East Lancashire Derby - Crossing The Divide

Jack Bruton is the only man to score for both sides against the other. At Burnley, he managed to land 44 goals himself in 176 matches before Rovers broke their transfer record by paying £6,500 in December 1929. He did not take long repaying it, making 344 appearances for Blackburn, scoring 115 goals and also ending up managing the club for a short period after the war. His loss to the Turf Moor side could be glimpsed by the fact that they were relegated that season yet were in mid-table when he departed to Ewood. Bruton played 250 games in total for both clubs.

Keith Newton, a left-back and a product of Rovers FA Youth Cup winning side of 1959 played 357 times for Blackburn before joining Everton in time to win a Championship medal in 1970. However, Burnley pounced in 1972 to obtain his services and it proved a very successful move into the transfer market as he was an ever-present in his first season which saw Burnley promoted to Division One. In all, he turned out in either a Rovers or Burnley shirt on a record number of 593 occasions in the league and cup.

Another fullback to make the move from Turf Moor to Ewood via another club, Leeds this time, was Kevin Hird. Converted to a midfielder at Burnley, Hird – a lifelong Clarets supporter – was forgiven the Boxing Day goal he scored for Rovers against Burnley in 1978. He found the net 29 times at Burnley from midfield and appeared in 94 games for them to add to his 145 matches for Rovers.

Three Burnley stalwarts of the 1950s and 60s, who all eventually found themselves down the road at Blackburn, were goalkeeper Adam Blacklaw, defender Walter Joyce and winger John Connelly. Blacklaw, a Scottish international, played 110 games for Rovers. Previously he had been a popular figure at Turf Moor where his figure of 374 league and cup games was bettered only by Alan Stevenson and Jerry Dawson, as far as goalkeepers were concerned. Connelly was bought by Rovers in 1960 when he joined them from Manchester United after obtaining another Championship winners medal to go with the one he secured at Turf Moor in 1960. In those earlier times he had often been the thorn in Rovers’ side, scoring five times against them in League and Cup in his total of 103 in 260 games for Burnley. His Rovers record was 39 goals in 163 matches. At his peak he played 20 times for England and was a member of Englands World Cup squad in 1966.

In recent years a couple of Blackburn players have had loan spells at Burnley, these being Jay McEveley and Andy Todd. Ex Blackburn player Alan Mahon joined Burnley in 2006 although he had a spell at Wigan in between. Mahon's Blackburn debut came as a 89th Minute substitute in the Derby match at Turf Moor on 17 December 2000. David May who played for Blackburn between 1988 and 1994, captained Burnley in his one season there in the 2003–04 season. Whilst Andy Cole who signed for Blackburn for a club record £8 million in 2001 spent six months on loan from Sunderland at Turf Moor towards the end of his career in 2008.