End of Season Review (Part One - A New Era)

[outwoodclaret]

It has undoubtedly been one of the most remarkable seasons in the history of Burnley Football Club and will no doubt feature prominently in any future history of the Clarets. It has also been writ large here in the pages of Turfites Talk. It all began with a mood of misery as we faced up to a relegation and the mass exodus of senior players. The cupboard was not only bare but the manager’s chair was empty as well. The prospects of a financial implosion to be followed by a second relegation were not just idle talk but a very palpable threat. And then came a glimmer of hope. A rumour began to circulate that Vincent Kompany could be persuaded to come to Turf Moor and take charge. I really thought it was just pie in the sky but the pie ended up on my face. Vincent was our new manager.

Recruitment of new players began on an almost unprecedented scale, by Burnley standards at least, bringing in a mixture of loan players with some shrewd purchases. They joined a core of players such as Roberts, Barnes, Rodriguez, Taylor, Cork, Gudmundsson and Brownhill who had remained from the Sean Dyche era. The season opened away at Huddersfield on Friday 29 July. The match preview of our visit to the Terriers appeared under the succinct headline “A New Day Dawns”. Everyone was trying to guess how the Clarets would line up and what style of football would be on offer. The cameras were at the John Smith’s Stadium and as it turned out would follow Burnley’s progress throughout the season, as Eric Cantona famously remarked, in the way “seagulls follow the trawler”.

In Kompany’s first game as a manager in England the Clarets lined up in a nominal 4-3-3 with Muric in goal, a back four of Roberts, Harwood-Bellis, Taylor and Maatsen, a midfield trio of Cullen, Cork and Bastien, with Costello, Barnes and Brownhill up front.. The Clarets produced a brilliant first half of attacking football and deservedly led 1-0 at half-time with a well-takes debut goal from Ian Maatsen. In truth Burnley dominated the game and should have won more convincingly. A disappointing home draw with Luton followed before the Clarets travelled to Watford’s Vicarage Road and suffered their first defeat of the season. Draws with Hull and then with Blackpool in a feisty 3-3 Lancashire derby kept Burnley without a win at Turf Moor in their opening three fixtures. Victory on home soil duly arrived at the end of August as Burnley saw off visitors Millwall 2-0. Away from home though the Clarets were beginning to show signs of things to come with a 5-1 demolition of Wigan.

By the third week of October Burnley had still only suffered that single defeat at Watford but had drawn 8 of their 15 games. A tricky fixture away to Sunderland lay ahead and, as it turned out, it would prove to be one of the turning points of the season. The build up to the match threw up one of the threads of the season. Bemoaning our goalscoring problems should on loan Nathan Tella be recalled by Southampton it boldly announced “Lack of firepower killing us”. By half time at the Stadium of Light it looked only too true. Burnley playing anything like promotion contenders were 2-0 down and the travelling support was in a restless mood. Was Burnley’s season about to unravel barely a third of the way through the campaign? Tella, with his sixth goal of the season, started the second half recovery before Benson cutting in from the flank curled in a left foot shot. It was a trademark move that would be produced to deadly effect in the final weeks of the season. A wonder strike from Zaroury and a late breakaway goal from Brownhill completed the second half comeback. Burnley still trailed QPR and Blackburn in the table but they were on the march.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Can I nick this and splash it on Clarets orientated social media Sir Outwood? All literary credits to you of course.

[sinkov]

Truly excellent Outwood, I was trying to think of something I could add, or something significant you might have missed, but I can't, it's all there, sums up the first part of the season perfectly.

[outwoodclaret]

Yes BT. But there were some typos which need correcting. I got sidetracked by doing breakfast and didn’t notice til after I posted. Third para line 3 should be Costelloe (with an e) and line 4 well-taken. Can you correct or message me your email and I will send the corrected version. Any other errors?

[Supersub6]

Thanks Outwood, that's a smashing read and says everything about that first part of the season. Looking forward to the next part because it just gets better!

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Yes BT. But there were some typos which need correcting. I got sidetracked by doing breakfast and didn’t notice til after I posted. Third para line 3 should be Costelloe (with an e) and line 4 well-taken. Can you correct or message me your email and I will send the corrected version. Any other errors?

I'll edit them out Sir Outwood, that "lack of firepower" almost did for us though.

Let me know when Part Two is available and thanks again - good job!

[kritichris]

A good summary indeed outwood. The only addition I would have included would be a mention of JRod's goal scoring which was consistent in the first half of the season making him leading scorer.

[outwoodclaret]

A good summary indeed outwood. The only addition I would have included would be a mention of JRod's goal scoring which was consistent in the first half of the season making him leading scorer.

Yes. Jay Rod’s goals certainly kept us going in those opening months kc. I will hopefully make mention of the roles played in our season by Jay and Bashley in Part 2 or part 3.

[Norder]

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Thanks oc.....excellent summation of early doors, I'd look forward to the middle/end but dont long for the downward spiral to approaching doom and resulting coup de grâce.
I did notice that VK was wearing a suit jacket in the early part of the season, was that a temperature related choice, or just that his tracksuit was late arriving ?....be interesting to see how he'll turnout next season.

[sinkov]

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....be interesting to see how he'll turnout next season

Or where ?