Time for changes
Plus: Wout tf was that?
Hi everyone. Probably the less said about Burnley 0 Watford 0 the better, but let’s get into Saturday night’s game so that we can go back to pretending it never happened.
Time for changes
It seems highly unlikely that Sean Dyche will either resign or be sacked, so most of the reaction has focused on what changes Burnley can make to get out of their funk.
Burnley have now failed to score at home to both Norwich and Watford this season, as well as handing Newcastle United their first Premier League victory of the season.
It’s not rocket science working out why we sit rock bottom of the table. Back-to-back clean sheets is progress of sorts, but the lack of goals being scored is a chronic issue.
In case you are some sort of masochist, here are the “highlights” of the Watford game:
It says it all that the clearest chance Burnley created was from a Watford corner and a 60-yard dash from James Tarkowski, who for my money was magnificent once more.
Given that’s the first time any of our players has made a driving run through midfield for several years, it’s not a surprise there were calls for Tarks to move up the pitch.
I don’t think playing our best defender (not a debate, don’t @ me/Tom) in midfield is the solution, while some of the other ideas I have seen are bordering on bonkers.
It’s obvious that something fairly radical has to change though, so here is my XI:
Don’t ask me why there are two Charlie Taylors and yes, I know there is currently no Charlie Taylor at all right now, but when everyone is available I’d like to see this. It isn’t perfect, I’m happy to admit that. Maxwel Cornet and Dwight McNeil are both arguably left wingers by trade and I’ve picked neither of them in their ‘best’ position.
The lack of squad depth and options means some square pegs in round holes is inevitable, though, and Cornet has been very good up front all season. McNeil, whose confidence is rock bottom, is on record as saying he wants to play centrally, with goals like that wonderstrike against Everton showing what he can do from that kind of area.
Defensively, you can also argue it makes no sense to fiddle with a back line that finally appears to be fixed having malfunctioned for most of the season. A solid foundation was always going to be key if we were to climb out of danger and, while 0-0s won’t get us away from the relegation zone, it is a start at least. This is a team that had shipped three goals on three occasions within a six-game span, so clean sheets are welcome. But Nathan Collins has looked good this season and he wouldn’t weaken the defence.
Midfield is a bin fire. The fact Dale Stephens played the full 90 minutes on Saturday says it all. Our four central midfielders are all a similar ‘type’ so arguments can be made for just about any combination, as long as Stephens is nowhere near the team. Despite surprising a lot of us at Old Trafford, Aaron Lennon can’t be starting either.
Most people know by now I’m not Josh Brownhill’s biggest fan… but I did think we missed his energy against Watford. Ashley Westwood is having a bad season - like most of the team - but his set pieces are crucial and, as Nate noted in a recent NNN newsletter, he is our main progressive passer. I do like Jack Cork a lot and a three-man midfield definitely would suit him, allowing him to sit as the defensive shield, but even if it worked in the past I don’t think Cork-Westwood is the answer right now.
I think the key to this 3-5-2 shape is the width that would come from the wing-backs. Connor Roberts is clearly a step up on Matt Lowton going forward (though his ‘long’ throws are… not good) but I couldn’t believe how narrow we were on Saturday. Lennon kept cutting inside and Big Erik Pieters is never going to offer the same thrust as Taylor, while McNeil, as we know, increasingly wants to drift into more central areas.
With the 4-4-2, it’s just asking too much for the wide midfielders to provide defensive cover for their full-backs, as well as offer a creative supply line for the strikers. It isn’t working, so let’s add Collins into the defence and stretch the pitch with wing-backs.
The frustration for me is that Dyche might well experiment in the next two home games, which we are not likely to win anyway. Watford was the right time to try something new, but to make a radical change it is always better late than never.
Wout tf was that?
Before we take a look at Wout Weghorst’s performance, perspective is important: He was playing in a new league for the first time, after only a handful of training sessions. The weather was truly appalling and Wout’s service was as bad for most of the game, while the pressure of being thrown into a must-win match must have been hard. To sign a nine-foot-tall striker and deliver approximately zero decent crosses was… odd.
But with all that said, he wasn’t good, was he? Burnley started the game pretty well but the team seemed to quickly lose faith in Weghorst’s ability to win balls in the air.
When we eventually cottoned on WW was losing most of his battles and switched to more careful chipped passes towards his chest, he still did little to hold the ball up.
I’ve seen some folk say Watford’s defence was manhandling him a lot, but if Ben Mee and Tarkowski neutralise a giant striker like that, we would be hailing their displays. Weghorst had to be ready to fight for every ball that went up. He didn’t do it enough.
While he did nearly score, it would have been one of the jammiest debut goals ever:
I didn’t expect Weghorst to bag a hat-trick, but I did think his physicality would at least help him make a smoother adaption to the Premier League. That didn’t happen.
He didn’t pass the eye test for me, so I took a look at his numbers via WhoScored.
They aren’t great. No key passes, one dribble, two shots (none on target), just 26 passes, 61.5 per cent pass completion, five aerials won, two fouls conceded, one won.
After the comparisons to Chris Wood, at least Wout didn’t record any offsides…
On the bright side, Weghorst can only get better after a pretty underwhelming debut.
I’m not making Wout a scapegoat - Dale bloody Stephens is obviously that!!! - but we need Weghorst to hit the ground running. Our eggs are very much all in his basket.
Opposition view: Watford
Thanks to Watford fan Tom Bodell for sending in his view of Saturday’s game:
There had been much conjecture among Watford fans about what would be an acceptable points total from a run of games which read Newcastle, Norwich and Burnley. After two points, two goals and one new manager, the stand-out statistic is our first clean sheet since February 29, 2020. Thirty-one Premier League games, if you’re still counting. Saturday’s instantly forgettable goalless draw at Turf Moor was exactly what Hornets supporters had expected from a Roy Hodgson side. Solid, difficult to break down and, if we’re being totally honest, a little bit boring.
Neither side really deserved to win it with chances at a premium. Having immediately achieved something predecessors Claudio Ranieri and Xisco Munoz failed to do, Hodgson will hope the return of Ismaila Sarr from Africa Cup of Nations duty and Emmanuel Dennis from suspension will give him the attacking impetus so badly missing on Saturday evening. If Watford ultimately survive, this results will become the foundations for that (unlikely) achievement. If not, file it away as reason No21 Watford were relegated this season.
Podcasts and quiz question
There will be a preview show out for you all to listen to before the Manchester United game on Tuesday night. Listen to that podcast for the answer to this week’s quiz question, which plays on the fact that match will be Burnley's 5000th league game.
Which club have Burnley played the most league matches against, since the Football League started in 1888?
I heard Dave counted up all of them on his fingers and toes to find out the answer.
Birthdays and anniversaries
Today is the 19th birthday of Lewis Richardson, a talented young striker who has had a tough time with injuries of late, but for whom there remain high hopes at the club.
Other birthdays this week include the icon Graham di Branchio - he is 50 on Saturday.
Burnley have a good record #OnThisDay with three wins and a draw from our last five matches on February 7. Let’s go all the way back to 1998 for a five-goal derby thriller:
Tweet of the week
You have to love Roy.
Letters
Mark wrote in after the Watford game with his thoughts on that shocking match:
I found the game against Watford very disappointing, we were all over them for the first 15 minutes then went to sleep again and let them have more of the ball. Then we started off great in the second half but once again let them take control.
I've always said I will keep the faith and we will stay up, but we're that low on confidence I wonder where the goals will be coming from, it is worrying. I know Cornet will get us goals and I think Wout will but they need to gel soon. I'm just so glad I didn't go on the wet and windy night.
You definitely dodged a bullet by staying at home, Mark! It was truly filthy out there.
Next newsletter will likely be a week today, with two matches to look at. As always, please get in touch with any of your views, comments, thoughts, feedback and so on.
Thought of the day
Can we have set up a GoFundMe to pay up the rest of Stephens’ contract, please?