Burnley won promotion to the Premier League with 101 points to win the league title. Photo: Sharon Latham
Alan Pace explains the maximums and laws of a football club owner in the most elementary terms.
“For people to come up to the directors box when they leave and almost jump on the directors box and scream and scream and telling you to 'back off and go die', I don't think people are really ready for that,” says Chairman Burnley.
“I know I wasn't. And then they walk down the street, and people wave one of their five fingers and shout something. The hardest part was being with family when people were telling us to go home. This is a house, so I don't know what they are talking about.
“I think it was harder for the family than for me, but we made a conscious effort when it happened to leave after a while. while from this point of view it was not a very good environment.
“Much better when everything goes well! The people are very respectful and kind. I must say that many of the same people came up to us and apologized, which I never expected or asked for. It was amazing.”
Sitting next to Pace is Vincent Kompany, the Burnley manager. The pair are back in the big leagues and, in typical Pace, the return to the Premier League coincides with Mission to Burnley, a four-part documentary series that chronicles the pain of relegation and euphoria. to return after a quick and impressive transformation into the best and most attractive team of the Championship.
The theme that runs through the series is also simple: Burnley were fortunate to hire Company, who were initially far from favorites, to replace Sean Dyche after a difficult period with the Belgian in charge of Anderlecht, but the 37-year-old clearly beat Pace and his co-directors quickly.
«Hope is a very important thing in life,» says the former Manchester City defender. “I think my aspiration and my passion is improvement, continuous improvement. I was lucky that I had a good career as a result, but due to injuries and other nonsense, from time to time I went up the mountain and did not start at the top, but ended there. ”
The company certainly comes across as an imposing, inspiring figure, presenting his thoughts in a measured, understandable tone, and the effect he had on Burnley was remarkable. No wonder they were delighted to sign him to a new five-year contract at the end of last season.
In some ways, it was bold of Pace to let Sky's cameras film Burnley's campaign — he insists that, unlike other shows, there was no editorial control — especially given the controversy over how the club was bought by ALK Capital, a private American investment company. .
Vincent Kompany (center)) transformed the club and brought it back to the Premier League in one go Credit: Sky UK/Sharon Latham
It was a leveraged buyout in December 2020, where Pace and his partners put up very little of their own money, instead borrowing massive amounts.
It looked ruinous when they were relegated, and there was a temporary transfer ban due to concerns about their accounting, and while the Company is snubbed by a line in the docu-series from Morgan Edwards, CFO of ALK Capital, it rings true. Edwards states, “This is how we fund this particular year. It's a bet to get back up.»
This prompts an immediate, nervous «no pressure» response from Pace, and he admits in the program on transfer deadline day that they spent much more than they expected — or budgeted for — in a huge summer coup when 16 players left, though only four went to transfer fees and 21 were signed.
«I'm pretty sure we didn't bet that the season would go up, but if you know the personality of the person who's talking, he's an optimist in everything group,” says Kompany, insisting there was always a plan in place in case Burnley didn’t storm the league with 101 points.
There is also a classic scene at the beginning of episode two when Pace leaves Turf Moor, where he is greeted by a group of boys and an older teenager. Are you Alan Pace? the older boy asks, while the younger ones wonder if he really is the new manager. — Can I take a picture with you? the elder continues before adding, «People blame you for our flight.»
Pace laughs nervously and, after the photos are taken, walks away, muttering to himself, «You're the person who Are they blaming us for relegation?» Yes, I think so. From the mouths of babies.
But such is football, and Pace is unlikely to be able to evade the charge, although it is obviously unforgivable for him and his family to suffer the insults they committed.
“The stress level here is unlike anything I ever did. I knew it before I did it, and I decided to do it,” says the Wall Street banker in another instructive meeting in this series.
Alan Pace (left) traded Wall Street for Turf Moor with the sole purpose of building a football dynasty. Photo: Sky UK/Sharon Latham
However, Pace's motivation to allow cameras is irritating. “I had to be persuaded to do it,” he says awkwardly, before adding, “We have a very, very dear friend who is a media consultant and he thinks that for some reason other than good home video, we can look back on the fact that when we made changes at the manager level, we needed to have this information in order to look back and even show our families at some point what actually happened; what was the change. So, think about it more: you went on vacation and someone in your family was smart enough to take a camera with them.”
The line «home video» is certainly not a sentiment that Dyche, Everton's current manager, is likely to appreciate, while the title of the episode «Mission to Burnley» is a nod to the fact that the owners, including Pace, are all members The Churches of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known as Mormons, although unfortunately their faith and how it is balanced by their role in business and football, is not well understood.
However, there is a clear line regarding Pace : His father served as a missionary in the North West of England for two years when he was only 19 years old. His stories about it had a profound effect on him.
“I remember from the time I was six or seven and all the different things that came up about the UK, we had roast beef and Yorkshire pudding almost every Sunday afternoon,” Pace says. “So, the memories I got from him was that this was a special part of the world, and it made a very, very big impression on him.
“Since we moved here, since he passed away a few years ago — he didn't even know we did it — but I met people who actually knew him as a 19 year old boy when he was here, so here are some of the stories, and their experience was fantastic.» /p>
For Pace, it's not about «personal heritage». «I'm just someone who will look back after I'm gone and say, 'Wow, it was a great time at the club, a great time in our community, and it was special.' I'd be happy with that.»
But it remains to be seen if he believes it.
The Burnley Mission kicks off at 10:00 pm on August 10th in documentaries Sky and Now as a box set and weekly releases
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