This story was created for the Google Expeditions project by Twig World, now available on Google Arts & Culture
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There are many people in a wide variety of roles busy behind the scenes to ensure the fans are happy, the team is winning and the money keeps coming in.
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Welcome to Burnley FC
Burnley FC is a business like any other. The football players may be the public face of the club, but all members of the organisation work together to make the club one of the most profitable in Europe.
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There are many people in a wide variety of roles busy behind the scenes to ensure the fans are happy, the team is winning and the money keeps coming in.
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Ground Maintenance
Ground staff are responsible for making sure the playing surface is kept in the best possible condition (as well as painting the lines on the pitch). Pitches easily become worn from matches and the winter weather.
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Desso GrassMaster
Like many modern sports venues, Burnley’s playing field is laid with Desso GrassMaster, a covering that combines artificial fibres with natural grass. The artificial fibres strengthen the surface, reducing the time it needs to recover after a game.
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Turf Moor
Burnley is a town in Lancashire, England. On a street called Harry Potts Way – named after the club’s longest-serving manager – sits Turf Moor stadium, Burnley FC’s home since 1883. The stadium can hold 22,000 paying fans.
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Boardroom
The boardroom is where all of the club’s major decisions are made. The directors are concerned with the commercial and business activity of the club, but this is very much dependent on the team’s performance on the pitch.
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Here, the managers and coaches discuss with members of the board how successful Burnley is likely to be in the coming season.
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Finances
When a team is successful on the football pitch, it makes more money. But to become successful, the club often has to spend money on players. Balancing these two things is a challenge that every club faces.
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Statistical Analysis
Clubs use analysis tools to work out which players are likely to leave for other teams. Coaches want players to play well, but when they do they can attract the attention of bigger clubs.
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Tactics
Restraints on club finances, and the movement of players to and from other sides mean that the playing squad is never fixed. Managers constantly have to adjust strategy and tactics according to the players available to them.
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Dressing Room
The dressing room is where coaches give instructions to players before a match and at half time. Coach-player relationships are crucial to building a winning side.
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The players don’t simply practise what they already know – the job of a coach is to teach them new ways of playing and thinking about football. Learning new things can be uncomfortable and sometimes players resist this – even footballers are afraid of making mistakes.
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Player Development
It takes a lot of hard work to become a professional, but good players don’t stop once they’ve achieved that. There’s always something else to aim for: moving to a bigger club or playing for the national side, for example.
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Squad Numbers
Players have squad numbers to identify them in matches. The numbers 1– 11 usually indicate the position they play in – for example, 1 will be a goalkeeper and 9 a striker. Higher numbers have no significance beyond personal preference.
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Goalkeeper Kit
Goalkeepers wear different coloured shirts from their teammates to distinguish them on the pitch, with padding to protect them when they dive to save shots. They also have gloves to protect their hands and give them better grip.
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Coaching
Many coaches and managers are former players, but it’s possible to get involved in football coaching without playing experience. In England, the Football Association offers coaching courses at all levels that can lead to a career in the game.
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Ticket Office
Supporters have always been central to the match-day experience. Players enjoy playing in front of lively crowds, who loudly sing their support for their team and mock their rivals. This support is also important in a business sense.
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Traditionally, the majority of a club’s income came from ticket sales. While money from television deals now exceeds this, top teams still make many millions each year from filling their grounds on match days.
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Match-day Tickets
Prices for individual match tickets begin at around £30. However, around two-thirds of the seats in the stadium are filled by season-ticket holders, who pay for a year’s worth of games in advance. This reduces the per-game cost considerably.
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Paying for a Good View
Ticket prices vary in different sections of the stadium. The Burnley ticket office has a computer system that shows the simulated view from any seat in the ground – here is one close to the action at the corner of the pitch.
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Rising Prices
It’s a lot more expensive to watch football than it used to be. In 1990, it was possible to buy tickets for top English matches for just £3 or £4. Today, tickets cost around 10 times as much.
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Match Atmosphere
Today, Burnley play in an FA Cup match against Lincoln City, a non-league side (i.e. playing outside of the top leagues). Burnley have won the FA Cup once, back in 1914, just weeks before the outbreak of the First World War.
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Burnley FC in the Community
Burnley FC is proud of the work it does in the local area, focused through the charity “Burnley FC in the Community”. This charity is involved in supporting physical and mental health and wellbeing and further education opportunities.
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Bertie Bee
Mascots help to get the crowd excited. Burnley’s mascot is Bertie Bee. The person who wears the Bertie costume enjoys the job. He says, “It’s great fun to get out into the community. I love seeing smiles on people’s faces.”
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Cup Upset
Unfortunately for Burnley, Lincoln become the first non-league team to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals for more than 100 years, with a money-spinning draw in the next round against Arsenal – one of the biggest clubs in England.
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The Supporters
In Burnley, the football club is the hub of the community. Even people who are not interested in football will be aware of what the latest result was and which team Burnley will be playing next.
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The size of the club – Burnley is the smallest town to have its team win the FA Cup – means that the team is usually the underdog against bigger, richer sides. This only makes the supporters get behind it more.
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Support
The population of the town of Burnley is only 70,000 and an average of around 20,000 fans attend home games – this makes the club the best-supported in England per head of population.
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The Clarets
Burnley FC’s nickname is the Clarets, after the colour of the team shirts. However, they originally played in blue and had various colours, including red and green, before settling on claret and blue in 1910.
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Harry Potts Way
The street outside the ground is named after Burnley FC’s 1958–1970 and 1977–1979 manager, who was in charge when Burnley won the league in 1960. The street was formerly called Brunshaw Road, getting its new name in 2001.
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