A striker has to be top priority

[Newcastleclaret93]

That is the problem with judging everything from stats

2 recent games in different divisions you tell me the results, neither of these games are ours and both were played in last few days

Game 1
possession 31% - 69%
passes 227 - 491

Game 2
possession 24% - 76%
passes 278 - 777

These are just one of games though. Ball retention is key, under Dyche our best football came when we retained the ball better.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

These are just one of games though. Ball retention is key, under Dyche our best football came when we retained the ball better.

Retained?
If you mean possession, then not really, we're not known for having high possession stats, we've beaten numerous teams when our match possession stats have been very low, Inc against Liverpool in January last year and we had less than 30% for that game.

We're just not seeing an effective end product from our attacking players overall, both wingers and strikers and it's killing us.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Retained?
If you mean possession, then not really, we're not known for having high possession stats, we've beaten numerous teams when our match possession stats have been very low, Inc against Liverpool in January last year and we had less than 30% for that game.

We're just not seeing an effective end product from our attacking players overall, both wingers and strikers and it's killing us.

Would you say there is a direct correlation between possession and points gained? I certainly would.

[claretonthecoast1882]

Would you say there is a direct correlation between possession and points gained? I certainly would.

Do you think there is a direct correlation between the teams having the best squads and them having more possession ?

[ClaretPete001]

Retained?
If you mean possession, then not really, we're not known for having high possession stats, we've beaten numerous teams when our match possession stats have been very low, Inc against Liverpool in January last year and we had less than 30% for that game.

We're just not seeing an effective end product from our attacking players overall, both wingers and strikers and it's killing us.

Again I agree with God, which is reassuring but when we beat Liverpool comfortably 2-0 our possession stats were 22 per cent.

Even when we won the Championship possession was not a big factor.

Where I do agree with Newcastle is that in the absence of possession the midfield two has to work very hard.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Would you say there is a direct correlation between possession and points gained? I certainly would.

As I've said, historically our possession stats have been lower than most teams.
The issue is how effective we've been, or not, with the ball when we've had it.
Whenever we have high possession stats I tend to find it very un-Burnley like and I expect us to lose as a result.
It sounds odd, but that's because I'm used to us picking up results with lower stats.

We need to get back to recycling the ball forwards more effectively, like we did when Hendrick was playing pretty much as a CAM.

Having higher possession means nothing if we've got a poor end product like we do now.

[ClaretPete001]

As I've said, historically our possession stats have been lower than most teams.
The issue is how effective we've been, or not, with the ball when we've had it.
Whenever we have high possession stats I tend to find it very un-Burnley like and I expect us to lose as a result.
It sounds odd, but that's because I'm used to us picking up results with lower stats.

We need to get back to recycling the ball forwards more effectively, like we did when Hendrick was playing pretty much as a CAM.

Having higher possession means nothing if we've got a poor end product like we do now.

Where we have been outstanding I would say is in the goals scored v opportunity created. Most stats are based upon goals per game or goals per minute, which favours the big clubs but it would be interesting to see goal scored per opportunity created.

When you score 2 goals, as Andrew Gray did against Liverpool, with only 22 per cent possession then it suggests that the strikers are very effective.