In other words: Has Sean Dyche reached the ceiling with Burnley? Or has their new takeover changed things for them?
Burnley find themselves just above the relegation positions, again. If history repeats itself, you’d think that Burnley will hover around the drop zone before going on a winning streak that will eventually keep them up – to be fair, they just ended Liverpool’s unbeaten run which only proves the point! The fans must either be nervous all the time, or confident in that ‘we do this every year’; and so a ‘no need to worry’ kind of attitude takes hold.
40 points… 54 points… 40 points… 54 points…
That’s Burnley’s points total each season since their return to the Premier League back in 2016. In that order, by the way. That includes that European place finish too! But the question of where Burnley Football Club can go has not currently been answered, so we at Ultra Utd wanted to take a further look. And the first place to begin is a remarkably positive one for the Clarets – as they have been subject of a recent, successful EPL takeover bid – don’t mention that to Newcastle United by the way (still a touchy subject).
An American investment group called ALK Capital bought a controlling stake of Burnley in December 2020. And apparently, they want Sean Dyche to stay so they can give him some money to spend in the transfer market – finally! As we know, Dyche has been heavily applauded for keeping Burnley in the topflight on a small budget, and no doubt he deserves it. But the personnel within the team have barely changed in several years.
Whether it’s investment into the academy, buying players or it’s a bit of both, I believe Burnley will now have more control on their success as a football club. Getting the balance right between their existing humble outlook and their new injection of finances sounds like a winning formula, doesn’t it? – so long as they do things properly, mind you!
“Happy place, happy place, Turf Moor”
Sean Dyche has been the leader and spokesperson for Burnley’s values which pride themselves on being modest and grounded. How Burnley do business off the field aligns with the hard work that their players give on it. And that’s credit due to the current longest-serving Premier League manager. So, imagine if he could recruit players with the same values and work ethic; but they just have more quality. The sky’s the limit … or at least a low-hanging cloud or two!
However, Sean Dyche’s contract is due at the end of next season and there has been speculation of him moving on. This takes me back to Jamie Carragher’s comments on Monday Night Football linking Dyche to the Everton job way back in 2017. “Sean Dyche won’t go to a team in the Champions League in this country. Everton are the next step.”
Of course, that was in the nature of the then-vacant position at The Toffees and Burnley had their previous owners. But I think the club have to now look at an Everton, or a similar club of that ilk, and consider that level as an achievable target, rather than continuing to dangle over the relegation positions. Whether Sean Dyche is going to be at the forefront of this new journey is still unclear, but it sounds as though he’s going to be given a shot.
Like Everton, it’s been a while since the club has lifted a trophy. And to show the football world that Burnley are making forward strides , there’s no better proof than silverware. Easier said than done I know, but with their new ownership, Burnley have to impose themselves and set some on-field objectives. They’ve previously crashed out of both the FA Cup and the EFL Cup against lower league teams on various occasions. Even if it means getting to one of the later stages of either of those tournaments, the club need to progress. First things first though, stay in the Premier League.