The audit: Burnley

On-pitch performance

Burnley certainly haven’t given up hope, and can point to a degree of bad luck, as the extraordinary match against Brentford showed yesterday. After going 3-0 down in 34 minutes, they thought that they had gone ahead in the 78th minute at 4-3 until Zian Flemming’s goal was ruled out. VAR intervened again controversially to deny them a point.

Unfortunately their slight upturn in form is too little too late. They are 19th, eight points off safety with 10 games left. Their woes are blamed on attacking struggles: they have the fewest expected goals and chances in the league. But another promoted side, Sunderland, eight places and 18 points higher, have scored three fewer goals. The key difference is that Sunderland are strong in midfield, whereas Burnley’s possession-light play has not translated into defensive solidity. Talk has turned to when, not if, they will be relegated. It would be the fifth season in a row they have flipped between the top two divisions.

Money

Burnley used to be financially conservative, run by local businessmen and holding no external debt. But a leveraged buyout by a US consortium in 2020 means that they are now £113m in the red and face more on-field pressure to deliver results. Burnley have spent more than £208m on transfer fees in the past two years and need consistent revenue to help balance that outlay. Without regular Premier League football, they could founder.

Ownership

Led by Alan Pace, a former Wall Street banker, ALK Capital perhaps let its ambitions get the better of itself when it engineered a £170m takeover with the club’s own money. It will be hard for Burnley, with their small stadium and unfancied location, to become a revenue giant. Pace’s acquisition of a majority stake in Espanyol in October was perhaps a belated admission of reality, spreading its risk.

Although Pace is more communicative than other owners, the honeymoon period is over. Asked about supporter discontent recently, he compared Burnley fans with three-year-olds throwing tantrums. “At the end of it, you get embarrassed and you say you’re sorry and you hope that they grow up.”

Fan satisfaction

Burnley supporters have a lot of time for Scott Parker, the head coach, but his future is under threat. Meanwhile, fan satisfaction with the owners is at an all-time low. There are Clarets who would secretly prefer to be a big fish in the Championship, but not if it financially imperils the club. The match that followed Pace’s ill-advised comments, a defeat against West Ham last month, was conspicuously edgy. Many fans have never forgiven the owner for sacking Sean Dyche, a beloved manager, in 2022.

Products and prospects

If the rumour mill is to be believed, Burnley have already fended off interest for winger Jaidon Anthony even though he only arrived last summer. He is their star player, but Burnley may have to be open to offers if they are relegated and need cash. In the past, they have handled demotion by selling up-and-comers such as James Trafford and Wilson Odobert, but now they have few options beyond Anthony and Zian Flemming. Armando Broja, Loum Tchaouna and Bashir Humphreys have shown only flashes of promise in their debut seasons, so none would be easy sells.

There are no former academy players in the first-team squad (a couple are out on loan), so Burnley have little hope of generating “pure profit”. They do have a plan for the future. Burnley launched a player development centre in Greater Manchester in partnership with a platform called aiScout. But the promise of AI companies doesn’t always meet with reality. Football is also a hard sport to Moneyball.

Women’s team

ALK can be proud of its work with the women’s squad, who were integrated into Burnley FC in the 2020-21 season, became the first British side to stream their home games on TikTok in 2021-22, and are now professional. They are unbeaten in the league this season and currently lead the third tier of women’s football. But this masks a rocky few months for the team. The late Matt Beard managed Burnley Women at the start of the season but resigned after two months. Beard’s interim replacement, Louise Roberts, then left unexpectedly in early February. Burnley Women attract good crowds at Turf Moor, but could do with a dedicated stadium. They play their next two games in Chorley and Leyland.

History

Burnley Rovers gave up on rugby in 1882, dropped the “Rovers” suffix, and six years later became one of 12 founding members of the Football League. Their trophy cabinet compares favourably with Stoke’s and Accrington’s, neither of whom have ever won a top-flight championship, but Burnley have only one FA Cup and two league titles. Nonetheless, they are one of a few clubs to win all four professional divisions and can count themselves lucky to have avoided administration in 2002. Burnley’s kit has been claret and blue for 80 years, but once they tried pink and white.

Stadium

Nestled among 19th-century terraced houses and set against sweeping hillsides, Turf Moor has been home to Burnley for more than 140 years. It could do with a lick of paint, but there is a certain charm to a ground that has not fully given up on wooden seats. The food offerings are cheap and cheerful: steaming pies, washed down with “Bene ’n’ Hot” (Bénédictine liqueur mixed with boiling water). A friendly nearby haunt is The Royal Dyche, named after their former manager, but more obstreperous fans go to the Burnley Miners’ Social Club.

Atmosphere

In the first game at Turf Moor, a 6-3 loss, one reporter wrote that intemperate conditions “made correct play impossible”. Not much has changed as the open corners of the ground allow wind to swirl. These gusts provide the descant to strains of “No nay never”, adapted from an Irish folk song. Its defiant ­lyrics read as ironic when the club are in the Premier League. They are dated too, referencing a Blackburn player from the 1970s. But the chant encapsulates the spirit of the town, which is only four times bigger than the average home crowd. Its wind-bitten residents watch rain or shine.

Photograph by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images