In My Sporting Hero, a new podcast series from Nutmeg, footballers talk about the athletes who inspire them. Sometimes those sportsmen and women are also footballers. Sometimes not. You can listen to the audio on this post, on the podcast app of your choice (just search for ‘My Sporting Hero’) or enjoy the written version below.
Our next guest is Liam Grimshaw.
Manchester United academy graduate Liam has spent much of his career in Scotland, turning out for Motherwell, Morton and Dundee United. The versatile Lancastrian has played as a right-back and in a midfield role, and he helped the Tangerines to the Championship title last season, making 33 league appearances.
Liam is currently without a club – but is enjoying life as a new father… and a Nutmeg contributor.
Liam’s sporting hero is Glen Little, an imposing winger who starred for the Grimshaw family’s beloved Burnley in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
I was really young when I went on my first Burnley game – just two weeks old! My parents loved watching Burnley and they weren’t about to stop doing that just because I had arrived, so they simply took me with them.
Burnley weren’t successful back then; it wasn’t like the early 1960s when we won the league. We only have a population of around 80,000 and we are therefore the smallest town to have won the league which is an incredible achievement. In a different era of football, it was possible to do that through good scouting and having a good youth set-up, which Burnley undoubtedly had. They also had the first purpose-built training ground, and it’s incredible to think that other clubs only got around to building that fifty or sixty years later. It was revolutionary and I think it helped to entice younger players from around Britain to come and sign for Burnley, as did the fact that they put faith in youth so young players would get a chance. So, Burnley had a really successful period right into the 1970s.
Then money started coming into the game, and they had to start selling players to survive. Bob Lord was a famous chairman who loved Burnley but he sold a player to fund the building of a stand and there was friction with the fans because of that. In 1987 we narrowly avoided relegation from the league but for a famous victory over Orient. So, in just over 25 years, we’d gone from being champions of England to almost going out of the league. And for a place like Burnley, that would have been a disaster because Burnley’s a town that identifies so closely with its football club. I was born in 1995, and I think we were in the Third Division then – the equivalent of League One, so slowly we were getting back to where we belonged. We all used to attend, and my earliest memories of watching Burnley are probably from that late-1990s period.
Glen was instrumental then, as was Andy Payton, a local lad who also played for Celtic. Glen had that bit of star quality and he really made you sit up and take notice. Glen came through at Crystal Palace and then played for Glentoran. At that time, Burnley were having a bit of a resurgence and taking big followings everywhere. Stan Ternent was our manager and he built a good team and signed Glen. Stan was some character and Burnley through and through. I actually met Stan once, outside the Burnley club shop when I was about five years old. I said, ‘Alright Stan?’ and he replied ‘Alright son, how are you doing?’ And my mum, who was with me, was embarrassed and scolded me: ‘It’s Mr Ternent, not Stan!’
They were playing some good football, sometimes maybe not so good football, but they were always competitive. Stan and the players were giving it everything, but if you needed something to happen Glen was that player who could provide a bit of magic. I remember we were playing against Bristol City and he picked the ball up at the edge of the box and took about three City players on and then just chipped it over the goalkeeper. That really sticks in my mind. Another memory was when we had to beat Scunthorpe away on the last day of the season and we also needed other results to go our way. It was 1-1 with about 20 minutes left and Glen drilled the ball from 30 yards into the top corner. There were Burnley fans on the pitch and we were promoted back into what is now the Championship. We raced back to Burnley to see the team return to Turf Moor, victorious. That’s another standout Glen Little moment for all Burnley fans.
I could see the Turf Moor from my bedroom window, so Burnley FC were everything to me. Nowadays, footballers are paid so much money and a lot of the players live in Manchester or Cheshire, but back then a lot of them still lived locally, in the town. Glen would often be in the bookies with my father-in-law, so it wasn’t a case of your heroes being out of reach. There was a Young Clarets supporters club and you would also see Glen at end-of-season events such as awards evenings, and doubtless the players would have a few beers with the fans.
I started playing when I was aged three or four, and I always used to focus on Glen when he was playing, so that I could learn from him. I think that’s really important for youngsters, regardless of the sport: to try and learn from the talented professionals. When I was a kid, I actually scored a lot of goals, and I wish I’d continued as a more attacking player – perhaps if I had I would have earned a few more quid and I’d probably have a team right now!
I vividly remember Glen’s departure. Stan Ternent left at the same time, and they both did a lap of honour at the end of a game. My eyes were streaming and I remember telling my cousin, who was with me, that it was my hay fever playing up! Glen’s contract must have run down, for whatever reason, and I couldn’t believe it; I was absolutely gutted. I suppose as a young kid, you think they’re going to be there forever.
Glen moved on to Reading, and did really well there too. He’s still very well respected at Reading. He continued playing in the lower divisions. One of my pals, Richard Tait, who I played alongside at Motherwell, played against Glen in a lower-league match and said he was still brilliant, that he just turned him inside out. So, Glenn was still doing it well into his thirties, still doing the business and exciting the fans. And that, for me, is the essence of the game, that’s why we watch football. I’m not sure whether there would be a place for a player like Glen in football nowadays, which is sad. I think the emphasis on results means that managers are more inclined to go with solidity and safety rather than with flair.
Glen is in town often, attends a lot of Burnley games and sometimes does a media role or fan events. He played here for several years and it’s obviously a place very close to his heart. The town of Burnley and its football club go hand in hand. And Glen will always be welcomed back to Burnley.
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