ARTICLE: Lennon back with the Clarets

[Peter Loo]

Nothing wrong with Bardsley from what I’ve seen of him since he’s been with us.

[bodge]

He's not performed for more than a few years now, wasnt anywhere good enough the first time round. I have serious reservations on the managers astuteness on signings, even our old Chairman recognized this glaring weakness.

the fan base are switching off because of the bland football and signing old has-beens. it might have been confirmed an hour ago but everyone knew that once he pitched up for "training" that he was getting signed on. As Stan used to say, "even a blind man on a galloping horse" can see what Dyche is doing.

Sorry Shaggy but you haven't got a scooby that "our old Chairman recognised this glaring weakness".

[ClaretTony]

He's not performed for more than a few years now, wasnt anywhere good enough the first time round. I have serious reservations on the managers astuteness on signings, even our old Chairman recognized this glaring weakness.

the fan base are switching off because of the bland football and signing old has-beens. it might have been confirmed an hour ago but everyone knew that once he pitched up for "training" that he was getting signed on. As Stan used to say, "even a blind man on a galloping horse" can see what Dyche is doing.

So you are a spokesman for the fan base now. That's good to kno , I can check with you on things from now on.

But

1. I totally disagree with your suggestion that he's not performed for more than a few years
2. I totally disagree with you that he wasn't anywhere near good enough the first time round
3. If you seriously believe that Garlick recognised glaring weaknesses in our manager then I wonder where you've been for the last year and a half.

[burnley007]

Played pretty well tonight.
MUCH better than having a non-winger playing out there!

[Targetman]

He's not performed for more than a few years now, wasnt anywhere good enough the first time round. I have serious reservations on the managers astuteness on signings, even our old Chairman recognized this glaring weakness.

the fan base are switching off because of the bland football and signing old has-beens. it might have been confirmed an hour ago but everyone knew that once he pitched up for "training" that he was getting signed on. As Stan used to say, "even a blind man on a galloping horse" can see what Dyche is doing.

No our manager isn't astute at all with his signings, why not get in touch with him to give him the benefit of your experience.

.....the fan base is switching off........yeah right.
If a few "supporters" are fed up with watching our team play in the Premier League then so be it.
If they just want to watch a winning team they can travel 20 miles down the road to watch Man City.

We are Burnley Football Club playing in possibly the strongest league in the world.
Just a few days ago we were at Anfield and played some excellent football at times against a team who were recently Champions of England, European Champions and World Champions.

Talk about fair weather supporters!

[Darnhill Claret]

Lennon showed last time that he could play the role required of him, helping us to keep our shape. His delivery crossing or passing to teammates when we are attacking is much better than our other right sided players wide right or our right sided defenders. I think he might start games if we don’t get another right sided player in before the end of the month. He will at least be competitive.

[Newcastleclaret93]

No our manager isn't astute at all with his signings, why not get in touch with him to give him the benefit of your experience.

.....the fan base is switching off........yeah right.
If a few "supporters" are fed up with watching our team play in the Premier League then so be it.
If they just want to watch a winning team they can travel 20 miles down the road to watch Man City.

We are Burnley Football Club playing in possibly the strongest league in the world.
Just a few days ago we were at Anfield and played some excellent football at times against a team who were recently Champions of England, European Champions and World Champions.

Talk about fair weather supporters!

If your going to argue at least be fair, he is right a large section of fans haven’t returned this season most likely down to style of play and costs during a pandemic.

Saying we were excellent at Liverpool is a bit of a stretch, we were ok. We battled resiliently and had a few chances but in reality Liverpool didn’t have to get out of second gear to beat us.

The comments about Lennon are fair he is another old player getting added to an already ageing squad. However I am personally of the opinion he will do a job and with limited finances there is not lot more you can hope for. I also suspect if we sign Cornet he will very rarely feature.

[Tall Paul]

Not at all. If you think signing a washed up player on decent wages isn’t a waste or resources then fine that’s your call.

It’s a desperate signing. No wonder large sections of the fan base are switching off.

How much are his wages?

[Paul Waine]

Fancy a competition, You carry on with your selective names that can still perform at 34 & I’ll name the 1s that can’t, the winner is the 1 that can name the most players.

Hi Jakub, I like it, but do you want to make it interesting? I get to name all those 30 and upwards and you get those under 20 - just Premier League players, to keep it simple. So, to count for you, they must have made their debut for a Premier League club before their 20th birthday. To count for me, they must have appeared in at least 1 Premier League team after their 30th birthday. For clarity, if a footballer made his debut before his 20th birthday and is on your list and he is still playing in the Premier League level after his 30th birthday, then he can be on my list also.

Note: it's not my judgement who and who can't perform, it's the judgement of the coach/manager picking the respective teams.

I'm sure there's an app somewhere that can produce all these stats very quickly.

UTC

[Jakubclaret]

Hi Jakub, I like it, but do you want to make it interesting? I get to name all those 30 and upwards and you get those under 20 - just Premier League players, to keep it simple. So, to count for you, they must have made their debut for a Premier League club before their 20th birthday. To count for me, they must have appeared in at least 1 Premier League team after their 30th birthday. For clarity, if a footballer made his debut before his 20th birthday and is on your list and he is still playing in the Premier League level after his 30th birthday, then he can be on my list also.

Note: it's not my judgement who and who can't perform, it's the judgement of the coach/manager picking the respective teams.

I'm sure there's an app somewhere that can produce all these stats very quickly.

UTC

No it’s simple, you name as many players as possible still competing at the highest level at 34 & I’ll name the 1s that don’t, we don’t need to digress away from that.

[MRG]

He wasn’t offered a deal a year ago because chairman overruled manager

Worrying times when the chairman is making better decisions than the manager.

[Local cricketer]

How much are his wages?

A lot. I’d imagine Pacey is rooting round in the office now to find any spare change Mike Garlick left behind to cover the interest on his loan

[wilks_bfc]

Listening to the match live for the last 25 minutes, and heard Lennons name mentioned twice, not a good sign

Maybe that that be because he was substituted off on 60mins

[ClaretMov]

Maybe that that be because he was substituted off on 60mins

Maybe if you had looked at the time I posted that comment you would of seen I was talking about the last 25 minutes of the first half

[wilks_bfc]

Maybe if you had looked at the time I posted that comment you would of seen I was talking about the last 25 minutes of the first half

Apologies. It’s early and I’m playing catch-up on last nights events

[claretonthecoast1882]

Disappointing news this, the club has missed a trick.

12 month contract isn't long enough, should have been 3 years.

[Rowls]

Glad to have Lennon back on board.

Dyche has earnt the right to have us trust his judgement on these transfers. Lennon's career likewise speaks for itself.

Welcome back to Burnley Aaron!

UTC

[JohnMcGreal]

Washed up? I'd suggest our manager is far too astute to sign him if he's washed up

I remember the astute signings of Peter Crouch, Jon Walters and Steven Reid, off the top of my head.

If we bring a couple of decent players in before the window shuts, then I don't really have a problem with Lennon providing a bit of back up, providing he's not on silly money.

But if this is the height of our ambitions for this window, it's nowhere near good enough, and people are right to call that out.

Let's see who else we sign before the end of the window.

[Local cricketer]

Disappointing news this, the club has missed a trick.

12 month contract isn't long enough, should have been 3 years.

Comes with a 2 year option which will be activated by Christmas

[claretonthecoast1882]

Comes with a 2 year option which will be activated by Christmas

Sounds promising, Dyche might finish a few off after all with the massive over reactions on this thread

[warksclaret]

Sounds like he did OK last night. Better to have him on our bench than 2 goal keepers. Hopefully we will also get a younger right winger who can add to the first eleven soon

[ClaretTony]

Sounds like he did OK last night. Better to have him on our bench than 2 goal keepers. Hopefully we will also get a younger right winger who can add to the first eleven soon

Your two goalkeepers theme again. I'll point out again that Liverpool had two goalkeepers on the bench last Saturday. Everton did against us at Goodison last season while both Man U & West Ham did regularly.

[superdimitri]

Finally a winger. Long overdue and a known quantity in Lennon. Much more sensible business given we know he fits in well. Next signing? Another winger please.

[Targetman]

If your going to argue at least be fair, he is right a large section of fans haven’t returned this season most likely down to style of play and costs during a pandemic.

Saying we were excellent at Liverpool is a bit of a stretch, we were ok. We battled resiliently and had a few chances but in reality Liverpool didn’t have to get out of second gear to beat us.

The comments about Lennon are fair he is another old player getting added to an already ageing squad. However I am personally of the opinion he will do a job and with limited finances there is not lot more you can hope for. I also suspect if we sign Cornet he will very rarely feature.

I'm not arguing, I'm pointing out that people who would prefer just to watch a winning team, who regularly compete at the top level of football can travel 20 miles down the road to watch either of a couple of teams from a city there. He said fans were turning away because of the style of our play, the pandemic was never mentioned!

I didn't say we were excellent at Liverpool, I said we played some excellent football at times against a team who have recently won everything. Is that statement not correct?

After the Liverpool game I travelled on a bus back to the train station, all the scousers sat near me were telling me how well Burnley played, saying how impressed they were by some of our players, how we stretched Liverpool at times.
They couldn't speak highly enough of our players.

The comments about Lennon are fair in your opinion, certainly not mine.

Some so called "supporters" on here love to find fault with our club, whether it be team selection, tactics or players brought in.
Some of these "supporters" only go to the occasional game, if at all, some of them openly brag about that fact on here. Yet they always seem to know better than anyone else, including the manager Sean Dyche.

Empty vessels and all that?!?

[whentheballmoves]

No problem with AL rejoining on a one year deal.

As a few have said, I'd rather have a round peg in the winger's slot than a JH / JB / EP type square peg filling in.

[Paul Waine]

No it’s simple, you name as many players as possible still competing at the highest level at 34 & I’ll name the 1s that don’t, we don’t need to digress away from that.

No worries. I'll pass on your kind offer.

UTC

[nil_desperandum]

Worrying times when the chairman is making better decisions than the manager.

Not necessarily a better decision, but it's always the case that the Chairman and board will have the final say on who we can afford and at what price. It's a business.
Only at a club like Man City can a manager have pretty much any player he wants.
On our budget the board have to make careful decisions about incomings and outgoings. If you buy one player it can then mean you can't bring in another, (potentially better) player, or have to release someone else.

[MRG]

Not necessarily a better decision, but it's always the case that the Chairman and board will have the final say on who we can afford and at what price. It's a business.
Only at a club like Man City can a manager have pretty much any player he wants.
On our budget the board have to make careful decisions about incomings and outgoings. If you buy one player it can then mean you can't bring in another, (potentially better) player, or have to release someone else.

If the chairman thought that AL was below the standard required to be successful in this division but Dyche disagreed then the chairman was making better football decisions than the manager.

[Quickenthetempo]

If the chairman thought that AL was below the standard required to be successful in this division but Dyche disagreed then the chairman was making better football decisions than the manager.

Garlick was right to get rid of the high wage players. But the wage bill still went up and Dyche looked to replace with similar.

So it didn't benefit the club as much as it should have done.

[claretonthecoast1882]

If the chairman thought that AL was below the standard required to be successful in this division but Dyche disagreed then the chairman was making better football decisions than the manager.

You think the chairman should be picking and choosing the managers playing squad ?

[MRG]

You think the chairman should be picking and choosing the managers playing squad ?

Of course not but he should certainly be asking the manager to be accountable for his poor decisions around recruitment including any desire to retain players who aren’t performing at the required level.

[claretonthecoast1882]

Of course not but he should certainly be asking the manager to be accountable for his poor decisions around recruitment including any desire to retain players who aren’t performing at the required level.

Ahh right, the chairman should cherry pick and question certain signings but ignore the ones signed cheaply then sold for large profits, or the ones signed cheaply who continue to do an excellent job for us and focus on the few that some on a forum like to whinge about ?

The anti Dyche message from some gets weirder and weirder

[Rileybobs]

You think the chairman should be picking and choosing the managers playing squad ?

I’d say it’s definitely within the chairman’s remit to have the ultimate say on my player contracts. Would you expect Nuno to have significant input into the the current Harry Kane saga?

Obviously if Dyche states that it’s his preference that we extend a players contract then you would hope that the chairman would do everything possible to allow this. But we don’t know if Lennon’s demands were outside of our financial parameters above our valuation of him.

Did Dyche want to extend Lennon’s contract long term or was it just to cover the covid-hit extended season? I can’t remember.

[claretonthecoast1882]

I’d say it’s definitely within the chairman’s remit to have the ultimate say on my player contracts. Would you expect Nuno to have significant input into the the current Harry Kane saga?

Obviously if Dyche states that it’s his preference that we extend a players contract then you would hope that the chairman would do everything possible to allow this. But we don’t know if Lennon’s demands were outside of our financial parameters above our valuation of him.

Did Dyche want to extend Lennon’s contract long term or was it just to cover the covid-hit extended season? I can’t remember.

You'd imagine the fact Lennon was already here and has since returned indicates it was well within the clubs financial remit. Selling players agreed falls more into the chairmans remit but if you are backing the most successful manager a high majority of the clubs current fanbase have seen and he asks for something that isn't breaking the bank then you do it.

The original point I was replying to was more the comment that the chairman was making better football decisions than the manager who is responsible for getting us where we are. Which is clearly nonsense.

[Rileybobs]

You'd imagine the fact Lennon was already here and has since returned indicates it was well within the clubs financial remit. Selling players agreed falls more into the chairmans remit but if you are backing the most successful manager a high majority of the clubs current fanbase have seen and he asks for something that isn't breaking the bank then you do it.

The original point I was replying to was more the comment that the chairman was making better football decisions than the manager who is responsible for getting us where we are. Which is clearly nonsense.

Yes I know, and I don’t disagree with your main point. But I think that the chairman is perfectly entitled to overrule the manager’s opinions on contract renewals. We don’t know if Lennon’s demands were reasonable at the time. We also don’t know whether Dyche wanted to renew Lennon’s contract just to see us through to the end of the season with a view to him being a bit part player beyond that and an excess wage.

The situation has since changed as we have lost Brady and Hendrick, our financial situation has also changed which may have given us more flexibility.

[MRG]

Ahh right, the chairman should cherry pick and question certain signings but ignore the ones signed cheaply then sold for large profits, or the ones signed cheaply who continue to do an excellent job for us and focus on the few that some on a forum like to whinge about ?

The anti Dyche message from some gets weirder and weirder

I’m not going to get into a petty argument with you as you have much more experience of message board battles therefore will tie me in knots.

My original post was pretty clear. It didn’t suggest that the chairman should be questioning Dyche simply that if it is as CT suggested and the chairman overruled Dyche on AL, then my thoughts (as well as most posts I’ve read on here relating to AL) are that the chairman’s decision was a good football decision where as Dyche thinking AL is the calibre of player that we need to be successful at this level is a poor football decision.

The fact that the chairman is making better football decisions than the manager is a concern to me.

The final point I will leave you with is, how many other premier league teams would have AL anywhere near their squad?

[Jakubclaret]

Yes I know, and I don’t disagree with your main point. But I think that the chairman is perfectly entitled to overrule the manager’s opinions on contract renewals. We don’t know if Lennon’s demands were reasonable at the time. We also don’t know whether Dyche wanted to renew Lennon’s contract just to see us through to the end of the season with a view to him being a bit part player beyond that and an excess wage.

The situation has since changed as we have lost Brady and Hendrick, our financial situation has also changed which may have given us more flexibility.

Or AL has realised the reality he isn’t in that much demand & rather than drop down the leagues or retire he’s decided this is his best option & probably the only 1 (PL wise) anyhow, I think that’s a more accurate take on what’s actually taken place & an insight into AL cognitive functioning.

[KateR]

welcome back AL, you play in a BFC shirt I'm supporting you, not the final signing I would like to see but as a squad player, like for last night's cup game he is ideally placed and know the group well and how to play the "Burnley way".

Seems a great bit of business to me, letting the player go, wages off the books, selling the club and staying in the PL looks like a well executed plan, bringing him back for a 12 month role, while trying to bring in younger exciting foreign player, is showing the level of ambition many have called for, just hoping the final piece of the jigsaw falls in place during the next few days. Plus of course all the younger players being brought in for the future will put us in a good place for the next few seasons in the PL, and quite likely there will be a bonus player or two joining soon.

Might be quite the transfer window to remember for the right reasons for once.

[aggi]

If the chairman thought that AL was below the standard required to be successful in this division but Dyche disagreed then the chairman was making better football decisions than the manager.

I think the important nuance is that the chairman thought AL was below the required standard for what he'd cost.

At times last season I think we'd have definitely benefited from having Lennon. However, whether that footballing benefit was worth the financial cost (particularly given that we eventually stayed up quite comfortably) is another question and one where you may expect the chairman and manager to have a different view.

[Jakubclaret]

You think the chairman should be picking and choosing the managers playing squad ?

You can easily turn that on its head & ask do you think the manager should be the 1 signing the cheques? To a degree the chairman does pick & choose the team because financially he’s the 1 who will sanction incoming players, without his permission the players wouldn’t be there in the first place to pick & choose from.

[boatshed bill]

I think people are forgetting that Lennon, along with Hart and Bardsley, was offered a short term deal which he declined.
Bardsley subsequently signed his and carried on into thev extended season, the others didn't.

[BabylonClaret]

A lot. I’d imagine Pacey is rooting round in the office now to find any spare change Mike Garlick left behind to cover the interest on his loan

Do tell. I'm agog to know