At the start of the season, Burnley were one of the favourites to get relegated from the Premier League. Only Huddersfield Town, at 8/11, had worse odds against them at trying to avoid the drop. Sean Dyche’s men were 7/5 to return to the Championship, after finishing 16th on their return to the top flight last year. In the summer, they lost some important players like George Boyd, Andre Gray and Michael Keane.
What has followed since at Turf Moor has been nothing short of remarkable. With six games remaining, they are on the verge of making it to the qualifying rounds of the Europa League next season. Safety is not even an issue worth discussing, as Burnley lie 7th in the table with 49 points to their name. Unless Southampton win the FA Cup (which is unlikely, considering the other teams left are Chelsea, Spurs and Manchester United), The Clarets will qualify for Europe.
Dyche, often dubbed “The Ginger Mourinho”, has really come of age this season. He made some very smart signings in the summer to add to his squad, including experienced Stoke City duo Jonathan Walters and Phil Bardsley, and Swansea City midfielder Jack Cork. He also brought in Chris Wood for a club record fee of about £15 million from Leeds United. The striker has been Burnley’s top-scorer so far this season, with nine goals in all competitions.
The spirit and character that the squad has shown has been exemplary, and has certainly come directly from the manager. They have scored 14 goals in the last 20 minutes of games, and never stop believing until the very end. Their latest victory, a 2-1 come-from-behind triumph away at Watford, showed great determination, as they struck twice in the space of three minutes with less than 20 minutes to go. This was an aspect of their game that was completely missing last season, especially on the road. They only won one game away from Turf Moor in the entirety of the 2016/17 campaign. This time around, they have already won seven.
Only the two Manchester clubs and Tottenham can boast of better defensive records than Burnley. After conceding 55 goals last season, they have only let in 28 thus far this time around. This is especially impressive when we consider that their best defender from last year i.e. Michael Keane, was sold to Everton last summer. The way Ben Mee and James Tarkowski have stepped has been absolutely fantastic, and the latter even earned an England call-up for his troubles last month. Another Burnley player to be called up by the national side is goalkeeper Nick Pope, whose performances while filling in for the injured Tom Heaton have been nothing short of extraordinary. When the number 1 does make his return, he is going to find that his place in the starting XI is anything but assured.
Compared to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, it would certainly be a compelling argument to make that Dyche has done a better job with the resources at his disposal. Man City have been unstoppable this season and are on the verge of sealing the title, but the attacking talent at their disposal just about manage themselves in a way. Yes, Guardiola has done an incredible job in establishing his philosophy and style of football at the club, but a transfer budget of close to £300 million has certainly helped.
While the year-end awards come next month, Guardiola will be favourite to win Manager of the Year. But no one should forget how Sean Dyche has commanded his troops, and taken Burnley from sure shot relegation-favourites to European adventurers.
Author bio:
The author of this content David has written this article on behalf of Boxofficeevents.com which is a leading and authorized dealer for cheap football tickets in UK.
What has followed since at Turf Moor has been nothing short of remarkable. With six games remaining, they are on the verge of making it to the qualifying rounds of the Europa League next season. Safety is not even an issue worth discussing, as Burnley lie 7th in the table with 49 points to their name. Unless Southampton win the FA Cup (which is unlikely, considering the other teams left are Chelsea, Spurs and Manchester United), The Clarets will qualify for Europe.
Dyche, often dubbed “The Ginger Mourinho”, has really come of age this season. He made some very smart signings in the summer to add to his squad, including experienced Stoke City duo Jonathan Walters and Phil Bardsley, and Swansea City midfielder Jack Cork. He also brought in Chris Wood for a club record fee of about £15 million from Leeds United. The striker has been Burnley’s top-scorer so far this season, with nine goals in all competitions.
The spirit and character that the squad has shown has been exemplary, and has certainly come directly from the manager. They have scored 14 goals in the last 20 minutes of games, and never stop believing until the very end. Their latest victory, a 2-1 come-from-behind triumph away at Watford, showed great determination, as they struck twice in the space of three minutes with less than 20 minutes to go. This was an aspect of their game that was completely missing last season, especially on the road. They only won one game away from Turf Moor in the entirety of the 2016/17 campaign. This time around, they have already won seven.
Only the two Manchester clubs and Tottenham can boast of better defensive records than Burnley. After conceding 55 goals last season, they have only let in 28 thus far this time around. This is especially impressive when we consider that their best defender from last year i.e. Michael Keane, was sold to Everton last summer. The way Ben Mee and James Tarkowski have stepped has been absolutely fantastic, and the latter even earned an England call-up for his troubles last month. Another Burnley player to be called up by the national side is goalkeeper Nick Pope, whose performances while filling in for the injured Tom Heaton have been nothing short of extraordinary. When the number 1 does make his return, he is going to find that his place in the starting XI is anything but assured.
Compared to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, it would certainly be a compelling argument to make that Dyche has done a better job with the resources at his disposal. Man City have been unstoppable this season and are on the verge of sealing the title, but the attacking talent at their disposal just about manage themselves in a way. Yes, Guardiola has done an incredible job in establishing his philosophy and style of football at the club, but a transfer budget of close to £300 million has certainly helped.
While the year-end awards come next month, Guardiola will be favourite to win Manager of the Year. But no one should forget how Sean Dyche has commanded his troops, and taken Burnley from sure shot relegation-favourites to European adventurers.
Author bio:
The author of this content David has written this article on behalf of Boxofficeevents.com which is a leading and authorized dealer for cheap football tickets in UK.
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