The King is Dead

By Longsider
February 20 2004

Arthur Gnohere has today left Burnley for the bright lights of London. He goes to QPR on a free transfer although Burnley will receive money which is dependent on the number of appearances he makes.

Arthur arrived at Burnley from Caen during the Summer of 2001. He initially came for a trial but impressed the management team so much that he was offered a contract with the Clarets. His arrival sparked much amusement amongst Burnley fans with most of us having a laugh at his name and most were unsure of the exact pronucitation of his surname.

His debut came in the League Cup defeat against Rushden where he played in the left back position. It would be fair to say he had an uninspiring game but things were to improve though when he was moved to the centre of defence. He was a key member of the defence during our fine run that saw us hit top spot by November.

The crowning moment for Athur came at Deepdale, 2 weeks before Christmas, when Burnley recorded their 3rd impressive away victory on the trot(Coventry and Crystal Palace). He converted in a Glen Little cross before scoring the goal of the season to seal the points in front of the 6,000 Burnley fans at the Kop End. He received the ball from a throw-in before playing a delightful one-two with Alan Moore to slot under keeper Lucas. I say Goal of the season because it was the goal that most Supporters Clubs' voted for at the end of that campaign.

Arthur had a tremendous rapport with the crowd and even had the cheek to start wearing white boots. Whilst the side began to falter in the early part of 2002 King Arthur managed to maintain his form and continue his progress at the club, he scored a last minute equaliser to rescue a point against Nottingham Forest but as we all know the season began to fall away.

One of Arthur's biggest problems as a player was his disciplinary record with him receiving his marching orders on 4 occassions whilst picking up 19 bookings in his 93 games with the Clarets.

He played 38 times for Burnley last season but for large parts of it he didn't look the player of the previous campaign. Indeed some of his performances in the 'throw one in' games were dire but most fans believed that it was his confidence that needed boosting.

He's had his ups and downs with manager Stan Ternent, he's kissed him on various occassions although he's also been on the receiving end of Stan's temper on more than one occassion. Remember "he's French" comment???

Its been obvious for a while now that Arthur wasn't in Ternents' long term plans and the move to QPR has to be a good one for the player who still has time to make an impact at a higher stage than the 2nd Division.

King Arthur will always be remembered for his performance at Deepdale and for his badge kissing.

Good luck Arthur.