Burnley review: What went right – and wrong – this season
Daniel Storey takes a look at how Burnley fared as part of i’s season reviews for all 20 Premier League clubs
Burnley were relegated with barely a whimper as a slow start seemed to break them (Photo: Getty)
What went well?
You could make a coherent argument that Burnley have endured a worse season than Sheffield United, so this will not be easy. But, on some level, I suppose you could praise them for sticking with the plan (even if it didn’t work). It would have been easy to sack Vincent Kompany, or to pivot transfer strategy in January and sign a number of fading Premier League players. Instead the manager remains in charge and will aim for re-promotion next season.
The transfer business last summer was wild and expensive (more on that soon), but Burnley do at least have a young squad that Kompany can sculpt over the summer. If they can keep hold of the brightest attacking talents – Wilson Odobert, Luca Koleosho, Zeki Amdouni and Lyle Foster are all aged 23 or under – then they can be better for the experience.
And Burnley did at least attempt a salvage job on their campaign in a way that Sheffield United were unable to. Starting with a draw at West Ham, Kompany’s side enjoyed a run of one defeat in eight games that offered unlikely hope. Just shame that they had taken less than half a point per game before then.
What went badly?
Having spent £100m on transfer fees alone last summer, it was not unrealistic to expect Burnley to stay up. Then, Kompany was being linked with replacing Pep Guardiola at Manchester City or potentially taking on Tottenham or Chelsea.
Instead, Burnley flopped entirely. They won three of their first 28 league games, won once at home before March and scored almost a quarter of their league goals in two games against Sheffield United. Burnley aimed to be this possession-heavy, attractive team to watch, then saw that fall flat, compromised, and then didn’t get enough points
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