Why can't we win away?

[Royboyclaret]

Have to say that KRBFC makes a strong argument but it's not something we haven't all known for long enough.

Away performances are not reaping any rewards and this play 'not to lose' policy with wide midfielders playing as auxiliary full-backs is so negative and unnecessary against teams like Swansea. In players like Defour and Brady we have the quality to take games on, all it needs is the whole team to play higher up the pitch and impose our own game on the opposition. Instead it's like they are playing in straightjackets. Let the handbrake off, Sean, set them free and show some real attacking intent. Let's face it results can't be any worse away from home.

[MACCA]

If you set up for a nil nil but try and nick a goal from a set play or element of good fortune you should always be "in the game"
Conceeding an average of 2 in each of our last 6 away games isn't an achievement!

I dont care how or where we get the points, but going away to watch the team at the moment thinking it will be entertainment is delusional.

Doing the same things, the same way over and over again, and expecting different results is insane.

[lucs86]

Swansea have one of the highest cross stats with 596 (5th), with Southampton top having 686.

And Swansea and Southampton for me have been two of our worst away performances, maybe there's a correlation?

Got to be better at stopping the crosses, so many conceded from wide this season, change in shape, 5 at back closing games out maybe?

[Lancasterclaret]

Didn't we open up a bit more at the start of the season, which is why we were getting tonked?

Southampton and West Brom could have hit double figures against us in all honesty

[CnBtruntru]

C..p

[Spijed]

Didn't we open up a bit more at the start of the season, which is why we were getting tonked?

Southampton and West Brom could have hit double figures against us in all honesty

We opened up against Chelsea and got sliced open. We kept it tight against Arsenal and should have come away with a draw.

[DCWat]

We certainly lack pace from out wide and I hope this is addressed in the summer. Going back to Spice's earlier point about Ings, which I think is particularly valid, this season. We really need a striker that can defend from the front and is comfortable enough / quick enough to link midfield and attack.

Some pace on a flank, and a striker that can link play, would give us much more of an outlet and something to build on from our solid framework without the framework strangling us in attack.

Without these we will continue to be effective but predictable. We need to give the opposition a little more to think about other than where there next attack is coming from.

It's less of a concern this season, but we can't expect a similar level of performance and points at home next season.

[Bacchus]

Dyche talks about his belief in the squad but his set up suggests the opposite. He doesn't trust his team to outplay the opposition - that's why we set up the way we do. He trusts his central defenders to head crosses away all afternoon but if you give a striker like Llorente 35+ to go at it's inevitable that he'll get on the end of a couple. The best way to defend is by having the ball ourselves and we're far to willing to allow the opposition possession & time on the ball - eventually players of the quality that we're facing will do something with that possession.

A couple of specific issues have been raised above - our pass completion rate and the fact that we seem unable to play 4-5-1. I'd argue both of these factors are the direct result of our midfield sitting too deep. Of course Gray can't play the lone forward when there's nobody else within 50 yards of him - 4-5-1 needs the wide men to stop being auxiliary full backs and play as wingers. Naturally our pass completion is poor when there is nobody to pass to - teams press us and we resort to lumping the ball into the channels because we don't have any other option.

We've got 4 very winnable away games left - hopefully a bit more attacking intent might see us pick up that elusive win. My concern though is that Dyche will view not losing to Sunderland and Middlesbrough as more important than winning.

[claretandy]

The idea that we've actually played 451 is a nonsense, we've played 4411 with either Hendrick or Defour playing in the same role as when Barnes plays upfront, there really isn't much difference apart from the personnel. Swansea showed how to play 451 with carroll and fer both breaking from midfield to put the crosses in for Llorente, and Narsingh staying wide and Sigurdsson coming off the left and floating about, Fluid v's our rigid straight-jacketed formation.

[NRC]

Not true, certainly in relation to what KRBFC actually wrote.

Liverpool didn't really play with a central striker, and definitely not one with any real aerial prowess.
That meant their crosses were useless.

Swansea had legitimately one of the best target men in the world over the last 10 years to aim for. He absolutely owned us.

And this is why I focused on passing accuracy, not possession. We can concede possession, but as long as we can keep our shape we still need to be broken down. Whereas, if our passing accuracy is simply absent it means we're giving away the ball and probably not in our defensive shape, which means recovery, which reduces our odds of defending passages of play successfully, and therefore increases the risk of conceding.

[Longside4evr]

With Liverpool being our next game we can not afford to disrupted our shape to much
We just need to have a settled midfield four we have been all over the show in this area of our shape not one of them is used to playing with the other at this level it needs to be molded yet.
We are playing like we are in straight jackets but we not far off it either i feel regardless of the last match we are shaping into breaking our duck,
These games against Hull aside, Swansea, Sunderland and Bournemouth weren't going to be a walk in the park like some portray. established sides fighting for there lives up against the worst away performers of any league.
And i will be Buggered if we decide to open up against Liverpool at Anfield what on earth is being suggested here they would carve us to pieces, and pick us off like pawn's in a chess game
No it would be like Russian roulette things need to change I agree but to go at Liverpool we would come off really licking our wounds and we dont need an absolute hiding before we go to Sunderland.

[Wile E Coyote]

Has to be psychological to a degree. We are definitely punching above our weight at home, but probably should have done a little better away.

The fact is we probably have one of the weakest squads in the division and what we have achieved is remarkable so far, but I can't see it being repeated next year without strengthening the team. We have a 2 or 3 regular starters who probably would not get near the first 11 in any other team in the Prem.

I also think we are tactically too negative away from home, apart from Gray we don't give the opposition much to worry about. Surely Brady should be deployed as an out and out attacking player, he looked lost yesterday in his role and offered nothing to the team.

agreed, and I too think the psychology is a huge part of it.
I listened to an ex player recently describing his experiences away and home, he said at home, he knew when the ball went out exactly what advertising board it was next to.
The home pitch even was so familiar, the crowd yelled for you to reach every fifty fifty ball, they booed the opposition at every opprtunity.
He said it was very hard to define, but there was a massive difference somehow,
It is odd with Burnley though, we have weathered a lot of storms at home, won against all the odds sometimes. Low possession, but defended stoically.
That same defensive ability has prevented us from suffering severe hammerings too.
We dont look particularly dangerous to often , either home or away. Very few chances to attack effectively.
It is a remarkable set of stats to be honest, most would expect an away win by now, we will just have to pray we can maintain the form at Turf Moor, otherwise it might prove catastrophic.

[BleedingClaret]

The answer is simple, we don't try to win a game away from home. We lack real intent, the defensive line never moves from our own box so the gap between the defence and attack is massive giving the midfield far too much work to do to provide quality in the final third. Ultimately when you ''park the bus'' you give up the territory and possession, the more men you have behind the ball the less likely you will score and the more likely you will concede. The subs against Swansea were disgraceful and negative, I'm all for parking the bus to hang onto a win in the final 5 minutes, but subbing on a defender, changing shape to timewaste and not try and score with 20 minutes left is pathetic. Swansea had 72% of the ball, Yes Swansea not Barca. The gameplan is just garbage from the start, when you are playing against a striker like Llorente, you know he isn't going to cause any problems in behind but is a monster in the air, why on earth would you not push the defensive line up the pitch, press the midfield and compact the game. Instead we parked the bus in our own half meaning Llorente spent most of the game stood in our penalty box waiting for cross after cross it's almost inevitable we'll concede. Make Llorente useless, make him have to win headers higher up the pitch and work for goals, all he had to do all afternoon is stand in the penalty box and do what he does best, attack crosses. Just mind baffling. Ok, we maybe haven't got the quality players of Swansea to retain the ball like they do but 28% possession is an absolute farce and shows us up as negative. Zero
Bpressure on the ball, the wide players are like fullbacks and have to run the length of the pitch to provide a cross. It's about time we stopped playing panic football and started actually providing service to the front men, b*llocks to this defending lark, we shipped 3 goals anyway.

Bob on
Exactly as I saw it
I remember playing QPR away, they had ,Zamora and ,Austin upfront
With Barton in midfield and we let Austin & Zamora stand on the edge of the box and Barton spraying balls in 10 yards of space in to them
To add to what you said we also concede the touch line and tuck in, against Swansea this was fatal.
Also We should have had two on Llorente as he was a lone striker for long periods and Keane should have man marked him from set peices