Money for old hope

Having started out printing bingo cards in provincial newspapers 19 years ago, Kilby developed a games and lottery business that fetched £16.8 million when 80 per cent was sold 12 months ago.

He retained the remainder and stayed on as managing director, working from his Blackburn office on an 'earn-out' until the year 2003.

His time is not his own, therefore, and he still puts in a full week further developing Europrint's client list at home and abroad for new American owners GTEC.

"It's hard. This is a very hands-on job," admitted Kilby as he awaited a decision from Poland to see whether he had cracked the gaming market in that country too.

What the sell-out did do, however, was to release the capital for Kilby to fulfill a cherished ambition.

A lifelong Clarets fan, who looked towards Turf Moor rather than Ewood Park when growing up in Great Harwood, Kilby bought into Turf Moor last autumn when obtaining the shares of retiring directors Bernard Rothwell and Dr David Iven.

By pledging to underwrite the planned rights issue, he became Burnley chairman in the New Year and has now invested almost £3.5 million in the club he once represented as an 'A' team player in the Lancashire League.

In some ways it's a labour of love for the 50-year-old millionaire, who remains passionate about East Lancashire and has never abandoned his roots. "I knew what I was putting it into. I didn't put my money in looking for a return. It was something I wanted to do with my life," he said.

"You can only eat so much and drive so many cars. It's the 'there are no pockets in shrouds' sort of thing."

To say Kilby single-handedly saved Burnley Football Club may be an exaggeration, but only just.

The club was available for sale, financially stretched, losing half-a-million pounds a year and struggling at the bottom of the Second Division.

A proposed takeover by Peter Shackleton's "mystery backers" proved to be no more than pie in the sky, while the board held out against Ray Ingleby's bid for power.

That proved a wise decision as Kilby arrived on the scene and provided the kind of cash injection probably only a committed Clarets fan would do.

"I am a wealthy man and this is only a proportion of my wealth.

"What better could you do than to invest in Burnley. It's a fabulous institution. It really is a football town and if ever a club was at the heart of the community it's Burnley.

"It's something where the town punches far above its weight, on a national scale. It's something I can influence and something I want to do," he said.

However, Kilby's track record in business allied to his desire as a fan to see Burnley prosper, meant he wasn't just prepared to throw good money after bad at a losing cause.

He wants the club to achieve things and is doing everything he can to ensure that will happen.

"At the same time (as trying to get in right on the pitch) we were rebuilding the club on the other side.

"I felt we were under-performing commercially. In our budgets we are looking to more than double our commercial revenue," he said. Currently Burnley's income through merchandising, sponsorship and corporate facilities stands at around £400,000. The plan is to get nearer £1 million.

Andrew Watson has been recruited from Everton as general manager to oversee the operation and the first tangible signs of change are starting to show.

"He's been like a breath of fresh air," Kilby added.

"We are still losing money badly. We are still struggling to balance the books on wages and expenditure.

"But if things go well we will just about break even on our plan."

For things to go well, however, the Clarets need a successful team.

On that front, Kilby couldn't have asked for a greater baptism of fire.

The club he now 'owned' and followed as a fan - from the heady days of League Championship glory in 1960 to the despair of the late eighties when he stood at Turf Moor and watched the Clarets nosedive towards oblivion - was threatened with a return to the basement division of the League.

Kilby had dug deep to allow manager Stan Ternent to try and turn round a struggling team with big-money buys Steve Davis, Micky Mellon and Lenny Johnrose, who arrived for fees totalling over £1.3 million.

Yet by the middle of March, Burnley were in the relegation zone. "They were pretty dark days in February and March with that run that we had and losing those games (to Gillingham and Manchester City) at home in front of our own supporters.

"We had a good January and it looked like we'd done the right things to get out of trouble and when that happened it was a shock to the system," Kilby admitted. It was time for a strong nerve and strong leadership and Kilby came through his first crisis in football by keeping the faith and backing his judgement.

"It was the best thing that could have happened. It was better that we lost 6-0 to City and not 1-0 because it forced us to take stock," he added.

That included a heart-to-heart with Ternent, who was retained as manager and from which point the Clarets haven't looked back, losing one more game in 12 to finish the season 15th in the Second Division.

"I did feel it was the right thing (to stick with Ternent). The club had had something like four managers in five seasons and when a new manager comes in everything is wrong and he gets rid of the coaching staff. Burnley had suffered terribly from that," Kilby said.

"It was said that the players weren't playing for him and I spoke to a few and that was not the case.

"Let's be honest, who do you sign with 11 or 12 games to go? And looking at their record, Stan and Sam have a super one and we backed that.

"Thank God that was the right decision and in a strange way it all gelled at that time and we started our fighback from that.

"Everybody experienced in the game talks about this stability and we are all delighted that we stuck with it."

Despite the constant upward spiral of his business life, Kilby is ultra-cautious when it comes to assessing footballing fortunes.

It is clear, though, that promotion is a priority. "I want us to get up one division. I think we can survive up there.

"I have this feeling of a Premier League Second Division.

"There's a thought 'if they can keep their (television) money why shouldn't we.'

"We have got to get in at that level, plus it's well overdue," he said, again balancing the economics with the passion.

"Even in the town there is optimism and a sense of expectancy.

"We are optimistic we will have a stronger team and be able to go for it.

"We certainly want to be challenging and not in mid-table and getting into a position like last year.

"Never mind 'England expects", Burnley expects and that's quite a thing on our shoulders.

"The fans have been great and they have just got to really trust in it and go forward.

"It would lift us to be up there challenging and to do it for our fans, who deserve something after the support we have had over the last few years."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.