After six straight seasons in the Premier League, it’s all over.
End of an era
In the end, it almost felt like we suffered relegation twice this season. Having spent almost the entire campaign in the bottom three, many of us were resigned to our fate.
But a recent upturn in performances and results gave us fresh hope, only for us to then produce a weak display in one of the biggest games in the club’s history.
Newcastle are a very good side these days - amazing what £85 million of new players in January can do for a struggling squad eh? - but we made life very easy for them.
To have it in our hands on the last day, considering we seemed doomed at various times this season, is what we asked for. To produce a display like that was very poor.
Relegation has probably been coming for a few years. It is clear that the lack of spending on the squad has caught up with us, though having half a dozen first team players out for the run-in left us down to the bare bones at the worst possible time.
Ultimately, six straight seasons in the Premier League for a club of our size is an unbelievable achievement. We should take time to recognise what we have done. To finish in the top-10 twice on one of the league’s smallest budgets was unreal. Having that brief European adventure is something no Clarets supporter will ever forget.
With many players out of contract, relatively new owners in charge and a fresh face in the dugout for next season, it will be the start of a new era for Burnley Football Club.
The inquest and where the fingers of blame can be pointed can wait for another day.
Much will presumably depend on the next manager, but there will be a few goodbyes.
Nick Pope will be remembered as one of the greatest Clarets goalkeepers of all time, but he is the most valuable asset in the squad and will surely have to be sold. There has been talk of a £40 million price tag but Pope is 30 and his contract expires next year (we reportedly have an option to extend it by 12 months). £40m sounds ambitious but there is apparently a chunky sell-on clause due for Charlton in his contract too.
James Tarkowski is expected to leave too. That it is on a free transfer is a shame, but Tarks came for a fairly small fee and he has been our best defender, by far, for years. I don’t think there has been a better centre-back for Burnley in my lifetime than Tarks.
Recent reports that Maxwel Cornet has a £17.5m release clause suggests he will be one of the first players out of the door. Cornet may be inconsistent, but nine goals in his first Premier League season - interrupted by injury and AFCON - is a solid haul considering he is a winger but has played a lot of games up front by necessity. A bigger profit would have been good, but his sale should at least be done fast.
Dwight McNeil and Nathan Collins are the two main others likely to receive interest. McNeil has had a disappointing season, struggling for confidence in a bad team. But at 22, with well over 100 Premier League appearances, teams will take a look for sure. It might actually be better for McNeil to have a year in the Championship, rebuilding his belief, and given his value will have plummeted there’s a chance we can retain him.
Collins has been one of the shining lights for us this season and he is talented enough to go all the way for the top. With clubs likely to have taken note of our financial situation, some cheeky bids may test our resolve. But the 21-year-old looks a future club captain and should be one of the building blocks for our new manager to rely on.
Like McNeil, playing every week in the Championship would boost his development. It is absolutely crucial we hold on to Collins, especially with Ben Mee yet to renew. That the skipper hasn’t signed a new deal is a concern, but I’m not sure he will have much better offers than what we can make. I’m confident that Mee will be staying.
In terms of other sellable assets that could raise funds we will presumably need to service loan repayments, the enigma that is Wout Weghorst may be an option. There has been talk Weghorst also has a release clause in his deal, which would not be a surprise. Perhaps Weghorst would put up Mitrovic-style numbers down in the Championship, but he has been a poor signing. I wouldn’t be sad if he was sold.
Josh Brownhill and Charlie Taylor could recieve interest, but I’m not so sure. I would expect both players to still be at the club next season and they should have big years.
Decisions need to be made on a lot of players who are out of contract. These lads are in a tough situation with no manager yet in place to make the calls on their futures.
It was a surprise to see Jay Rodriguez given a new deal and, for me, it was keep either him or Ashley Barnes this year. There is reportedly a one-year option in Barnes’ deal, but a front line of Barnes and Rodriguez is nothing for anyone to get excited about.
Jack Cork is surely the main priority from the other out of contract players. Cork should have played more this season and, especially with Ashley Westwood facing a long recovery from his broken ankle, he will be another pivotal player to build around.
It was a mistake to give Phil Bardsley a new deal last year and he will surely now be released. The same goes for Dale Stephens, one of our worst signings in recent history.
A case could be made for retaining Erik Pieters as cover for Taylor, but I think we need to be ruthless with some of these lads. Pieters will be 34 in August and probably wants to play more football rather than spending the end of his career on the bench.
Similarly, I’d let Aaron Lennon go. I know Lennon is popular, but while he sparked initially when he came into the team this season his production has dipped a lot over the last few weeks. Lennon is 35 and will give no full-backs sleepless nights, even in the Championship. We need to move on from experienced old pros who are good lads in the dressing room if we are going to achieve the necessary squad rebuild.
Matej Vydra is an unusual one given he, like Westwood, is going to be out for a long time. When fit, he could be an asset in the Championship, so maybe it is worth considering offering him a contract on reduced terms. There is little room for sentiment in football but it would not sit well for me if we offered nothing to a guy who played through a knackered cruciate to try to help us avoid relegation.
Clearly, there will be a lot of changes within the squad. It could be an exciting time with presumably quite a few new signings coming in, but the finances are a worry.
That’s for another day.
Magic Mike's wand fails
Take nothing away from what Mike Jackson has achieved in the last few weeks, but his luck - which has been ebbing away lately with the ill-timed injuries to strikers Matej Vydra and Jay Rodriguez - ran out in quite spectacular fashion yesterday.
The decision to go back to 4-4-2 was a curious one, leading to our entire right side being played out of position. Connor Roberts looked lost and while Nathan Collins played at right-back a bit for Stoke, it is a bit different doing it for the first time in the Premier League, against Allan Saint-Maximin, in a do-or-die game like yesterday.
Collins gets a pass from me for the errors considering Jackson hung him out to dry. I felt like the handball was purely a brain fart after he panicked in possession moments earlier. There’s not really any other explanation for making that baffling decision.
While results with the back five hadn’t been great, we’ve played reasonably well. As I wrote last week, the system suits quite a few of our players, while 4-4-2 exposes the weaknesses in a lot of them. Taylor’s lack of positional sense again saw a free man score a goal in front of him, Brownhill was ineffective in a two - as he has been all season - and McNeil struggled on the ball and get up the pitch to affect the game.
At half-time, when Jackson had to do something to change things, he made a bonkers change. Roberts had a terrible first half but he is one of our most dynamic players.
It would have made far more sense to withdraw Kevin Long and shuffle Collins back to centre-back. On paper, bringing on Wout Weghorst made sense, but he made no impact off the bench. It was another bad miss for him from Barnes’ low cross too.
It’s inevitable when the search for goals gets desperate that the plan breaks down, but by the end we had McNeil playing almost like a quarter-back with Collins and Tarkowski up front, Long on his own in defence… it was bizarre to watch. There was no clarity from the bench and players seemed to be making it up as they went along.
Jackson initially rejuvenated a squad that was clearly tired of the same stale selections and tactics of Sean Dyche, but yesterday he looked like what he is: a total rookie.
The players just did not look up for the game, which is also partly down to the boss. Any suggestions he is the man for the job on a permanent basis can be put to bed.
Speaking of which, it is imperative a new manager is appointed as soon as possible.
It is now over five weeks since Dyche was sacked, so there has been more than enough time to sound out targets, compile a shortlist, conduct interviews and so on.
Our top choice should be approached immediately and, if they do not fancy life in the Championship, move down the list. It should take no more than a week from here.
Podcasts and quiz question
The podcast team will go over yesterday and the season as a whole in due course.
In the meantime, check out this week’s quiz question in the below clip:
Listen out for the FPL roundup show coming soon, which will have the answer.
Letters
Brian got in touch ahead of the game - permit me the equivalent of RTing praise:
I just wanted to offer my thanks to your goodself for the newsletters this season. They've always been a good and insightful read - coupled with the No Nay Never podcast, they are essential to this lone claret in Rochester, Kent. I'm sure I speak for many in gratitude for the effort you put in. Unfortunately, I can't be there tomorrow, I only get to a few games a season (my heart still pumps deep claret around the body though) and it's bringing back memories of when I was at the Turf to see the Plymouth game many moons ago with my Rawtenstall cousin.
Whatever happens tomorrow, it's gonna be a sad day knowing it will probably be Tarky's last game for us. He's been exemplary since the start of the year and a fantastic servant for the club. The way he stepped up to fill Michael Keane's boots was excellent and kind of reminds me how Nathan Collins is stepping up now. (Yes, I totally agree with you regarding how mature Collins plays at the age of 21. He's a fast learner. He seems to learn in 1 game what takes other players five games to learn. A great find to carry the centre-back torch.)
OMG - you totally jinxed Collins! I think you could see from Tarks’ reaction how gutted he was. Questions over his commitment earlier in the season were totally wide of the mark. One of our modern greats for me, no doubt about it. I just hope he gets the right move, where he isn’t warming a bench, and gets back in the England squad.
As for the newsletters moving forwards, I don’t think they will be out every week on Mondays over the summer. More likely I’ll write one as and when something happens like a new manager being appointed, sales and signings, and so on. Thanks for reading.