About Dave
It is a common cliché to describe many football fans as living for their club or building their life around their chosen team.
But that is exactly the case for Dave Burnley, for there can be no argument that he has quite simply dedicated his life to Burnley Football Club.
He was still a schoolboy when he began to follow his adopted club not just regularly but week in, week out, to every single game, home and away.
Despite living 75 miles away from his club’s Turf Moor home and being unable to drive, he has missed travelling to just ONE competitive game since 1969, and none at all since 1974.
In addition, it is now more than 40, yes FORTY, years since he missed going to a single home game, and Dave has been a Burnley season ticket holder for every one of those years which span more than four decades
Born in The Potteries in 1953, he grew up in a working class home in the village of Madeley in north Staffordshire, where he still lives.
Dave did well enough in his studies as a youngster to gain entry to the local grammar school, but even at that stage, his passion for football, and in particular for the club he began to support with what became an all-consuming love, had taken over his existence.
An unusual set of circumstances, described fully in his book, led to him selecting Burnley as the club he was to support, but once the decision was made, that was that.
He was a member of a street gang in his home village, but following his side was always his priority, and he took up a series of part time jobs to finance his footballing travels.
After leaving school, he entered the world of work rather than further education.
But Dave’s working career has, by necessity, been shaped by his need to attend Burnley matches, and as the club always came first, he has been forced to change his job and indeed his whole line of work to enable him to continue his attendance record, to such an extent that he has now had more than 100 full time jobs and more than 70 different occupations.
Personal relationships too have suffered for the cause. Many girlfriends have come and gone, each having to accept that his love for Burnley FC surpasses all else. One such relationship resulted in the birth of Dave’s only child, a daughter who was named Clarette in honour of his team. She is now grown up and studying at university.
The financial burden of following the Clarets has also proved great over the years, to the extent that the cost of travel and match attendance has meant Dave still lives at home with his elderly mother.
But none of these difficulties have prevented him continuing his lifelong quest of following his side. 
Dave Burnley has, over the past 35 years, attracted the attention of numerous national and international press reports and also television and radio features. The Daily Mirror, Sky TV, Setanta, Granada are just some of the organisations that have run interviews with him.
In May 1988, he was invited to No10 Downing St to meet then Prime Minister Tony Blair, and found that he was already well aware of his exploits thanks to his press secretary Alastair Campbell, also a dedicated Burnley fan.
His record of attending games continues to this day, and the final game of last season was of course particularly memorable as the Clarets clinched promotion back to the top level of English football after a 33 year absence with a 1-0 triumph over Sheffield United in the Coca Cola Championship play off final at Wembley.
Dave is understandably looking forward to the coming season with relish, and as he prepares to continue his attendance record for another season, he sincerely hopes every fellow football fan will enjoy and savour his memoirs.