Between 1989 and 1992, Burnley FC stood on the edge of despair and rebirth. Those years – captured through the lens of lifelong supporter and photographer Clive Lawrence – tell a story of frustration, defiance, and redemption. His photo series charts the club’s journey from the depths of Division Four to champions of the same division, sealing a long-awaited return to the third tier.

The images are grainy, intimate, and unflinching. They capture more than football – they capture a town’s fight to hold on to identity as the game itself was changing.

In 1989–90, Burnley were marooned in Division Four under Frank Casper, finishing 16th before restless crowds of barely 6,000. “The mood was flat,” Clive recalls. “There was little or no money floating around, and frustration would surface when promotion was out of the question.” He began photographing from the front row of the Bob Lord Stand. “The Club was in a difficult place but the lads were giving everything.” By the end of the season, protests flared. “A bloke said to his mate, ‘It’s that time of year again!’ walking past the main entrance.” Even the chairman told him, “They sort of sum up where we’re at right now.”

Momentum returned in 1990–91. “Casper brought in players like John Pender and John Francis. There was real steel,” Clive says. Crowds grew, and his images started appearing in match programmes. “It really did feel like a proper community club back then.”

Then came 1991–92. Jimmy Mullen took charge, belief surged, and Turf Moor came alive. “Everything seemed to just click into place,” Clive says. By May, Burnley were champions. “The crowd was electric. Flags, tears, chants – it felt like home again.”

Clive’s Protests to Promotion is a raw, human record of Burnley’s rebirth – 47 black-and-white photographs capturing the soul of a club and town that refused to fade.