Shit or bust
Plus: 10-0 since Taylor's return
Hello! An inevitable defeat on Saturday leaves us heading into two crunch clashes…
Shit or bust
It’s difficult to be too critical of our performance at the weekend given that most people probably expected us to lose by a wider margin, but we were still well off it.
I felt like City likely would have scored more if they really wanted to, with the Premier League leaders conserving energy ahead of their own big games coming up this week.
I didn’t really understand our approach to the game, but any plan goes out of the window when you miss an early half-chance then concede from City’s first attack.
We were unbelievably passive, allowing City to treat the match like a training exercise.
While you can’t chase them around for 90 minutes, especially with an eye on Everton, there was a need to show more fight and bollocks, to try to rouse the fans if anything.
The flip side is that City needed a superb strike and a deflection to break us down, even if we offered absolutely zero threat ourselves at the other end of the pitch. Our xG was virtually in minus numbers and Ederson could have spent the game in a coma.
Sean Dyche’s team selection and what passed for a tactical plan played right into Pep Guardiola’s hands. City’s manager would have expected 4-5-1 from us and they found it easy to cut off any supply line into Wout Weghorst, who was isolated once more.
I don’t understand why we didn’t try something different. I’m sick of banging the drum for Dwight McNeil as a number 10, but why not start Ashley Barnes and go Full Shithouse? Burnley lack scrappers and Barnes would have certainly added some fight.
It is easy to say it was a ‘free hit’ type of match for Burnley, but we don’t have a lot left.
It’s now shit or bust for Burnley. Six points from the next two, or it’s game over.
Everton have lost five from five away from home in the league this year. Norwich are… well, Norwich. Win these two and we have a chance. Even four points isn’t enough.
10-0 since Taylor's return
I don’t like scapegoating players (unless it’s Dale Stephens) but it is increasingly clear that Charlie Taylor - who doesn’t look fully fit - is becoming a massive problem for us.
Since Erik Pieters got injured and Taylor came back into the side, we have lost four games in a row, conceding 10 goals and failing to score any. Obviously, this is not all Taylor’s fault, but both goals came from his area on Saturday and it has been a similar story in recent weeks. He was at least partly to blame for at least three of Chelsea’s goals and opposition managers are ruthlessly exploiting a clear weakness in our team.
We can’t make Taylor fast enough to keep up with players like Raheem Sterling, who had him on toast all game, but we really have to do more to help him out. Ben Mee’s injury is a big issue as the captain guides Taylor positionally a lot during matches.
McNeil didn’t do his job well enough defensively at the weekend but I thought it was harsh to hook him. Losing a player as great as Kevin De Bruyne is not a cardinal sin and we continue to ask the team’s main (well, only) creative threat to be a defender. Why are we playing three in midfield but De Bruyne is McNeil’s man to mark? It’s daft. That said, the Taylor-McNeil pairing folk used to think was a strength is… not.
I’m a bit surprised to see so many people wanting a change at right-back when the bigger issue is at left-back, but I suppose that is just down to Pieters being injured.
Connor Roberts made a positive impression when he first came into the side but it is fair to say he has gone backwards in recent games. Again, Mee’s injury plays a part here. Roberts looks worse with Nathan Collins or Kevin Long next to him compared to when James Tarkowski is his partner, which is understandable as you do not want two players with little Premier League experience next to each other in the side.
People slate Roberts’ delivery but he produced the same type of cutback Weghorst scored from at Brighton on Saturday. The striker was just in a worse position instead of there to score. I don’t think it helps Roberts at all that Aaron Lennon is so limited either. Lennon tries but he does basically the same thing every time he gets the ball.
It’s arguably rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic to change the right-back when our only goalscorer is on the bench and the midfield has functioned properly in about three games all season, but I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures.
Podcasts and quiz question
The Everton preview show is already out and is available to listen to here and in all the usual places, Spotify etc, wherever you get your podcasts from normally.
This week’s quiz question refers to Guardiola complaining about the length of the grass at Turf Moor. Listen to the Norwich preview show on Friday for the answer:
According to very strict Premier League regulations, what is the MAXIMUM height, in millimetres, of the grass that is allowed on the pitch (and for a bonus point, can you also tell us how many times this regulation has been breached by Burnley, since it was brought in?)
You can also catch up with our FPL special show here and listen back to our mini-pod about Dave Thomas’ new book, A Director’s Tale: John Bond, Burnley & the Diaries of Director Derek Gill. Follow this link to access a sample chapter of this latest book and some other recent Burnley FC titles from the same publishers (Pitch Publishing).
Birthdays and anniversaries
Alan Mahon is 44 today but the big birthday this week is ME. I am 34 on Wednesday and I only want three points for my present, cheers lads, if you can sort that out, ta.
We lost to Southampton #OnThisDay last year, but otherwise our April 4 record is pretty good with four wins out of our last six, including this 1-0 at Northampton:
Letters
Mark has written in with some thoughts on the City result over the weekend:
We weren't on a 100 per cent form against City but if you were to say before the game that we would lose 2-0 I would have taken that. And I do take it, it could have been far worse for us. But there were some positives for us - Lennon had another good game he seems rejuvenated since coming back to the club. Tarks did well in defence, Pope kept them from scoring more. I don't understand why he didn't start Maxwell Cornet or why he played a three-man midfield which didn't work that well at all. Now we need too get our heads in gear for the six-pointer against Everton on Wednesday - I have faith that we can beat them!!
I only wish I had your confidence, Mark… hard to be too positive after four losses!
That’s it for this week. Depending on what happens on Wednesday, you might get another newsletter later in the week, but chances are the next one will be on Monday.