Totally Buzzed is previewing every single Premier League team ahead of the 2021/2022 campaign and now it is the turn of Burnley.
How last season went:
After finishing 10th in the 2019-20 campaign, Burnley surely wouldn’t have been popping champagne bottles over finishing just one place above the relegation zone in their latest season in the Premier League. The Clarets may have finished 11 points clear of the relegation zone despite being 17th, but after having years of being a secure Premier League team, it did feel like a step backwards for them. However, the club didn’t lose their Premier League status and know that an improvement is required of them in the upcoming campaign. As for other competitions, Manchester City defeated Burnley 3-0 to eliminate them from the EFL Cup at the fourth round stage and Championship side Bournemouth surprisingly ousted the Clarets from the FA Cup in the fifth round of the tournament by beating them 2-0 at Turf Moor in Febuary.
Burnley’s Premier League Stats – 2020/21:
*According to the PremierLeague.com*
Burnley Player Stats – 2020/21:
Top Scorer Across All Competitions: Chris Wood – 12 goals in 37 appearances (0.37 goals per 90minutes, 246 minutes per goal)
Top Scorer – Premier League Only: Wood – 12 goals in 33 appearances (229 minutes per goal)
Most Assists Across All Competitions: Dwight McNeil – 5 assists in 40 outings (1.30 chances created per 90minutes)
Most Assists – Premier League Only: McNeil – 5 assists in 33 appearances
Most Tackles Per Game (On Average) – Premier League Only: Tarkowski (1.8 per game)
Most Minutes Played Across Premier League Fixtures – Top 3:
1.Ashley Westwood – 3411 minutes 2.Tarkowski – 3240 minutes 3. McNeil – 3071 minutes
1st five league fixtures:
Brighton (H): Brighton and Burnley couldn’t be separated on the two occasions they faced each other last season. The pair drew 0-0 at the AMEX Stadium in November 2020 before drawing 1-1 at Turf Moor in February 2021.
Liverpool (A): Burnley achieved a memorable 1-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield in January, before the Reds got their revenge by beating Dyche’s side 3-0 at Turf Moor in May.
Leeds United (H): Leeds defeated Burnley on the two occasions they faced them last season, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side beating the Clarets 1-0 at Elland Road, before securing a much more comfortable 4-0 victory when the pair clashed at Turf Moor.
Everton (A): Dyche’s side held their own against the Toffees last season as the Merseyside giant failed to get the better of them. The two sides drew 1-1 at Turf Moor in December before the Clarets snatched all three points when facing Everton at Goodison Park as they walked away with a 2-1 win.
Arsenal (H): The Gunners didn’t have the best time against Burnley last season, failing to beat them on the two occasions they met. Sean Dyche’s team defeated The Gunners 1-0 at The Emirates, with the London club playing the majority of the second half of that match with 10-men due to Granit Xhaka receiving a red card and The Clarets denied the Gunners all three points when the teams clashed at Turf Moore in March as they secured a 1-1 draw.
Burnley Fan Perspective: @Curtismannan7 on Twitter
Best Player: Our key player would either be Ben Mee because he’s our captain, he’s the person that leads us from the back and organises our structure on the pitch, or Chris Wood because without his goals there are not many other players who score as consistently as him.
Promising Youngster: A promising youngster would be Max Thompson who recently signed a new contract with us when he was looking elsewhere for first-team football, so I’ve got high hopes that he’ll get a few minutes here and there especially in cup competitions and his hunger is what will make him play with an extra spring in his step.
The player who is likely to surprise people (underrated/less known): With Burnley, there isn’t really any lesser-known players because Sean Dyche tends to use the same players week in week out but I think Josh Brownhill will step up massively compared to last season, which was his first full season in premier league football.
Thoughts on the manager: Sean Dyche is amazing he’s like a God to us Burnley fans and I don’t think anything else needs to be said about him, other than the day he leaves he will leave as a legend.
Worried About/Weakness of squad: I’m worried about the lack of wingers that we have because currently we’ve only got 2 experienced wingers and while Dwight McNeil is creative he needs more players to help him out creativity-wise.
Dream Transfer: Nat Phillips from Liverpool. I see him as a proper old-fashioned defender and he’d thrive under Dyche’s mentorship as proven in the past with how Dyche improves centre backs all the time.
Realistic Transfer: Ryan Christie from Celtic, he’s only got around 6 months left on his contract so he’s affordable and would be a step towards solving our lack of wingers crisis.
Player you fear leaving: We all fear Tarkowski leaving but we’ve accepted that will happen one day but after him, it’d be Nick Pope he’s one of the best keepers in the league so it’d be a huge blow to lose him this season.
League Expectation: Depending on signings this window I’d expect us to push on from 17th and push towards a mid-table finish because we know we can achieve that from previous seasons.
League Prediction: My actual prediction is around 17th to 15th but again it depends on how many and the quality of signings we make this window.
Biggest Rival This Season/Love It If We Beat them: I’d love it if we beat Leeds because it’s the battle of the roses and the only real rivalry that we have this season but if we were to get Blackburn in any cup competition then I’d love for us to continue our unbeaten run against them.
Any Other Comments about Burnley: In general can’t wait to be back at Turf Moor only for a couple of games unfortunately before I move back to university in London but I’ll always follow them and go see them when we play in London and hopefully we shock the league again and finish in a European position once again.