REPORT: Burnley shot down by the Gunners

[dandeclaret]

There's a similarity here to when they qualified for Europe, and played mostly a 2nd XI team - Dyche seemed to lose some of the key players for a while then, but somehow appeared to have a clear the air meeting or something, and got them back on side, and the 2nd half of the season was outstanding. The lack of effort and will to win from this group is what defines them.

[ClaretTony]

There's a similarity here to when they qualified for Europe, and played mostly a 2nd XI team - Dyche seemed to lose some of the key players for a while then, but somehow appeared to have a clear the air meeting or something, and got them back on side, and the 2nd half of the season was outstanding. The lack of effort and will to win from this group is what defines them.

28 points in the second half of that season and then 54 in the next season. I don’t know how the meeting went but 82 points from 57 games was an astonishing return.

[dandeclaret]

28 points in the second half of that season and then 54 in the next season. I don’t know how the meeting went but 82 points from 57 games was an astonishing return.

Incredible return that…. I wonder if it was really appreciated at the time.

[fidelcastro]

Incredible return that…. I wonder if it was really appreciated at the time.

For many on here it was. Others just said we'd got lucky and it was boring to watch.

I wonder if the people who fall into the latter category prefer what's being served up now?

[CoolClaret]

After that performance, I am assuming that the manager was misquoted when he said that the defeat to City on the opening night was the worst we'd be all season?

It's quips like this now from VK, Matt Williams and even Pace that have turned out to be demonstrably false leading me to not particularly put much stock or have much faith in anything they come out with, in all honesty - which is a damn shame and unthinkable as to where we were in May 2023.

[ClaretTony]

Incredible return that…. I wonder if it was really appreciated at the time.

Probably not but we played some terrific football in so many of those games

[Stayingup]

Probably not but we played some terrific football in so many of those games

Yes I agree we did. Dyche' teams played to the strength of the players he had at his disposal. VK is trying to play a system in a division which his players are just not good enough to.play. Some of these players may be good enough in future but not now.

[spt_claret]

Probably not but we played some terrific football in so many of those games

The thought that always came to mind to me about us at our best under Dyche- the Championship winning season, European qualification, the back end of the 2018-19 season through the next- was that we were like a wolfpack. Ruthless, staggeringly well organised and in sync, for all the love of Guardiolissimo, total football etc., we may not have been as roaming and fluid as that but we were one of the most synchronised teams I've ever seen. It got to the point at times I actually enjoyed watching teams come at us trying to attack because you just felt we'd absorb it and suddenly pounce like clockwork. It wasn't everyone's idea of good football but I thought it was brilliant, incredibly efficient intelligent play.