PREMIER LEAGUE PRIMER: Claret and Blue and the Curses of Success

Lads on tour! Burnley F.C.’s unexpected seventh place finish in the 2017-18 season meant we would see, for the first time in 50-some years, Burnley in European football. They were not to be traveling very far, only over to Scotland to take on Aberdeen, whom they beat over two legs, needing extra time, but still, European football is European football.

Here we sit on the 2nd of August, following Burnley’s first qualifying round of the Europa League and subsequent two-leg victory in a European competition, but a glaring fact remains. The Claret and Blue have been almost eerily quiet in the window. Questions are now to be asked, what to make of this Burnley side?

Why should there be concern? Burnley finished seventh with the team they’ll be entering this season with. Why change something that is not broken? The problem is within their success. This is quite literally a once in a generational event for Burnley fans. A side picked by some to get relegated defied the odds to qualify for the Europa League.

With this comes the added pressure, and perhaps added expectation, of their newfound success. Surely Burnley fans will be reasonable with their side, especially with the brilliance of Sean Dyche, but going too far can be a detriment in and of itself. A run cut short in Turkey obviously robs Clarets a chance to see their side in one of football’s top two international club competitions. A run into the group stages, however, complicates fixtures added mid-week bouts to the tough league and domestic cups. Burnley will have to deal with the pressure but have seemed wary to add reinforcements.

The curious thing of Burnley is that while things have officially been quiet, so too has the rumor mill. Dyche said, of the matter,

"The bar got set high here with one of the first domestic transfers with James Maddison going to Leicester … I think that pushed the boundaries and then it's a knock-on effect - everyone wants everything they can get. It does make it difficult but it's not new to us, we've been down this road before." (Source: Sky Sports)

This is not a condemnation of Burnley for being unwilling to spend money. There have, in fairness, also been links to a small handful of players. Swansea’s Sam Clucas and Alfie Mawson have drawn most of the attention, but Burnley have already missed out on Mawson with his move to Fulham finalized. West Brom’s Craig Dawson and Jay Rodriguez were also the center of some rumors, but again, nothing was concrete and Burnley seems to have lost interest in either man. Now, though, attention turns to Ben Gibson of Middlesbrough to shore up the back line. Still, as we approach the second set of fixtures in Burnley’s European escapade, one cannot help but notice the concerns in Burnley’s set-up that could be opened up as they could venture deeper into more than one competition.

Tactics:

To understand the dilemma, we must understand the system. Burnley run a 4-4-1-1 or a 4-4-2, depending on available personnel. A 4-4-1-1 is how Dyche implemented his men in Scotland, which makes sense considering Ashley Barnes’ minor knock. In attack, Chris Wood played on top with Jeff Hendrick right behind. Hendrick is the perfect man at this attacking-mid spot with his ability to move forward with the ball and link up well with the lone man on top, providing an outlet to drop deeper too if Wood needs. At Turf Moor, however, Dyche set his men up in a 4-4-2 as he started Sam Vokes alongside Chris Wood with Hendrick coming off the bench in extra time. Ashley Barnes was also recovered from his knock and joined the squad coming in for Wood and scoring the penalty to seal the deal.

Johann Gudmundsson and Aaron Lennon on the wings provide an outlet of pace. Gudmundsson is a brilliant free kick taker and cross deliverer while Lennon went from falling out of favor at Everton to nailing himself into the starting eleven. In the midfield is Jack Cork, who was the only non-defender or goalie to play every minute in the league, and Ashley Westwood, two men who play more defensively allowed Burnley to commit more to their defensive mindedness. Westwood is generally a back-up for Steven Defour, who was out injured for the first leg, but Westwood has looked strong for Burnley and played a picture-perfect long ball to Chris Wood for the first goal of the second leg against Aberdeen. Meanwhile, Cork’s 15 blocks from the midfield were vital in Burnley’s 191 total (leading the league) and aid in understanding exactly why Burnley’s tactic is indeed ‘the low block.’ Against Aberdeen he also proved able to play a role as the clutch scorer as he headed home the winner in the first extra time period. 

Speaking of blocks, both top-choice center-backs, Ben Mee and James Tarkowski, finished in the top five in blocks with 43 for Tarkowski and 42 for Mee. The only duo with more blocks this season than they were Brighton’s center-backs and two league-leaders in Shane Duffy (59) and Lewis Dunk (58). Their two full-backs are defensive-minded without question. Stephen Ward can be interchanged with Charlie Taylor, who offers more going forward and delivered a brilliant cross on Cork's headed winner. Ward, however, has been solid on the left side though if there's a spot with depth, it has to be left-back. On the right is Matt Lowton, who has been sublime for them as well. The defense defends narrowly which clogs the center of the pitch, which can force many poor angled or long shots and is a prime reason for the vast number of blocks.

In net, you run into some complications, the most recent of which being Nick Pope’s severe shoulder injury suffered against Aberdeen. Pope was a revelation when Tom Heaton went down with his own shoulder injury last season. Pope was selected to the English World Cup side as a reward for a season well done for the outstanding shot-stopper. Heaton is expected back soon, but until then it’s Anders Lindegaard in net for Burnley.

The Dilemmas of Transfer Season:

Sean Dyche does not like to change up his starting eleven. He does so generally out of necessity and necessity alone. However, if you are to make a run even just into the Europa League group stages, you need depth to push you through the competition. Depth is now vital for every side, especially those in Europe. And yet, you have the problem that Burnley, despite the money in the sport, despite their seventh-place finish, still is a smaller club when you compare them to the giants of England.

Looking at those that Burnley have reported interest in, too, makes total sense. Jay Rodriguez fit brilliantly in a defensive West Brom side at left-mid and can displace Aaron Lennon, allowing him to offer pace off the bench. Craig Dawson finished 15^th in the Premier League in blocks and is exceptional in the air offering a third-choice center-back, all the while offering cover at right-back. Sam Clucas is a big and versatile player who can slot in on the left, attacking-mid, but generally favors center-mid. Alfie Mawson would have been Sean Dyche’s dream come true as a center-back: a mountain of a center-back who is brilliant in the air, a massive set-piece threat, outstanding with his head, and (similar to Dawson) has a couple of goals in him. Similarly, the links to Ben Gibson now also make sense. He was quality for Middlesbrough when in the Premier League and also gives a bit of added technical quality in the back of the pitch as well with an ability to play from out back, but primarily is strong in the air and clearing the ball while maintaining a strong physical presence that Burnley demands.

The links imply to me that the MO of Burnley is first and foremost and unwillingness to compromise their current tactic. We have seen teams like Swansea buy players and not really have a set plan in place for them. Burnley’s style requires full belief from players and it is why James Tarkowski and Ben Mee have shined, and why Kevin Long has looked strong when filling in, and why Michael Keane fetched a massive price from Everton for Burnley but has struggled with the Toffees. This sort of belief is why it’s so difficult to find players to bring in.

Burnley have seen many players come and go. The aforementioned Keane, Andre Gray, Danny Ings, these are players who had strong seasons with Burnley at one point or another, left for sizeable fees, and Burnley continued forward. Burnley has never had to deal with what is on the horizon this season when losing these key players. They have arguably more talent than ever, without debate, but Dyche’s style of tight defense and a same starting eleven could see cracks in it without the added reinforcement Burnley needs.

Looking Ahead:

What of Burnley’s future? First, they drew 1-1 in Aberdeen thanks to a late goal from super-sub Sam Vokes, without, Robbie Brady, Ashley Barnes, or Steven Defour available. With Pope out, pressure falls on Lindegaard’s back in net to do the job and keep out any shots that aren’t blocked already by the Burnley back-line. Dyche only made one sub not as a result of injury, another sign of his trust in his starting eleven and unwillingness to waver his system, bringing Hendrick off for Vokes in a successful hunt for a second goal and a glimpse at the 4-4-2 he also fancies running.

Burnley were able to advance through a strong second match performance. Robbie Brady suffered a knock in a friendly and Defour remained unavailable, but Barnes' availability was a boost to the Clarets. We saw Chris Wood score the opener, but Aberdeen respond quickly. It took till extra time for Burnley to see themselves through, but it is a cause of great celebration. Burnley continue their European adventures into another country now as they head to Turkey to take on Istanbul Basakeshir and notable striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

Even with the success of advancing to another Europa League round, Burnley faces a plethora of questions heading into the season, both in play and in the transfer window, often times though these two phases are intertwined. Will Dyche be more willing to rotate with a heavier schedule? Would that rotation be made easier with the injection of additional first-team talent? A question, now delayed, is also at goalie position and whether or not it’s a matter of time before Nick Pope fetches a massive fee, potentially next summer.

As I mentioned previously, but it’s worth repeating, this is not a condemnation of Burnley’s business. With the footballing world increasingly moving in the direction of massive amounts of money being spent on players, it is merely surprising, not bad, to see a surprise team stick with its same squad and not giving into the pressures of modern football. That said, transfer season exists for a reason. There are still holes to fill for Burnley, there are still opportunities for players to leave as well. Something interesting about Burnley though is that they are almost so low-key there are very few of their players brought up in transfer speculation, with the exception of Pope pre-injury and Tarkowski as of late.

The Burnley system was massively successful last season and led them to heights rarely seen by teams of their caliber. We now must wait and see if they can follow it up this season, or will they become found out in year number three with fixtures catching up to them. Much can change over the course of a season. We saw with Leicester how quickly goodwill can be lost from ‘miracle seasons.’ The hope among the Clarets is that their trajectory remains on the up-and-up.

Link to Sky article quoting Sean Dyche: http://www.skysports.com/transfer/news/12691/11444123/burnley-manager-sean-dyche-unfazed-by-lack-of-signings