Burnley vs West Brom 20th February 2021

Cause for optimism after Saturday’s dross draw

Sunday’s away fixture to Tottenham Hotspur sees Burnley grab a welcome break to the two games a week that they have become accustomed to recently.

The Clarets weren’t at the races at Turf Moor on Saturday and were fortunate to come away with a point.

Martin Rickett gettyimages

However, it is important to note the monstrous fixture schedule they have faced in recent weeks with Burnley fulfilling 13 fixtures in just 42 days.

Sean Dyche felt that this played a part in the performance and therefore wasn’t too harsh in his assessment of the players in his post-match news conference:

I’ve got to be careful not to over criticise these players because they give us a lot and they continue to give us a lot”. Dyche said. “13 games in 42 days is a big schedule to complete whether you have got injuries or not.”

Visionhaus gettyimages

Operating on a tight budget with a small squad of players in this current climate has meant that a performance such as the one on Saturday was bound to happen at some stage in the season. And yet, we still shared the points with West Brom and extended our unbeaten run to 3 games.

It is possible that the players have never been under as much pressure both physically and mentally to perform as they have been over the past 8 months as the world endures a turbulent period.

Inevitably limited recovery time comes with an increased risk of injuries which The Clarets have been no stranger to this season.

Ashley Barnes, Chris Wood, Erik Pieters, Matej Vydra, Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Dale Stephens, and Robbie Brady are all currently on the sidelines meaning Dyche has limited options available.

This injury crisis resembles the one in which Burnley found themselves in last June, except this time there is more cause for optimism.

Burnley sit on 28 points with a six-point buffer between them and the relegation zone and with Fulham hot on the heels of Newcastle it is The Magpies who look the most likely to be dragged into a relegation scrap.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s fixture at White Hart Lane, there has perhaps never been a better time to play Tottenham with Jose Mourinho’s men losing five out of their last six league fixtures.

Mourinho looks like a man bereft of ideas at the moment and another defeat at the hands of Burnley could see him shown the exit door.

Last season’s trip to Spurs saw Burnley humiliated 5-0 but if we were able to nick an early goal this time around it could make things interesting.

The summer transfer window may well be a more prosperous one than in years gone by as Alan Pace and his team at ALK have pledged to invest in the club both on and off the pitch.

We have already seen the early signs of Pace’s vision unfolding with the introduction of Ai Scout and the merging of the women’s team under one banner.

In terms of on the pitch, purchasing another winger would allow youngster Dwight McNeil to share some of the creativity burden.

McNeil looks to be playing with a lot of pressure on his young shoulders this season and bringing in someone of a similar ilk would take the shackles off the England under 21 international.

Millwall winger Jed Wallace would be a good fit for the side. He is capable of causing opposition defences problems from set-pieces and has found the net seven times this term which is a respectable return at this stage of the season for a winger.

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Planning for life after James Tarkowski remains a priority and you would expect the Burnley hierarchy to go back in for Stoke City’s Nathan Collins having had a £4 million bid rebuffed in January.

Collins is somebody who would be able to slot straight into Tarkowski’s place, whilst also offering resale value in the future.

 James Williamson AMA

Although Matej Vydra has found himself a place in the starting lineup of late you would expect that the 28-year-old will be seeking assurances of regular first-team football come the summer.  If Dyche is unable to offer him this, he may seek to move on.

We would need to replace the Czech Republic international should this happen and an avid replacement in my opinion would be from dare I say it, our neighbours down the road Blackburn Rovers.

Their striker Adam Armstrong is second in the championship top scorers list this season just five goals behind the prolific Ivan Toney and boasts a 63% shot accuracy which is the third-highest in the league.

At just 24 the forward has time to develop and is able to combine his eye for goal with an ability to drop off and support the play.

Valued at 9 million on Transfermarkt he could prove to be a shrewd signing should we wish to do business with our rivals who would probably demand a higher fee for his services given his form this season.

 Rachel Holborn BRFC gettyimages

I am interested to hear your thoughts on how you think the season is going. Where do you think we will finish? What areas do we need to strengthen in? UTC!

Sources

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/championship/top-scorers

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/adam-armstrong/profil/spieler/250426

https://www.premierleague.com/results?co=1&se=363&cl=21

https://www.whoscored.com/Players/107174/Show/Jed-Wall ace

Burnley vs Fulham 17th of February 2021. 'Potent Players'

Potent Players vs Fulham

Welcome to a series called potent players, where I look at the players who stood out for Burnley in the previous game.

Today’s edition will be paying attention to Burnley’s home game with Fulham on Wednesday evening where both sides drew 1-1 in a result which suited Sean Dyche more than Scott Parker. The point saw Burnley move on to 27 points for the season and just 12 more will see them hit the magic 40-point mark. Here’s who I felt made the difference in the draw:

Jay Rodriguez

  Clive Brunskill gettyimages

Home-grown talent Jay Rodriguez has gained recognition for his performances over the past two games and his assists against Crystal Palace and Fulham are examples of the different dimension that he brings to the forward line.

Rodriguez can drop off and provide an option to feet for the central midfielders allowing Burnley to move the ball quicker.

This was evident in the equaliser on Wednesday night when the forward possessed the awareness to let Ashley Westwood’s pass run through the legs of Tosin Adarabioyo before spinning the centre back which afforded him the time and space to pick out Ashley Barnes.

An injury to Chris Wood has meant that the 31-year-old has been able to showcase his talents from the off in the past two weeks and Dyche praised his ability to be an all-round threat to Premier league defences:

He has been a bit up and down with injuries,” said Dyche. “He has had a few injuries which have upset his true run in the side in terms of playing every week.

“But he is a very good player and a well-rounded centre-forward. He offers more to us than just goals, which is the same as all of our centre-forwards.”

Rodriguez looks in line to face his former club West Brom on Saturday and Sam Allardyce’s side may be the perfect opponent for him to score his 100^th league goal. The Baggies have conceded 55 goals so far this term which is the most in the league.

If Rodriguez were to get on the scoresheet and guide Burnley to a win, it would all but secure their place in the Premier League for a sixth consecutive season.

Ashley Westwood

 Simon Stacepoole /Offside gettyimages

Westwood put in a shift against Fulham demonstrating an excellent passing range, most notably with his superb one-touch ball over the top to Barnes.

The central midfielder is also capable of hitting a mean strike from distance and did so on Wednesday picking the ball from out of the sky and volleying it at Alphonse Areola.

Areola gathered the ball in his gloves, but had it gone a few inches in either direction it may have been a different story.

Dyche can rely upon Westwood to be a leader within the camp who constantly bellow’s out instructions to those around him and has also stepped into the role of captain in the absence of Ben Mee in the past.

Since the return of Jack Cork to the starting 11 Westwood has been able to venture forward more as Cork is primarily a sitting midfielder.

The engine that Westwood has at his disposal means he often finds himself in a variety of positions ranging from deep in his own half to sometimes on the wing depending on how the play progresses.

The former Crewe Alexandra man could come up against Jake Livermore on Saturday in an intriguing midfield battle where the result may depend on which player is able to see more of the ball.

James Tarkowski

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Although Tarkowski looks set to depart Turf Moor in the summer he is not letting his future affect his performances in the present.

The centre back captained the side on Wednesday whilst Mee carried out the mandatory 6-day concussion recovery period due to his nasty collision with Jordan Ayew at Selhurst Park last Saturday.

Tarkowski gave the ball away in the middle of the pitch but quickly made up for this mistake by making an excellent recovery tackle swiping the ball from the feet of Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

His diagonal passes from the back are an effective way of getting the ball up to the front men and his crossfield ball to Matt Lowton enabled Westwood to glide the ball over the top to Barnes in a move which consisted of three touches.

It has been argued that had he played for another team with a more attractive style of play he may have nailed down a regular place in the England squad by now. This may have an element of truth to it with Burnley being notoriously tagged as “anti-football” by David Luiz in April 2019.

The phrase ‘mud sticks’ springs to mind with Gareth Southgate opting to play a possession-based style in his time as Three Lions manager. But, if the 28-year-old was given the chance on the international stage, I’m certain he would deliver.

Unfortunately for Burnley Tarkowski has made it known that he sees his future elsewhere in an interview with The Daily Telegraph back in November citing his desire “to play at the top level” as a reason for wanting to leave The Clarets.

However, he also told The Lancashire Telegraph in the same month that he remains committed to giving his all for Burnley throughout the remainder of his stay in Lancashire:

I’ve got relationships at Burnley that I will want to keep for the rest of my life, so for me to just down tools and say, ‘this is it’, it wouldn’t be right and I wouldn’t want to. I want to perform for Burnley, they have given me a great opportunity to play in the Premier League, something which I’ve loved over the last four years.

“I signed a contract and I’ve got to stick to that and play it out, and I want to give my best for Burnley. I’m not just going to let it be a case of getting the next year or whatever out of the way.”

One thing’s for sure when Tarkowski and Mee sit alongside each other at the back, The Clarets make for a solid outfit and with Mee likely to be back in the side against West Brom it gives Burnley the solid foundations for a clean sheet.

My prediction

I predict tomorrow’s game to be a tight affair with West Brom out for whatever they can get, they will make it difficult for Burnley to find a way through. But that being said, I just feel performances in recent weeks give the home side the edge in this fixture and I’m going for a 1-0 win for Burnley… Let me know your thoughts!

Sources

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/18863482.tarkowski-explains-turned-new-contract-burnley/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/11/11/james-tarkowski-exclusive-refusing-sign-new-burnley-contract/

https://www.premierleague.com/stats/top/clubs/goals_conceded?se=363

https://www.joe.ie/sport/premier-league-issue-new-rules-on-concussion-including-a-tunnel-doctor-to-assess-replays-452705#:~:text=The%20assessment%20of%20the%20player,the%20time%20of%20the%20injury.

Crystal Palace vs Burnley 13th February 2021

 

Burnley’s trip to the capital ends in delight after they batter Crystal Palace 3-0 at Selhurst Park

Burnley equalled their highest ever away win in the Premier league dominating Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday to win by three goals to nil.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson Jay Rodriguez and Matt Lowton were the ones responsible for inflicting the misery on Palace who were second best all afternoon.

The Clarets came firing out of the blocks grabbing their first goal with just five minutes gone. Gudmundsson was alive in the box to take advantage of a defensive mixup between Scott Dann and Patrick van Aanholt, shifting the ball into space before arrowing it into the top left corner of the net.

Julian Finney gettyimages

They say goals are like buses, you wait for one for ages and then two come along at once. Well the Icelandic winger can certainly vouch for this as he has now exceeded his Premier League goal tally for the whole of last season having come up with the equaliser against Brighton last week.

Sean Dyche didn’t have to wait long to see his side pick up another goal when Rodriguez took the shortest of jumps in a crowded box to prod home Ashley Westwood’s pinpoint corner with 10 minutes played.

Rodriguez faced criticism from some fans after missing the target from close range in the defeat to Bournemouth on Tuesday, but the goal against Palace will have helped silence those critics.

 Charlotte Wilson/Offside gettyimages 

He provided the assist for Lowton’s stunning volley three minutes after half-time. Lowton set off on a solo run beating two men then playing a give and go with Rodriguez who dinked a perfectly weighted ball over Palace’s backline.

The right-back patiently waited for the ball to drop to the right height hitting it sweetly as it spun past a helpless Vicente Guaita in a goal of the season contender.

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Westwood and Ashley Barnes both had opportunities to make the scoreline look even grimmer for Roy Hodgson’s men within 15 minutes of the third goal.

Barnes loitered outside the area after tangling with Luka Milivojević and sent Cheikhou Kouyaté’s clearance back from where it came but his effort deflected into the arms of Guaita.

Westwood’s strike was not too dissimilar to Barnes’s in terms of the venom it was struck with, except he was unable to keep his shot on target as it rippled the side netting from an identical position.

The Eagles struggled to create any notable chances in the game but did have an opportunity to claim a consolation goal through substitute Andros Townsend.

Townsend controlled Nathaniel Clyne’s cross yards away from goal. It sat up nicely for him to hit on the half volley, but he overhit the ball causing it to fly into the stands and Nick Pope claimed his eighth clean sheet of the season.

Injuries to Ben Mee and Erik Pieters in the closing stages left the Burnley physios concerned. Mee collided with the elbow of Jordan Ayew as he attempted to stop the striker in his tracks.

The skipper lay still on the floor for five minutes and had to be carried off on a stretcher but thankfully he was said to be up and about within minutes of being taken off the pitch.

Pieters went down with a groin injury once play resumed most likely due to the lengthy delay in proceedings and was replaced by Phil Bardsley.

Dyche dedicated the win to his long-time assistant Ian Woan whose father Alan sadly passed away at the age of 90:

“It’s a big win, you know life can be tricky, my assistant Ian Woan lost his father to Covid and his dad used to play here, his dad played at Palace. It’s strange how the world turns around but for Woany and his family today that’s a really nice win for them”.

Sources

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/12215078/crystal-palace-vs-burnley-preview-team-news-stats-prediction-kick-off-time-live-on-sky-sports

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50gsyYxJ9_I 

https://www.premierleague.com/players/6210/J%C3%B3hann-Gudmundsson/overview

https://www.premierleague.com/clubs/43/Burnley/season-history

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/12217239/dyche-delighted-with-team-performance

Burnley vs Bournemouth 9th of February 2021

Burnley bow out of FA Cup after Surridge and Stanislas secure spot in quarter-final for Bournemouth

Burnley waved goodbye to their hopes of a place in the FA Cup quarter-final on Tuesday evening after goals from Sam Surridge and Junior Stanislas meant that Bournemouth earned a place in the last eight of the competition.

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An administrative error prior to kick-off was perhaps a sign of things to come when Erik Pieters was removed from the starting lineup and replaced by 21-year-old Anthony Driscoll-Glennon who was given his first start for The Clarets.

This came about thanks to some excellent sporting conduct by Bournemouth’s head of media Anthony Marshall who informed Sean Dyche that Pieters was ineligible to play due to picking up yellow cards in the previous two rounds.

Had the Dutch full-back featured in the tie, Burnley could have been thrown out of the cup and may have received a hefty fine, but this wasn’t to matter anyway as The Cherries were worthy winners on the night.

It was the championship outfit who looked the fresher of the two teams under the temporary stewardship of Jonathan Woodgate who is in caretaker charge following the sacking of Jason Tindall.

Stanislas had the first effort on goal for the visitors volleying past the post before Philip Billing came close to opening the scoring in the penalty area but was unable to direct his shot beyond Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

Surridge got Bournemouth off the mark inside the first 21 minutes dispatching Jack Stacey’s cross to put the ball into an open goal.

Stacey made a darting run around the outside of David Brooks laying the ball on a plate for Surridge to give the away side the lead.

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Peacock-Farrell had to be alert to keep out another effort this time from one of his own players in Dale Stephens who unintentionally headed the ball towards his own goal from Bournemouth’s set-piece as Woodgate’s men went into half-time on top.

The Clarets came into the second half with a greater sense of urgency with Matej Vydra registering their first shot on target three minutes after the interval when he forced Asmir Begovic to clear the ball behind for a corner.

Dwight McNeil caused Begovic more problems by dispossessing the Bournemouth skipper Steve Cook in the middle of the pitch then hitting a swerving shot from distance that the Bosnia and Herzegovina keeper kept out with both hands.

Jay Rodriguez was presented with a glorious opportunity to equalise on 56 minutes when the ball fell to him in the box after Vydra’s miscued attempt, but the forward skied the ball over the bar and held his head in his hands.

Stanislas settled the game in the final three minutes burying a penalty after Billing’s audacious flick with his back caused Long to clip Surridge in the area. The 31-year-old converted the spot-kick against his former club to send his current side through to the quarter-final for the first time in 64 years.

 

Gareth Copley gettyimages

Woodgate has certainly put himself in with a chance of earning the permanent job at The Vitality Stadium after recording back-to-back victories in his two games in charge.

The Bournemouth hierarchy are still in the process of interviewing candidates for the role which means Woodgate is likely to remain in the dugout for Saturday’s game with Nottingham Forest at The City Ground.

Premier League survival has always been the primary focus for Burnley and with favourable fixtures coming up against Crystal Palace Fulham and West Brom in the next week, the FA Cup could soon be a distant memory.

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3HY-BIMuCo&t=209s

Burnley vs Brighton 7th of February 2021

 

Gudmundsson ends barren spell without a goal to earn Burnley a point at home to Brighton and create eight-point cushion above the drop zone.

Turf Moor played host to a 1 all draw in front of the Sky Sports cameras as neither Burnley nor Brighton were able to forge a win in Saturday’s 3 o’clock kick-off. However, it was perhaps a result that suited all parties with both sides establishing considerable distance between themselves and the bottom three.

Lewis Dunk struck first for Brighton before Johann Berg Gudmundsson cancelled out their lead to level the scores in the second half.

The Clarets showed greater attacking intent in the early stages going close through James Tarkowski and Dwight McNeil. Tarkowski was unable to adjust his feet at the back post when Ashley Westwood’s corner was helped on by Matej Vydra and Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez reacted quickly to nullify the danger.

McNeil then tried to deceive Sanchez as he attempted to bend his freekick in between the post from an awkward angle but the Spanish stopper was aware of his intentions and palmed the ball behind.

Brighton capitalised on Burnley’s missed opportunities from Pascal Gross’s corner which Dunk steered beyond Nick Pope on the 36th-minute mark to give Graham Potter’s side even more cause for celebration off the back of their 1-0 victory at Anfield in midweek.

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Hungry for a second goal Seagulls striker Aaron Connolly unleashed a venomous strike from 25 yards out forcing Pope to get a strong hand to the ball and concede a corner.

McNeil was involved in the last action of the first half firing straight at the gloves of the Brighton number one in added time meaning both keepers went in at the break having had a busy afternoon thus far.

Brighton’s quest for a fourth successive clean sheet was ended eight minutes into the second half through Johann Berg Gudmundsson who scored for the first time in 18 months. Gudmundsson steadied himself by taking a touch before blasting the ball over the line after Erik Pieters’ piledriver was punched in his direction.

Clive Brunskill gettyimages

Ashley Barnes was ecstatic as he saw his header ripple the back of the net from Gudmundsson’s cross moments later only for the linesman to raise his flag up for offside and Barnes soon cut a dejected figure.

Clive Brunskill gettyimages

Sean Dyche opted for Vydra to partner Barnes up front and the 28-year-old looked eager to impress his manager in the absence of regular starter Chris Wood.

The Czech Republic international would have done his future chances no harm should he have converted Westwood’s one-touch layoff, but Sanchez thwarted his toke poked effort to ensure both teams went home with a point.

Dyche came away from the game perplexed at the fact that they were unable to get the result over the line but was pleased with how his side took the game to Brighton after going behind:

“I don’t want to cry because there’s other games you get something from and maybe you could argue you don’t deserve it but here I thought it was a head‑scratcher that we didn’t get all three points with the performance like that. It’s not always how many chances you create, it’s the quality but I think there was both.”

Graham Potter took positives from the fact that the seagulls were able to extend their unbeaten run to 5 games by withstanding the threat that Burnley posed to their backline:

“Burnley put us under an incredible amount of pressure in the second half, lesser teams would have gone under but we didn’t, we got a point and we’re delighted.”

 

Sources:

https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1485372/Preview/England-Premier-League-2020-2021-Burnley-Brighton

https://www.skysports.com/football/burnley-vs-brighton/preview/429058

 

Burnley vs Man City 3rd of February 2021

Lucky 13 as City record 13 straight wins in all competitions to stay top of the table after win at Turf Moor

Manchester City regained their three-point lead at the top of the table after they triumphed 2-0 over Sean Dyche’s Burnley at Turf Moor.

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Gabriel Jesus got City off to a flyer when he put them in front just two minutes in. Nick Pope blocked Bernardo Silva’s close-range strike but parried the ball in the direction of Jesus who nodded it into the back of the net.

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This was a rare mistake from the 28-year-old goalkeeper who has a 78.4% save percentage this season which is the highest of any goalkeeper in the league.

Raheem Sterling boosted City’s advantage eight minutes before half-time when he got on the end of İlkay Gündogan’s menacing cross to score on his 400^th club appearance.

Sterling captained the side on this occasion and has been involved in 17 of The Citizens 41 Premier League goals this campaign.

Alex Pantling gettyimages

Pope made amends for his first-half error by preventing Sterling from finding another goal four minutes into the second period when he closed down the angle to keep out the forward’s shot in the penalty area.

Riyad Mahrez has proved a tough opponent for Burnley in previous games scoring eight times against them which is more than any other side he has faced.

The Algerian international had the ball in the net on 57 minutes but the linesman held his flag up and the goal was ruled out for offside.

Matej Vydra then had a rare effort on goal as he controlled Ashley Westwood’s ball over the top but couldn’t keep his volley down.

BT Sport commentator Robbie Savage thought James Tarkowski was fortunate not to concede a penalty when he clipped Jesus in the box with 16 minutes left but referee Martin Atkinson saw otherwise.

Dyche may have had an eye on Saturday’s fixture against Brighton when he brought on Joel Mumbongo and Josh Benson in the final stages as City already had the game wrapped up.

He has had to rely on the youngsters a lot in recent weeks after injuries to Charlie Taylor, Ashley Barnes, Chris Wood, Robbie Brady and Josh Brownhill have meant that there has only been a handful of players to choose from.

The Clarets chief will be without a fully fit squad again as Graham Potter’s Brighton come to town. Brownhill has the best chance of being involved out of the injured parties after nursing a knock to his foot and Dyche spoke of the challenges these injuries have presented in his post-match interview with BBC Sport:

“That’s a challenge that we’ve had ongoing since last season really, we are scratching our heads a little bit because we get everyone fit then four or five get injured again”.

Gareth Copley gettyimages

Pep Guardiola takes his side to Anfield on Sunday knowing a win will almost certainly quash Liverpool’s hopes for the title. Jesus has led the line for City since Sergio Aguero’s absence due to COVID-19 and could do so again on Sunday.

James Williamson gettyimages

Guardiola was pleased with the striker’s performance at Turf Moor and feels his goal will only add to his confidence going into Sunday’s clash with the current champions:

“Strikers need a goal for their confidence, and he played really good, keeping the ball, making movements, scoring the goal, and he had other chances”.

Sources:

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/12206242/burnley-vs-man-city-preview-team-news-prediction-stats-kick-off-time

https://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/pl-city-win-again-to-go-three-clear/188911

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55820951

https://www.mancity.com/news/mens/burnley-v-manchester-city-3-feb-2021-premier-league-match-preview-63747690

https://twitter.com/BurnleyOfficial/status/1356989770958655488?s=20