After comfortably surviving relegation once again, some Clarets fans are ready to dream bigger
Since winning the Championship title and subsequent promotion back to the Premier League in 2015-16, Burnley have enjoyed five straight seasons in the English top flight. Sean Dyche has worked miracles to establish the club as a Premier League mainstay and even guided them to a 7th place finish in 2017-18, which saw them compete in the Europa League qualifying rounds the following season. The Lancashire side struggled last year but were never in any real danger of relegation, finishing 11 points clear of the drop zone. Fans will hope the team can get off to a good start and once again push a little higher up the table. We are in the middle of a transfer window and the rumour mill is in full flow. If any of these reports are to be believed, Dyche may be welcoming some exciting new arrivals to Turf Moor in the coming weeks and that could have a big impact on how well Burnley can do this season. Who will Burnley sign? Can they keep hold of their best players? Can they achieve big things this season?
We spoke to John from the Burnley Aces Twitter page and George Poole of the No Nay Never Podcast about the sorcery of Sean Dyche, the need for new faces and what fans can expect from next season. Here's what they had to say:
Q. How would you rate last season from a fan perspective?
John: It was a very hard season, we did really well to stay up, having only spent £750k in the Summer of 2020 transfer window and nothing in January earlier this year. It was a miracle we survived.
With the Leon Bailey signing it puts their spending since arriving back in the PL to £290m.
— FPL Companion (@FPLCompanion) August 4, 2021
Burnley have only spent £170m in their entire 139 year history.
Q. Thinking back over the last decade, just how good a job has Sean Dyche done at the club in your estimation?
George: It is impossible to overstate the impact that Sean Dyche has had on our club. I can’t imagine a Burnley Football Club without him and if he had never joined, we would be staring down the barrel of League One. He has reshaped the club from top to bottom, including helping design our new state-of-the-art training ground. To put it simply, Sean Dyche is God.
Q. In order to kick on this season and finish higher up the table, do you think the club need to invest in the playing squad? If so, what areas of the pitch most need reinforcements?
John: Yes, we need to spend big this year, but it won’t happen, the new owners are very frugal about their approach to buying players. Burnley need two wingers, another centre half, possibly another midfielder as they lack creativity in the middle of the park, and a striker. So, I’d say five players in total.
📰 Burnley have been named the favourites to sign Arsenal's versatile, £20m-rated man Ainsley Maitland-Niles, ahead of the likes of CPFC & Wolves. The 23-year-old looks set to leave the Gunners in the pursuit of first-team football this summer.#CPFC https://t.co/DKLlouDngU
— CPFC Transfers HQ (@CPFCtransfersHQ) July 29, 2021
Q. Who would you say is the standout player at Burnley right now, taking last season into account? Who's the player the fans would be most disappointed to lose?
George: Dwight McNeil is by far the standout player at the club, whilst Nick Pope and Chris Wood are exceptional footballers in their own right. The truth is, McNeil is the biggest prospect we have developed since Jay Rodriquez over a decade ago and were he to leave, the fans would rightfully be devastated. He has a wicked left foot and is never afraid to take on the full back. From making his debut against Manchester United to becoming our star man, Dwight has lit up Turf Moor and captured the heart of every Claret.
Q. Are there any youngsters on the periphery of the first team that we could see breaking out this year and playing a few Premier League games?
John: Bobby Thomas, Lewis Richardson, Anthony Gomez Mancini and Jacob Bedeau to name a few.
Q. What are the expectations for next season among sensible fans? What would represent a good campaign?
George: We finished 17th last season, which was a real regression compared to the previous seasons. It was a comfortable survival in the end and most Burnley fans have the utmost confidence that, with Sean Dyche at the helm, we will never get relegated again. As such, we are looking to have a more successful season and in an ideal world, push the top-10 places once again. As ever, however, success at Burnley is to achieve survival. So, first things first, let’s get to 40 points!
Sean Dyche has promoted Steve Stone - it is a friendship that goes back 30 years...
— The Athletic UK (@TheAthleticUK) August 3, 2021
'Our careers have taken different paths but they have come back together - there's a trust and bond. We're different people but we're winners.'
✍️ @adjones_journohttps://t.co/AUm8cEizhX
Burnley fans won't have to wait too long to get an idea of what this season has in store. They kick off their campaign at home to Brighton on Saturday 14 August. Sean Dyche and his men will be desperate to win and start as they mean to go on but Brighton could represent a tricky opponent. As fans return to stadiums up and down the country, can The Clarets send their supporters home from Turf Moor with smiles on their faces?
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