Where are they now? Pete Oliver meets former Turf Moor star Colin Waldron

IT'S hard to imagine at the moment that a move from Chelsea to Burnley would be the making of a player's career.

But that's the route a youthful Colin Waldron took to establish himself in the First Division.

Seen as a rising star, Tommy Docherty took Waldron to Stamford Bridge from the humble surroundings of Bury.

It was too-much, too-soon for the defender who was delighted that Burnley offered him a return ticket to the north-west at the age of 19.

"I was a fish out of water, completely lost in London. It was a big city club. To be fair, Tommy Docherty threw me in at the deep end and I sank. There's no other way of putting it," said an honest Waldron, who made his Clarets debut at The Dell in October, 1967.

"He told me when he signed me it would be Osgood, Bonetti and Waldron. He was true to his word but I was too young and too naive.

"I was pleased to come back north. I didn't know about Burnley but I quickly found myself liking the club, the town and the people.

"It was a homely club and the opposite of what Chelsea was."

It wasn't all plain-sailing, however, as Waldron admitted: "I was club captain at 19 and again I was too young and I sank at that as well. I didn't know what being captain was all about until the second time I was captain when I think I deserved it."

Bristol-born Waldron also stepped into a transitional period at Turf Moor as the established stars of the Sixties were disappearing from the scene to be replaced by the likes of Waldron and Frank Casper - rare cash purchases at Turf Moor in those days - and products of Burnley's FA Youth Cup-winning team like Martin Dobson, Steve Kindon and Alan West. "When we went to Southampton I was 19, Martin Dobson was 20, Ralph Coates was 23 and all the rest were under 18. That's how good the youth was but with young lads comes inconsistency," added Waldron, who felt that was a contributory factor to Burnley's relegation to Division Two in 1971.

But two seasons later Burnley were back with the commanding Waldron an ever-present at centre-half.

And it was his goal that clinched the Second Division title in the last game of the season at Preston.

He recalled: "It was a funny game. I thought we had a really good side and deserved to be in the top two.

"Preston had had a poor season and I felt we were the better side. But they were battling for points as we were and we froze.

"We played awfully and they played to the best of their ability.

"They got an early goal and my goal, although I thumped it well, could have gone anywhere."

However, Waldron believes Burnley then missed the boat in their quest to rediscover the glory days of the previous two decades.

"I think we had a fairly good side which I think may have warranted, at any other club, maybe signing a couple of quality players which might have given us a bit more depth.

"We came up with QPR. We sold two players and they bought two. They finished second and we finished sixth," he added.

Burnley had become a selling club to raise finance, things coming to a head when crowd favourite Dobson was sold to Everton at the start of the following season. And Waldron believes that policy, allied to another crucial event, was central to the Clarets slide which led to them sliding out of the top-flight in 1976.

"If somebody said to me pinpoint the moment where things started to go wrong, I would say the 4-1 win at Leeds when we lost Frank Casper," said Waldron, of the tackle by Norman Hunter in March 1974 which took a heavy toll on the Clarets' striker.

"That moment was critical. We had tremendous balance in the side with a player like Frank.

"The loss of Frank was something we never got over and then we sold Dobbo.

"Getting Peter Noble was a great move but we didn't have the same balance. If we'd still had Frank Casper and sold Martin Dobson, Peter Noble would have been a great replacement.

"The second crucial thing in the demise of Burnley was the sacking of Jimmy Adamson. He was the only one who could keep the club afloat and counter all Bob Lord's demands for the club."

Waldron also left Turf Moor towards the end of their last season in the League's top division, after playing 356 games for the club.

Things didn't work out at Manchester United or Sunderland, however, and he joined the football revolution in America.

"Looking back I probably prostituted myself. I left the greatest league in the world for the glamour and glitz of America," he confessed.

"It was a great experience to play with Cruyff, Neeskens and Beckenbauer, but to be honest the football wasn't the be-all and end-all."

There were no regrets but Waldron did move back into the Football League, opting to go to Rochdale, who were managed by his best friend in football, ex-Claret Doug Collins. But Collins' reign at Spotland lasted just six more weeks, and Waldron did not see eye-to-eye with his replacement Bob Stokoe.

"I finished my career at 31 which was far too young and is probably something I regret, although I opened a business and didn't really miss it. I probably did miss the health and camaraderie."

Waldron had previously run a restaurant in Bury with Manchester City star Colin Bell, with whom he shared an agent, but having hung up his boots he pursued a career as a bookmaker in Nelson, a business he still runs today.

"The lifestyle as a footballer was wonderful, nobody would deny that. I wanted to carry on with a certain lifestyle but I didn't want to stay in football. I wasn't patient enough to be a manager.

"I liked to bet myself, nothing stupid, and I was fortunate enough to buy the shop. I enjoy what I do," added Waldron, who made his home in Cliviger.

He still keeps close tabs on the Clarets with many of his customers being staunch Burnley supporters.

And Waldron will be happy for two reasons if he doesn't have to pay out on a bet that has the Clarets going down with Blackburn and Bury.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.