1959/60 Series - Fulham v Burnley

There was a new expectation around the town of Burnley with many talking about the possibility of this being our year, but as all Clarets supporters know only too well, our beloved team have a habit of letting us down when we least expect it.

Fulham fielded a very strong side which included some very big names indeed, players like George Cohen, Tony Macedo, Johnny Haynes, Alan Mullery and the one and only Jimmy Hill. Despite Fulham having the big names it was Burnley's youngsters that completely dominated the game, and they were making these London stars look very ordinary indeed.

The Clarets should have gone in at half time 5 or 6 to the good but somehow Fulham had managed to get themselves a 1-0 lead through a very innocuous header from Jimmy Hill.

The second half saw much better display from Fulham and the game turned into much more of a footballing spectacle, so much so that the local press had nothing but praise for the match, even to the point of declaring that it was one of the best games ever seen at Craven Cottage.

Realistically this was a game we should not have lost, and the fans were very disappointed indeed that we had come away from London with nothing to show for all that effort.

On returning to Burnley, Harry Potts was in no way despondent, he was proud of his players for the performance they had put in, and was very pleased with the publicity received in the press for the quality football his team had played.
 
Programme Review:
 
Both teams were as printed in the programme apart from Key replacing Stokes.

 
The Fulham programme was a very neat 14 page affair costing 4d. Included inside were the usual advertisements for beers, hotels, garages and cigarettes. It also had features on the visiting teams and the ever present pen pictures. I have included an advert for the Wembley football as recommended by none other than the great Johnny Haynes. 

 
Next game: Burnley v Bolton Wanderers, Saturday 5th December 1959.