Dave wraps our season up...
My favourite post-match Clarets summariser Dave Thornley gives us his thoughts on the fateful Sunday when our latest brush with the English Premier League came to its conclusion.
So now we know. Next season it will be Bristol City not Manchester City, Blackpool not Liverpool and Rotherham United not Manchester United.
Relegation for Burnley was confirmed yesterday afternoon following a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Newcastle United, a display from Burnley which, whilst not lacking endeavour, was jittery, tense, and short on polish and craft.
Quite what possessed Nathan Collins to stick out his arm to deflect a corner I suspect not even he knows. VAR confirmed what all Clarets fans feared, and Callum Wilson tucked away a first half penalty, a lead Wilson himself doubled with a second half breakaway goal.
Only when news of Brentford’s equaliser against Leeds began to filter through did Burnley release the hand-break and apply serious pressure to the Magpie’s goal, Maxwel Cornet’s volley halved the deficit, but some staunch defending and one or two near misses prevented Burnley from finding an equalising goal, which, as it turned out, would have been rendered inadequate by Leeds’s late winner.
James Tarkowski in his post-match interview lamented that the season had been littered with too many unforced errors and too few goals.
He is right, and despite having had thrust at them circumstances which had a negative effect, and which were beyond their control (Covid postponements, long-term injuries, bizarre refereeing decisions and Cornet’s departure to the African Cup of Nations) the bottom line is that throughout the season Burnley have not been quite good enough.
Not that they didn’t put up a fight. Unlike Norwich and Watford, Burnley did not meekly accept their fate, but in recent weeks strove hard for each and every point.
A narrow defeat at Spurs by virtue of a Harry Kane penalty of almost farcical origin was followed by a batting draw at Aston Villa, a match in which the Clarets led but couldn’t see through to victory – another recurring tendency throughout the season. All of which left Burnley’s fate squarely in their own hands when yesterday’s matches kicked off.
And that is perhaps the biggest disappointment of all, that after the monumental effort it took to put themselves in that position, they were unable to see it through when it mattered the most.
As Kipling put it, “If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same”; or to quote Keating, “Life is a rollercoaster, just gotta ride it”. For Burnley it has been a season in which disaster has befallen, after years of relative triumph and a rollercoaster ride in which the dips have been deep and prolonged and the highs all too brief.
There now follows a summer in which the club faces some difficult challenges, all of which must be overcome with due haste. There will inevitably be an exodus of players; Tarkowski is out of contract and will undoubtedly go, as will Pope with the club needing to cash in with a year remaining on his contract and the player keen to cement his place in the England set-up with the World Cup looming. Both deserve to remain Premier League players and leave with the gratitude of the fans, knowing that they gave their all for the cause.
A new manager is a prime requirement, a key appointment which the club cannot afford to get wrong; another Brian Laws-style appointment is not acceptable. Once in place the new incumbent can begin assembling a squad capable of competing at the top end of the Championship. He will have to work within the constraints of the club’s financial position after loan repayments have been discharged. It is to be earnestly hoped that the club ownership has a contingency in place to accommodate this.
Throughout these past six seasons (indeed seven of the last eight) it has been a source of immense pride to see our Burnley team come up against the best the Premier League has to offer and more than hold their own against them. There are, however, aspects of being in the Premier League that I will not miss.
Chief amongst these is the self-appointed custodians of what they perceive to be the Premier League’s integrity, who take to social media complaining of Burnley’s right of Premier League tenure: “boring football, too physical, not enough supporters, too Northern, not glamourous enough”. They assume the demeanour of bitchy cheerleaders at the High School Prom, demanding that Burnley measure up to their perception of perfection.
These people are devoid of any romance in their soul and any appreciation of the remarkable feats Burnley have achieved these past seasons, or indeed any knowledge of the game of football itself and its traditions. Well, they have their wish now, it will now be the turn of another club to receive their jibes. But know this; Burnley go down with their heads held high and although it may take a while, WE WILL BE BACK.
Great stuff Dave, enjoy your summer, the roller coaster ride that is the Championship will be back quicker than you know! (TEC).
