Burnley FC struck gold with £200k Watford agreement | OneFootball

Clarke Carlisle proved to be a great servant to Burnley, and all for a bargain price

Even in 2007, £200,000 didn't get you much in the world of football, but over 17 years ago it was enough for Burnley to buy Clarke Carlisle from Watford.

Although the Hornets claimed the deal was actually worth £250,000, the hair-splitting matters precious little to Burnley, who were the ultimate winners out of this deal regardless of the price tag.

Although the modern football fan will see Burnley as a huge success story, having spent the majority of the last decade in the Premier League, success wasn't always so easy to come by for the Clarets, who back in 2007 were desperately trying to compete at the top end of the table.

After years of mid-table obscurity and lingering in the lower leagues, Steve Cotterill's appointment brought with it plenty of promise, with a good young coach raising optimism levels at Turf Moor.

It never really worked out for Cotterill in East Lancashire, but he did leave behind an impressive squad at that level, and his recruitment was spot on, with Carlisle serving as one of his smartest buys.

Clarke Carlisle's best football came under Owen Coyle

While it was Cotterill who laid the foundations upon which Burnley's success was built, it was his successor, Owen Coyle, who fine-tuned the system and turned the Clarets into a well-oiled machine.

Carlisle was one of the first names on his teamsheet when he was available, and with his pedigree at Championship level before moving to Burnley, it's easy to see why that was the case.

It was the 2008/09 where Carlisle really come into his own at Turf Moor, and it's no coincidence that was also Coyle's first full season in charge, so there seems to be a direct link between Coyle and Carlisle's best football.

He was at the heart of the Burnley defence for almost the entirety of a season that saw them reach the Carling Cup semi-final and ultimately win the play-off final against Sheffield United to reach the Premier League for the first time ever.

It was his performance at Wembley which perhaps best summed him up - he put his head on everything for 90 minutes and would've run through a brick wall to get Burnley over the line that day, with his performance earning him the man of the match award.

Again, he was a respectable performer in the Premier League season, but there was a notable dip in performances when Brian Laws replaced Owen Coyle and it was no real surprise that his performance levels were never the same again.

Clarke Carlisle had a troubled off-field life after leaving Burnley

It was impossible to tell at the time, but behind the smiles of a warrior on the pitch, was a man fighting his own battle off the field, as he battled against mental health issues.

His struggles were so bad that Carlisle tried to end his own life five times after his career came to an end, as it appeared that football was the only thing holding him together.

Carlisle was an interesting character in many ways, and in 2002 he was dubbed Britain's Brainiest footballer, and it was evident from his on-field performances, that his smartness allowed him to perform at such a high level, something Burnley reaped the benefits of.

The former QPR defender even appeared on Countdown whilst playing for Burnley, showing that he was a man of many talents aside from football.

But it was the football that concerned Burnley most, and it's fair to say that the £200,000 investment made by Cotterill played a huge part in them getting to the Premier League and left Watford a little red-faced.