Roger Eli

ROGER AND OUT

Born into a family of Burnley supporters in the 1960s I was soon regaled with stories of Championships, FA Cup Finals and European nights. This glorious era was characterised by goal-scoring heroes such as Ray Pointer, Andy Lochead and Willie Irvine. By the time I was old enough to go to matches myself I could hardly wait.

Unfortunately the reality proved to be somewhat less glorious. The Clarets had entered a decade of steady decline, ultimately needing a last gasp victory against Leyton Orient in 1987 to avoid dropping out of the League altogether. I found myself to be part of generation clinging to distant memories and desperate for the slightest hint of a reversal in fortune. Goal-scoring heroes were few and far between.

When Frank Casper signed Roger Eli from Northwich Victoria in the summer of 1989 as a 'utility player' with half a dozen or so lower-league clubs already under his belt he appeared to be latest in a long line of 'never has beens' who had come to graze on the Turf before finally hanging up their boots. Bradford born, Roger's career had started at Leeds and he will be best remembered at Elland Road for a hairstyle popularised by the likes of Brendan Batson a decade earlier.

His early outings did nothing to suggest that he would add anything special to a very mediocre Fourth Division team. However in April 1990 he got a decent run in the side, this time playing up-front (having previously performed defensive duties), his return of six goals in four games propelled the Clarets into the promotion frame. His tenth and last goal of that season came in front of a near 20,000 Turf Moor crowd who witnessed the 2-0 defeat of Blackpool.

Play-off failure was a bitter pill to swallow for the Burnley faithful and after an indifferent start to the following season Frank Casper 'fell on his sword' and Jimmy Mullen, his assistant, stepped-up after a successful trial period. The Clarets won eight on the bounce under the new boss and were suddenly top of the league.

Roger thrived in the role given to him by Mullen. He had now 're-created' himself. He had a hairstyle not unlike Jamaican chanteuse Grace Jones and as he ran powerfully at defenders he must have seemed nearly as frightening. The record books at the time indicate that at this time he stood 5ft. 10in. tall and weighed 11st. 3lbs. He certainly made the most of what he had got. Incredibly strong and with an awkward, angular gait, he was very difficult to knock off the ball and he routinely out-jumped taller defenders.

In tandem with Mike Conroy the pair terrorised the rest of the division as the Clarets scored at will. Starved of star performers for too long Roger soon established himself as a cult figure amongst the Burnley faithful. He was brave and a great chaser of lost causes, attitude rather than natural ability saw him perform way above expectation time and time again. The season was littered with personal successes: a hat-trick against Chesterfield; a superb chip to secure the points against Doncaster; an equally important late goal, and quality strike into the bargain to see off Maidstone in the tense end-of-season run-in; the crashing header past Peter Shilton to square a thrilling FA Cup tie with Derby. Aside from the goals he won some crucial penalties in one memorable incident at Scunthorpe he was clipped from behind by their centre back and went down as if he had been picked-off by a sniper.

The story of him taking to the table of a Morecambe night-club for a rendition of the anthemic 'No, Nay, Never' certainly did his standing no harm either.

In January Roger picked up an injury that was to seriously limit his contribution towards the glorious climax to the season. He only played fitfully from then on and didn't feature at all in the final few games when the Champinship was ultimately secured. In the euphoric celebrations which followed victory at York in April I was a little saddened to see Roger in his suit and tie. He more than anyone deserved to be part of the eleven on the field that night.

The injury proved more serious than we all thought. Burnley started the next season without him and struggled at the higher level. Everybody expected an upturn in fortunes as soon as he returned, but when he did he lacked the pace and power that had been his trademark. He struggled through a handful of games over the next two seasons before finally being released.

I am not exactly sure what Roger did after leaving Turf Moor, he certainly didn't play professionally in England again as far as I am aware although there was some talk of him going to the Far East.

His anecdote in the Granada video 'Burnley Are Back' suggested he might be looking to follow in the footsteps of fellow Yorkshire ex-professional Charlie Williams, but 'The Golden Shot' was destined never to return to our screens and light entertainment bosses lost the opportunity to bring Roger's talents to the attention of a national TV audience.

In the past couple of years he has been invited back to Burnley on a regular basis and always receives a warm and friendly reception. One of the reasons he remains so popular is that his star was very much in the ascendancy when injury effectively ended his career. Mike Conroy laboured through the following season at a higher level to little effect and his achievements during the Championship year were cruelly overshadowed as a result.

Burnley fans traditionally warm to a brave centre forward. I was brought up on stories of Andy Lochead's heroic performance against Naples when he had a set of Italian studs scraped across his balding pate.

That's why I will be eternally grateful to Roger Eli, a goalscoring hero I can tell my kids about.

Jez Wilson - (with thanks to Wayne Blackledge) February 1999

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