Burnley squad must wait for their £8.5m bonus bonanza
THE big cheque remains unsigned, for now.
It emerged last week that Burnley’s players are on an £8.5million shared bonus should they secure safety in the Premier League.
The necessary ink should be added shortly, following a game of two halves — one awful, one entertaining — ended 2-2.
Swansea’s win over Everton delayed the surely inevitable Lancastrian celebrations for a week.
While the Burnley bonus may have raised eyebrows — it is more than Leicester’s players got for winning the title last season — it could be viewed as shrewd, with staying in the top flight worth north of £100m for a club with a wage bill of around £33m.
After a goalless first half that found bored punters scanning behind the David Fishwick stand to see how Burnley Cricket Club 2nds were getting on, the second period produced four goals from nowhere.
Sam Vokes tapped the home side in front before Salomon Rondon and birthday boy Craig Dawson — with West Brom’s first goals in eight hours — put Tony Pulis’ side in sight of a fourth away win.
It was down to Vokes to level matters with five minutes remaining. ‘We take some knocks but 40 points for a team with zero chance with two games left?’ said delighted Burnley boss Sean Dyche. ‘There are teams paying astronomical wages in this divisions. I manage what I am given to manage. I take great pride that we all see beyond that.’ Vokes opened the scoring following referee Mike Jones’ decision to allow play to continue when Ashley Barnes was bundled over by Jake Livermore and the same man rose from the turf to set up the striker. It prompted fun-poking in the stands at bitter rivals Blackburn Rovers, who may be relegated to League One today. But with minds elsewhere, Rondon turned on James McClean’s deflected cross and rifled smartly into the corner for his first goal since December 14 to make it 1-1.
‘I think everyone at the club is so pleased for Sol,’ said Pulis. ‘He’s kept going. We have two strikers and Hal Robson-Kanu is injured.
‘Sol has had to take responsibility and carry the team when he could have done with a break.’
West Brom had the lead on 78 minutes when Dawson’s header from a Chris Brunt corner deflected off Barnes, a post and in to the net.
But Burnley would not be denied.
Substitute Robbie Brady curled a cross into the centre of the box, Ben Foster hesitated fatally before coming for it and was beaten to the ball by Vokes, who nodded home.
West Brom, who raced to safety long ago, came into this one without a point in four matches or a goal in five but this was not a ‘shorts and flip flops’ waiting-for-the-summer-holiday performance.
Tuesday will see the 30th anniversary of Burnley’s famous victory over Orient at a jubilant Turf Moor which secured their Football League status and arguably the club’s very existence.
This season the same venue has hosted more home wins than Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium.
How times have changed.