Last season’s Championship winners Burnley sit 19th in the Premier League and 10 points adrift of survival.
This time last year they were flying in the second division and looked for all money like they were going to be serious competitors in England’s top tier. So where did it all go wrong?
It’s important to note that Burnley are not relegated yet, they have 10 games left this season to try and turn their fortunes round and stage what would be a remarkable fightback.
However, at this point in time, themselves and Sheffield United look doomed.
The Championship’s top two in 2022/23, sit 19th and 20th in their respective positions from last year, but both on 14 points after 28 games. Luton Town were the club that earnt promotion via the play-off system, yet find themselves in 18th place and a whole seven points above Burnley with a game in hand.
Town have been very competitive this season and have a great chance of survival. Compare that to the Clarets who have been rolled over on multiple occasions and you start to wonder just what is happening at the Lancashire club.
The truth is that nobody knows of any internal issues at Burnley. So we can only go off what has changed from season to season.
Life-long Burnley fan and content creator Jacob Horsfall has given his opinions on the matter, saying: “For me the biggest issue this season is in hindsight, the lacklustre transfer window. We didn’t replace certain profiles and spent some seemingly loose money. “We didn’t buy a left-back which has massively cost the side in their build up. Something we were so excellently consistent with last season.
“However, I do feel like the board will and Kompany will learn from their errors and in time come back stronger. Everyone at the club is new to these things so it’s only natural that they will struggle, it’s now about how they bounce back.”
After a dodgy start to the season and whole host of incomings and outgoings, new manager Vicent Kompany had gelled his side into a Championship super squad.
With a new model of attractive football Burnley entered 2023 in superlative form. In January they beat Premier League side AFC Bournemouth in the FA cup, which led fans to start wondering just what they could achieve when they got promoted.
More new signings were made as Kompany wanted to get his side ‘Premier League ready’. The latter stages of the season came quickly, Burnley had obliterated the competition and made sure of promotion on the 7 th April.
A month later they wrapped up the title in their rivals back yard. A week prior to that they had just lost their first home match of the season.
One home loss all season was Kompany’s pride, Turf Moor was a fortress, and Burnley finished the campaign with 101 points. In the Summer everything at the club was positive, talks about Burnley didn’t include relegation.
More new signings were made with over 100 million pounds being spent. Burnley were investing in young and unproven players to help maintain a sustainable project. A 3-1 loss to Manchester City didn’t seem like a bad start to the season at all, but it was what followed, and continued to follow for months.
The team that was crowned as one of the best second division sides in history was dismantled, as only Josh Brownhill has played nearly every game in both of Kompany’s seasons. Some players were sold, some were loaned out, and some only made the bench.
Whilst there has been more than a few injuries for the Clarets, there’s been no consistency across the campaigns, and the risk of a young fresh squad wasn’t paying off. The first win of the campaign came away at Luton on October 3rd, and only two have followed.
The side that only lost one game at home last season, has only won one game at home this season. Turf Moor is now filled with disgruntled fans week in week out. Kompany and the Burnley board clearly have a vision for youth and profit, and they could well drop down and come back up, but the majority aren’t pleased with what they’re paying for.
The 101 points in his first season could be the only thing keeping Kompany in his job. There are many uncertainties to come for the Clarets, but one thing we do know is that they’re on borrowed time to keep their Premier League status.
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