Burnley sought reunion after gutting Bolton Wanderers blow but it only made things worse: View | OneFootball

Burnley's decision to replace Owen Coyle with Brian Laws in January 2010 proved to be a big mistake.

Burnley will be hoping to challenge for promotion from the Championship this season.

The Clarets endured an incredibly disappointing campaign last season as they were relegated from the Premier League, but they look to be in a strong position to bounce back at the first attempt under the guidance of Scott Parker.

It was the third time in the last 14 years that Burnley suffered relegation from the top flight after just one season in the division, but given the way they had stormed to the Championship title in the 2022-23 season, it was perhaps the most disappointing.

Their first relegation from the Premier League came in the 2009-10 season, but while it may not have been a surprise considering their financial limitations, the managerial upheaval at the club during the course of the campaign was difficult to take for Clarets supporters.

Owen Coyle guided the Lancashire outfit to promotion to the top flight in 2009 after they beat Sheffield United 1-0 in the play-off final at Wembley, but it would not take long for the 58-year-old to destroy his reputation at Turf Moor.

Coyle was reportedly approached by Celtic in the summer of 2009 following promotion, but he turned down the opportunity to take charge of the Scottish giants, instead signing a new four-year contract at Burnley.

Clarets supporters will have been delighted by Coyle's loyalty, and his side made an impressive start to life in the Premier League, with back-to-back home wins over Manchester United and Everton in the opening month of the season.

Burnley struggled to maintain that standard over the next few months, but they remained competitive, and they were sitting in a respectable 14th place at the turn of the year.

However, Bolton Wanderers then made an approach for Coyle after the sacking of Gary Megson, and after expressing his desire to accept the job, the Scot made the controversial move across Lancashire in January 2010.

Given that Celtic was Coyle's boyhood club, Clarets fans would likely have understood if he departed for Glasgow in the summer, but few had any sympathy with his decision to make the switch to Bolton given the local hostilities, and it was a move for which he would never be forgiven at Turf Moor.

In an attempt to restore unity among supporters, Burnley named former player Brian Laws as Coyle's replacement, but it is fair to say the appointment did not work out.

Brian Laws appointment turned out to be a disaster for Burnley

Laws came through the Burnley academy, and he spent four years as a regular in the first team before departing for Huddersfield Town in 1983, so his previous connection with the club was no doubt a big factor in his appointment, particularly after the toxicity that was created by Coyle's departure.

However, Laws had been sacked by Sheffield Wednesday exactly a month earlier with the club sitting just above the Championship relegation zone, and his only other managerial roles had been with Grimsby Town and Scunthorpe United, so there were huge question marks about whether he was the right man to keep the Clarets in the division.

Any doubts Burnley supporters had over Laws' appointment were quickly proven to be correct, and the club went on to be relegated from the Premier League with two games of the season remaining.

The Clarets lost 15 of their 18 games in all competitions in the second half of the season, and of the 82 league goals they conceded, 51 of those came after Laws' arrival, underlining the clear regression the club had made under the 62-year-old's guidance.

Despite that, Laws was surprisingly allowed to remain in charge in the Championship, and with Burnley sitting fourth in the table in mid-October, it looked to be a shrewd decision from the board.

However, the Clarets' fortunes declined over the winter period, and Laws was sacked in December 2010 after a run of three defeats in five games, departing with his side in ninth position.

The failed appointment of Laws will only have compounded the frustrations of Burnley supporters about Coyle's departure, and to add insult to injury, their former manager would go on to keep Bolton in the Premier League for two consecutive seasons and guide them to the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 2010.

It would not be long before the Clarets discovered another managerial gem in Sean Dyche, who spent almost 10 years in charge at Turf Moor after replacing Eddie Howe in October 2012, and they have enjoyed much more success than the Trotters over the past decade, but the disappointment of losing Coyle to their bitter Lancashire rivals will always remain.