Dave Thornley writing for Clarets Mad provides his thoughts at the end of yet another fascinating promotion winning season.

It hasn?t always been thrilling and at times, during the first half of the season, some of Burnley?s matches were tedious to the point of being soporific. As supporters our faith and our patience ware tested to their limits.

Through all that though, the team kept on picking up the points needed to remain in the mix at the top of the table and our patience was rewarded in the second half of the season when Burnley became a juggernaut, a winning machine, storming to promotion with a hundred points.

Leeds? superior goal difference meant that the title and the trophy went to Elland Road, but after the final match of the season, against Millwall at Turf Moor, none of that seemed to matter as we gathered to pay homage and give thanks for a truly remarkable season of achievement by Scott Parker?s Clarets.

You all know the statistical records broken by this team; unbeaten in a club record thirty-three league games; unbeaten too at Turf Moor throughout the whole of the season; a mere six**** goals conceded and never more than one in any league game; a record tally of clean sheets and (perhaps most impressive of all) only two defeats in the league all season.

One of those defeats came early in the season at Sunderland, when the transfer window had stripped Burnley of a huge swathe of the team Scott Parker had been hired to manage. Odobert; Amdouni, Weghorst, Vitinho, O?Shea and Gudmundsson all featured in the first two games, by the time the transfer window closed, all had gone, leaving Parker to re-shape virtually the whole squad. To do this and still maintain a successful promotion challenge is a managerial achievement of Fergie proportions.

To put that achievement into context, Jimmy Adamson?s ?team of the seventies?, which I have come to regard as the benchmark against which I measure all subsequent Burnley teams, were beaten four times on their way to winning the second tier championship in 1973; the two promotions under Sean Dyche were both achieved by accruing 93 points and five defeats; whilst Kompany?s team of two seasons ago lost three matches.

It is unlikely that, when regaling my soon-to-be-born grandson with tales of Jaidon Anthony, Josh Laurent and Lucas Pires, that I will do so using the same reverential tones I reserve for Leighton James, Martin Dobson and Keith Newton, but the aforementioned trio performed with splendid consistency in Burnley?s cause.

Indeed, all of Parker?s recruitments in both transfer windows added value to the team. Amongst them Ashley Barnes, whose return gave a lift to the supporters and became a source of experience, know-how and inspiration in the dressing room and on the training ground, a shrewd move by the club.

The Clarets? astonishing levels of consistency were underpinned by some memorable victories and inspiring moments; the early season win at Elland Road; the Boxing Day victory away to Sheffield United; James Trafford?s two astonishing penalty saves to preserve a point at home to Sunderland; the now customary win over Blackburn at Ewood Park and of course, securing promotion with a 2-1 home win over Sheffield United. But the success of the season rested to a large extent on the defensive trio of James Trafford in goal and Maxime Esteve and CJ Egan-Riley at centre back.

Esteve matches the timing of Ben Mee with the aerial power of James Tarkowski and the composure of Jordan Beyer, whilst adding wonderful recovery pace. He may well be the best central defender I have ever seen in a Burnley shirt. As for Egan-Riley, put simply he plays like Bobby Moore.

The work now begins on getting the team ready for the enormous challenge of the Premier League. Hopefully, the mistakes made last season will be avoided and a more sensible recruitment policy will manifest itself, including one or two hard-working, solid professionals with 200 or so Premier League games under their belt, just my opinion, but I felt we were lacking such a presence last season.

A final thought. Burnley?s last four Championship seasons has seen them finish second, first, first and second. We are the Manchester City of the second tier.

Editor?s note: Well, we are back in the English Premier League after yet another short stay in the Championship. Can we end the yo-yo cycle and stay at the top table of English football for a while longer this time? I hope so.