Drissa Diallo

Date and Place of Birth 4th January 1973 - NOUADHIBOU, MAURITANIA   Transfers to and from Burnley from KV MECHELEN - 10th January 2003 to IPSWICH TOWN - 4th June 2003   First and Last Burnley Games IPSWICH TOWN (h) - 11th January 2003   NOTTINGHAM FOREST (a) - 21st April 2003 replaced by Gordon Armstrong   Other Clubs AC BREVANNES, SEDAN, RC TILLEUR, KV MECHELEN ---------------------------------------- IPSWICH TOWN, SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY, MK FRANCHISE, CHELTENHAM TOWN

Burnley Career Stats

Profile by Tony Scholes

In January 2003, Burnley manager Stan Ternent sprung a surprise by making a signing. The collapse of ITV Digital had hit us hard and the squad had been drastically weakened since the previous (2001/02) season when we'd finished seventh.

The only new player that season had been Marlon Beresford and he was on a month to month deal, but we were still in mid-table at the turn of the year but were shipping goals for fun. As we stepped into 2003 only Grimsby, who  were to be relegated at the end of the season, had conceded more goals and then only one more.

Stan too action, and on Thursday 9th January 2003 he strengthened his defensive options. We'd been linked with a number of players, including Wolves' Paul Butler, but when confirmed the name had everyone scratching their heads.

The player Ternent had signed was Drissa Diallo, a Mauritanian born central defender, from Belgian club KV Mechelen. Diallo was contracted to them until 2005 but they'd gone bankrupt leaving him as a free agent and the Clarets snapped him up initially on a one month contract.

He was able to transfer to England via a French passport where he'd started his professional career with AS Brévannes. He'd also played for both Sedan and Tilleur Luik before the move to Mechelen where he'd enjoyed some success.

He'd been with the club since 1998 and during his four full seasons there they had twice clinched the title and he'd also won his one international cap for Guinea.

With no club to play for, he moved quickly, and came to England on the recommendation of one his best friends in football, Mohammed Camara, who was at the time playing for Wolves.

He went straight into our side two days later for a home game against Ipswich, lining up in a back four alongside Mark McGregor, Arthur Gnohere and Graham Branch. We played well and won a point in a 1-1 draw.

Diallo played exceptionally well, including one goal line clearance, and it did look as though we'd pulled off something of a coup with the 30-year-old. We couldn't have known it at the time but the opposition proved to be a problem in that the Ipswich boss Joe Royle was equally impressed and continued to keep more than a passing eye on him.

Just under a month later, after three more appearances, we moved to lengthen his stay until the end of the season. By then he'd found himself in the middle of a 'Throw One Inn' episode in a 5-2 home defeat against Reading.

So bad were we that day, Ternent said after the game: "The crowd were leaving early. I don't blame them and I wish I could have joined them." Even so, he absolved Diallo of all blame.

The next few games certainly saw the new man come into his own. He turned in some outstanding displays, now alongside Ian Cox in the centre of the defence, as the Clarets kept a run of clean sheets in the league and progressed to the last four of the FA Cup.

Diallo had his moment of glory in the hammering of Premiership Fulham in a Turf Moor replay, scoring the last goal, his first for Burnley, in a 3-0 win.

As the season finally petered out, Diallo was one of the shining lights. The only concern was injury forcing him to miss six of the final eleven games of the season. Notably two of those he missed were the 7-4 and 7-2 home reverses against Watford and Sheffield Wednesday.

Three days before the last game, also missed by Diallo, Ternent released his retained list with an incredible thirteen players shown the door including such as Beresford, Lee Briscoe, Cox, Steve Davis, Gordon Armstrong, Paul Cook and Andy Payton.

Only two out of contract players were offered new deals. One was Branch and the other Diallo.

Supporters were delighted at the news that Diallo would be staying at Turf Moor and there was no reason to think otherwise. Royle had intimated that he'd like to take him to Ipswich, but they were under a transfer embargo and in any case Diallo made it clear he wanted to remain at Burnley and his agent said he had a 'love affair' with the Clarets.

On Wednesday 4th June 2003, Ipswich Town's transfer embargo was lifted. They immediately sold Matt Holland to Portsmouth for £750,000 and by the end of the day had completed the signing of Diallo on a two year deal.

Royle said on completing the signing: "I don't think anyone had heard of him until Burnley signed him. Stan only got him on the Thursday and he played against us on the Saturday and he was outstanding in that game.

"I then asked out scouts to keep an eye on him after that and all I ever heard were good reports about him. he is a defender who just loves to defend.

"He's quick, a good header of the ball, and we conceded too many goals last season from crosses into the box. I think he's the type of player who will cut that number down next season."

Diallo himself said: "I am an ambitious player and want to play in the Premiership, that is why I decided to sign for Ipswich Town. I know they want to be in the Premiership and I was very impressed with what the manager had to say about the team.

"He is very confident Ipswich can go up next season and hopefully I can play my part in making sure that happens."

He was to spend a further seven years in English football before hanging up his boots but the injury concerns kept hitting him. He was released by Ipswich at the end of his two years. He'd been in and out of the side through injury during his time at Portman Road.

That got worse in the following season after signing for Sheffield Wednesday. He turned in some very good performances for newly promoted Wednesday but it didn't last as injury hit again. He played only eleven times and was released at the end of the 2005/06 season.

That took him to MK Franchise. He had three years there but in the last of those seasons he was allowed to go to Cheltenham on loan. He'd played 70 games for them before the loan, the most he played for any club in England.

Cheltenham made the move a permanent one in January 2009 but again he was hit by injuries and after a further season and a half at Whaddon Road he was released. That proved to be the end of Diallo's career with his last game coming in a 3-0 defeat at Torquay on 1st December 2009, just a month before his 37th birthday.

Burnley fans took to Drissa Diallo right from the start. During his short Turf Moor career he made just 18 league and cup appearances but played well for us, and there is no doubt Ternent had found us a good central defender.

But his words and actions during the close season of 2003 didn't match up with the badge kisser making an early exit from Turf Moor. Those fans certainly vented their anger when he played against us for Ipswich in the following season.