of ITV digital and thus the club are still paying heavily for this.

After the Crewe game Stan Ternent said that the fan's deserved better than what the side were serving up yet club skipper Graham Branch felt the need to be critical of the fans just two days later.

"It's very hard at the moment and the fans are slowly starting to turn, and there's a lot of booing going on.

"But the lads need picking up - they don't need people booing. I know they are entitled to their opinion because they pay their money, but with the size of squad we have, we need a pick-up and we are not getting it from the fans.

"The lads are making a couple of mistakes and getting booed and that's no good at all."

Whilst i do agree with the sentiment of not booing player's i do feel that if fans want to boo the team off the pitch at the end of the game then they are entitled to do just that.

The most disgusting thing Branch had to say was this:-

"But if the supporters want players to continually keep plugging away then they have to get off the lads' backs. That might be a bit harsh, but I don't care."

So let me get this right Graham, if the fans start to moan and groan when you or other's make dreadful mistakes, and that is what YOU have done recently, your not going to carry on trying?

People wonder why some fan's have kept away from Turf Moor perhaps people like Graham Branch, who earns thousands of pounds a week, are becoming more and more militant and this has become the final straw for fans. In other word's its either our way or the highway....well your wrong Branchy, if it wasn't for us you'd be sweeping up some roads somewhere or sticking labels on boxes. Its about time footballers, like yourself, started taking criticism like men instead of crying about everything.