We were miles off
I don’t think today’s 0-0 draw against West Brom will be viewed favourably by either manager be it because of the points dropped or the quality of performance.
Sam Allardyce, who has presided over just one win since taking over at West Brom in December, saw his side pick up a second successive draw but he wasn’t pleased with that and said: “I’m more than disappointed that we didn’t get the three points because of the quality and application of the lads today.
“When you get a player sent off midway through the first half, you want to see a reaction and I’ve just seen one of the best performances by ten men as a manager. The application of the players was absolutely magnificent. We nullified Burnley to few chances and at the other end, in the second half particularly, created two gilt edged chances, but unfortunately we couldn’t convert either one. I’m gutted for the players because it should’ve been three points.
“The backbone of us picking up three points is to be defensively solid, as we have been in the last two games. It’s our first clean sheet and the ten men played so well, I didn’t have to make a substitution apart from the sending off. There was no one getting tired out of the ten men and these lads took it right to the very end. But they all know we should’ve got three points today.”
I don’t think Sean Dyche disagree with Allardyce’s verdict. “I’m pleased to get a point because we were miles off,” the Burnley manager said. “I demand a lot of these players but today looked like a game too far.
“We looked flat and had no spark, not even that mental clarity. Physically, the players are still working, but that mental clarity to play was miles away from what we are used to. We are stretched to the limit now, and that showed. We were limited in what we could do and limited in what we had available to change things. We do need players to get fit again, because that was unrecognisable from what we normally are.”
Dyche added: “Against eleven we tried to open them up without playing well, but we still looked organised and found our shape well and still asked a few questions. When they went to ten, the edge and that sharpness just went, and we had players just making unrecognisable mistakes constantly. In the end we were trying to open up, but we opened up so much and gave the ball away so much, that teams are good in the Premier League and they will respond.
“So, I end up being pleased with a point in the end, because we were miles off and they had chances to go and nick it.”
Clearly unhappy with the dates for re-arranged games, he said: “The game schedule has been really unkind and that’s the first time it’s really caught us out. We have asked a lot of these players and some of them we have to just keep rolling out week after week, but the difference is when you are doing that Saturday to Saturday, you get a break. At the minute, it’s a relentless in terms of games.
“We did ask the Premier League for the Fulham game to not be this week and we can’t do anything about that. We have another in two weeks, where the Premier League have just kindly thrown another one at us, when they probably didn’t have to, but such is life. It’s a challenge and they are games that we’ll have to take on. It’s probably going to catch up eventually and we have got a clear week now after another tough week.
“We were very good at Palace, we were at least solid against Fulham in midweek, but today sometimes I have to be honest and look at them and say, ‘you have put a lot in’. We keep getting injuries and we have a number of big players missing, and the young players aren’t really ready yet. But we come away with another point and a clean sheet, which is the overriding pleasing aspect.
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