# 2007–08 Burnley F.C. season

The 2007–08 season was Burnley's 8th season in the second tier of English football. They were managed by Steve Cotterill in his fourth full season since he replaced Stan Ternent at the beginning of the 2004–05 season. He was sacked on 8 November 2007 after a poor run of results and replaced by Owen Coyle. Caretaker manager Steve Davis was put in charge of first team duties for the match against Leicester City on 10 November 2007.

## Appearances and goals

    Source:
    Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
    Players with names struck through and marked † left the club during the playing season.
    Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Burnley.
    Players listed with no appearances have been in the matchday squad but only as unused substitutes.
    Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
Players contracted for the 2007–08 season :
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | HUN | Gábor Király | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Stephen Foster † | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Graham Alexander | 43 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 44 (1) | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Jon Harley | 31 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 32 (3) | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | NIR | Michael Duff | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Wayne Thomas † | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Clarke Carlisle | 32 (1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34 (1) | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 6 | DF | SCO | Steven Caldwell | 26 (3) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29 (3) | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | IRL | James O'Connor | 24 (5) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 27 (6) | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ISL | Joey Guðjónsson | 13 (15) | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 (16) | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 9 | FW | NGA | Ade Akinbiyi | 14 (25) | 8 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (1) | 1 | 16 (27) | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | SCO | Andy Gray † | 25 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | 2 | 27 (1) | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Mark Randall * | 2 (8) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (8) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Wade Elliott | 45 (1) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 (1) | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | DEN | Brian Jensen | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | NIR | Steve Jones | 1 (16) | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 3 (18) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | ENG | John Spicer | 9 (15) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 (15) | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 16 | MF | IRL | Chris McCann | 34 (1) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 (1) | 5 | 7 | 1 |
| 17 | FW | NIR | Kyle Lafferty | 34 (3) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 (3) | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| 18 | MF | IRL | Alan Mahon | 13 (13) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 15 (14) | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Jay Rodriguez | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Robbie Blake | 41 (4) | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 (2) | 1 | 43 (6) | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | IRL | Garreth O'Connor | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | ALB | Besart Berisha | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Stephen Jordan | 20 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 23 (1) | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | SVK | Stanislav Varga * | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Adam Kay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | David Unsworth | 26 (3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 (3) | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Andy Cole * | 8 (5) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 (5) | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | SCO | Alex MacDonald | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Transfers
### In

| # | Pos | Player | From | Fee | Date |
| 1 | GK | Gábor Király | Crystal Palace | Free | 30 May 2007 |
| 22 | FW | Besart Berisha | Hamburg | £340,000 | 3 July 2007 |
| 20 | FW | Robbie Blake | Leeds United | £250,000 | 13 July 2007 |
| 26 | DF | David Unsworth | Wigan Athletic | Free | 13 August 2007 |
| 5 | DF | Clarke Carlisle | Watford | £200,000 | 16 August 2007 |
| 2 | DF | Graham Alexander | Preston North End | £100,000 | 31 August 2007 |
| 25 | DF | Stanislav Varga | Sunderland | Loan | 4 January 2008 |
| 27 | FW | Andrew Cole | Sunderland | Loan | 29 January 2008 |
| 10 | MF | Mark Randall | Arsenal | Loan | 31 January 2008 |

### Out

| # | Pos | Player | To | Fee | Date |
| | DF | John McGreal | | Retired | 8 May 2007 |
| | DF | Frank Sinclair | Huddersfield Town | Free | 14 May 2007 |
| | GK | Danny Coyne | Tranmere Rovers | Free | 3 July 2007 |
| | MF | Graham Branch | Accrington Stanley | Free | 10 July 2007 |
| | MF | Garreth O'Connor | Bournemouth | Loan | 10 August 2007 |
| 5 | DF | Wayne Thomas | Southampton | £1,200,000 | 16 August 2007 |
| 2 | DF | Stephen Foster | Barnsley | £100,000 | 24 August 2007 |
| 19 | FW | Jay Rodriguez | Stirling Albion | Loan | 11 January 2008 |
| 10 | FW | Andy Gray | Charlton Athletic | Loan | 18 January 2008 |
| 10 | FW | Andy Gray | Charlton Athletic | £1,500,000 | 25 January 2008 |
| 14 | FW | Steve Jones | Crewe Alexandra | Loan | 27 March 2008 |

## Match details
### Football League Championship

Football League Championship match details :
| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 11 August 2007 | 5th | West Bromwich Albion | H | W | 2–1 | Duff 47', Gray 79' pen. | 15,337 |
| 18 August 2007 | 12th | Scunthorpe United | A | L | 0–2 | | 6,975 |
| 1 September 2007 | 12th | Colchester United | A | W | 3–2 | Mahon 15', Gray (2) 29', 63' pen. | 4,925 |
| 15 September 2007 | 10th | Blackpool | H | D | 2–2 | Jones 52', Akinbiyi 86' | 16,843 |
| 18 September 2007 | 6th | Sheffield Wednesday | A | W | 2–0 | Blake 15', McCann 48' | 18,359 |
| 22 September 2007 | 6th | Bristol City | A | D | 2–2 | Gray 52', Carlisle 90' | 14,079 |
| 29 September 2007 | 7th | Crystal Palace | H | D | 1–1 | Blake 13' | 10,711 |
| 2 October 2007 | 8th | Ipswich Town | H | D | 2–2 | Lafferty 11', Gray 60' | 9,952 |
| 6 October 2007 | 13th | Cardiff City | A | L | 1–2 | Akinbiyi 50' | 12,914 |
| 20 October 2007 | 13th | Barnsley | A | D | 1–1 | Gray 11' | 11,560 |
| 23 October 2007 | 10th | Norwich City | H | W | 2–1 | Blake 1', Gray 4' pen. | 10,133 |
| 27 October 2007 | 12th | Southampton | H | L | 2–3 | McCann 31', Akinbiyi 83' | 10,944 |
| 3 November 2007 | 13th | Sheffield United | A | D | 0–0 | | 25,306 |
| 6 November 2007 | 15th | Hull City | H | L | 0–1 | | 9,978 |
| 10 November 2007 | 13th | Leicester City | A | W | 1–0 | Gray 23' | 21,334 |
| 24 November 2007 | 13th | Stoke City | H | D | 0–0 | | 11,758 |
| 27 November 2007 | 11th | Watford | A | W | 2–1 | Gray 58', Guðjónsson 80' | 15,021 |
| 1 December 2007 | 9th | Charlton Athletic | A | W | 3–1 | Gray (2) 8', 70' pen., McCann 13' | 21,122 |
| 4 December 2007 | 10th | Leicester City | H | D | 1–1 | Unsworth 19' | 10,688 |
| 8 December 2007 | 7th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | W | 3–2 | Blake 20', Lafferty 30', Ward 42' o.g. | 20,763 |
| 11 December 2007 | 8th | Queens Park Rangers | H | L | 0–2 | | 10,522 |
| 15 December 2007 | 9th | Preston North End | H | L | 2–3 | Lafferty 31', McCann 62' | 14,829 |
| 22 December 2007 | 9th | Ipswich Town | A | D | 0–0 | | 20,077 |
| 26 December 2007 | 10th | Sheffield Wednesday | H | D | 1–1 | Akinbiyi 31' | 15,326 |
| 29 December 2007 | 11th | Bristol City | H | L | 0–1 | | 12,109 |
| 1 January 2008 | 12th | Blackpool | A | L | 0–3 | | 9,599 |
| 12 January 2008 | 11th | Plymouth Argyle | H | W | 1–0 | Blake 66' | 14,162 |
| 19 January 2008 | 9th | Coventry City | A | W | 2–1 | Akinbiyi 10', Blake 68' | 17,347 |
| 26 January 2008 | 7th | Scunthorpe United | H | W | 2–0 | Blake 9', Akinbiyi 32' | 14,516 |
| 2 February 2008 | 10th | West Bromwich Albion | A | L | 1–2 | J. O'Connor 3' | 22,206 |
| 9 February 2008 | 9th | Colchester United | H | D | 1–1 | Cole 23' | 15,376 |
| 12 February 2008 | 7th | Queens Park Rangers | A | W | 4–2 | Cole (3) 41', 56', 86', Akinbiyi 77' | 13,410 |
| 23 February 2008 | 9th | Plymouth Argyle | A | L | 1–3 | J. O'Connor 19' | 13,557 |
| 26 February 2008 | 9th | Coventry City | H | W | 2–0 | McCann 20', Caldwell 85' | 9,779 |
| 1 March 2008 | 8th | Watford | H | D | 2–2 | Blake (2) 75', 88' | 13,677 |
| 4 March 2008 | 9th | Hull City | A | L | 0–2 | | 15,838 |
| 8 March 2008 | 10th | Stoke City | A | D | 1–1 | Lafferty 3' | 18,432 |
| 11 March 2008 | 8th | Charlton Athletic | H | W | 1–0 | Elliott 59' | 10,700 |
| 15 March 2008 | 10th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | L | 1–3 | Akinbiyi 76' | 12,749 |
| 22 March 2008 | 11th | Preston North End | A | L | 1–2 | J. O'Connor 38' | 16,149 |
| 29 March 2008 | 10th | Barnsley | H | W | 2–1 | Elliott 30', Lafferty 36' | 11,925 |
| 5 April 2008 | 11th | Norwich City | A | L | 0–2 | | 24,049 |
| 12 April 2008 | 13th | Sheffield United | H | L | 1–2 | Cole 80' | 11,693 |
| 19 April 2008 | 12th | Southampton | A | W | 1–0 | Caldwell 45' | 21,762 |
| 26 April 2008 | 11th | Cardiff City | H | D | 3–3 | Alexander 36', Cole 54', Carlisle 86' | 10,694 |
| 4 May 2008 | 13th | Crystal Palace | A | L | 0–5 | | 23,950 |

### Final league position

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 11 | Charlton Athletic | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 63 | 58 | +5 | 64 |
| 12 | Cardiff City | 46 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 59 | 55 | +4 | 64 |
| 13 | Burnley | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 60 | 67 | −7 | 62 |
| 14 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 60 | 66 | −6 | 58 |
| 15 | Preston North End | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 56 |

### FA Cup

FA Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Ref |
| Third round | 6 January 2008 | Arsenal | H | L | 0–2 | | 16,709 | |

### Football League Cup

Football League Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| First round | 14 August 2007 | Grimsby Town | A | D | 1–1 (a.e.t.) 4–2 pens. | Gray 108' | 2,431 |
| Second round | 28 August 2007 | Oldham Athletic | H | W | 3–0 | Gray 59', Blake 76', Akinbiyi 90' | 7,317 |
| Third round | 25 September 2007 | Portsmouth | H | L | 0–1 | | 8,202 |