Ben Mee Leaving !

[dsr]

What about the many posters who openly admit to watching the Clarets on illegal streams?
Are they paying customers?

I think you might be a little confused about what being a Burnley fan really means.

I think it's possible to watch home games at the ground and away games on computer. You don't have to watch all 46 live to be a fan.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Disappointing he’s leaving, but it sounds like he’s been offered a deal and thinks he might still be able to play in the Prem.

To add a bit of balance though, he turns 33 in September and he’s missed 31 PL games in the last 3 seasons, mainly through injury. The number of games missed has risen every year for the past 3 and could suggest that his brave defending style is taking its toll on his body.

If he stayed i’m guessing he’d also rightly expect to be one of the highest earners given his experience and service. Whether we want to be paying him a top wage if there are signs his body might not cope with a 46 game season is something to consider.

Some valuable points but I would suggest it’s the worth wage in experience and leadership he brings to the squad.

It looks like we are going down a route of youth, that is absolutely fine but none of them including our manager have any experience of being promoted from the championship. Ben Mee knows exactly what it takes.

[Targetman]

Depends how far you want to go. If people put a bet on there are inevitably contributing to football. People buying products from sponsors. Anyone can be a paying customer to some extent

I'm sure the club's accountants will sleep much easier tonight after reading that.

[Newcastleclaret93]

I'm sure the club's accountants will sleep much easier tonight after reading that.

Your the one saying that a fan is only allowed a view if they attend every game. I’m just going to the other extreme

[Targetman]

Your the one saying that a fan is only allowed a view if they attend every game. I’m just going to the other extreme

Another one of your strange comments??

[boatshed bill]

What about the many posters who openly admit to watching the Clarets on illegal streams?
Are they paying customers?

I think you might be a little confused about what being a Burnley fan really means.

And i think you might be a little confused about how confused i am
people watch football on so many media these days, but I don't go on illegal streams myself.
Do you honestly believe that BFC only has 17-20k fans? you may not call them supporters, but they contribute none-the-less.

[Newcastleclaret93]

And i think you might be a little confused about how confused i am
people watch football on so many media these days, but I don't go on illegal streams myself.
Do you honestly believe that BFC only has 17-20k fans? you may not call them supporters, but they contribute none-the-less.

Yep you have a better understanding. We literally have a fan base in Japan and Argentina. They will be contributing next to nothing financially, I still value there opinion.

[Targetman]

And i think you might be a little confused about how confused i am
people watch football on so many media these days, but I don't go on illegal streams myself.
Do you honestly believe that BFC only has 17-20k fans? you may not call them supporters, but they contribute none-the-less.

Well I'm glad to hear that you don't use illegal streams.

[boatshed bill]

Yep you have a better understanding. We literally have a fan base in Japan and Argentina. They will be contributing next to nothing financially, I still value there opinion.

Let's face it 20 x £100+ million a season for the PL is not being raised at the turnstiles

[jurek]

Ben Mee leaving (if it is true) shouldn't be that much of a surprise or shock.
I think it was always on the cards.

Personally I wish him well especially if he can get a deal at a Premier League
club on better wages that we would be willing to offer or can afford to offer.
He'd be daft not to. Whether he would be a regular starter elsewhere is open to debate.
We will need to reduce the wage bill significantly and no doubt if he stayed he would
probably be one of our highest earners.

If he does leave it makes it more important that we hold onto to Collins
for at least another season. Losing Collins and Mee ( and Tarkowski) would really make it difficult
for Kompany and even though we all know we shall need a major rebuild losing
three of our central defenders isn't ideal.

Given (as agreedwood pointed out) he's 33 in September and missed quite a few games through injury
over the last 3 seasons then it probably makes senses to let him go.
Yes we're losing our captain and his leadership qualities but I'm not certain
he would be able to play that significant a role next season even if he stayed.
It would be sad, if it so turned out, to watch him struggle with us in the championship.

Good luck Ben wherever you go and thanks for being
a major player/contributor to our 6 seasons in the Premiership
and part of the team that got us up too.

Funnily enough I can see he coming back to Burnley in a few years time
maybe in a coach/managerial capacity if he decides to go down that road.

[ClaretPete001]

Had you said what the point was I wouldn't have missed it. But fans pay to watch and are therefore allowed to critisize. Be it Directors, .management or players. But criticism and disloyalty are not necessarily the same thing.

Easy for you to say. Fans turn on players very quickly - there is not much loyalty in football.

[spt_claret]

Easy for you to say. Fans turn on players very quickly - there is not much loyalty in football.

My favourite is when fans use "No room for sentiment" or "Past performance is no indication of future performance" (as if track record or experience are meaningless, and history teaches nothing) as reasons to slag off or push to oust people they've soured on. But then turn round and bemoan that those people they have no sentiment for, don't show more sentiment to the club ahead of their own interests.

Seems a little inconsistent.

[ClaretPete001]

Staff get paid (handsomely) fans pay for the priviledge of watching.
The idea that fans should show loyalty to individuals on the staff is at a minimum whimsical.

I think the point has been lost in translation I don’t recall saying fans should be loyal - my point was they aren’t.

Anyway the original post I responded to is long gone.

[daveisaclaret]

Staff get paid (handsomely) fans pay for the priviledge of watching.
The idea that fans should show loyalty to individuals on the staff is at a minimum whimsical.

If the idea that fans should show loyalty to individuals on the staff is whimsical why do Burnley fans still love Kieran Trippier, Jimmy McIlroy et al?

[ClaretPete001]

My favourite is when fans use "No room for sentiment" or "Past performance is no indication of future performance" (as if track record or experience are meaningless, and history teaches nothing) as reasons to slag off or push to oust people they've soured on. But then turn round and bemoan that those people they have no sentiment for, don't show more sentiment to the club ahead of their own interests.

Seems a little inconsistent.

Indeed that was my point. Even 7 Premiership seasons. Two promotions and a Championship win didn’t buy much loyalty from some.

I’m not saying it should, rather you can hardly expect it in return.

[Woodleyclaret]

I really did think we would be looking at a player coach role especially after last season, but
maybe it wasn't of offer .The dithering over our manager situation doesn't help though and this needs urgently clarification from our chairman ,not silence.

[Vegas Claret]

I really did think we would be looking at a player coach role especially after last season, but
maybe it wasn't of offer .The dithering over our manager situation doesn't help though and this needs urgently clarification from our chairman ,not silence.

the only dithering seems to be coming from the UK Government and immigration processing - to suggest that's the fault of a football club or an owner of is pretty laughable

[Woodleyclaret]

Fao Vegas Claret
Boris screws up most things he touches but even his reach doesn't extend to our chairman keeping the fans informed of the situation re appointment of a manager. We have had issues with club to fan communication going back years and it's not too much to want it sorted properly.

[kentonclaret]

Cast your minds back just 12 months and posters on this message board were speculating on the enormity and scale of the rebuilding job needed at Crystal Palace. I think that BFC have topped that and by some considerable margin.

[jojomk1]

Interesting to see where Ben will end up

Fulham may come in with a double swoop inc Pope

Forrest would see him as a big improvement on Cook although not sure if Worrall can play on the right side (Ben certainly can't)

Bournemouth could also be interested and don't rule out Leeds

[mkmel]

Maybe some club will sign both Tarkowski AND Mee. And have a balanced and tried and proven centre back partnership.

[Walkerpool]

I'll be absolutely gutted if Ben Mee is leaving probably the most underrated player in the Premier league.

[Stayingup]

Easy for you to say. Fans turn on players very quickly - there is not much loyalty in football.

Now its you who has missed the point. Completely.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Cast your minds back just 12 months and posters on this message board were speculating on the enormity and scale of the rebuilding job needed at Crystal Palace. I think that BFC have topped that and by some considerable margin.

Palace went and found an investor who dropped £100 million into the club making that rebuild easier to do.
Here people are bewildered by ALK seeking further investment, it's almost like they can't connect the dots.

[Middle-agedClaret]

I don’t think the uncertainty about the manager or the financial situation would encourage anyone employed by the club to ignore other opportunities.
If. Ben does go - well, thanks for all you’ve done, and good luck for the future.

[ClaretTony]

2021-22 53
2020-21 55
2019-20 50
2018-19 68

Goals conceded in last 4 seasons.

It was the lack of goals at the other end that got us relegated

Goals scored in last 5 seasons

2021/22 34
2020/21 33
2019/20 43
2018/19 45
2017/18 36

If it was a lack of goals that got us relegated, it’s worth nothing that scoring just two more in the season got us into Europe four years ago.

[Bosscat]

Clean sheet stats also interesting

17/18 12
18/19 9
19/20 15
20/21 9
21/22 9

[RVclaret]

Goals scored in last 5 seasons

2021/22 34
2020/21 33
2019/20 43
2018/19 45
2017/18 36

If it was a lack of goals that got us relegated, it’s worth nothing that scoring just two more in the season got us into Europe four years ago.

I think a more interesting stat might me ‘games not scored in’. I reckon that would be higher last season than others.

[ClaretTony]

I think a more interesting stat might me ‘games not scored in’. I reckon that would be higher last season than others.

I know how easy it is to play with stats and make them look the way you want them to.

Interestingly, I think we failed to score 13 times in 2017/18 and failed to score 16 times in 2021/22.

[NewClaret]

I know how easy it is to play with stats and make them look the way you want them to.

Interestingly, I think we failed to score 13 times in 2017/18 and failed to score 16 times in 2021/22.

That’s probably the key one.

Scrap a goal vs Watford & Norwich at home and we stay up.

I do feel we performed pretty well this year and looked like a PL team - didn’t get badly beaten in any game, created our chances, just often didn’t take them. Such a shame that we will now get dismantled when we were probably 2-3 signings from being a very decent “outfit”, to coin a Dychism.

[Rileybobs]

Scrap a goal vs Watford & Norwich at home and we stay up.

No we wouldn’t. Don’t concede late against Leeds at Turf Moor and we would though.

[Spindles]

No we wouldn’t. Don’t concede late against Leeds at Turf Moor and we would though.

How is gaining 4 pts on Leeds somehow worse than gaining 3?

[NewClaret]

No we wouldn’t. Don’t concede late against Leeds at Turf Moor and we would though.

We would have stayed up with four more points, wouldn’t we?

But yeah, I recall that goal so well. So scrappy but you could see it coming. Felt like a hammer blow at the time & turned out to be.

[Stockbrokerbelt]

Can I remind the posters who have said they are worried because the new manager/ coaching staff & players have no championship experience, what experience of winning the championship did Dyche, ings, etc of winning the championship? I’m sure the new broom will add experience as well as youth to the squad.

[Rileybobs]

We would have stayed up with four more points, wouldn’t we?

But yeah, I recall that goal so well. So scrappy but you could see it coming. Felt like a hammer blow at the time & turned out to be.

Apologies. I misread your post to say Watford ‘or’ Norwich.

[ClaretPete001]

I suspect most fans of teams could point to injuries and squandered opportunities in a season.

From memory, we managed no points against Newcastle, 1 against Leeds, 1 against Villa, 1 against Norwich, 2 against Palace and shared wins with Everton, Brentford and Southampton.

Against bottom half teams we only bettered Watford (with 4 points).

Even against bottom half teams we only managed 1 point per game, which would have only seen us survive on goal difference.

Fine margins but the press wasn't the same, the shape wasn't as good, thirty something midfielders and injuries to forwards all contributed.

In the end, it wasn't even the size of the club or money that relegated us. The saddest thing is - it was all very predictable and largely as a consequence of poor leadership at the club.

[FCBurnley]

Sinking ship springs to mind. Follow the money

[BabylonClaret]

That’s probably the key one.

Scrap a goal vs Watford & Norwich at home and we stay up.

I do feel we performed pretty well this year and looked like a PL team - didn’t get badly beaten in any game, created our chances, just often didn’t take them. Such a shame that we will now get dismantled when we were probably 2-3 signings from being a very decent “outfit”, to coin a Dychism.

It's even less - keep that clean sheet against Leeds t home and we stay up.

[FCBurnley]

People need to focus on the future (if we have one) rather than last seasons debacle

[BabylonClaret]

People need to focus on the future (if we have one) rather than last seasons debacle

True. I think the focus on last season spun out of a suggestion that the mee/tarks partnership saw us relegated (hence losing Mee as well as tarks wouldn't be much of a loss and therefore was kind of forward looking if that makes sense)

[Spijed]

Ultimately, like every season the bottom three deserved to be relegated. Just like the bottom three will deserve to go down next season.

Off the field there are certainly worries due to our financial situation, but on the field our relegation is no more unusual or a disaster than any other club that goes down.

Perhaps we displayed a bit of naivety when it came to not playing the 'Covid' card, like teams such as Everton & Newcastle did who tried to get games called off due to their injury situation, rather than having many genuine cases.

[warksclaret]

Ben well may find himself a good last PL contract, but his place will not be guaranteed . SD was loyal to the team and I believe never dropped Ben once he went to CH. He does not have the pace needed in the PL, and at times will make a howler , but his reading of the game and his warrior like bravery made him a starter if fit for us. He wont have the same loyalty from another manager, and if he makes a mistake which costs the team points, he could easily get dropped. Plus if he gets injured and his stand in plays well, he may not get in the team (unlike when Collins deputised for him, then got instantly dropped when Ben was fit). So he will be sacrificing playing for a better deal and contract

[bumba]

Ultimately, like every season the bottom three deserved to be relegated. Just like the bottom three will deserve to go down next season.

Off the field there are certainly worries due to our financial situation, but on the field our relegation is no more unusual or a disaster than any other club that goes down.

Perhaps we displayed a bit of naivety when it came to not playing the 'Covid' card, like teams such as Everton & Newcastle did who tried to get games called off due to their injury situation, rather than having many genuine cases.

Agree to an extent that the bottom three are always the three who deserve it but some situations such as Everton's financial cheating which should of resulted in an embargo or point deduction is what kept them out of the bottom three. Would we of been in the bottom three had we spent another £200 million we don't have on players??

[ClaretAL]

If any scout were watching our back 5 in particular Tarky Mee and Pope , it must be seriously tempting to snap them up for the same team, and keep the understanding in place

[bumba]

If any scout were watching our back 5 in particular Tarky Mee and Pope , it must be seriously tempting to snap them up for the same team, and keep the understanding in place

Why?? We still got relegated with them all

[taio]

Why?? We still got relegated with them all

Because they were way ahead of the rest and least to blame for our relegation.

[Stayingup]

Why?? We still got relegated with them all

That comment ought to be in the joke of the day section.

[boatshed bill]

If the idea that fans should show loyalty to individuals on the staff is whimsical why do Burnley fans still love Kieran Trippier, Jimmy McIlroy et al?

Are you their spokesperson?
Plenty, i am sure, don't give a monkey's about KT or any other ex players

[Stayingup]

If Mee does go then it shows that getting shut of Dyche with no successor lined up was a colossal mistake.

[boatshed bill]

If Mee does go then it shows that getting shut of Dyche with no successor lined up was a colossal mistake.

you seem to be assuming that Mee would have stayed regardless of relegation?
Big assumption.