Boring Burnley?

Plus: I hate being right

Shorter newsletter than usual today - apparently it’s a bank holiday for something idk.

Boring Burnley?

Burnley sit fourth in the Championship, won on Saturday and are unbeaten in nine.

So it’s all going great, yeah? Hmmm. I’m not so sure. Call me a grumpy old man.

But I have some reservations.

To put it plainly… I’m a bit bored. Watching Burnley is quite boring for me this season.

Vincent Kompany deserves huge credit for implementing such a radical change of style, coupled with an almost entirely new squad of players after 91 new signings.

But…. but. I just don’t find our matches very exciting to watch right now.

Intellectually, I understand our patient passing and the slow build-up play. It is designed to bring out the opposition, after which we spring forward. I get it.

I just find my attention drifting when Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Connor Roberts are rolling five-yard passes to each other for what feels like more than half of the game.

Burnley had 72% of the ball according to the stats, but for shots on goal led just 6-5. That doesn’t suggest dominance, it indicates a lot of possession without purpose.

Nate @nrgilman

need help killing a few minutes before kickoff, #twitterclarets? I wrote about Burnley's missed opportunities and frustrations in the final third against Preston.

medium.comMatch 9: Left wanting in the final thirdInstallment two of this maybe-a-series on Burnley’s 2022–23 Championship season.

Nate’s recent piece looked into this in more detail after the Deepdale derby draw. We actually had 72% of the ball against Preston too, but the hosts had a higher xG.

None of these stats really mean anything without context, but Bristol City could easily have earned a point on Saturday and Preston were pretty good value for theirs.

After the Robins game, there was a lot of chat about runners not being picked out. But while we have had a lot of joy pinging passes over the top for Nathan Tella, I don’t think it’s actually part of our plan to play those types of balls for our other attackers.

Jamie Smith @JamieSmithSport

I don't think Burnley played particularly well, other than in some short spells, with the tempo mostly far too slow. 72% possession for one more shot on goal than the opposition is not dominance. It's possession without purpose. Not enough movement.

Jay Rodriguez is dropping so deep and wide he seems to be playing as a false nine, as far as I understand that role. There isn’t much point chipping the ball over the defence to Josh Brownhill, or whoever, if Jay is 20 yards outside an empty penalty box.

It’s still early days but the balance of our play isn’t quite right yet, I don’t think. I’d like to see THB play more long crossfield balls to move the opposition across, rather than nudging it to Jack Cork to get it straight back, with nothing having changed.

Clearly, we are in the promotion picture and with the likes of Scott Twine - if he exists - and Darko Churlinov to come back too, we have plenty of attacking squad depth.

Alex James @AlexJamesSport

Asked Kompany for a Scott Twine update after the game today. Here's what the boss had to say. #twitterclarets

lancs.liveScott Twine injury latest as Vincent Kompany provides update on summer signingMidfielder has yet to start for the Clarets since his arrival from MK Dons

I think we could be more dangerous in attack and more exciting to watch. What’s for sure is that we don’t look like keeping clean sheets, due to the fact we defend corners like a pub team (VK was a centre-back, right?) so we need to score twice a game.

I’m not saying I want to go back to watching us whack hopeful balls into the channels all game, but there can be a better balance between hoofball and slow sideways stuff.

I hate being right

For a couple of weeks I’ve been banging the drum for JBG to play wide right with Vitinho at left-back. We ended Saturday’s game set up like that and guess what?

We won.

I am a tactical genius.

Jamie Smith @JamieSmithSport

JBG and Vitinho on the pitch = we win? I simply love being right

Sure, Vitinho only came on right at the end, and Manuel Benson scored his first Burnley goal after starting in place of JGB, but I’m counting it as a win for me.

Benson is a funny one. He can be electric on the ball, but if he doesn’t have it at his feet I don’t think his movement offers much at all. He doesn’t do a lot off the ball.

I don’t want a team full of Scott Arfield-esque plodders but I do think the extra defensive work we get from JBG should be giving him the edge - and the shirt.

It was a perfect cross for the Jay’s winner too. For all our pretty passes, sometimes football is as simple as whipping in a good ball and letting your striker do the rest.

That’s it for this week - and due to the international break I might take next Monday off. If you have an idea for an article to fill that gap, please do let me know!