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Just seen on the BBC pages that he`s passed away,aged 86. Any of you old timers ever see Jimmy play for Burnley and Stoke City? A truly great player,saw him many times at Turf Moor when Harry Potts was the manager,the Clarets having a top side,late fifties,early sixties. He still lived in Burnley,the club was the love of his life.
My dad took me to Turf Moor a few times to watch that team. One game that particularly springs to mind is a European Cup game versus Rheims. Brilliant atmosphere that night. They had some great players in those days, people like Jimmy Adamson and forwards John Connelly and Ray Pointer. McIlroy was the man who pulled the strings, made it all tick though. RIP
Yeah I saw him play on several occasions. Very skilful playmaker in that Burnley team. I remember reading " Charlie Buchan's Football Monthly " and seeing a list of players for the season that had scored 15 goals or more. All five Burnley forwards were on the list ! John Connelly, Jimmy Robson, Ray Pointer, Jimmy McIlroy, Gordon Harris. Today if you get one forward scoring more than 15 goals you think you're doing great . I think he later played for Oldham, he certainly managed them.
Yes, I think he managed them when a young bloke called Ken Bates took over Latics and started making a lot of noise.
I seem to recall a young Andy Lochhead playing for Burnley around that time as well.
He was player manager at Oldham and had them high up in the third division before things went a bit sour and they ended up passing us on their way down. Mcilroy was already gone by then though.
From memory,Jimmy somehow got on the wrong side of chairman Bob Lord and was shown the door. Many Burnley fans refused to go again,Jimmy was a legend at Turf Moor and rightly so,but Burnley`s loss was Stoke City`s gain. I think one or two other players fell foul of Lord,a cantankerous old sod at the best of times,but he pulled all the strings. Burnley`s youth policy was on a par with Man United`s Babes and kept the Clarets up with the top teams for many years eventually making them a lot of money in the transfer market.
I remember reading that the Burnley reserve team coach went up to Newcastle for a Central League match with a full squad. After the game it came back with two players in it. All the others were Geordies who'd stayed up there for the weekend.
I remember reading that the Burnley reserve team coach went up to Newcastle for a Central League match with a full squad. After the game it came back with two players in it. All the others were Geordies who'd stayed up there for the weekend.
Saw him at Rochdale in a testimonial,forget who for,got his and Tommy Youngers autographs.
Am I right in thinking that the scout who directed all these players to Burnley later had a fallout and went to work to for Southampton instead which is how Alan Shearer came to be at The Dell or did I imagine it? I think that the likes of Len Kinsella and Eddie Cliff might have been some of those Geordie lads.
Am I right in thinking that the scout who directed all these players to Burnley later had a fallout and went to work to for Southampton instead which is how Alan Shearer came to be at The Dell or did I imagine it? I think that the likes of Len Kinsella and Eddie Cliff might have been some of those Geordie lads.
That rings a bell with me
Len Kinsella - pretty decent midfielder for Dale in the early 70s
Remember being 2-0 down at the Shay at half time in a midweek fixture, Len scoring twice in the second half to finish 2-2
My dad took me to Turf Moor a few times to watch that team. One game that particularly springs to mind is a European Cup game versus Rheims. Brilliant atmosphere that night. They had some great players in those days, people like Jimmy Adamson and forwards John Connelly and Ray Pointer. McIlroy was the man who pulled the strings, made it all tick though. RIP
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