Progress report
Plus: Maximising commercial opportunities
Another good result at the weekend - a battling 1-1 draw at European champions Chelsea. This week we have a look at this season’s upgrades at Turf Moor from Mike, but first here’s my assessment of the squad heading into the latest international break.
Progress report
Nick Pope - C: Left out of the England squad for the second break running, Pope looked back to his very best at Stamford Bridge. There were positive signs in the cup defeat to Spurs, which was backed up by two fine saves in the win over Brentford. Having had a tricky start to the campaign, Pope was the man of the match against Chelsea. Next up for him? Adding to a meagre one clean sheet in the league so far.
Matt Lowton - B: A goal and two assists is a super attacking return from Lowton, but consistency remains his issue. Connor Roberts is ready to step in so Lowton will have to deliver performances like his terrific display against Brentford to keep his spot.
James Tarkowski - C: Perceptions of Tarkowski this season seem coloured by the fact everyone expects him to leave at the end of the season, when his contract expires. The mistake against Southampton a couple of weeks ago was bad, but it’s very rare to see Tarks make an error like that to cost us a goal. The data also says Tarks is meeting his usual solid standards. He leads the league for blocks - according to Premier League statistics - and only one player has made more clearances. Nothing to worry about.
Ben Mee - B: That the skipper wasn’t missed too badly is testament to summer signing Nathan Collins, but it’s no coincidence Burnley’s upturn in results has come since Mee’s return to the side. There was a bit of chat about Collins being unlucky to lose his place, but it’s not like it is possible for Sean Dyche to drop Mee or Tarkowski.
Charlie Taylor - C: Saturday saw yet another goal come from Taylor’s area, with Reece James given the freedom of the flank to measure a perfect cross for Kai Havertz. It is honestly becoming a joke how easily teams seem to get in down Burnley’s left. Taylor records far more interceptions per game than anyone else in the squad, however, while the centre for Lowton’s header against Brentford was a peach - making up for wayward crossing this term. It’s fair to point out a lovely Taylor ball helped to create Vydra’s goal on Saturday too. PS - If you think I am harsh on Taylor, check this out!
Nathan Collins - B: Collins barely put a foot wrong in his three starts as Mee’s replacement, so the defence looks to be in safe hands if Tarks goes as expected. A run in the FA Cup might be his only chance to get on the pitch any time soon, though.
Dwight McNeil - C: While Pope and Tarkowski have turned around their pretty mixed starts, it hasn’t quite happened for Dwight yet. No goals and just one assist shows he has struggled to make an impact in the final third so far, even if 65 crosses shows he is still slinging the ball into the box as much as ever. Defensively, there is always chatter about how much McNeil contributes and there is no doubt he could provide a little more cover for his full-back at times. But only three players in the league have made more than McNeil’s 30 tackles, suggesting criticism over his workrate is really unfair.
Josh Brownhill - C: Brownhill still isn’t quite showing what makes him different to Burnley’s other main central midfielders, but it’s fair to say he is now growing into his role. He is the only regular starter yet to chip in with a goal or an assist yet, while his four bookings means he is on the brink of sitting out a game due to suspension.
Ashley Westwood - B: The pick of the Clarets midfield options so far, Westwood’s pair of assists puts him level with Lowton. Add in the fact he also often plays a “pre-assist” - like his perfectly curled cross for Jay Rodriguez to set up Matej Vydra on Saturday - and Westwood’s continued importance to the team is not in doubt. Also, anyone who typically shoots from their first corner of the game is alright in my book. Westwood has four bookings too, so Dyche needs to keep an eye on that as he just cannot afford both his first-choice midfielders to be suspended for the same match.
Jack Cork - D: I wanted Cork in the side when we were struggling in the first few games. Unfortunately, he looked off the pace when he did play, making it clear why Brownhill has now jumped above him - probably permanently - in the pecking order.
Johann Gudmundsson - C: That Gudmundsson has played a part in all 11 league games so far is noteworthy given he has had such bad luck with injuries for us. But there has been a lack of impact from him, though the team does look more balanced with Gudmundsson and McNeil wide compared to when we line up with other plans.
Maxwel Cornet - A: The clear star of the show so far, Cornet has made a greater impact than perhaps anyone could have hoped. From five league starts, Cornet has already scored four goals - as many as Bruno Fernandes, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Roberto Firmino and some scrub called Cristiano Ronaldo. In fact, there are only five players with more Premier League goals this term, which is pretty incredible. Cornet wasn’t involved much at Chelsea but he still tried to score with an overhead kick from the edge of the box and posed for plenty of photos post-game. I love him so much.
Chris Wood - C: Apart from Cornet, Wood is the only Burnley player with more than one goal this season. It is fair to say he hasn’t got going yet, but there were plenty of positive signs in his Brentford performance. Regular international breaks in the early part of the season are rough on Wood given the amount of travelling he does with New Zealand. It has to have an impact on his regular relatively slow starts to seasons.
Matej Vydra - D: Wood’s lack of form might be less of an issue were the supporting cast producing. Vydra was perhaps unfortunate not to start with Wood in the early weeks of the season, but perhaps breaking his duck against Chelsea will earn him more minutes. Despite playing just over 200 minutes, Vydra has chipped in with a goal and an assist, but he’s offered little in some cameo appearances off the bench.
Jay Rodriguez - D: That four-goal display against Rochdale was not the spark we all hoped would set Rodriguez off and running. The header for Vydra’s equaliser at the weekend was a clever piece of play, but turning down the chance to go for goal when he was clean through at 1-1 late on showed how much he is struggling for confidence. One league goal since last July is just damning. Like Cork, Rodriguez has been great for Burnley, but his days as a Premier League player might well now be numbered.
Ashley Barnes - E: Another who, sadly, looks done at this level. Barnes has proven people wrong when he’s been written off before but, with Burnley evolving their style to suit Cornet, it’s hard to see how Barnes’ alternative approach fits in at all now.
Others like Erik Pieters and Aaron Lennon haven’t really played enough to judge.
What my marks suggest is there’s still a lot of improvement to come from a few key players. It also indicates a continued lack of squad depth, with few players outside the regular XI making any real contributions of note, bar Vydra’s late goal at the weekend.
But the last couple of games have seen a turnaround in our form and, with winnable games coming up, there’s a platform set for us to start moving up the league table.
Maximising commercial opportunities
A fun game for an idle moment. Pick any team. Do they play at a “ground” or a “stadium”? Selhurst Park? That’s a ground. West Ham? They play in a stadium.
Size is not a factor – Old Trafford and Anfield are grounds, the Etihad and Emirates are stadiums. Neither is modernity: Bolton and Reading have over 20 years in their stadiums. Leicester? Feels like a ground, but it has those clappers, which is definitely a stadium thing.
Turf Moor is most definitely a “football ground”. It has the classic indicators of mismatched stands with huge gaps at the corners. Stadiums are carefully designed customer flowthrough spaces, built with efficient customer wallet opportunity extraction facilities. Grounds are jagged and angular and tuck the Colin Waldron Tea Bar into the only available nooks and crannies.
I’ve said before that I consider my seat in the JHU to be the best seat in the place – second row, in line with the 18-yard line. When the game is dull, I can look out over the hills and the Singing Ringing Tree and just take in that, for a couple of hours, myself and 18,000 others are in our Lancashire home.
Yet our beloved Turf Moor is changing before our eyes. There is no doubt that the ground needed to feel more befitting of a Premier League club.
I don’t mind shabby, that is a large part of a ground’s appeal, but I got very tired of seeing the half-built corners. Maybe it is a little unfair on the old owners, but there seems to have been more progress with upgrades since January that there was in the two years prior.
For a start, while still not ideal, at least the facilities for disabled supporters are no longer a complete embarrassment. The new facades lend a much needed air of modernity to the stadium, though I do miss the Legends boards around the edges.
The secondary screen between the Jimmy Mac and Bob Lord seems a little on the small side and overly bright. Maybe I caught it on a bad day, where an unusual sunny autumn afternoon meant an unseasonable need to shade my eyes. Either way, more food for thought when you are trying to see the distance between two VAR lines.
I understand why this is happening, but it feels like the first overt sign of how much Burnley FC is changing under the new ownership. Our American owners have stated their desire to “maximise commercial opportunities” and therefore are going to sell any piece of space that isn’t nailed down.
They aren’t going to sell one board telling you where to get the perfect erection when they can sell the same space 20 times per match. Expect a warm welcome to your official Burnley FC Happy Place (sponsored by Blue Sun Enterprises) and we hope you enjoy the game.
Some say that this is the price of progress. I would agree and then sigh, even though I sound like an old man yelling at clouds.
This is another nail in the romance of football, another sign that the Premier League is nothing more than a travelling circus and this is the price of being in it.
It feels like the Turf has been turned into a slightly gaudy bauble, the lightshow at the centre of Lancs Vegas.
I tell you what though, if they bring in those clappers, I’m going to really kick off.
Opposition view: Chelsea
It’s a cry-arse bingo special edition!
Delicious salty tears. Yum.
Podcasts and competition update
The podcast team will be recording the analysis show today, so that will be out ASAP.
This week, we also have a special episode coming up featuring players from the 91/92 season, so look out for that one.
On the newsletter next week we have a review of the new No Nay Never book coming, but if you fancy a chance to win a copy you can enter our competition here:
Quiz question
Here’s this week’s quiz question - listen to the next preview show for the answer:
Which Burnley player made his debut for the club in the 3-2 away win at Stamford Bridge in August 2017?
Tweet of the week
Birthdays and anniversaries
Ex-Clarets with birthdays this week include a trio of midfielders: Micah Hyde (47 on Wednesday), Kevin Ball (57 on Friday) and Tony Grant (47 on Sunday).
We have a fairly rotten record of eight losses in our last 10 games #OnThisDay but our last outing in 2014 was this much-needed 1-0 home win over Hull City:
Letters
Brian got in touch with a letter about Westwood, flagging up a piece in the Times that Clarets club commentator Phil Bird tweeted about over the weekend:
Whilst still surfing the wave of joy from a spirited performance against the European Champions in their own backyard yesterday, I thought I'd fire off a quick email of thanks for the weekly emails you send out - always an interesting read - so thank you! Talking of interesting reads, there was a little piece in The Times on Saturday which I think is worth sharing as Mr Westwood doesn't seem to get that much love on No Nay Never.
Westwood probably goes under the radar a bit but he’s usually quietly excellent. He certainly has more good games than bad ones - probably the sort of player we will notice more when he isn’t there. The partnership with Brownhill is coming along too.
Mark also wrote in with some views on the Brentford win last week:
I thought that Cornet and Wood played really together - the way they feed each other well and Cornet brought the best out of Wood and Wood's header for Cornet’s disallowed goal was a cracker, just a shame he was offside.
I agree with your appraisal of Dwight, he did look a lot better and at home on the left wing and played a lovely pass for Cornet to score his class goal. Even my partner she liked the goal from Cornet, she had me pausing it on Match of the Day, just so she could say how excellent it was how took it down and scored - and she's a Bury fan but watches Burnley with me.
Ha! I love that. The Cornet-Wood link was a bit quieter this weekend but it shows a lot of promise. Certainly looks to give us a lot more firepower than our other pairings.
Remember you can always get in touch if you have anything to share - just comment below, or you can also tweet me @JamieSmithSport if that’s your preference. Ta!