Some Burnley fans may have wondered why Jimmy left Burnley for Stoke.

Some Burnley fans may not even have known Jimmy left Burnley for Stoke.

Its a journey worth recounting.

Jimmy McIlroy joined Burnley from Glentoran in 1950, and in the dozen or so years he played at Turf Moor, he became a firm favourite of the fans. He was talented and inventive, yet with the determination required to make the most of his assets.

It was, therefore, a shock to all concerned when the club sold him to Stoke City. Despite twelve years of service, there was little sign of any diminution of his powers, and after nearly 500 club appearances, the decision was as swift as it was puzzling – at least initially.

Acutely aware of McIlroy’s importance to the club, manager Harry Potts was reluctant to sell. After being summoned to a meeting at one of Lord’s businesses, Potts was informed in no uncertain terms that the player was to leave, and if Potts had a problem with the decision, the door was open for him to follow soon after.

The Burnley fans were in uproar when hearing the news that one of their favourites was being shipped out of the club for no good reason. If the full truth of the matter had been known at the time, it’s difficult to imagine the levels of anger that would have been expressed.

Petitions were raised to have the deal reversed. Unsurprisingly, they fell on deaf ears. Fan demonstrations at the ground elicited a similar response. Some reports even suggested that parts of Lord’s property was vandalised.
Whatever did occur failed to alter the decision.

Legend has it that the player himself only found out about the deal upon reading a local newspaper. Prudently, however, he kept his counsel. In 1999, almost 20 years after Bob Lord had died, McIlroy let it be known that the decision to sell him had been Lord’s response to news that the Northern Irishman had a friendly relationship with the family of Reg Cooke, a former vice-president at the club.

For reasons that are unclear, Lord detested Cooke, and having a friendship with him was treachery of the highest order in Lord’s eyes.

Whilst so much good was achieved by Bob Lord (Gawthorpe being one) he was a Dictator who saw the club as "his club" and acted accordingly.

Yin and Yang is Bob Lord's legacy today.

But we remember with great fondest the man Jimmy who always considered himself "Burnley"