Well, Burnley may have been gone into the weekend with some signs of relief despite their 0-0 draw v Sunderland, with thanks to super towering goalkeeper James Trafford, who saved not one but two late penalties against opposing striker Wilson Isidor, as hats off to the club’s strongest defensive efforts + Trafford hands down.
While Isidor was disappointed not to push Sunderland back closer towards the Top 2 when he tried to score a few times even during penalties, Burnley needs to keep Trafford at all costs for at least the next one-and-a-half years, as we do understand his ambitions to play for a Top 6-7 Premier League club like Newcastle United at some point. We know Sunderland has been like this season so far under new coach Regis Le Bris and even though they may have slipped away a bit outside the Top 2 automatic spots, they’re still flying high especially when they gave a good scare against the Burnley defense in attack.
What Burnley could’ve done better though is the way they attack on their own which can be frustrating at times. Like nothing against Zian Flemming (currently on-loan) who can give his fans some really good moments every time he knicks a goal, but it seems he would be better off behind the striker at No.10 rather than lead the line (No.9). At the end of the day though, Scott Parker continues to be happy with his striking options, especially wanting to do things differently as their head coach.
Maybe Burnley should think about that instead with only a week and a bit to go in the January transfer window, although they might as well another Championship-quality winger in Morgan Whittaker from Plymouth Argyle as their primary signing target. So a new striker may not be necessary when they aren’t a prolific scoring team – that’s okay. However, injecting more pace into the final third though would probably be a game changer – as long as the tactics are right.
For now, they are joint leaders with Daniel Farke’s Leeds United on 53 points; Although not for long with Leeds United most likely going to beat Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow morning & so would Sheffield United v Norwich City. That means, Burnley would be in 3rd but still there’s still a fair bit of work to do if they wish to dominate the Championship – they’re currently 3 points shy off top spot.
