Joe Burnell is to attempt to defy all human logic, by spending 44 games without ever entering the box. This previously untried stunt will span the course of the football season and will require Joe to concentrate on never running forwards or attempting to trouble opposition defences.

Pushing himself to the very limit of the halfway line but no further, Joe realises there are unknowns and pitfalls that he will have to face, sometimes twice a week:

“Obviously my intention is to complete the 44 games without getting into the opposition’s 18 yard area but I know there will be times when the temptation is there. If we’re 1-0 down with only seconds remaining, I may feel the urge to throw myself at the ball as it drifts across the face of goal but I’m confident I can resist, wait until the ball is cleared and knock it back to Phillips.”

Burnell’s manager, Danny Wilson, is confident that his young protégé is up to the task and firmly believes he will complete the 44 games without ever entering the box or troubling the scorers:

“People have asked me why Joe is undertaking this difficult task and what the point of it is. Well my answer to them would be, the point is to show that he can do exactly what I ask of him by always passing backwards and never making forward forays and I hope, like me, that people are happy with a single point.”

Follow ‘Joe Burnell – Above The Below’ through the course of the season and help him all you can in this incredible feat of human reluctance to move in a forward direction by screaming “Drop back, Joe! Drop back!” if you see him straying dangerously into opposition territory.

Good luck, Joe.