Well, there was absolutely none of any of that on show in yesterday’s 3-1 defeat.

Nicky Hayen made a couple of changes, replacing Ugo Raghouber with Josh Laurent at the back of midfield and handing Armando Broja a start in place of the definitely-injured-and-absolutely-not-being-sold-to-Lille-nope-no-way-Jose! Zian Flemming.

Burnley started superbly against West Ham, forcing the opposition back and moving the ball quickly to create early chances. It was the polar opposite at The Hawthorns.

From the first kick off, the Clarets were immediately overly passive and sitting deep, while similar gaps in midfield to last weekend were on show again straight away. But Hayen’s men were gifted a fortunate opener, somewhat against the run of play.

Hannibal probably got away with a foul to win the ball near his own box. Marcus Edwards did really well in the centre circle to turn away from a cluster of bodies and then free JBL down the left. His cross towards Oliver Sonne at the back post was then turned into his own net by Callum Styles, who could not sort his feet out in time.

The lead didn’t last long. Hannibal made half an attempt at making a tackle and Sonne nudged it back to the home side. Edwards was slow to get close down an opponent on the wing and Burnley didn’t defend the cross, allowing Harry Whitwell to slot home.

Burnley had a couple of good moments in the rest of the half. Edwards produced a fine cross that Bruun Larsen hit the post from, with JBL also producing a magical moment of skill to set up Aaron Ramsey for a blocked shot. But that was about it.

Ramsey again looked lost in Hayen’s system while Hannibal was off it once more. That’s three nothing performances in a row from the Tunisia international. The missing men in front left Laurent exposed at the base of midfield and West Brom were able to make easy gains down the left with Edwards showing no interest in defending.

The warning signs were there throughout the first half but Burnley came out with an unchanged system - a rusty Connor Roberts replaced the sloppy Sonne - with West Brom rapidly exploiting our complete passivity with a well-made goal to go 2-1 up.

Hannibal showed no interest in closing down his man on the edge of the box, Kyle Walker turned his back on the shot and Max Weiss, having taken up an odd position, got absolutely nowhere near the ball despite it not being close to the top-right corner.

Weiss might have seen the ball late, but being somewhere near his line and the middle of the goal would have helped with that. To me, he looks a long way from being ready.

That should have been a wake-up call. To his credit, Hayen made a triple-change within 10 minutes of West Brom taking the lead. Unfortunately… they didn’t help.

The kindest thing anyone could say about Raghouber’s start to life in English football is that he looks pretty raw. The 23-year-old will have to start improving very quickly, but his passing, even over a few yards, looks a long way from being good enough.

Dastan Satpayev came on for his debut, replacing the ineffective Broja, but he was left feeding off scraps, while Zeki Amdouni again struggled to get on the same wavelength as his team-mates, although his willingness to have a shot is always welcome.

Midway through the second half any hope of another fightback was extinguished when clumsy defending by Bashir Humphreys led to a penalty that WBA converted.

And that was just about that. Burnley’s run of 30-odd games without defeat in the Championship was over and there could be no arguments it was well deserved.

Baggies boss James Morrison had a damning assessment of Burnley after the game.

There is no arguing against that. Burnley’s mentality was awful throughout the game. While there was character on show against West Ham, we showed none yesterday.

Too many players do not look up for it. Edwards has always been a bit of a liability defensively - sometimes creating enough to justify his lack of impact off the ball, often now - but it is just unacceptable how often he ducks out of making a tackle.

When Ramsey is struggling to find his role and Hannibal is wandering through games, the midfield trio is totally dysfunctional and open to being run through. Ramsey and Hannibal’s body language after West Brom’s second goal was atrocious.

There is not enough desire to win the ball, or to show any balls. Walker is supposed to be the captain with Josh Cullen still injured, but he demonstrates no leadership at all.

There is quality within the group but Hayen has a big job on his hands turning around a losing mentality. After all, Burnley have not won a game of football since February.

Along with the problems like lacking leadership and strong characters who actually seem to care about the club, the players don’t seem to be adopting Hayen’s tactics.

Hayen has been clear that his preference is for stylish possession-based football, with players moving the ball at speed and counter-pressing if they lose it. He has regularly reiterated they need to go for “95 minutes”, which they did against West Ham.

But there’s been precious little evidence - albeit after a cup match and two league games - that the players are either able or willing to play his way. These things take time to build, but Hayen already cuts a frustrated figure at times. After all, it is quite a shift from Scott Parker’s plan, which even in the Championship prioritised stability.

Fans found it boring to watch, but it was successful: the Clarets conceded only 16 Championship goals that year. Our porous defence has already let in five in two games.

The statement signing of Anel Ahmedhodzic, who was part of Sheffield United’s promotion-winning side a few years ago, should help out with that. But, as always with ALK’s Burnley, August’s options will not look the same as the September squad.

Higher up the pitch always gets the headlines and, should Flemming be sold - as now seems likely - replacing his goals will give Hayen a headache. Flemming has 29 goals in 71 appearances for the club, while Broja’s career record - for both club and country - works out at roughly a goal every six appearances. There are no obvious sources of goals in this squad: Amdouni has never scored more than 12 league goals in a season.

But it is at the back that concerns me the most. Ahmedhodzic will presumably partner Max Alleyne. Humphreys has bags of ability but is not a natural left-back and is prone to switching off. Walker has played in the middle of defence since Hayen arrived, but will he revert to right-back? At 36, has he got the legs to get up and down the flank?

Is Weiss really good enough to be the number one for a team going for promotion? Will new goalkeeper Gregoire Coudert provide real competition, or just be back-up?

There are a lot of questions to answer in the defensive unit and solutions must also be found in midfield, where Hayen has not found a combination that looks like it works.

Hayen described Sunday as “eye-opening” and it will have told him a lot. What he does with that information remains to be seen, but conclusions are being drawn.

Up next: Bradford and Norwich away

Wednesday’s short trip to Bradford City in the second round of the EFL Cup offers an immediate chance to bounce back. It looks to be a natural chance to give Satpayev and maybe Mike Tresor (!) a start, while getting more much-needed minutes into Roberts.

Amdouni should also replace Hannibal or Ramsey, while a Laurent-Raghouber pairing behind would provide more protection for a defence that badly needs it at this point.

Graham Alexander’s Bradford have won all three of their games this season without conceding a goal, sitting top of League One. The division’s only side with maximum points will be roared on by a big crowd with City making all tickets for the game £5.

It looks like a real banana skin. This is not a game Hayen’s Burnley can afford to lose.

The Clarets stay on the road next weekend with a trip to Norwich City, who are in the relegation zone after losing both Championship fixtures under Philippe Clement.

If Burnley are still winless in a week’s time, the darkening mood will be even gloomier.

At the Turf yesterday, I found myself… actually enjoying myself? It was… fun? Strange!

Burnley shot out of the blocks like a rocket and Zian Flemming was close to putting us in front in the first minute, turning Jacob Bruun Larsen’s cross just over the bar.

That positive start continued and the Clarets continued to push up the pitch and play at a high tempo. It was totally different from the slow display in the cup last week.

Flemming had a handful of decent chances before the interval but we went into the break a goal down having conceded a soft goal from West Ham’s first set piece.

Immediately, it felt like the same old story, with slack marking punished too easily. Burnley responded pretty poorly to the setback and allowed West Ham too much time.

It was hard to argue with us being behind at the break given we had failed to record a shot on target yet, with Aaron Ramsey among those being wasteful in front of goal.

Ramsey was also the man who lost Max Kilman for the West Ham goal - though it is fair to question that marking assignment given Kilman’s aerial threat - and Hannibal and Marcus Edwards were guilty of making bad decisions at the end of good runs too.

Burnley improved after half-time. Edwards cut in from the right and put a peach of a cross on Flemming’s head, but the forward hit the post. The Dutchman could have had a hat-trick at this point and it felt like it could be one of those days for the Clarets.

Hayen made an early attacking switch, acting quickly to try to shift the momentum. As fans were often left frustrated by Parker’s passivity when it came to substitutions, it was good to see Hayen make his move just 12 minutes into the second half.

An out-of-sorts Hannibal made way for Zeki Amdouni. Josh Laurent replaced Ugo Raghouber, who had good moments on debut but also showed slackness in possession.

The much-maligned Laurent immediately showed a desire to increase Burnley’s tempo. Laurent’s strength and physicality in midfield made a big difference.

Amdouni’s arrival led to a change in our shape. Hayen pushed the Swiss attacker up alongside Flemming in attack, with Ramsey dropping in to partner Laurent.

It looked ultra-attacking and it was risky too, with the game opening up as a result.

Against the run of play, West Ham doubled their lead. Edwards defended sloppily down the wing and Ramsey did not read the danger. Max Weiss could only push the ball into the danger zone and Manor Solomon was left unmarked to slam home.

Diabolical defending again and it would have been easy for heads to drop at this point. But again, Hayen’s substitutions showed he was not giving up on the game.

Ramsey came off with Armando Broja coming on - adding a third striker - while Lucas Pires replaced Bashir Humphreys at left-back. Humphreys had a tricky start against Jarrod Bowen, but grew into the battle. He arguably edged it in the end.

There was even a Mike Tresor sighting with the busy Bruun Larsen coming off.

As much as Burnley had huffed and puffed, it needed a defensive mistake to open the door for us. Edwards tricked his way into the box and was tripped, earning a penalty.

Flemming coolly converted from the spot and the momentum was suddenly right behind us, with the fans believing and as loud as they have been in ages. Flemming’s Ashley Barnes tribute act, shoving Mads Hermansen into the net as the Hammers goalkeeper tried to delay the restart, helped to raise the temperature further.

The ex-Millwall man would soon be celebrating again after firing home a deflected effort from 12 yards, with West Ham twice failing to clear their lines from a corner.

It was a rich reward for Burnley’s attacking efforts, even if West Ham dropping deeper as they tried to defend their lead played into our hands somewhat. The subs played their part: Laurent was a driving force,; Broja linked play well; Amdouni was lively.

A draw was the least Burnley deserved, having created more than enough to win the game. Improvements need to be made in both boxes, though Max Alleyne had a strong debut at the back. There are signs Burnley could again be a force in the Championship.

Tactically, Burnley allowed the opposition too much space in the first half and we were too passive, but it is possible to argue the latter was a hangover from last season.

Cue immediate headloss and tantrums from the West Ham fans. Are we… are we back?

Birthday boy heads to the pub

Hayen is working hard to get the fans onside and the work he is doing to try to understand the town and the club is very much appreciated by everyone.

Having already been into the Royal Dyche during the week, Hayen - who turned 46 on Sunday - was back in the pub for a couple of hours after his first game in charge.

This kind of thing will go a long way to getting the fans behind him and, while that connection does not happen overnight, the early work is being put in by Hayen.

Fans have, erm, some pretty mixed views on the use of the Fan Advisory Board at Burnley, but Hayen has also been to meet some of the members and introduce himself.

I’m also taking it as a positive sign that the video of that FAB Q&A with Hayen has been made available for everyone to watch online, rather than heavily edited meeting minutes being published in the depths of the club’s site several weeks after the event.

Hayen always seems to be clad in club-branded gear when making these public appearances and even something small like this shows his commitment to the club.

Either that or he is making the most of a chunky staff discount at the club shop.

Hayen speaks a lot about high energy, effort levels, and going for 95 minutes. It is probably worth noting Burnley have already scored an injury time goal this season.

NH is saying the right things, and doing the right things on the pitch. A good start!

Up next

Burnley go to West Brom on Sunday. The Baggies won their opener 2-1 at Norwich, but benefited from quite a lot of luck given one of their goals was clearly handball.

That has led to a debate about using VAR in the Championship to which anyone sensible would simply reply: no thanks. How good was it to be able to actually celebrate an important late equaliser without worrying about some nerd in front of a bank of screens looking for a reason to disallow it? No thank you. Clubs don’t want it, fans don’t want it. Referees are rubbish even when they have VAR to help, after all.

The club has also announced information for the women’s team matches. Adult season tickets will cost £70 (£55 for men’s team ST holders) with individual match tickets costing £10 (£8 for ST holders). I’m not sure what other WSL2 clubs charge, to be honest, but this article suggests some WSL clubs had comparable prices last season. I can’t imagine there will be a lot of take-up, which is a shame. Maybe the men’s and women’s season tickets can - and should - be bundled in together?

I can’t guarantee newsletters every week this season but I am aiming to provide regular updates in your inboxes. As ever, please get in touch with your views as I’d love to have a regular letters section as part of the newsletter. Thanks for reading.

While the bookmakers have Burnley around fourth-favourites for promotion - and with the play-offs being extended, it is unclear what impact that could have on the season - the Clarets squad currently looks a long way from being ready to go back up.

Although the transfer window is open for a couple of weeks yet - and an extended early international break offers an opportunity to put in the hard yards with the squad left in place when it shuts - nobody could possibly argue it has been a good summer.

Scott Parker’s departure in April seemingly paved the way for Burnley to hit the ground running when the summer started. That… did not happen.

The ill-fated apparent pursuit of Craig Bellamy - it is still unclear exactly why that deal fell through and we will probably never be told all the details - was followed by a fortnight of confusion with a random list of names being linked with the vacancy at Turf Moor before Nicky Hayen was eventually confirmed as Parker’s successor.

The announcement of the Belgian as the club’s new head coach finally came two-and-a-half months after Parker left, with Hayen arriving in the middle of a pre-season tour to America, a period during which Burnley failed to win any football matches at all.

A trick missed with Hayen in December?

Why it took so long is simply baffling. Of course, it is correct to conduct a proper process, even if Bellamy was identified as the top target, but for the move for the Wales boss to collapse, seemingly over staffing issues, suggests a lack of due diligence.

Hayen may have been part of that initial process, rather than the decision-makers going back to the drawing board, but he was actually available back in December.

With Burnley’s relegation having been virtually certain around the time that Hayen left Club Brugge, it is fair to speculate why an appointment was not considered then.

That would have been a similar move to Wolves appointing Rob Edwards, seemingly to prepare for life back in the Championship, although the Molineux club then sacked him to move forward in a new direction with Portuguese coach Cesar Peixoto instead.

Even that apparent chaos at Wolves has given Peixoto the full summer to work with his squad, while Hayen came in with pre-season plans presumably having been put together by the remaining coaching staff, which remains in dire need of an overhaul.

Departures leave squad lacking in quality

Transfers have often seemed chaotic during the ALK era, with massive changes to the squad each summer since the takeover. It’s fair to say that a lot of clubs always leave business late and a lot of action is also often delayed in a World Cup summer, but Ugo Raghouber, a midfielder, is the only real first-team signing to have arrived to date.

Raghouber looks like a solid addition and he is presumably intended to replace Florentino Luis, sold at a loss to Ipswich Town after his purchase was triggered.

I would have thought the Mike Tresor transfer would have put the club off from these silly deals, but apparently not. I don’t rate Florentino at all and I don’t subscribe to the theory that Parker “ruined” him, but to make a loss on a player who was hailed as having Champions League quality suggests something has gone wrong somewhere.

Lesley Ugochukwu has also gone, for a similar fee to what he cost us to buy him from Chelsea, while Luca Koleosho has left for around half the £25 million Wolves offered for him a couple of years ago. Koleosho did not develop as well as anyone had hoped, but his sale is another failing of a business model that does not appear to be working.

Other than Loum Tchaouna’s surprise switch to Coventry City, none of the fees received appear to be particularly high. Even Tchaouna did not go for much profit.

Even after a successful Premier League season, Burnley have only made a few quid on Jaidon Anthony, leaving us with some pretty poor options on the left in the process.

The biggest fee received has been for Maxime Esteve, who had another middling season in the Premier League, but remains a potentially elite left-sided centre-back. If Leipzig polish Esteve up, he could be worth £50 million or more in a couple of years.

Quilindschy Hartman has been sent to Espanyol on loan, with the Dutch defender - a bad egg, if ever there was one - revealing the move was in the works since January.

I’ve never heard of a club chairman actively trying to engineer a transfer for one of his team’s better players, to a sister club, during a relegation battle before.

Just normal ALK stuff, I guess?

Incoming transfers will surely be confirmed over the next fortnight. Max Alleyne, a talented young defender from Manchester City, was strongly linked with a loan move in the week but that has since gone quiet, with suggestions he failed his medical.

Edit: errr, it’s done.

Axel Tuanzebe is supposedly set to rejoin having kept his options open all summer. Tuanzebe had a decent enough World Cup with DR Congo, almost helping them to dump England out, but he was consistently one of our worst performers last term.

Should Tuanzebe return to Turf Moor, it will be after pre-season and with a different manager in place, along with a different goalkeeper behind him, and different team-mates all around him. It would not be straightforward for him to drop back in.

Quality lacking throughout the side

The team lacks real quality in a range of important positions. Lucas Pires had a torrid pre-season, with the Brazilian at fault for goals in various warm-up games, but he is the only natural left-back at the club with Hartman gone. Left-back is a priority to fix.

The middle of defence also needs attention. Kyle Walker has played there throughout pre-season, but has been linked with a move to Everton. Walker has captained the team since Josh Cullen’s injury and, as much as he looks uncomfortable as a centre-back, his departure would leave more of a leadership vacuum than there is already.

Joe Worrall and Hjalmer Ekdal are decent squad options but probably not regular starters, while Bashir Humphreys played at left-back in the Carabao Cup. A Walker-Worrall partnership is experienced but lacks pace and passing ability from the back.

Right-back at least seems fine with Connor Roberts, a veteran of two promotion campaigns, back to full fitness after missing almost all of last season with injury. Oliver Sonne is a capable deputy and Shurandy Sambo still exists, apparently.

Raghouber as a straight swap for Florentino looks fair enough, with Hannibal and Aaron Ramsey the presumed pairing in front. Hannibal should be a top talent in the Championship, if he keeps that temper controlled, but a lot is being asked of Ramsey, who has had terrible luck with injuries throughout his career to date.

Josh Laurent offers an option as an extra shield in front of defence but, until Cullen returns, that looks like four players for three starting roles. With Ramsey prone to injury and Hannibal prone to, well, nonsense, that leaves us looking a bit thin there.

Zeki Amdouni is a potential option in place of Ramsey, who he replaced off the bench against Notts County, but he is one of the players who could still be leaving the club.

Amdouni is also a player whose reputation appears to have been burnished by a year away on loan and another year being injured. Is he actually that good? I’m not sure.

Who’s scoring the goals?

On the wings, Marcus Edwards has the potential to light up a game, but he dominates them infrequently and more often goes missing. His lack of defensive work rate looks unlikely to impress Hayen, who has made it clear he will not be tolerating lazy players.

Jacob Bruun Larsen’s confidence looks shot and a move back to Denmark makes sense for all parties if a deal can be done, even if that leaves our wide options even lighter.

Jayden Banel was expected by some fans to have a big season after impressing on loan at Derby County last season, but he will be out for “many weeks” with an injury.

Then there’s Tresor, who appears to be fit and available, featuring through pre-season, but has rarely shown any quality of note in a Burnley shirt. Will he finally start to justify that big fee, or are we in for another lost season from the mysterious Belgian?

(Edit again: Exciting teenage winger Dastan Satpayev has joined on loan from Chelsea, following Alleyne in signing on Friday. The Kazakhstan international looks a serious talent, but is he ready to perform at a high level on a consistent basis?)

Up front, Zian Flemming is likely to attract attention as the closure of the transfer window nears, but Burnley surely cannot afford to lose the Dutchman at this point.

The other strikers available to Hayen are a motley crew of has-beens (Ashley Barnes is back, everyone!), never-was-beens (Armando Broja), never-will-bes (sorry Lyle Foster) and, well, whatever Andreas Hountondji is meant to be.

Remarkably, Michael Obafemi - who has scored four league goals in the last three seasons across four loan spells! - is still contracted as a Burnley player. What a time.

Look at that lot, plus the wingers, and tell me who is scoring our goals this season.

Assuming no major outgoings (and that is quite the assumption given how willingly ALK have been selling players this summer), we need at least six significant signings: a back-up goalkeeper; a left-back; a central midfielder; two wingers; a striker.

But moving on some of the unwanted players bloating the squad will also be tricky.

The financial state of the club is largely unknown, though it is clear debt levels have been rising and another relegation is unlikely to have helped. Can Burnley afford not to be in the Premier League? What happens if we miss out on an immediate return?

As was clear in a dire display against Notts County in the cup, the squad lacks creativity, has next to no pace whatsoever, and has precious little goal threat.

There is a hell of a lot of work to do in the transfer window.

Sponsor replacement a bad omen

As if there was not enough going wrong this summer, Burnley have had to scramble to find a new shirt sponsor to replace the previously announced obvious scam company.

Anyone with access to the internet and an ounce of common-sense could have seen there were big red flags about Finotive One, but they were missed by all at Turf Moor.

After the utter farce of the team advertising an unregulated online casino, there should have been a lot more care taken around any future sponsorship deals.

Vertu Motors steps in as the club’s new primary partner and, while some credit is arguably due for finding a quick solution, the mess was of the club’s own making.

Taken in isolation, replacing a shirt sponsor is not a big deal. But the fact fans will not be able to buy replica kits on the day of the first home game is a massive fuck-up that will cost a significant sum, as will having to replace the kits fans already bought.

In contest, the latest massive fuck-up from those making the decisions at Turf Moor is joining a long list of fuck-up, after fuck-up, after fuck-up, after fuck-up, after fuck-up…

Fans are quickly running out of patience with ALK now - and it is easy to see why.

What’s your favourite fuck-up this summer? It’s hard to choose, but mine might be making season-ticket holders pay a new processing fee for direct debits, then just… forgetting to take the payments. Great banter that lads nice one well done everyone.

Similar story for the women’s team

Chaos and confusion at Turf Moor also reigns when it comes to the women’s team.

(As an aside, if you don’t care about the women’s team… OK? Good for you, man. I don’t care if you don’t care, so maybe just keep that pointless opinion to yourself.)

Last season was a strange one for the women’s team. They appointed two-time Women’s Super League champion Matt Beard in the summer, a move that seemed highly ambitious given his outstanding record in the women’s game.

But Beard stood down very early into the season amid speculation another club wanted to appoint him. A Burnley statement at the time said: “We are disappointed to confirm Matt Beard has resigned from his position to pursue other opportunities.”

Within a month of that announcement, Matt Beard was dead. He was just 47 years old.

It was a huge shock and the circumstances that led to his passing remain a mystery.

Beard’s family have said he felt “bullied” by Burnley and his inquest was delayed in May after their concerns were made public. Beard recorded a video shortly before his death and the family have called for that to be heard in court as part of the inquest.

On the pitch, the women’s team managed to keep winning. Lou Roberts replaced Beard on an interim basis but, in February, she also walked away. Roberts had spent two-and-a-half years at the club.

In a lengthy statement posted to social media, Roberts talked about her role having being “overshadowed by idle gossip, internal bullying, control and silencing”.

These are serious accusations that, as far as I know, nobody at the club has answered.

Roberts also singled out club chairman Alan Pace, director of football development Paul Jenkins and head of women’s football Lola Ogunbote for their support.

Wallace overlooked as manager

On the pitch, the women’s team kept getting results. Former Clarets winger Ross Wallace arrived, also appointed on an interim basis, and he oversaw a winning run that saw the Clarets earn promotion to the second tier for the first time in history.

Wallace immediately made it clear that he would be interested in taking charge permanently and most fans probably assumed he would be offered the job. After all, he won all eight of his games in charge and clearly had the trust of his players.

But no. More confusion and a lack of communication about the strategy and goals.

Ogunbote left her role at the end of June, leading to question marks over who would be making decisions on the women’s side of the club. Players were released at the end of their contracts. No replacement for Ogunbote has yet been announced by the club.

The Bachteler era begins

Last month, the club named Jackie Bachteler as the new women’s team manager.

Bachteler has extensive coaching experience, but has not worked in English football. She is also going to continue her work as a scout for the US women’s national team, which appears to conflict with her club commitments. Is she working here full-time?

Wallace has been demoted and the Scot will now work as Bachteler’s assistant.

That has created a situation that is highly unusual and it feels very unlikely to be sustainable in the long run. The women’s team has had four different coaches in just over a year and desperately needs some stability going into life in a higher level.

The club also took an age to confirm that all the women’s team fixtures are going to be played at Turf Moor this season. Good news, no doubt, but why did it take so long?

Their season starts on Friday 4th September and, as of yet, the club has given no information about tickets. Will entry be free for season ticket holders? How much will tickets be? When are they going on sale? What time are the kick offs? No idea!

Put simply, this is not a serious way to run a football club. Fans deserve better.

Lacking leadership

All this paints a picture of a club where leadership is lacking. The ship is listing.

It is easy to see why many fans believe ALK Capital adding Espanyol to their roster has contributed to a sense of drift. There is no full focus on Burnley Football Club.

A stylish video for a great away kit cannot cover up all these cracks for long… a slow start to the new season and things could get very uncomfortable for ALK very fast.

The second piece in the newsletter comes from long-time NNN collaborator Adam Haworth.

A bump in the road?

After two wins from two, Scott Parker warned there would be "bumps in the road".

Well, it's fair to say Sunderland away was a bump. And a half. More like Storm Lilian had brought down a tree that laid in the middle of the pitch.

It's been a bizarre week. Burnley were top of the league after hitting nine goals in two games, but the mood among the fanbase was uneasy.

Unconvincing performances were backed up by a constant bubble of transfer rumours that has finally boiled over. And then some.

When the team news was confirmed, the reaction was sheer bafflement. Burnley have gone from having too many players and utterly ridiculous squad depth for the Championship to not being able to fill the bench adequately.

…or the team…

… in a week.

That is quite the achievement. Sure, there are injuries - although it is remarkable how quickly Sander Berge's "injury" cleared up in time to join Fulham - but how has that been able to happen?

Everyone knows the ALK strategy is a version of 'buy low, sell high'. It's not rocket science. But it is difficult to pull off. If it was so easy, everyone else would be doing it. The amount of player trading going on at Turf Moor is reminding me of Chelsea.

Players are being sold for not particularly large profits, with weird decisions like signing a replacement for Dara O'Shea, in ex-Nottingham Forest captain Joe Worrall, coming before the Ireland defender has actually gone.

Anyone interested in buying O'Shea then knew we would be selling, leaving us in a terrible position for negotiating. Do these people have any idea what they are doing?

Meanwhile, we have committed to spending £12 million on Bashir Humphreys, almost as much as the £15 million we get for O’Shea (our best defender?), who might turn out no better than Ameen Al-Dakhil, who we are selling, cos, I dunno, reasons (lol it’s £).

A mess

The game itself was a mess. Parker had to make four changes and named two goalies and a trio of kids on the bench including 17-year-old Vernon Masara. Unsurprisingly, Burnley were not competitive. It was 1-0 but could have been a lot worse. A lot worse.

Burnley managed only a single shot on target, despite Dan Neil's late red card, and ended up with Luke McNally playing as an emergency striker. Like I say, a mess. Fans would likely have felt better had Masara - a young talent who might have a future at the club - been given a run out rather than McNally - who does not - at the end.

Parker isn't to blame for being left with the scraps of a squad for today’s game, but Burnley were miles off it. The team was set up badly - understandable to an extent when he probably didn't even know who he could pick until close to kick off - players seemed unsure of their roles and the substitutions just didn't make sense.

While Parker's tactical shift reaped rewards in the Cardiff game, securing the decisive third goal right away, McNally up front was about the extent of his tweaks at the Stadium of Light. The supposed senior players were among the worst performers.

As if the display was not bad enough (and it was diabolical, despite what some are already trying to claim), news immediately broke of O'Shea's impending departure to Ipswich Town and Wolves being “in talks” over a deal for Luca Koleosho.

A club tweet pre-match insisted a "knock" kept the winger on the sidelines, which aged badly. Koleosho being sold would feel like a rubicon of sorts was being crossed.

ALK’s strategy depends on developing players so they can be sold for big money.

We have to actually develop the players, not just sell them at the first opportunity, if that is to work. Koleosho was the star fans felt would stay this season and it would be a bitter blow, especially in a week with the derby at the end of it, if he were to be sold.

With reports breaking before the game of Zeki Amdouni potentially going to Benfica and Parker confirming after the game Manuel Benson and Wout Weghorst were not selected as they want to leave, there will be a lot of ins and outs this week.

A busy few days awaits, but fans will simply not stand for Parker being left with the same mess of a squad as today. Time for ALK to pull their fingers out.

Bad vibes

By Adam Haworth

Vibes count for something in football. At least, when you’re a fan they do.

Last week the vibes were good. Two good wins under our belt, a squad full of talent.

Now, a week later, thanks to an apparent ongoing firesale of our best players, the vibes are no longer good. The vibes are bad.

After last season, I’ll admit I’m still somewhat jaded. I reached a point last season where I couldn’t engage any more. I just switched off. Checked results, but not much more. I didn’t do so lightly – I’m well aware that part of the point of being a fan is sticking around when the going gets tough – but it felt like a massive waste of time to invest any more than a quick glance at the results and a sigh.

So with that in mind, the first two results of the season came as a relief. Maybe we’d be fun to watch again. Maybe I’d get something back from my emotional investment in the team again. Then the result against Sunderland happened and I crashed back down to earth.

We do not know how big this bump in the road will be, and let’s hope it’s just a blip.

But with more and more of our best players linked with a move and just a week left of the transfer window to find adequate replacements, fans are understandably edgy.

Last season did damage to the relationship between the club and the fans. I know I’m not the only one who ended up disengaging. For all the talk of improving communication when ALK Capital first took over, I haven’t seen any real effort or acknowledgement from chairman Alan Pace to account for that damage.

The Fan Advisory Board is something, I guess, but is it more than a tick box exercise? Pace has an X (formerly Twitter) account but he barely engages with fans there.

(He does, however, like to get into arguments with journalists for reporting anonymously sourced but accurate stories about staff being linked with moves to other clubs.)

And with Elon Musk’s platform increasingly filled with far-right hate – and more and more people fleeing every day – you can hardly call that a future-proofed strategy for fan engagement.

Pace needs to open himself up to more scrutiny and be more transparent. We all know we have to sell players for the business model to work. But surely the business model shouldn’t require you to hobble your chances of achieving any success on the pitch. So will Pace tell fans what the strategy is here?

Is it to hope that we can recruit well in the last week of the window? If so, forgive me for my scepticism given our inability to find a decent left-back all of last season.

Pace and his team have brought about some good times during their tenure. But that does not afford them limitless credit in the bank. The bad vibes might not last long. But equally, they might end up lingering around if we don’t end up recruiting well. Especially if we lose next week.

We’ve seen before how quickly bad vibes can turn into outright anger. If that happens, Pace will rue missing the chance to rebuild trust with the fans when he had one.

A fun quiz to finish off

How many transfers - ins and outs - will be confirmed by Burnley between now and the end of the window? Email me your best guesses and any newsletter feedback.

Smart football

The last time I wrote, I called the tactics under Vincent Kompany “dumb football”.

Even in October, it was obvious we were heading for relegation. Kompany seemed utterly clueless and unable to set up a team that could compete in the Premier League.

Recruitment had been spotty, with much of a near-£100 million outlay wasted, but Kompany was not getting anything like enough from the squad at his disposal.

We turned in the same dire displays every week. Like many fans, I checked out.

It’s a long time since had I felt so disengaged with the team. It felt like a random collection of blokes with no connection to each other, or us, playing as mercenaries.

But you know what helps with that? Winning games. Winning games helps.

It’s clear Kompany prioritised his reputation over giving Burnley a chance at survival. It paid off for him with Bayern Munich appointing him (albeit as their 73rd choice).

Burnley took a while to appoint Scott Parker but, two games in, the signs are good.

The football is a smart mix of style and substance. Classy passing moves and niggly fouls. Parker prioritises results. He changes the tactics when they aren’t working.

Burnley battered Luton Town - producing an even more impressive victory on the road than Kompany’s debut at Huddersfield Town - then thumped Cardiff City 5-0.

We were not even close to our best against the Bluebirds (I’d rate the performance a 7/10 at best) but ran out easy winners thanks to a mix of calamitous goalkeeping and accurate shooting from range: we scored five goals from just four shots on target.

Parker made a subtle tweak at half-time after we had been second best before the break. Jay Rodriguez, a surprise pick to replace Wilson Odobert after his sale to Tottenham, was asked to drop wider to find space. It immediately reaped rewards with Josh Brownhill given room to run through on goal and kill the game at 3-0.

Fine finishes from substitutes Zeki Amdouni and Johann Berg Gudmundsson added gloss to the score and ensured we sit top of the table after Parker’s first two games.

There is still work to do. Defensively, there is no doubting our individual quality at the back but the unit will take time to gel, especially if there are further sales.

In midfield, a pairing of Brownhill and Josh Cullen might be outnumbered at times.

And at 35, Rodriguez likely won’t be a regular starter this season but his experience, intelligence, leadership and versatility will be priceless for Parker to call upon.

But the trickiest task for Parker is simply not knowing what his squad will look like…

A busy end to the transfer window

This week, it seems like every time I look at Twitter (which is a lot…) there is a fresh rumour linking one of our players with a move away:

• James Trafford to Newcastle United!

• Manuel Benson to Leeds United!

• Dara O’Shea to Ipswich Town! Or Wolves! Or Brentford!

• JGB to… Saudi Arabia!?!?!?!

• Vitinho to Brazil!

• Ameen Al-Dakhil to the Bundesliga!

• Han-Noah Massengo to France!

• Wout Weghorst to whoever will have him!

And so on and so on. You get the point. There is a huge amount of speculation.

That’s not even mentioning the seemingly impending departure of Sander Berge, who has been “injured” for the first two games amid speculation over a £20m+ move away.

Prior to Odobert and Scott Twine leaving, a bloated group stood at 35+ players. That’s clearly way too many, so it should be no surprise to see a few being linked with moves.

Some have already gone, with Lawrence Vigouroux and Samuel Bastien sold and Dara Costelloe and Darko Churlinov being sent out on loan, but more will have to follow.

The problem is that players we would probably quite like to shift - fringe lads such as Luke McNally, Michael Obafemi and Hannes Delcroix - are unlikely to be in demand.

Unsurprisingly, it’s our better players that teams would like to buy. Shocking, right?

The business model under ALK Capital requires players to be sold for profits to work.

Odobert going to Spurs in a deal that seemed to come from nowhere shows it in action. We doubled our money on the winger in a year, with potentially move to come.

It seems like we will also make a decent profit on Berge if/when his deal goes through.

That shows that it can and does work, with more money also raised from selling Aro Muric to Ipswich Town, but we cannot afford too many big flops like Mike Tresor.

And forgive me for pointing out - yes, again! I’m a stuck record, I know - that a major reason we need to sell players remains the nature of ALK’s leveraged buyout of the club, which plunged our previously healthy finances into huge levels of debt.

The next few days are sure to be interesting. At the moment, there is enough strength in depth that we look like strong contenders for automatic promotion. That could change if too many sales are sanctioned, though Parker will get his own signings.

Indeed, while I was writing the newsletter we announced the arrival of Bashir Humphreys, a 21-year-old defender from Chelsea, on an initial season-long loan.

But a third straight summer with a gigantic turnover of players presents its own issues. Cohesion and consistency is difficult with a dozen new faces each year.

You can’t argue with being top of the league with nine goals scored in two games, mind. So far so good, but Sunderland will present the sternest test of Parker to date.

Burnley Women also off to a flyer

BFC’s men’s and women’s teams both have maximum points from the season so far.

Burnley Women welcomed a newly promoted Hull City side to the Women's National League Northern Premier Division with a 9-0 shellacking at the weekend.

They’re not top, though, as Rugby Borough Women thumped Halifax Women 10-0.

Having gone close to promotion two seasons in a row, this could be the year Burnley Women make it to the second tier. There has been a welcome change to the league’s structure for this year which means topping the table now gets an automatic place in the Women’s Championship, rather than going into a winner-takes-all play-off match.

Burnley Women play their next two games at Turf Moor (though the official site’s fixtures page hasn’t been updated) on September 8 and 22. KOs are at 2pm and adult tickets in the Bob Lord Stand are £10 but if you go to both matches it’s £15 for the pair.

I don’t know if its feasible to have all Burnley Women’s home fixtures played at Turf Moor, but it would be great to see a good crowd cheering them on next month.

Coming up

I can’t promise a newsletter every week this season, but I am aiming to write regularly.

Future editions will include reviewing Mission to Burnley II (I haven’t been able to watch it all yet) and going behind the scenes on a Turf Moor stadium tour.

As always, feedback on the newsletter is welcome. Just reply to this email with your views and we might feature them in a letters section if we get enough messages.

We take contributions too. If you have an idea for a piece that you’d like to write for the newsletter, drop me a line and we’ll take it from there.

That’s it for this week. It’s good to be back!

Dumb football

Same old shit, different day, and more dumb football served up by Burnley.

We lost 3-0 at Brentford on Saturday but, honestly, it could have been five, six or more.

From the moment the team was named, it was obvious Burnley were going to lose. The only question was over how bad it would be, how many goals it would be by.

Brentford are a good side - even without their star man, banned striker Ivan Toney - and they have an excellent manager in Thomas Frank. But even after taking all three points on Saturday, they are only 14th in the table. This was supposed to be the start of our ‘easier’ run of games and we were comprehensively thumped. Again.

But it was no surprise. With Jordan Beyer missing, the back line is well short of the required standard and Vincent Kompany taking Josh Brownhill out for yet another attacker left that defence looking even more exposed than usual.

James Trafford had probably his best game for us, making a string of saves to keep the score down, but his weak long passing continues to leave us penned in and, not for the first time, he was almost caught out by dallying for too long on the ball.

Neither of the centre-backs who started on Saturday are comfortable either bringing the ball out from the back or playing incisive passes, so we cannot beat a press.

Josh Cullen is essentially a one-man midfield and, given his small size and physical weakness, it is no surprise we get bullied in the heart of the pitch every single game.

Unlike last season, where Nathan Tella and sometimes Ian Maatsen made runs in behind to offer an option for a ball over the top, nobody is doing that this season.

We can’t play out from the back and we can’t stop teams playing through us either.

All of this makes us very easy to play against right now. It is such dumb football.

To use a Stan Ternent-ism from the old days, a blind man on a galloping horse can see the tactics and team selections Kompany is making will just not cut it at this level.

Kompany keeps talking in the press about learning from defeats - but that does not just go for his players. The manager is on a steep, steep learning curve.

How much is down to VK?

We all know Kompany is a very smart man. So why is he presiding over dumb football?

It’s curious to me. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, but that’s what Kompany has been doing.

While there was a lot of excitement about our recruitment during the summer transfer window, it is clear that despite the spending we have significant holes in our squad.

Failing to bring back Ian Maatsen or sign a similar left-back to replace him has had a huge impact on our attacking play, leaving us without that key forward outlet.

Only signing Berge to bolster the midfield looks like another serious strategic error. Berge has been awful, but he hasn’t been helped by being played too deep.

The lack of a natural holding midfielder (Jack Cork: hi hello hi I still exist???) has left Cullen with far too much to do each game.

We signed a bunch of high-potential players who aren’t ready for the Premier League. Kompany believes they will come good over the course of the season. What if they don’t? Surely it would have been prudent to invest the money in a mix of players.

Let’s take the wingers as an obvious example. We have too many - that is clear. Nathan Redmond was a smart signing on a free, but we have barely seen him. Andros Townsend was ready to join on a free and would have been a handy option. Two players with lots of Premier League experience, which we lack through the squad.

We now have more wingers than we can use, leading to the increasingly bizarre marginalisation of Anass Zaroury - arguably our best player last season - and gaping holes elsewhere in the squad as we signed too many attacking youngsters.

Jacob Bruun Larsen has probably been our most consistent wide player this season. How many Premier League games has he started? A big fat zero. Why?

Yes, we have had both Jordan Beyer and Hjalmar Ekdal injured - arguably our best pairing at the back - but we could have brought back Taylor Harwood-Bellis and opted to sign inferior players in Dara O’Shea and Hannes Delcroix instead. Why? Our defensive unit has been downgraded by a huge amount compared to last term.

For me, Kompany has to take a significant share of the blame for the dumb football.

He has been given plenty of say when it comes to recruitment and it’s clear that the failings when it comes to tactics and team selections lay directly at his door.

That’s it for this week. As ever, let me know your thoughts by either replying to this email or dropping me a line in the comments. Cheers.

Back to basics

Defeat at Newcastle on Saturday was comfortably our worst display of the season. Burnley were flat, barely created a chance and seemed to lose belief in the second half.

Confidence has drained rapidly out of the team - understandably, given so many of them lack experience of life at the wrong end of the table - and 2-0 flattered us.

But it could have been a different story. Burnley had made the better start and had the first chance to strike. Luca Koleosho had the better of Dan Burn in the opening exchanges and he created a chance Zeki Amdouni ought to have buried.

Nick Pope made the save, though, and it was about the extent of his work all game.

Both goals were self-inflicted. Aaron Ramsey, playing out of position on the left wing, was caught in possession and punished by Miguel Almiron’s curling opener, the Paraguayan also taking full advantage of Charlie Taylor’s backtracking.

Then Ameen Al-Dakhil headed the ball straight to Anthony Gordon and compounded that error by bringing the winger down in the box. Two mistakes, game over.

Lessons don’t seem to be getting learned by either the players or the manager.

While half a dozen of the starting team were dreadfully below par on Saturday, they have not been helped by some confused decision-making from Vincent Kompany.

Having eventually realised playing a left-back at left-back might be a good idea, Kompany has begun using central midfielders on the wing… because… reasons?

Burnley spent the best part of £100 million over the summer, largely on attacking talent, yet Ramsey was deemed the best option on the left wing rather than Mike Tresor, Anass Zaroury, Wilson Odobert or Jacob Bruun Larsen (I could go on).

The selections frequently make little sense and the tactics don’t either. Burnley’s success last season largely came via the use of a 4-3-3 shape, although sometimes one of the three in the middle pushed up as more of a second striker.

Our possession-based system entirely relies on drawing the opposition up the pitch and hitting accurate long balls to beat the press. But without Taylor Harwood-Bellis at the back, there’s nobody in defence comfortable enough pinging those passes.

Our own press is malfunctioning badly, with teams finding it easy to play round us.

Then there’s the goalkeeper.

James Trafford made one outstanding stop at Newcastle, but he has done very little to justify the massive transfer fee spent to bring him to Turf Moor.

The money we decided he was worth is not his fault, of course, but you cannot tell me the price tag is not weighing heavily on the young goalkeeper’s shoulders right now.

Trafford’s extremely high self-confidence was supposed to be one of his main attributes. Where’s it gone? No longer trusting the accuracy of his mediocre medium and long-range passing, Trafford resorted to aimless hoofs up the field on Saturday.

It’s high time to take the lad out of the firing line. Aro Muric was extremely unlucky to lose the gloves this season and he deserves to get them back.

Pick our best players, in their best positions, in our best shape. Back to basics.

Foster return can be key

Kompany will be boosted by Lyle Foster being available at Luton tomorrow night.

Make no bones about it, this is a massive match. None of the promoted trio have started the season well but Luton’s win at Everton at the weekend gave them a boost.

Amdouni is a talented player but he does not look like a number nine. His pressing lacks the speed and intensity provided by Foster when he leads the attack. Foster’s build up play has also come on leaps and bounds and is a real asset to the side.

It goes without saying Foster will come straight back in, but Kompany needs to work out whether Amdouni can be accommodated in the same XI as the South African.

Right now, I’m not sure he can. Amdouni, Foster and Koleosho in the same side sounds good on paper - or on a video game - but it leaves us exposed elsewhere. We need more solidity and Amdouni doesn’t have an obvious place in a 4-3-3.

At Luton, we will need the physicality of Sander Berge. The Norwegian is having a strange season, making an impact when he comes off the bench but offering little as a starter. He moves about as quickly as your aunt. More like Sandra Berge.

The slowness of our midfield is a major concern. At Newcastle, it had the look of a late Dyche-era unit: for Ashley Westwood, read Josh Cullen, a small playmaker who gets pushed about far too easily by bigger boys. Josh Brownhill was doing typical Josh Brownhill (in the Premier League) things, namely giving away more free kicks than he contributed passes to his own team-mates. The vague, shambling presence of Berge recalled Wout Weghorst’s struggles in claret and blue - well, maybe if you squinted.

Putting Ramsey back into the role he performed well against Manchester United is an obvious move, creating space for an actual winger to play on the left. Radical, I know.

Zaroury’s red card in the opener was a moment of madness from the Moroccan, but his lack of action since returning from suspension is a curiosity. After three assists in the cup win at Salford, Kompany brought him on in the 88th minute at Newcastle.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

We signed so many attackers perhaps it was easy to forget about the ones we had already but Zaroury is a game-changer and it’s time to restore him to the team.

Dara O’Shea’s extra experience and physical strength mean it is possible to make a case for the Ireland international to replace Al-Dakhil, who looks out of his depth.

This is the team I’d be putting out at Luton: Muric; Roberts, O’Shea, Beyer, Taylor; Berge, Cullen, Ramsey; Koleosho, Foster, Zaroury.

That’s it for this week’s newsletter. Let’s hope we have a win to talk about soon…

What's the point?

Very Angry Rage.

That’s how lots of us will be feeling today despite Burnley earning their first point of the Premier League season with a 1-1 draw away to Nottingham Forest yesterday.

Burnley were good value for the point despite making a sluggish start - and we should have won the game. Lyle Foster was robbed of a winner after VAR intervened.

We were lucky to enjoy a season with no VAR last season but we have already felt its impact on several occasions since promotion.

In isolation, each of the key calls made last night could be debated. But they all went against us. I don’t buy the ‘conspiracy’ claims but we were certainly unfortunate.

My problem with VAR is that the officials are using it to try to find reasons to rule out goals: VAR was supposed to correct obvious errors. The key thing for me about our ‘winning’ goal is not one Forest player appealed for handball at the time.

Perhaps the ball did brush Sander Berge’s upper arm, but replays are inconclusive. It certainly does not look deliberate, with Berge simply too powerful for his opponent.

VAR takes so much of fans’ fun and excitement out of the game - what’s the point?

Foster then allowed his frustration at having a perfectly good goal ruled out, his temper boiling over, lashing out and receiving an inevitable red card (after a VAR check, obviously). If the goal stands, as it should, Foster does not get sent off and we don’t have to cope without our most in-form player for the next three matches.

That ban will give Vincent Kompany a headache but there are plenty of positives to take. Zeki Amdouni scored his second fine finish of the season against Forest. Luca Koleosho was unplayable in the first half, winning his individual battle with right-back Gonzalo Montiel so conclusively that the World Cup winner was substituted.

Bringing Josh Brownhill and Charlie Taylor into the XI made us look more solid. Our tactics will have to adapt to Taylor’s strengths and weaknesses but having an actual left-back on the pitch rather than someone filling in made a big difference.

We were still a bit erratic at the back. Forest caused a lot of problems on the counter with their pace and the way we continue to defend set pieces is asking for trouble.

Although replacing Foster will not be easy, upcoming fixtures give us a chance to build some momentum. It is a good time to play Manchester United, Newcastle United have not got going and have their eye on Champions League games, and Chelsea are yet to click. The rearranged trip to Luton Town already looks massive

Hopefully, by the next international break, we will be talking about wins - not VAR.

Women poised for promotion push

While our men’s team has struggled to collect results this term - albeit with a difficult fixture list so far - Burnley women are flying high and sit at the top of their table.

Having narrowly missed out on promotion last season, a change of manager appears to have provided fresh impetus. Sunday’s win over Nottingham Forest means they earned three victories on the bounce, scoring an impressive 12 goals in the process.

I was at the 5-1 win away to Huddersfield Town earlier in the month. Burnley exploited a callow Town back line - they had a very inexperienced young goalkeeper - with a supreme second-half display to ensure the result reflected their dominance.

Rebecca Sawiuk is the new coach of the women’s team. Whereas her opposite number sought to micromanage Huddersfield’s players through the game, Sawiuk was a far calmer presence, reminding players of key messages and taking chances for brief one-on-one coaching. When one attacker was unable to act on the feedback she had been given, she was swiftly replaced by a substitute, who promptly got on the scoresheet.

Burnley boast an outstanding talent in the form of 21-year-old midfielder Millie Ravening, who scored twice against Town. She recorded another brace in the 4-2 defeat of Forest at the weekend and already has six goals in all competitions.

Ravening hit 30 goals last season and she is looking to be even more prolific, making smart runs into the box and using her height and strength to dominate in the box. She is guaranteed to play at a much higher level. Her physicality will simply be too much for teams in the third tier but her touch and eye for goal marks her as one to watch.

I was also very impressed with the driving runs down the flank from left-back Alethea Paul, who is already the team’s captain after only joining this year.

However, something Sawiuk and her team needs to work on is concentration. A couple of times already this season they have conceded immediately after scoring.

Promotion won’t be easy as topping the table only leads to a promotion play-off, but Burnley have made a fine start. Forest missed out last season, losing to Watford after winning the title, and they will compete again. Newcastle United have had heavy investment and have won three out of three, as well as beating us in a cup match.

The team plays out in Leyland - while the women’s and men’s sides are increasingly integrated, this is surely something that needs looking at - so get to a game if you can.

Letters

Judy wrote in after the last newsletter:

Whilst important to give our new signings minutes on the pitch, I do question the wisdom of not starting some of our players who have PL experience and can show leadership on the pitch.

It seems our fans are too ready to be critical of players. However, thankfully most come full circle to then support them when they do perform well (ie Muric and Foster are examples from last season).

The tactics were clearly wrong against Spurs - VK alongside whoever is fielded will need to do better.

Completely agree with the team selections - with Taylor, Brownhill and Johann Berg Gudmundsson involved we will be harder to beat. It’s a fair point that some patience will be needed too. Lots of these lads are making a big step up in their careers.

Dez also left a comment:

I'm not at all sure that many of our signings this window are or will ever be PL standard. No matter what VK does to improve them or system he plays we look well below standard. Last year’s team would beat this years team 9 times out of 10 imho. I am hoping that things improve but the glow of the wonderful season just past and the thought of returning to the championship doesn't fill me with despair.

Defensively I think we are probably weaker without Ian Maatsen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, but in attack all the players we’ve signed should prove themselves in time.

That’s it for this week’s newsletter. I can’t make it to the Turf on Saturday night, so if anyone would like to contribute to next week’s edition, now is a good time to do so.

Naïve

Our first few games were always going to be tricky after the initial fixture list did us few favours, but I didn’t expect us to be pointless and bottom going into the break.

Playing a man-to-man style worked wonders for us last term, but the step up is a chasm. Players in the Premier League are faster, bigger, stronger, better on the ball.

Too many times we have been left chasing shadows as teams ping the ball around us.

Leeds were routed time and time again under Marcelo Bielsa, playing a similar style, and I cannot understand why Vincent Kompany thinks he can make it work.

Not to pick on one player in particular, but Josh Cullen encapsulates our struggles. Cullen has not got going yet at all, with Kompany’s on-field lieutenant looking lost.

During Saturday’s game, Spurs stuck James Maddison on Cullen when Burnley were in possession. Cullen is too small and slow to evade that sort of close marking and with Kompany playing three attackers - a top two of Lyle Foster-Zeki Amdouni, plus Luca Koleosho who needs to learn to track back - we lacked options to get up the field.

Foster had another solid game, scoring for the second league game in a row, but he isn’t going to win many high balls. With Nathan Tella not returning, we also lack the option to go over the opposition defence with a well-timed accurate long pass.

As for when Burnley were out of possession, it was an utter shitshow. A high line with fairly slow defenders and a keeper stuck to his line is ridiculous. What are we doing?

Cullen got nowhere near Maddison all game, allowing the England midfielder to dictate terms and run the show. Cullen hasn’t been helped by new partner Sander Berge’s clean sweep of shockers next to him, but he needs to buck up - fast.

Not signing a left-back has left Kompany with little choice but to use square pegs in round holes. I cannot imagine his summer planning ever involved Ameen Al-Dakhil playing as a wing-back, but that’s where the youngster was used in the second half.

With a deadline-day move for Ian Maatsen falling through after the full-back opted not to complete the transfer, Kompany now has to work with what he has.

Whether that means a surprise recall for Charlie Taylor, putting faith in Vitinho as our closest Maatsen-profile player, giving Hannes Delcroix a run of games to learn the system inside-out or coming up with a wholly new idea - he has now got two weeks.

The main concern I have is that when Kompany has changed things mid-game, we have got worse rather than better. We actually started the Spurs game very well, with a high tempo opening yielding a quality goal and a few other opportunities to score.

But another sloppy goal to give away visibly deflated a callow side and when we conceded another soft one just before the break, the final result looked obvious. Nevertheless, it was only 2-1 and Burnley were still in the game. Had we started the second half in the same manner as the first, it could have been a different story.

Losing 5-2 at home after taking the lead is completely unacceptable, at any level of the game. Too many heads dropped and belief already seems to be draining out of some.

https://twitter.com/tomclaret/status/1698002922754171099

Kompany made two changes at half-time and even a few days on, I can’t make head nor tail of the switch. Spurs were using Son Heung-min as a false nine. Kompany, as a former CB himself, should be well aware that three centre-backs against no strikers is totally unnecessary. It left gaping holes elsewhere and Spurs exploited them at will.

Our players also seemed unsure of what the plan actually was in the second half. That is on Kompany’s head and suggests he is giving them too much information to process.

We saw this at times early in last season, with players learning new roles on the job. It took time for Kompany to settle on a regular team and system, then things clicked.

Maybe the same will happen this season, but right now Burnley look like relegation fodder. Too easy to score against, too easy to play against and too easy to beat.

So what can VK do to change things for our next match in two weeks’ time?

Cork and Muric among quick fixes

It’s arguable that different personnel with the same silly system won’t make much difference, but we did seem much more stable after Jack Cork had come on.

Admittedly, Spurs had stopped trying to score any further goals by that point, but there was someone in the middle of the pitch actually directing operations.

Cork is a leader and we lack cool heads on the pitch. Nobody out there seems to know when to put a foot in, when to sit back or when to make a foul to break up an attack.

We are too soft-centred and the introduction of Cork would certainly help with that. The defence needs protection: we have been conceding similar goals from cutbacks as nobody is on the edge of the box. Cork should play alongside Cullen in midfield.

Our midfield this season is far more attacking than last year, despite the step up. Make that make sense. Last year it was almost always a form of 4-3-3, with two 8s providing energy up and down the pitch. Now we have Amdouni as more of a 10.

Amdouni comes alive around the box but he does not do a lot of defending and that often leaves us short of bodies when teams attack. In all three matches so far, we have looked like conceding from virtually every opposition attack. That is unsustainable.

While that isn’t Amdouni’s fault, he is an obvious candidate to drop to the bench in order to bring in a more positionally disciplined player such as Josh Brownhill. Don’t ask me what we’ll do with Mike Tresor, the latest shiny new toy. I don’t know!

In goal, I can’t think of any logical reason why Aro Muric is not starting games. Muric was our most improved player by far last season and our defence grew to trust him, even when he made the odd brainfart of an error. Muric kept a clean sheet with a solid performance in the cup win at Nottingham Forest to further stake his claim to play.

https://twitter.com/Greenfie11Colin/status/1698600654850146805

James Trafford may well develop into the Future England Number One tag he has been burdened with but, right now, he is a million miles away from that status.

Trafford fails to command his area, has already given up on sweeping up after his error cost us the opening goal against Aston Villa, and lacks Muric’s range of passes.

Before the season, I suspected Muric would start, but be dropped after his first mistake. Right now, there are no reasons at all for Trafford to stay in the team.

Changing the goalkeeper would surely instil more confidence back in a fragile team. Trafford will come again, but right now it is time for Aro to be given back the gloves.

You can also make a case for Taylor to play at left-back, but I won’t be doing that. Adding another slow player to our team doesn’t strike me as a sensible idea.

Nobody - well, apart from the fans who looked at our summer spending and declared European football was coming back to Turf Moor - thought this season would be easy.

But Kompany’s Burnley are making life too difficult for themselves with naïve tactics. Change those or tinkering with personnel is rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic.

Letters

My last post about racism at Turf Moor received a few responses. First up is Will:

Couldn't agree more. Awful, depressing stuff but thanks for highlighting it (again).

John also wrote in to have his say:

In absolute agreement with everything in your latest post.

I felt sickened by the behaviour of so-called supporters on Friday, it’s wholly embarrassing when you have friends who support other clubs mocking our return to the Premier League for all the wrong reasons.

I want the club to give a really strong message on this now, we should be saying that racists are just not welcome and they should stay away. It’s a huge societal issue but you only have to see some of the moronic comments from these Burnley fans which illustrates just how far reaching the issue is. It’s shameful.

In terms of the documentary, feels like a vanity project for Pace. Didn’t really show how the club is the heart of our town, as much footage shown of Pace in beautiful locations outside of the UK. Not sure I learned anything that I didn’t know already.

Pretty disappointing week as a Burnley fan, I’ve had many of them over the years - in fact this is season 43 for me, but I feel massively deflated by it all.

It’s a few weeks since I watched MTB now and I remember very little of it, which says it all for me. But here’s what Mark made of it:

I thought the first episode of Mission to Burnley was very good and interesting in how the club is run, and some of the ups and downs of being a chairman and the abuse you get from certain fans.

The Dyche sacking stunned everyone and I also thought they should have waited to the end of the season. But it was the right decision, in the long run.

And last but not least, this one from a satisfied customer, Tish. Printed unedited:

Nothing about racism,we come to the Turf to watch Our team play football.Not pandering and virtue signalling to a corrupt organisation.

I dare you to print this you dick.

No worries! But I don’t want racists as readers, so show yourself out. Cheers.

You can have your say in the comments, or reply to this email. Enjoy the break.

Racism still blights our club

Before a ball was even kicked this season, Burnley supporters showed themselves up.

Returning to the Premier League means players taking the knee prior to kick-off. And at Turf Moor, players taking the knee means the sound of loud boos from the stands.

Let’s not hide behind claiming it is a “minority” of people, whatever that means. Is it a couple of thousand, out of 20,000 or so home fans? Or a few hundred? That’s still a lot.

For what it’s worth, where I was sat in NU2, there was a lot of booing. Absolutely nobody else near me was clapping to try to drown out the racists. It was shameful.

At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, booing taking the knee is a racist act.

It’s this simple: Taking the knee is a gesture against racism, so to boo it is racist.

It’s too easy for those who do not boo to go on about it being a “minority” and claim those who boo do not represent our fanbase. But they do.

We might not be them, but they are us. It’s not a one-off, is it?

We are the club of the ‘White Lives Matter’ banner. We are the club of Nazi salutes at Spurs. We are the only Premier League club with loud boos when the knee is taken.

Not long after the boos, my partner - in her first game as a season-ticket holder - heard someone shouting racist abuse behind her. Reckon the two things are linked?

Racist abuse is not even rare at Turf Moor. If we are honest, most of us have heard it. And apparently, if you report it to the club, nothing is done about the culprits.

Vincent Kompany spoke typically eloquently when he was asked about it, but imagine how being put in that position made him feel? The league’s only black manager, in his first game at that level, having to be asked about his own fans being racist. It stinks.

Spare a thought for 18-year-old Luca Koleosho, whose first ever experience of Turf Moor was having to listen to knuckle-dragging morons booing him take the knee.

It should have been a proud moment, returning to the Premier League as champions. Add in Rico Lewis being struck by something thrown from the stands and another idiot invading the pitch and it was an embarrassing day to support Burnley.

I don’t want to share a club with these wankers. Time to stamp this shit out. For good.

Mission to Burnley is PR fluff

Either side of the City game on Friday night I watched the four episodes of Mission to Burnley, the new Sky documentary that charts the club since the ALK takeover.

If you’ve not seen it yet, my advice is… don’t bother. Yes, it’s great to see all those fantastic moments like Manuel Benson’s winner at Ewood and the parade around the town to mark the title again, but it’s not a particularly good piece of television.

Like a lot of these documentaries - and there are A LOT of them - it’s purely for PR.

Chairman Alan Pace might have claimed in the media that he didn’t want to do a documentary, but I don’t buy that. He definitely gets far more airtime than necessary and there is essentially no criticism of him, despite the controversy over the takeover.

The best parts of Mission to Burnley are the behind-the-scenes bits with our manager going through video analysis sessions in granular detail. Kompany comes across brilliantly, both as a tremendous communicator and a truly formidable leader.

There’s absolutely nothing of the fans and virtually nothing of the players, despite us having a very charismatic squad. I’m in it more than Josh Cullen, for example.

MtB is a pretty superficial piece of work and far from essential viewing, even for fans.

Perhaps it is asking too much for a four-episode doc spanning about 15 months to go into the same detail as the Wrexham and Sunderland series - the best of a crowded field of club documentaries - but Mission to Burnley is far short of that standard.

What did you make of Mission to Burnley? Let me know in the comments, or reply to this email with your views. You can also get in touch with me via Twitter (if it still exists).

Holes in the squad

At the start of the summer, I would have identified central midfield and left-back as the two critical areas to address in the transfer window. So with only a few days to go until we take on Treble-winners Manchester City at Turf Moor, it feels more than a bit strange that we have not signed a single player for either of those positions yet.

Of course, the transfer window has a few weeks still to run and there tends to be a spike in activity as the deadline looms, but even with the Luton Town game being postponed next weekend, we have a few points to play for in the meantime.

https://twitter.com/JamieSmithSport/status/1684585244341460993

I’ve had an attempt at putting together Vincent Kompany’s options across the squad and it shows plenty of depth in the attacking positions, but not so much elsewhere.

Let’s go through each position and see what we’ve got - and what we might need.

Goalkeepers: Trafford, Muric, Vigouroux, Franchi, Casper

Bart Verbruggen seemed to be an early target, but when Brighton pipped us to the Anderlecht goalkeeper, our attention swiftly turned to James Trafford. Raiding City for the second summer in a row, Trafford could become our club-record signing.

Although I agree with allowing Bailey Peacock-Farrell to leave, I’m not sure a new no1 needed to be a priority. Aro Muric got better and better as last season went on, leaving us with a highlights reel to remember. Muric deserved a crack at the Premier League.

He might yet get it. Muric outperformed Trafford during pre-season and is the man in possession. But even if Muric starts on Friday, I suspect Trafford will take over before too long. That feels harsh and, even if Trafford has huge potential - he is already being spoken of as a future England no1 (which has jinxed plenty of others in the past) - it is a huge fee for a player who has yet to ply their trade any higher than in League One.

Ex-Liverpool and Tottenham goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux coming in from Leyton Orient adds depth between the sticks so a loan move for Denis Franchi might make sense given teenager Charlie Casper has already been around the first-team squad.

Full-backs: Roberts, Taylor, Vitinho, Dodgson, Egan-Riley

Connor Roberts was arguably our best player after the World Cup but we have been linked with a string of right-backs, suggesting Kompany is not yet fully convinced.

Roberts has also featured at left-back during pre-season, showing our lack of options, while Dara O’Shea and Ameen Al-Dakhil provide further options on the flanks.

Ian Maatsen’s future at Chelsea still seems to be up in the air and there is speculation he could yet extend his Blues deal and go out on loan again. You would think we would be at the front of the queue, but at the moment we are having to wait.

That leaves Charlie Taylor as the only recognised senior left-back in the squad, though Owen Dodgson caught the eye with a fine finish in our win at Benfica.

Kompany’s reluctance to play Taylor was obvious last season and it is hard to imagine he will be more keen to pick him at a higher level this time out. While Burnley might not dominate the ball as much as they did in the Championship, the system requires pace and creativity from left-back, neither of which are particular strengths of CT.

Vitinho looks a more likely fill-in for Maatsen but a left-back must be a priority. Manchester United youngster Alvaro Fernandez is the latest name in the frame.

I’ve put CJ Egan-Riley here even though he can play anywhere in defence and in defensive midfield, but I’m guessing he will go on loan again, when fit, anyway.

Centre-backs: Beyer, Ekdal, O’Shea, Al-Dakhil

At the start of the summer, I wrote that much of our work in central defence would depend on what happened with loan stars Jordan Beyer and Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

Burnley moved quickly to convert Beyer’s loan into a permanent deal and I suspect he will be worth double, if not treble, what we paid in the next 12-24 months. Beyer has all the tools to succeed in the Premier League and he is obvious captain material.

Hjalmar Ekdal’s disappearance from first-team action during the run-in remains a strange one but the Swede is back and ready to compete for action alongside Beyer.

I’m a massive Ekdal fan. Burnley conceded only three goals in the nine games he started with Beyer after Harwood-Bellis went down with injury. For me, Beyer and Ekdal should be our first-choice pairing at the back for the start of the season.

Al-Dakhil has a sky-high ceiling but the City match in the FA Cup last season showed how much work he still has to do if he is to make it to the top. Al-Dakhil looked like a rabbit in headlights on that day - understandable, given his youth - and the Premier League could be sink or swim for him. AAD’s raw ability is not in doubt, though.

O’Shea’s arrival from West Brom might feel like a Sean Dyche signing but he has Premier League experience, which the squad as a whole lacks, and he is versatile.

Four centre-backs, plus Taylor as an emergency option, seems fine. But if Kompany wants the option to play three at the back at times, then we need another defender. I can only see Harwood-Bellis coming back if he will be a regular… but would he be?

Luke McNally has gone back out on loan to the Championship, where he will continue to develop, and Bobby Thomas has replaced him at Coventry City. By the way, that the academy is developing players who can be sold to Championship clubs for very decent money shows the investment made in that area is now paying off.

Central midfielders: Cullen, Cork, Brownhill, Twine, Gudmundsson, Bastien

Today’s news has us linked with Sheffield United midfielder Sander Berge and looking at the names above it is clear we need at least one signing in this area.

Josh Cullen is an injury doubt for the start of the season and we have basically no cover for him. Jack Cork is 34 and looked a bit off the pace at times last term, though his vast experience will be useful and we may need a double pivot at times.

Josh Brownhill had a great season in the Championship but didn’t really make his mark on the Premier League before relegation. Samuel Bastien isn’t good enough.

I’m not sure what to make of Scott Twine, who looked lightweight but produced a few magical moments last term. The Premier League would be a tough test for a player who was in League One a year ago. A loan spell in the Championship may suit him.

Kompany played a masterstroke moving Johann Berg Gudmundsson into the middle during the second half of the season, but can he impact the Premier League at 32? Gudmundsson’s chances of playing wide are surely slim after all the new signings.

Power and physicality are vital in the Premier League. I don’t see much of that in our central midfield group. We ended up being too lightweight in the middle of the park towards the end of the Dyche era. I hope we aren’t about to repeat that error.

The continued chase of Albert Sambi Lokonga, a flop at Arsenal who Kompany knows from his time at Anderlecht, shows the manager is aware of this glaring weakness.

Wingers: Zaroury, Benson, Redmond, Bruun Larsen, Koleosho, Churlinov

This is where it gets exciting. In Anass Zaroury and Manuel Benson, Burnley have a pair of wide players with the quality to win matches with moments of pure genius.

Zaroury was unstoppable before the World Cup; Benson was unplayable in the run-in. If they can hit top form at the same time, it could be something very special indeed. But Benson appears to be injured and has also been linked with a move away, which might help to explain why Kompany has been so keen to add more wide options.

Signing Nathan Redmond on a free transfer looks a no-brainer given his level of experience. More than 250 Premier League appearances, an England cap and the admiration of City manager Pep Guardiola mean signing Redmond makes sense. He can play on either flank, behind the striker or even as a false nine. Redmond probably offers more defensive diligence than either Benson or Zaroury. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up starting more matches this season than any of our other wide players.

Jacob Bruun Larsen is an intriguing signing. The Denmark international has yet to fulfil early potential but is another versatile option who will be handy on the bench.

Teenager Luca Koleosho has been getting rave reviews but will presumably be used as an impact sub, while Darko Churlinov’s illness means getting well is his top priority.

Andros Townsend has been on trial but I’m not sure where he would fit in, other than to add further depth (unless Benson is on his way out?). Every day continues to bring links with yet another winger, so I’ve no idea what VK has up his sleeve here.

Forwards: Rodriguez, Amdouni, Foster, Weghorst, Obafemi

Assuming we are going to continue with one central striker dropping deep as a false nine, five options looks to be more than enough after the signing of Zeki Amdouni.

The former Basel striker had a great campaign last term - he was the top scorer in the Europa Conference League, which might not sound much, but he scored against decent opposition like Fiorentina - and he is also an option in attacking midfield.

Lyle Foster has struggled to win fans over after his mid-season arrival, but I think he will surprise people this season. We will probably have to play more on the break than we are used to, which will make his pace an asset. Foster got better by the game last season and, while an early goal would help his confidence, so would our backing.

So it’s probably contradictory for me to hope a move is found for Wout Weghorst. I just don’t see how he fits into this group at all. If he can’t score goals at Manchester United, he’s not likely to score goals at Burnley. We should cut our losses on him.

That leaves hometown hero Jay Rodriguez, who I think some are forgetting about due to all the shiny new gizmos in the squad. Rodriguez might be 34 but I don’t think you can underestimate the importance of having a local lad in the side. Clearly you don’t just pick someone due to where they were born, but Rodriguez will give absolutely everything for Burnley. Could you say the same about Weghorst? Jay’s goal record in the top-flight is nothing to write home about - 44 goals in 237 Premier League games - but he played the false nine role to perfection before he got injured last season. I would start Jay on Friday night against City with absolutely no hesitation at all.

Michael Obafemi is another one who looks set to play an impact sub role primarily.

But do we need to #FreeTella?

A week on, I’m still baffled by the video that appeared on chairman Alan Pace’s Instagram last Monday. If you’ve not seen it, it’s still up - which tells its own story.

I don’t think it’s relevant his daughter apparently runs Pace’s Instagram. It wouldn’t still be live right now if he hadn’t given it some sort of green light to be put up.

At the time, I assumed the only possible reading of the video was that it was posted as a bit of ‘banter’, a precursor to an announcement of Nathan Tella signing for Burnley.

But as the hours and then the days passed with no news on Tella, it all looks quite weird. Tella then started for Southampton and scored - though a team-mate pinched it - suggesting that a move away from the south coast is not remotely imminent.

I think it’s dangerous to over-analyse anything on the internet and I say that as someone who considers themselves Very Much Too Online. I wouldn’t say it was particularly disrespectful to Southampton or even to Tella, but it is very odd.

I’m more interested in actual football than social media videos. I know, right!

Anyway, looking at our attacking options, I’m wondering if there is room for Tella. Don’t get me wrong, I love the lad to bits and haven’t forgotten his 19 goals last term.

We are not short of wide players, or strikers, or players to feature behind a frontman. Tella arriving would no doubt be a boost for fans, but where would he actually play?

Are you starting him on the right, over Benson? He looks better in the middle. Are you starting him as a striker, where he struggled in the demolition at Bramall Lane? Nope. Is there space for Tella to be the most attacking of a central three in midfield, playing off a central striker with the protection of Cullen, Cork, Brownhill, Berge or whoever behind him? That seems to be where Kompany sees Amdouni playing.

Tella was fantastic last season but the Premier League is another level. We’ve spent a fair few quid already this summer. £20m for Tella might be better used elsewhere, especially when gaping holes remain in the squad at both left-back and midfield.

Would Tella be worth all that money? Who are you most excited about seeing play this season? As ever, let me know in the comments, or you can reply directly to this email.

As always, let me know your thoughts by replying to this email, or comment below.

People from Burnley are among the best people

By Laura Haley

When I went to my first Burnley game (Sunderland away in October) I honestly only agreed because we were making it into a weekend away. At the time of planning the trip, I wasn’t even going to the game, I was going to go for a coffee and look around the shops whilst J watched Burnley win.

In the end I decided to go with him, assuming I’d hate it, and whilst I did miss the first goal (because I was watching the seagulls) I definitely didn’t hate it, and watching them go from losing to winning was infectious.

Fast-forward a few games and I jokingly said I’d buy a season ticket. Fast forward six months… and I did! I’ve borrowed a Burnley shirt from J so much it’s ended up living in my wardrobe, and I’m very pleased I now have my own Burnley scarf too.

It turns out this team really have something special, and they’ve definitely turned this football-hating girl from Yorkshire into a fan of the team from the wrong side of the Pennines that I’d never even thought about a year ago.

People from Burnley are among the best people, and I suspect that’s half the reason I’ve fallen in love with the club. From the lady who handed in my phone when I left it in the toilets at the Etihad after a stressful day to the two young lads who flagged down every car to find me jump leads after I broke down when picking J up from a game, everyone spoken to or interacted with has just been lovely.

The team come across as decent blokes too, and my Jack Cork crush definitely started when I saw him interact with a small child who shouted ‘Jack Cork!!’ in amazement after he’d been running past, warming up, for about 40 minutes, unnoticed by said child. Kids have always been one of the best parts of my Burnley game experience, and my absolute favourite was the little boy who told me that it’s okay I don’t know the words to any of the chants yet, neither does he, because he’s only seven. Very sweet.

https://twitter.com/InsdeLaurasHead/status/1655560504293638150

I was gutted we didn’t think to get my ticket to the Cardiff game before they sold out. I made sure I was in The Royal Dyche to watch the trophy lift but I very much felt like I missed out on seeing my team lift the trophy from inside the Turf.

It’s safe to say I’m definitely a Claret now, and I can’t wait to see what they do next season. Up the Clarets!

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A wide open table?

By JD Vail

It’s been an interesting year in the Premier League this season to say the least. Who thought Arsenal would be world-beaters? Brighton and Ashton Villa just outside the top four? Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United seem to can’t get their act together, despite the boatload of cash they spend? Don’t get me started on Tottenham and Everton. To me, all this chaos means a wide open table next season.

Now, I’m not saying that Burnley will instantly jump into the top eight or, dare I say, top four. What I will say is that the landscape is ripe to make a huge impact.

I would also jump out on a limb and say Vincent Kompany is one of the best leaders in English football and the new owners are willing to give Kompany the breathing room needed to manage the talent his way.

Running through the championship as Burnley did this season is nothing short of an amazing turnaround. The question is: can they build on this momentum heading into the summer window?

Mainstays like Ashley Barnes will leave and new talent will come in. A fresh start for everyone. However, I can see the usual Top Six in the Premier League struggling under the weight of their own expectations and an unforgiving fan base.

As far as the rest of the mid-table hopefuls, I don’t think they have staying power. But, you never know. Football is a strange sport. As the season comes to an end, let’s enjoy this moment. Let’s let out a bold cheers to a successful summer window and more Premier League chaos because the title is ours and the daily football headlines are a joy within themselves. All that said, this Yankee is making the cringeworthy transition to MLS. It will suffice until August. We Americans will come around to putting together a great “football” league… some day. Fingers crossed.

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What are your early predictions for next season? Let me know in the comments, or drop me a line in response to this email.

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Another overhaul needed?

With promotion secured and the title (virtually) in the bag after a glorious Easter weekend that saw Burnley beat the third and second best teams in the Championship, attention is turning to next season with Ashley Barnes confirming his departure.

Barnes appeared to indicate the club has informed him that he will not be getting a new deal and he is unlikely to be the only player to leave Turf Moor in the summer.

Last year saw one of the most exciting transfer windows in the history of the club but there could be another overhaul just as large to get us ready for the Premier League.

At least one new goalkeeper seems likely to kick things off. We have long been credited with an interest in Anderlecht goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, who Vincent Kompany will know well, while Bailey Peacock-Farrell needs regular games. It would make sense for BPF to move on, either on a loan deal or on a permanent transfer. Will Norris is out of contract and will surely be moving on from the club too.

Aro Muric might take years off our lives with his risk-taking and occasional moments of madness but the 24-year-old is absolutely box office. Burnley’s style is heavily dependant on Muric’s outstanding range of passing. He will probably never win everyone over but I’d be more than happy if he was still our number one next term.

https://twitter.com/kosovo_49/status/1645536081281167360

In the defence, much depends on what happens with loan stars Jordan Beyer and Taylor Harwood-Bellis. THB’s interviews suggest he would be happy to return for another season and City will presumably be OK with him coming back on loan.

That one should be straightforward enough Beyer is a more complicated case with a huge range of suggested fees for the Germany Under-21 centre-back. If the price is right, Beyer is a must. Hjalmar Ekdal has barely put a foot wrong and should be fine as a regular starter next term but Ameen Al-Dakhil is raw and may benefit from a loan.

https://twitter.com/ConnorRobs/status/1644622189273001987

Connor Roberts capped a sensational second half of the season with the goal to seal promotion and Vitinho is a capable deputy - I much prefer him as a full-back to playing on the wing - so there are no real issues at right-back. On the left, securing Ian Maatsen’s return should be a priority as his buccaneering style is key to our success. Chelsea have so many players that they should be willing to do a deal.

Charlie Taylor’s Premier League experience and ability to cover two positions could make him a useful squad player. But, at 29, Taylor needs to be playing regularly and he seems unlikely to secure many starts next term. It might be best if he moved on as he is likely on a chunky wage that could probably be used more efficiently elsewhere. Matt Lowton’s contract is up and he will presumably be leaving after eight years.

Luke McNally is an interesting one, having earned rave reviews on loan at Coventry City. With Burnley having previously tried to buy Coventry playmaker Callum O'Hare it is not impossible to see the centre-back being offered as a potential makeweight. There’s CJ Egan-Riley to consider too. His versatility makes him ideal for the bench.

Burnley have dominated the midfield battle in virtually every game this season, but we might require more physicality in the heart of the pitch next season. Josh Cullen has been a revelation but we may need to use the protection of Jack Cork alongside him in more games, with the club captain having lost his place in the side of late.

Josh Brownhill’s nomination for the league’s Player of the Year is recognition of his fine campaign and he should be better equipped for the top-flight this time. Johann Gudmundsson has done brilliantly after moving in a central attacking midfield role yet his previous injury issues suggest we would be unwise to count on him next season, but we should be giving the Iceman a contract for life thanks to this tweet.

https://twitter.com/Gudmundsson7/status/1644489402402451457

As Samuel Bastien has yet to impress he is another who could benefit from a loan spell while Scott Twine’s inability to make an impact bar that one sensational strike to beat West Brom means that perhaps a temporary move would make sense for him too.

On the wings, 20 goals and nine assists in all competitions from Anass Zaroury and Manuel Benson have played a key role in our promotion and run to the FA Cup quarter-finals. It is arguable both of them could be even better in the Premier League, where referees tend to give creative players a lot more protection. But we could face a battle to keep Zaroury, who has reportedly been watched by Borussia Dortmund.

Then there is Nathan Tella, Burnley’s top scorer with 19 goals. Tella’s future could depend on whether Southampton stay in the Premier League. With two years left on his contract, the Saints are in a relatively strong position but we would surely love to keep him. Signing Tella on a permanent deal could be our most important business.

https://twitter.com/SkyFootball/status/1644453363256291328

Darko Churlinov has shown flashes of quality but a lack of end product leaves a question mark the winger’s future. After making only six appearances in the Championship, a loan spell where he can play more regularly might make sense. Dara Costelloe was a starter for us at the beginning of the campaign before a spate of signings but he will probably go out on loan in the Football League again.

In attack is where the biggest changes might happen. We know Barnes is leaving and Jay Rodriguez could yet follow him. Injury issues have seen Jay sit out the second half of the season. It would be a shame to see him go and his experience means he is surely worth keeping around, if only as a squad option, if he is able to regain full fitness.

Michael Obafemi’s loan from Swansea is expected to be converted into a permanent deal for the striker, so he will join Lyle Foster as an option down the middle. Both players have been used out wide, though, with Barnes making the central spot his own.

That indicates Burnley could be in the market for another striker in the summer, but Kompany also has to decide what to do with Wout Weghorst. No goals in the Premier League on loan at Manchester United suggests he will not be staying at Old Trafford.

https://twitter.com/ODDSbible/status/1534813233793622017

Weghorst’s pressing and hold-up play may actually make him a solid fit to play up front in our current system, but his lack of goals and rumblings over his attitude make it a tough one to call. Roberts, for one, might not welcome him back at Turf Moor…

Like Nottingham Forest last season, our promotion has come partly thanks to our use of loans. Being able to keep some of our loanees is a must if we are to avoid a rebuild as Tella, Beyer, Harwood-Bellis and Maatsen have been among our best players.

https://twitter.com/JamieSmithSport/status/1646474083394105344

What’s for sure is the social media team will need to crank ouy some more videos.

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Wide open POTY race

Those four loanees above are strong contenders to win our Player of the Year. The fact a case can be made for at least half a dozen players shows our collective strength.

Personally, I’d have the top three as Beyer, Cullen and Tella, probably in that order. But you can add Brownhill, Muric and Maatsen as other worthy winners for sure.

Beyer has hardly made a mistake all season and he stepped up in a big way when Harwood-Bellis was injured. His driving runs from the back have become a key feature of our play while his passing and recovery pace marks him out as a big talent.

He gets my award but rarely has the race to win the Player of the Year been so open.

Who gets your vote for Player of the Year? Let me know in the comments, by replying to this email or by tweeting me @JamieSmithSport. Cheers!

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The edge of glory

Not many of us would have said last summer that Burnley could be promoted at Easter.

Despite a drop in our performance levels over the last month, we will be back in the Premier League if Luton do not beat Millwall and we win at Middlesbrough.

It’s worth taking a minute or two to put our season into some sort of perspective.

The close-season saw scare stories about our financial situation, with some of our fans predicting a season of struggle at worst and consolidation at best. Nobody would have expected us to romp to the title, especially after that slow start to the campaign.

Friday’s goalless draw against Sunderland was one of our stodgiest displays of the season, but it shows how far we have come. Sunderland are a good team, still in with a shot at the play-offs after coming up from League One last year, and their physical style and hard pressing caused us problems all game. They arguably deserved more than a point, having hit the crossbar and having had a goal ruled out for offside.

It means we drew two and lost one of our five games in March, with the thrashing at Manchester City in the FA Cup demonstrating the work that is still to do. Vincent Kompany will have learned a lot from that meeting with his old mentor Pep Guardiola and it is fair to say he is still making the odd mistake, despite our league position.

Starting Bailey Peacock-Farrell over Aro Muric was a really bad call at the Etihad Stadium and VK got his team wrong against Sunderland too. While the XI looked very strong on paper, playing three lads - Josh Brownhill, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Manuel Benson - who were all making their first starts in a long while was too much.

All three players understandably looked rusty and, with Anass Zaroury having another quiet day on the wing, there were too many 5-6/10 performances on the night.

Goalless draws against Blackpool and Sunderland sandwiched comfortable wins over Wigan and Hull City last month, maintaining our dominant position at the top.

But with Barnes and Zaroury both without a goal since February, our reliance on Nathan Tella to make the difference has become more notable in the past few weeks.

The recent return to training of Jay Rodriguez - still our second-top scorer despite being out for two months - will give Kompany something to think about in the run-in.

While Barnes has done better than anyone expected to learn the false nine role at this stage of his career, four league goals all season shows an area of weakness in the team.

Rodriguez has superior build-up play and has been a more reliable and consistent goalscorer throughout his career. With Barnes out of contract at the end of the season, he is surely enjoying the swansong of his decade at Turf Moor.

Lyle Foster, who missed Friday due to a passport snafu during the international break, is another option for Kompany in the coming weeks. Foster opened his account for the club with a fine finish against Wigan and it will make sense to give him more games to develop once promotion is confirmed - which could be this weekend.

It has been quite the ride, with the inevitable impact of Kompany attracting interest…

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Why VK should ignore suitors

Call me naive, but I think Kompany would be a bit daft to leave us in the summer.

A trio of new vacancies in the Premier League - at Chelsea, Tottenham and Leicester City - has prompted a fresh round of speculation about the manager’s future.

One newspaper claims Kompany is a surprise contender to take over at Tottenham, who could go third in the Premier League if they get a result against Everton tonight.

On paper, Spurs would be a great job for Kompany, but in reality that club is a mess. Highly reliant on Harry Kane, who will have a year left on his contract in the summer, Spurs are in a similar situation to Arsenal a few years ago, with their spending power having been hit hard by the need to finance the building of a shiny new stadium.

Kompany is a big enough name that he does not need to jump at the first job offer. At Burnley, he has everything he needs to develop his managerial career. There should be decent money to spend and Kompany has earned the right to control recruitment.

Chairman Alan Pace leaned heavily on Kompany’s knowledge of the Belgian league last summer and the ex-City captain’s contacts will be required again in the upcoming window, as long as Pace gets round to filing out accounts and the embargo is lifted.

Even if Burnley are relegated at the end of next season, Kompany is likely to have earned a fresh raft of plaudits for the way we will attack the Premier League.

(Apropos of nothing, I have a feeling we will be a bit like Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds next season - hugely fun to watch but slightly chaotic at the back due to our risky style.)

Kompany can afford to sit tight and wait for the right job. And not just the right job, but the right job at the right time.

The Spurs job will probably come up again within the next two years. Chelsea? Same. What’s the rush? Turf Moor is the best place for Kompany to be at the present time.

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Are you at all worried about Kompany’s future? Let me know. You can reply directly to this email, comment below the post on Substack or tweet me @JamieSmithSport.

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A kick in the balls

Seeing we’ve drawn Manchester City away - again - was honestly heartbreaking.

Burnley have made hard work of cup runs this season. Rotated teams edged past Shrewsbury Town and Crawley in the League Cup before a loss at Old Trafford.

Since knocking out Premier League side Bournemouth in round three, the FA Cup draws have been kind to us, pairing the Clarets with two League One teams.

Again, we had to battle through the ties - needing a replay then a late winner against Ipswich before taking the full 90 minutes to find a way to score last night.

It just feels like a kick in the balls to fight so hard to be given that draw.

While it’s a great #narrative for the media with Vincent Kompany returning to the club where he became a Premier League legend - and it offers a chance for the Championship’s best team to test themselves against the country’s defending champions ahead of our impending promotion - it’s also a near-certain defeat.

Since George Boyd’s famous winner at the Turf in 2015, we have played City 15 times. We have lost 14 of those games, including a 4-1 and a quartet of 5-0 hammerings.

Burnley went out in the FA Cup away to City in both 2018 and 2019. They beat us at the Turf in the League Cup in 2020. Four cup ties against City in five years is… shit.

While it will be fascinating to see if our style matches up against the likely Premier League champions - and a huge test of Kompany’s managerial skills against a master like Pep Guardiola - it is asking a lot for us to go to City and get a result.

Pretty much any other draw, perhaps barring United away again, I’d have fancied us to have a right good go and have a shot at Wembley. We had a one-in-seven chance of drawing Grimsby Town of League Two but instead we go to City. Again. FFS.

The game itself was essentially a training ground exercise of attack v defence, especially after Cian Hayes was (arguably harshly) sent off on the stroke of HT. While Hayes did not mean to catch Josh Cullen, even Scott Brown - a man who has never seen a refereeing decision he didn’t argue with - had no qualms about it.

I didn’t agree with some of our changes, though ultimately winning the game justified Kompany’s decisions. Taking off Jordan Beyer in particular seemed strange when he is so key to the way we build attacks from the back. Yes, Beyer’s minutes need to be managed after a recent knock, but Charlie Taylor is a big downgrade at centre-back.

Connor Roberts popped up with a cute late winner but I’m still trying to work out why he played on the left side of the defence rather than his usual spot on the right.

Lyle Foster had another difficult day, his confidence fading fast after the bad miss in the first half, and he probably should have been withdrawn earlier than he was.

Anyway, it’s now 12 wins from 15 games since the League Cup loss to United. It’s hard to have too many complaints, other than with whichever plonker did the draw.

Oh, it was Alan Shearer? Brilliant. Just brilliant.

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Beyer bargain deal a must

I’m 35 soon so a bit old to have a favourite player these days. But if I did, it would be Beyer. He was near-faultless again last night, one brain-fart where he gave away a foul by handballing apart, and has taken his game to new levels since THB went down.

Reports suggest Burnley have the option to buy Beyer for £3 million in the summer. If that’s true, it should be the fastest money Alan Pace has ever spent in his life.

Beyer is happy and settled at Turf Moor. He has spoken not long ago about feeling love for Burnley and parent club Gladbach. He would surely be a regular next season and it would be hard to turn down the chance to test himself in the Premier League.

While Hjalmar Ekdal has been exceptional since signing in January, Burnley’s other centre-back options (should THB not return) are the still-raw Al-Dakhil, the untrusted Luke McNally and Taylor, who would be sorely out of his depth at the higher level.

Signing Beyer permanently seems like an absolute no-brainer. Let’s get it done.

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Recommended reading

Adam’s newsletter Out and Out Football continues to be essential reading. The latest edition has our fellow NNN co-founder Kevin Robinson writing on his experiences.

That’s it for this week! As ever, feedback and views are welcome. Get in touch by replying to this email, leaving a comment below, or tweeting me @JamieSmithSport.

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Up for the cup

I’m really looking forward to tonight’s game - a change of pace from the league.

With promotion virtually assured already, this is a great chance for a proper cup run.

And not to count chickens - he says, having already pointed out we are up with 17 games to go - but the draw has really opened up for the Clarets. Two wins at home to League One teams would put Burnley into the quarter-finals.

I’m sure most of us remember the string of limp exits during the Sean Dyche era, though, so it is important that nobody gets carried away just yet.

But the weekend win at Norwich just showed how relentless we are right now.

Rumours of a depleted squad came to little as, even with a few key players missing, Burnley eased to a 3-0 victory against a side supposedly also challenging to go up.

With such a comfortable cushion to third place, Vincent Kompany might even be tempted to shift priority to the cup, though there is a big derby game on Saturday.

It’s more likely that tonight’s game will be used as a chance to blood some new faces such as Lyle Foster and Ameen Al-Dakhil, while Vitinho and Darko Churlinov are among those who could probably do with a start to improve their fitness levels.

I’d like to see Scott Twine get a run. There’s a lot of mumbling about Twine lacking physicality, but he was the best player in League One last season. If we don’t trust him to play against League One opposition, then I’m wondering when we ever will.

Putting the Premier League on notice

Jaron Vail

When you talk about football in the States, people usually bring up the ‘Big Six’ Premier League clubs. When I mention that I follow Burnley, I usually get a blank stare or a sarcastic ‘Oh, that’s cool.’

But, as I armchair follow from the States, I see several important characteristics that many of the ‘Big Six’ lack: grit, perseverance, a firm belief in themselves and their coach, just to name a few.

The January transfer business and the recent run of form is a great example of what is to come when, knock on the metaphorical piece of wood, Burnley are back in the Premier League next season.

The owners are committed to plugging holes, the coach is committed to getting the best out of the diverse talent in the dressing room, and the players are committed to winning. Winning each ball, each corner, and each one-on-one battle.

This team is forming an identity that can and will be very competitive at the next level and, let’s be honest, the talent from top to bottom in the Premier League can be very underwhelming most of the time.

Sounds strange and somewhat nonsensical, but I think going down to the Championship the way the Clarets did last season created a much needed learning experience. It has given the club a chance to refocus and Kompany a chance to make his mark on the team without worrying about relegation battles.

I may be getting ahead of myself, but it will feel so good to be at the bar, beer in hand, proudly bringing up Burnley in another mundane Premier League conversation.

For goodness sake, I could use a moment like that.

Recommended reading

Adam’s new newsletter covering football from a LGBTQ+ perspective continues. His latest post is about confronting homophobia at a Burnley game. Give it a read.

That’s it for this week. As always, feel free to get in touch with any feedback.

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Future planning

It’s transfer deadline day today and, for once, Burnley are in great shape.

No gaping holes in the squad, no star players being linked with a late move away, no obvious lack of cover for key positions, no being one injury away from a crisis.

Nice, innit?

A quartet of new arrivals have signed on this month with Vincent Kompany and Alan Pace clearly already looking ahead to next season in the Premier League.

With Taylor Harwood-Bellis out for at least a few weeks, centre-back had suddenly became a priority. Burnley moved for Iraq-born defender Ameen Al-Dakhil - who impressed on debut in the weekend FA Cup draw at Ipswich Town - then brought in Sweden international Hjalmar Ekdal, a 24-year-old who has won three senior caps.

Both players fit the same profile as most of the Kompany/Pace signings: young, hungry, high-potential players with lots to prove, from under-valued markets.

Burnley have not exactly been short of goals this season - we average a tick under two per game, scoring seven more goals than anyone else in the league - but the sharp loss of form experienced by Jay Rodriguez in recent months has been a minor concern.

With both Rodriguez and his deputy Ashley Barnes being beyond their peak, striker was clearly an area where the squad could be improved. Burnley moved for Lyle Foster, making the South Africa international our biggest signing of the season, then added Swansea City’s Michael Obafemi - a target last summer - on an initial loan.

Foster hasn’t scored since the middle of November, but Belgium has been a happy hunting ground for us this season with Manuel Benson, Anass Zaroury and Josh Cullen excellent buys from the league where Kompany cut his teeth at Anderlecht.

The deal for Obafemi seems particularly canny. A full Ireland international, Obafemi has a modest goalscoring record in the Premier League, though he hit 12 league goals in the Championship last term. Obafemi pushed to join us in the summer - bids of around £8 million were reported to be rejected - and we now have an option to buy him for around half that if he impresses over the next few months. Good business.

The most pleasing aspect of our deals in January has been the element of future planning. Burnley are in a position of strength and have made the most of it. Players want to join a successful team, one with promotion virtually guaranteed. There is a unique chance to bed into a happy dressing room, winning most weeks, with an opportunity to go on and hit the ground running in the Premier League in August.

One slight concern over the state of the squad has been the high number of loans. Harwood-Bellis and the exceptional Jordan Beyer have been borrowed. While both might well be back next term - Beyer’s quotes suggest he would be open to making a permanent move to Turf Moor - Kompany cannot count on it. Signing Ekdal and Al-Dakhil, who should both get a chance to deputise for THB, makes a lot of sense.

Two new faces at the back allowed CJ Egan-Riley and Luke McNally to go out on loan. McNally has been a rare flop from last summer’s signings but he has a chance to get some minutes under his belt and Egan-Riley should play regularly in Scotland.

The future of Nathan Tella is impossible to predict at this stage. Burnley would surely love to keep the 23-year-old, whose nine goals and two assists in the league have played a huge part in establishing our dominant position at the top of the table. Obafemi’s pace means it is tempting to see him as an alternative option to Tella, whose parent club Southampton are currently propping up the Premier League.

Looking ahead, Burnley will not have to do much in the summer window. We will need a new left-back (or to bring back Ian Maatsen) while midfield could be a focus area. Jack Cork has been superb this season but the captain will be 34 in the summer. Samuel Bastien’s energy has helped in some matches but games tend to pass him by. Josh Brownhill made 78 Premier League appearances without looking truly at home. If we make one big signing in the summer, midfield might just be the place to do it.

More firepower is always desired when teams get promoted and another new striker might well be targeted with Rodriguez recently turning 34 and Barnes out of contract. The only other player whose deal was up for renewal is Johann Gudmundsson, who literally got a new contract earlier, just as I was tweeting about him deserving one.

It all adds up to an unusually chilled deadline day for the Clarets.

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Terrible timing for Dyche

That’s in contrast to the likely chaotic scenes at Goodison Park today, with Sean Dyche having been confirmed as Everton’s new manager. The Toffees should have some money to spend after selling Anthony Gordon to Newcastle United.

Like most Burnley fans, I’m thrilled to see Dyche finally given a chance. I’ve been saying for years that Everton would be a good fit for Dyche. They really should have appointed him ages ago but now, the timing could hardly be worse for our old boss.

New managers often come into clubs in crisis, but Everton are in shocking shape. Second-bottom of the league, their disjointed squad lacks quality after a series of poor transfer windows. Several managers failing to last long has left no obvious style of play and, with striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin struggling to stay fit, they don’t score.

A trio of familiar faces in the form of Michael Keane, James Tarkowski and Dwight McNeil will help to ease the transition for Dyche, though how pleased McNeil will be to see his former gaffer remains to be seen. Starting with two tough games - against Premier League leaders Arsenal, then a Merseyside derby with Liverpool - is far from the ideal way to get up and running. Two defeats seem fairly likely.

I would expect Dyche to at least sort out Everton’s defence - Tarkowski and Keane in front of Jordan Pickford should be a strong triangle, though their defensive issues surely stem from a lack of protection in a powder-puff midfield - but the lack of creativity in their side is probably still going to be a serious issue for them.

Dyche can turn it around, but to me Everton feel a bit like Sunderland a few years ago: a big club with a now-toxic fanbase due to years of mismanagement. Relegation has been on the cards for some time. They have circled the drain - will they slide down it?

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Recommended reading

My NNN colleague Adam has launched his new newsletter, Out and Out Football, a home for LGBTQ+ football fans. The post by trans football fan James is worth a read.

That’s it from me this week. As always, you can comment below with your views for our letters section, tweet me @JamieSmithSport or email jamies88@gmail.com. Ta!

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Barnestorming

I’m still pinching myself. Did we really beat that lot 3-0? With Ashley Barnes rolling back the years, scoring as many goals in one half as he’d managed in nearly two years?

Yep.

It all happened…

After the debacle at Bramall Lane - which thankfully I missed due to being on a football-watching trip to Germany instead - I wasn’t sure what to expect of the derby.

Being beaten all ends up by a physical Sheffield United side offered opponents a blueprint to getting results off us. I expected Rovers to follow that game plan.

They didn’t. Rovers were beyond appalling. I’m not surprised their whinging fans were demanding the head of their manager, and a refund, after the game.

The first half wasn’t great. Jay Rodriguez missing out meant Barnes started in attack. Before the game I felt it was probably the right call. Half an hour in, I was fuming.

Luckily, near the end of the first half, Barnes seemed to remember he is a footballer. Two fine saves by the Rovers goalkeeper were forced and the break came with us well on top after both teams struggled to build attacks through a stodgy opening period.

Unfortunately, the second half saw us regress to the slow, stale football I’ve grown frustrated with. Until a silly Rovers player shoved Anass Zaroury into the ad boards.

A bad idea.

Zaroury woke up and, within a 20-minute spell, he had won us the game. Barnes got the headlines due to his brace but rest assured: this was really Zaroury’s day.

The skill and cross for Barnes to convert from close range was absurdly good and Zaroury’s finish for the clinching second was far more difficult than it looked.

I had been surprised to see Nathan Tella on the bench but he was sharp and hungry off the bench, making a ridiculous impact after replacing Manuel Benson.

Tella’s skill for the second and third goals was absolutely absurd. Truly disgusting. By the end, we were taking the piss. The Sunday morning worries had faded away.

Our unbeaten run stands at 12 years and counting in the derby. Long may it continue.

And long may Barnes remembering he is a footballer continue as well!

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A mindfuck of a World Cup

Adam Haworth

As a gay football fan, this World Cup has been somewhat of a mindfuck.

I love the World Cup, its dramas, its emotion. But how can you enjoy something fully, when you know its existence legitimises hate and human rights abuse? 

One solace I had was that at least the English FA was willing to show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. Harry Kane was to wear a rainbow armband.

A small gesture, yes, but an important symbolic act of defiance under the spotlight. 

That was until this morning. The FA reneged on its plan for Kane to wear the armband. Many other national associations have followed.

It's a disgrace. I'm fuming. 

You simply cannot commit to protest unless you are willing to pay a price for the protest. Otherwise, it's meaningless. Especially when the price is as measly as a yellow card: a punishment that doesn't even deter diving.

And are we really to believe that The FA announced its participation in this initiative thinking that FIFA and the Qatari organisers would simply nod it through? And if they did, why has no one got the sack for failing to foresee such an obvious eventuality? 

My one hope is that captains will defy orders from their associations and wear the armband anyway. I've set up a petition calling for Harry Kane to do so.

Please sign it.

Footballers over the last few years have shown that they are far more willing to get involved in social issues than ever before.

On the issue of LGBTQ+ rights, Kane has supported the rainbow laces campaign.

Often, the most footballers have to fear after speaking up is a negative headline in the Daily Mail.

It's time to see how strongly they truly feel about the causes they claim to support.

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Massive Morocco Fans

Burnley interest in the World Cup seemed set to be fairly limited until recently.

Connor Roberts is a regular for Wales but may not start given the emergence of Neco Williams in his position, though some experts seem to think he could do a Kieran Trippier and fill in on the left. (I’m pretending Wout Weghorst doesn’t exist.)

However, we all have a small reason not to boycott Qatar 2022 after the late call-up of Zaroury by Morocco. That news came somewhat out of nowhere, with Zaroury having represented Belgium at various age groups, but Morocco made their move in the wake of an injury to key playmaker Amine Harit. That Morocco and Belgium are in the same group adds even more interest around Zaroury’s addition to the squad.

How involved Zaroury will be is hard to predict given the circumstances of his call-up, but Morocco v Croatia has become a must-watch game for Clarets fans.

That’s on Wednesday. Fingers crossed he gets a chance to show what he can do.

Er, I guess that’s it for now with the newsletters, given we don’t play for a few weeks!

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Winning ways

On the way out of Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon, I overhead a couple of Reading fans complaining. “How are you top of the league,” they whinged.

Well, lads, I’ll let you into a little secret. You get points for winning football games.

Burnley have won three on the spin for the first time under Vincent Kompany. After a second successive Saturday comeback victory, it’s now five wins out of six games.

We have been hard to beat all season - Watford are still the only team to beat us with more than a third of the campaign now in the books - but finally we seem to have found a way to turn draws into wins on a consistent basis.

Momentum is huge in this game and Burnley have it in absolute spades right now.

Even when Reading took the lead on Saturday, against the run of play even though we had not got out of second gear with our backup midfield, I felt we had enough in the tank to come back and win. Days like Sunderland will give fans and players that belief.

And when you have a talent like Manuel Benson to throw on as a sub, all bets are off.

There will likely now be a clamour for Benson to start in midweek but he seems an ideal impact substitute to me. Johann Gudmundsson is doing a solid job helping to give both our attack and defence a more defined shape, offering a greater level of defensive protection than most of the other attackers we feature.

Being able to use JBG’s experience for an hour, then swap for the craft and flair of Benson, is the best of both worlds. Some rotation will naturally be needed due to the relentless schedule of the Championship and Benson will get starts over the season.

For now, though, he is making the most of his cameos off the bench. It is one thing coming on to take on tired defences with fresh legs and another to find a way to influence games for 90 minutes on a consistent basis.

Benson’s impact on our new-found ability to grind out wins regularly cannot be understated. But he should stay as a substitute, where he is thriving, for now at least.

ANASS ZAROURY!

After a relatively slow start to his Burnley career, Zaroury is now starting to dominate.

It took the 21-year-old a little while to nail down his place, but he has fast become one of the first names on Vincent Kompany’s team sheet. Our system is now completely centred around Zaroury, who has been handed the keys to the entire attack.

When Zaroury got off the mark in the 4-0 demolition of Swansea City there was a sense the floodgates could soon open. And that’s what has happened. Zaroury’s sensational strike against Sunderland was effectively the winning goal and he was at it again on Saturday, stooping to nod home at the back post deep into added time.

For a while I wondered if we needed both Zaroury and Benson when they seem so similar. Yes, what sort of team would need a match-winning winger on both sides?

Doh.

Burnley wasted some money over the summer - £2 million on Luke McNally looks one of our oddest deals in some time and there has been no return on the £4 million spent on Scott Twine yet due to injury - yet the £3.5 million for Zaroury looks a bargain.

Not just because he is Belgian and plays on the left, but there is something Eden Hazard-ish about Zaroury, isn’t there? In the Norwich game he gave right-back Max Aarons an absolutely torrid time, beating him half a dozen times in just 20 minutes.

In other games, Zaroury has been more on the periphery, but still popping up in key moments. Zaroury was relatively quiet against Swansea but extremely effective when he did get on the ball. He hadn’t been great against Reading, but he found a way to contribute when it mattered. And the scary thing for opponents is that Zaroury is only going to keep getting better as he continues to adapt to the rigours of English football.

That’s it for this week. Next weekend I’m away in Germany on a lads football trip so will miss our match - meaning it’s an ideal opportunity for others to contribute. If you have an idea for a piece to go in the newsletter, let me know via email or on Twitter.

Who would you compare Zaroury to, from Burnley’s past or the wider football world?

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