Remembering the Longside

By TheLongside.co.uk
May 17 2005

The club are looking for fans stories to publish in a book to remember the Longside which was demolished nearly 10 years ago. The stand was the inspiration for this website giving it it's name and we wanted the Longside's great atmosphere to be replicated on our message board.

A press release from the club reads as follows:

As September approaches a very special date in the history of Burnley Football Club is being recognised and celebrated. It will be a date and celebration for the fans and a chance for them to remember a special place where friendships were forged and experiences unlike any other at a football ground were lived.

On the 16th of September 1995, Burnley Football Club entertained Hull City at Turf Moor in what was more than a football match. This game was the last witnessed by a thronging mass of steel, concrete, humanity and vocal chords - the heartbeat of the club, known as The Longside.

Due to the Taylor Report and the aftermath of Hillsborough the landscape of football was changing and grounds were forced to turn all-seater. It was a necessary change, and although we now have two wonderful stands where terraces once stood, no Burnley fan can help but miss the Longside.

During that period, every Claret stood on the Longside at some point and all who did shared an affinity with it. There are so many stories and anecdotes from that period and Burnley Football Club are now trying to draw all of these tales together and draft them in a commemorative book to mark a decade since the Longside was replaced.

There are plans for a series of events on and around the 16th of September 2005 to remember the Longside and its lifetime and there will be numerous chances to re-live the great times spent on there. The centrepiece of this celebration will be a book by the fans, for the fans and Burnley Football Club is asking for all Clarets to write about their memories, stories and experiences of the Longside and what it meant to them.

We are asking for around 20 articles of about 1000 words and then a number of shorter ones upto 250 words long. They can be about anything you want them to be; your favourite game, a funny story, what the terrace meant to you, your favourite chant - whatever you want.

The best contributions will be included in the book and each fan that has a story included will have the opportunity to purchase a personalised version of the book signed by the major contributors.

Photograph's are particularly welcome and can also be e-mailed or handed in to the club's Marketing Department, marked for the attention of Edoardo Abis, so that we can show the new generation of fans exactly what the Longside looked like.

As this is a fan's venture, it will be as good and as long as you want to be. The more contributions, the longer and more special the book will be. A cautionary note, only real Longsiders need apply!

Why not also leave your tales on the message board.

The contact details for sending your stories into the club can be found here.