A fan's-eye weekly view, with Stephen Cummings

PRIOR to the Clarets fantastic victory over Watford on Saturday, I happened to bump into an old friend who I hadn't seen for a number of years.

Being a fellow Burnley fan, the conversation immediately turned to football. Like the majority of the Turf Moor faithful, he was less than impressed with the current plight of the club. He moaned long and hard about the board, the management team, certain of the playing staff and the direction the club was taking.

Having got it all off his chest, he looked at me and laughed saying: "Still, I shouldn't get too worked up. It's only a game after all."

And while in one way he was right (in so much as there are certainly more important things to worry about in life), it is foolish to describe what goes on at Brunshaw Road as being anything less than vitally important. Burnley Football Club is central to the community, and has been since its formation in 1882. What else in Burnley matters so much to so many people?

What other phenomenen in the town inspires such burning passion on such a massive scale? Should anybody doubt the veracity of this opinion, I would invite them to explain away an average gate of 10,000 for a team who have not been out of the bottom six of the Second Division all season. I would also suggest they read and/or listen to local media outlets, where the fans passion is given vent in the form of letters and phone calls.

In many ways the football club is the town. Outside of Burnley this Claret and Blue section of East Lancashire is famous almost singularly for its association with the beautiful game.

"Ah you used to have a good football team didn't you?" is the response I have most frequently encountered when telling a non-Burnleyite where I hail from.

As the town's focal point, it is evident that those in charge of this grand old bastion of football have a direct responsibility to the community.

So we must hope the board are honest when they say they are acting in the best interests of the club. On the pitch, Saturday's result was a step in the right direction.

It is vital that momentum is now maintained: for the sake of the town, for the sake of the club, and for the sake of the supporters.

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