A blueprint for Burnley
Plus: RIP Andy Lochhead
No game this weekend, which got me thinking about the summer overhaul needed…
A blueprint for Burnley
At the start of this season, I had Crystal Palace as one of the teams we would be looking to finish above. But, going into the international break, they sit 13 points better off and have an FA Cup semi-final to look forward to after dismantling Everton.
Palace took a big risk last year but I increasingly think their approach is the right one. It offers Burnley a path to follow ahead of what is certain to be a very busy summer.
Whether Burnley survive or not, most fans probably agree a squad overhaul is overdue.
With a number of players out of contract at the end of the season, the timing could be right for Burnley to embark on a similar type of window that Palace had last summer. As well as changing their manager, Palace let a host of players leave on free transfers.
Gary Cahill, Andros Townsend, Patrick van Aanholt, Scott Dann, James McCarthy, Wayne Hennessey and Mamadou Sakho had all contributed to Palace staying safe in the past few years, but they were deemed to be surplus to requirements by Palace. Those players are all 30 or older, allowing Palace to bring down the squad’s age.
In their place came nearly £80 million of fresh talent, with Palace only having been outspent by Manchester United, Newcastle United and Arsenal over the past year.
It was no trolley dash, though. Palace spent wisely, investing on players they intend to develop, who will increase in value. They did not pay a fee for anyone over 26 years old.
A combined £35 million was spent on defenders Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen, who joined from Chelsea and Lyon. That is a lot of money, but for context Burnley have spent about £25 million on Ben Gibson and Nathan Collins in recent years. We may assume Collins will be a starter next season, but at present that defensive duo have made a handful of Premier League appearances for the Clarets between them.
Palace paid about £25 million for a new-look attack of Odsonne Edouard and Jean-Philippe Mateta and less than £15 million to bring in Michael Olise and Will Hughes.
If a Premier League club has done better business than £8 million for the ludicrous, luminous talent of Olise in the last couple of seasons, I would love to hear about it.
Not all of the summer signings have been smash hits, with the biggest impact being made by loan star Conor Gallagher. Palace would probably have found it hard to keep Gallagher next season anyway, but Chelsea’s crisis makes a deal virtually impossible.
Palace now have one of the league’s most exciting attacks. Against Everton, they fielded a front five of Eberechi Eze, Gallagher, Olise, home hero Wilf Zaha and Mateta, making light work of chewing up the Toffees after weathering an early storm.
Only Chelsea and Liverpool have beaten Palace since New Year’s Day, with the Eagles having the chance to finish in the top half of the table if they continue their fine form.
Looking back, it is easy to forget what a risk Palace were taking. Roy Hodgson is one of the most experienced and knowledgable managers around. He was also working for his boyhood club and, presumably given he took the Watford job, in no rush to retire.
It would have been easy for Palace to give Hodgson another year, renew the contracts of players like Cahill, McCarthy and Van Aanholt, and probably finish about 15th. Many people, myself included, were tipping Palace to be right in the relegation scrap.
They opted for another path. Like Burnley, Palace had not spent a lot in the last few seasons, allowing the club to build up cash reserves (Palace’s joint-owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer are both billionaires, which also helps them quite a bit, obviously…) Palace have the natural advantage of being in London, generally a boost for attracting players, though Selhurst Park does not have a much bigger capacity than the Turf.
Remember: pre-Covid Burnley were debt-free and had tens of millions of pounds in the bank. That rainy-day fund could have gone on the squad, instead of lining the pockets of the old owners, but I digress. The point is that Burnley have been in the position to do what Palace did last year, but we sold the club down the river instead.
Palace spent a lot, but the money has mostly been a smart investment. Guehi had never played in the Premier League before, but is now on the brink of making his senior England debut. Andersen was part of a ropey Fulham team last season, but is now a key cog in the bottom half’s tightest defence. Guehi’s value has probably doubled within a year and Olise is already worth several times what Palace paid. They will get most of that £80 million worth of spending last summer back if and when Olise and Guehi move on in the next few years, allowing them to invest well again.
Look at our transfers in recent seasons and Maxwel Cornet is one of the few players to have increased in value since coming to the club. Palace have also sold well when they had to, bringing in a frankly very silly £50 million for the limited right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, whose development since leaving Selhurst Park has been non-existent. Palace have since brought Tyrick Mitchell through a blossoming academy into the side with the left-back having followed Guehi into the England squad in this break.
Key to Palace’s success this season has been Patrick Vieira, who replaced Hodgson. Vieira’s management career to date had been a mixed bag. The former Arsenal captain had been relatively successful in MLS with New York City FC, but he was sacked by Ligue 1 side Nice after a string of losses and an exit from European competition.
Vieira is an iconic figure, one of the Premier League’s greatest midfielders, and he won both the World Cup and the European Championship with France. He is a huge name, helping attract players to Palace, and he has transformed their style completely.
Under Hodgson, Palace’s tactics were broadly similar to Sean Dyche’s at Burnley. Both managers are pragmatic, focused on defensive solidity first and foremost. To be blunt, most neutrals would not watch either side if they were playing in their garden.
Vieira has changed that with the talented trio of Zaha, Eze and Olise worth anyone’s hard-earned cash. While Palace had teething problems earlier in the season - their issues defending set pieces were clear in the 3-3 draw at the Turf - Vieira has ironed them out. At 45, he is still learning, though is just five years younger than Dyche.
The elephant in the room here is Dyche. Nobody is doubting the incredible job Dyche has done at Burnley. He will deservedly be remembered as one of the most important figures in the club’s history, having gives us two amazing promotion seasons and a European campaign that will live long in the memory for all of us who experienced it.
But… is Dyche the man to lead the kind of overhaul Burnley need in the summer?
I’m not sure. Whether or not Burnley survive - the odds are now well against us after (lucky) wins for Everton and Leeds United since we last played - it is surely time for a number of the squad’s older faces to be moved on, as Palace did with theirs last year.
Jack Cork’s face apparently no longer fits despite our upturn in form coinciding with him replacing Ashley Westwood, while fellow midfielder Dale Stephens is also surely going to be leaving having made no impact whatsoever in his two years at the club.
Strikers Jay Rodriguez, Matej Vydra and Ashley Barnes have scored two Premier League goals between them this season, while back-up full-backs Erik Pieters and Phil Bardsley have only featured sporadically. Given Aaron Lennon has done a good job in his recent run in the side few would oppose him being given another year, but in truth it would be no great loss if most of the out of contract lads were to depart.
That would leave gaping holes in the squad with at least half a dozen new signings needed, not even taking into account the departure of James Tarkowski and the very likely interest in Cornet, as well as Nick Pope, who is back in the England squad. Ben Mee is also yet to sign his new contract - a situation Dyche surely needs to resolve.
The signs are that ALK Capital and chairman Alan Pace intend to further target the European market and make signings with resale value like Cornet, which perhaps does not marry with Dyche’s known personal preference for experienced older pros.
A mix-and-match approach could work, of course. Cork and Barnes are reported to have clauses in their deals to extend by a year and maybe we hand Lennon, Rodriguez and Pieters fresh terms to stay on as squad cover, while targeting a few Cornet-style signings to boost the first team. But Palace did their overhaul in one fell swoop.
Burnley need the same transformation as the Eagles. Can we pull it off with Dyche? Ironically, Dyche has long been linked with Palace, but they offer an alternative plan.
Birthdays and anniversaries
Burnley legend Jelle Vossen is 33 today. Apparently he has scored 17 league goals this season in Belgium for Zulte Waregem. Bring him home, I say.
Ian Lawson from the Championship team of 1959–60 will turn 83 this Thursday.
Lawson was mainly used as cover for Jimmy McIlroy during that title-winning campaign but he scored a key winner against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Losses in our two previous matches #OnThisDay but we beat Plymouth Argyle 2-1 away in 2009. A glorious winner from Robbie Blake to reward fans who made the trip.
RIP Andy Lochhead
This week saw the sad news that Burnley great Andy Lochhead had died aged 81.
A tough striker who scored over 100 goals from more than 200 games for the Clarets, Andy went on to play in the 1969 FA Cup final for Leicester City. Andy also later had a successful spell with Aston Villa, playing in the League Cup final in 1971.
Our thoughts are with Andy’s family. There is a fundraiser here - donate if you can.
Thought for the day
Why is Jurgen Klopp so obsessed with us? Get a hobby, mate, it’s getting very weird.