Sunderland and Leeds were the only two other clubs Adamson was involved with. He managed them both after leaving Burnley and ended his career in football at Elland Road, resigning in 1980 and leaving the game.
Sunderland are a Premier League club so Leeds, without doubt, are the right club for us to be playing as we honour Adamson with a minute's applause ahead of the game. I have my personal views on this and very much prefer a silence but am aware that it is now club policy to opt for the applause. It's a shame given how well observed the minute's silence was for Adamson's old team mate and coach Brian Miller in 2007.
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| Michael Duff could get first start since August |
Out on the pitch will be former team mates from the 1950s and 1960s including club president Jimmy McIlroy, Alex Elder and John Connelly from the Championship team, and there will be members of the team Adamson managed in the 1970s with Colin Waldron, Frank Casper, Mick Docherty, Steve Kindon and Jim Thomson amongst those joining chief executive Paul Fletcher.
I suspect Adamson would prefer a Burnley win but that's not the easiest of tasks for Burnley against Leeds at Turf Moor. Many of us will remember the much talked about game in October 1968 when our youngsters gave Leeds, who went on to win the league that year, a 5-1 hiding but incredibly we've beaten them only twice since at Turf Moor.
Both have been by a 2-1 scoreline. The first was in the 1974/75 season on the day the Bob Lord Stand was officially opened by then Leader of the Opposition Edward Heath. That was the day when Ray Hankin and Gordon McQueen found themselves sent off as goals from Paul Fletcher and Leighton James won the day.
We had to wait until 2006 for the next success. Gifton Noel-Williams scored his last Burnley goal and Andy Gray got the second in this one. Gray broke two metatarsals that night and Burnley's season collapsed. We didn't win any of the next 18 league games.
We go into this game tomorrow in 18th place in the league against a Leeds team who will be looking to get back into the top six of the table.
It's really been a stop start season for us and that's certainly been highlighted in the last eight games as we've won two, lost two, won two and then lost two. We need that pattern to continue tomorrow but if we are going to start climbing the table any time soon then we really are going to have to start finding some consistency.
Eddie Howe will be boosted tomorrow with two extra names in the squad. Michael Duff is fit to return. He had a two minute cameo in the last home game against Leicester but other than that hasn't played in the first team since picking up a medial ligament injury in the Carling Cup win against Barnet back in August.
He's joined by Sam Vokes who arrived from Wolves today on loan. Vokes hasn't played much football this season but arrives on the back of two goals for Wales last week in their friendly against Norway at the Cardiff City Stadium.
I suspect, given some of the comments from the manager, that Duff will start, probably at the expense of Ben Mee, but Vokes will probably have to make do with a place on the bench having only met his new team mates and trained with them for the first time this morning.
We could line up: Lee Grant, Kieran Trippier, Michael Duff, David Edgar, Brian Easton, Ross Wallace, Marvin Bartley, Chris McCann, Junior Stanislas, Charlie Austin, Jay Rodriguez. Subs from: Jon Stewart, Andre Amougou, Ben Mee, Dean Marney, Keith Treacy, Zavon Hines, Sam Vokes.
Our Opponents - Leeds United
Leeds arrive at Turf Moor in seventh place in the table. They are just outside those play off positions with the two clubs above them, Blackpool and Crystal Palace, ahead only on goal difference.
They went into the international break with a 1-0 win over Leicester at the former Crisp Bowl with an Adam Clayton goal but in their previous home game had been hammered 5-0 by Blackpool when our former loan goalkeeper Paul Rachubka had something of a nightmare.
It sums up the Championship really. We'd just beaten Blackpool who then beat Leeds who then beat Leicester who had just beaten us.
Leeds too have shown a level of inconsistency. They had a run of five wins and two draws in seven games but since have won just that game at Leicester in their last four. It led to chairman Ken Bates to review the current set up with him saying that they were throwing away too many points. It looked for a while, incredibly, that Simon Grayson's position as manager could be under some threat.
They are a side certainly capable of scoring goals. Only four teams have scored more in the Championship than Leeds who now have 26 with 9 of them coming from leading scorer Ross McCormack. He's in his second season at Elland Road and last season it took him until their penultimate game, their 1-0 win against us, for McCormack to get his first.
He's certainly making up for it this season and is currently the only player, without penalties, to have scored more Championship goals than Charlie Austin.
Austin, and his fellow forwards at Burnley, will have noted that whilst Leeds score goals, they also concede them. They've conceded 25 and only two sides outside the bottom three, Ipswich and Peterborough, have conceded more.
Grayson will go into the game without Finnish international Mika Vayrynen. The midfielder missed the Leicester game and then underwent surgery for a groin injury. He will not be rushed back. Grayson has also said he had a number of other players with injuries although none of them are confirmed.
After the disaster against Blackpool, and in particular Rachubka's performance, they signed Reading goalkeeper Alex McCarthy on loan. With first choice Andy Lonergen, rated as the most expensive goalkeeper in the world by former Preston boss Darren Ferguson, still injured it will be McCarthy in goal again.
The big question Grayson will face is who to play in the centre of defence. For their last game at Leicester they were without both first choice players. Darren O'Dea had suffered concussion whilst Tom Lees was suspended.
Andy O'Brien and Patrick Kisnorbo deputised and Leeds kept a clean sheet for only the third time this season. He now has the dilemma of choosing between his first choice pair and the successful partnership from the last game.
The team for their win at Leicester was: Alex McCarthy, Paul Connolly, Andy O'Brien, Patrick Kisnorbo, Aidan White, Robert Snodgrass, Jonny Howson, Adam Clayton, Danny Pugh, Ross McCormack, Andy Keogh. Subs: Alex Cairns, Leigh Bromby, Michael Brown, Lloyd Sam, Luciano Becchio.
Last Time They Were Here
December 2010
Half time: Burnley 2 Leeds United 0 - Full time: Burnley 2 Leeds United 3
This was the day when Brian Laws found the writing very much on the wall for him as Burnley manager. It was the straw that broke the camel's back for many Burnley supporters as, for the third time in just a few weeks, we surrendered a two goal lead.
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| Brian Easton scored his first Burnley goal |
The first two occasions had both been away from home, at Sheffield United and Norwich, but we'd still come home with a point. This time we fell to a crushing defeat on a day when a win would have seen us lifted into the top six of the league and on course for the play offs.
It was the first time Burnley had lost a league game having been two goals up since the John Bond season of 1983/84 and, although Laws gave the fans the 4-4-2 formation they'd craved, it left his position hanging by the thinnest of threads.
It had been an even sort of game until just before the half hour when we took the lead. Jay Rodriguez got the ball out wide to Wade Elliott and his superb cross was met by Chris Iwelumo. Kasper Schmeichel saved well at the expense of a corner from which we scored.
Ross Wallace took it; found Andre Bikey. His header was blocked but Brian Easton turned it in from close range for his first ever Burnley goal.
Leeds went looking for an equaliser and put us under some pressure. Eight minutes before half time they got forward again but Clarke Carlisle cleared. Alex Bruce misjudged the ball and that allowed Rodriguez to run on and double the lead.
It all started to go wrong seven minutes into the second half. Easton turned villain and failed to prevent a cross that Max Gradel headed home and from that minute you sensed we might have some problems holding onto the lead.
In fairness we should have increased it again but Iwelumo headed wide and soon after Luciano Becchio scored the equaliser. By now the defending was awful. Robert Snodgrass was giving Easton a torrid time whilst Tyrone Mears was having problems with Gradel. Carlisle was having one of those calamitous afternoons and we just waited for the Leeds winner to come.
It duly did just five minutes from the end. Jonny Howson picked up the ball in his own half and was virtually waved through by Carlisle. He didn't need a second invitation and run through before hitting his shot into the bottom corner.
It had been a disastrous result for a team that couldn't win away from home. Amazingly we did just that in our next game at Barnsley, but another home defeat followed against Scunthorpe and Laws' time at Turf Moor was brought to an end.
The teams were;
Burnley: Lee Grant, Tyrone Mears, Clarke Carlisle, Andre Bikey, Brian Easton, Wade Elliott, Dean Marney, Jack Cork, Ross Wallace (John Guidetti 78), Jay Rodriguez, Chris Iwelumo (Steven Thompson 72). Subs not used: Brian Jensen, David Edgar, Michael Duff, Graham Alexander, Alex-Ray Harvey.
Leeds: Kasper Schmeichel, Paul Connolly, Alex Bruce, Neill Collins, George McCartney, Neil Kilkenny (Ross McCormack 64), Bradley Johnson, Max Gradel, Jonny Howson, Robert Snodgrass, Luciano Becchio (Amdy Faye 90). Subs not used: Shane Higgs, Andy Hughes, Lloyd Sam, Billy Paynter, Davide Somma.
Previous Games against Leeds United
| Last 20 Years | |||||
| Season | Comp | Ven | Res | Att | Scorers |
| 2004/05 | Championship | a | 2-1 | 27,490 | Roche, Duffy |
| h | 0-1 | 17,789 | |||
| 2005/06 | Championship | h | 1-2 | 16,174 | G O'Connor |
| a | 0-2 | 21,318 | |||
| 2006/07 | Championship | h | 2-1 | 15,061 | Noel-Williams, Gray |
| a | 0-1 | 23,528 | |||
| 2010/11 | Championship | h | 2-3 | 20,453 | Easton, Rodriguez |
| a | 0-1 | 31,186 | |||
Click HERE to see all previous results against Leeds United