Ballard Damage a Large Blow
Effectively, that didn’t take lengthy to go pear-shaped. Dan Ballard limping off with a groin pressure is strictly what we didn’t want — particularly once we had been already screaming out for an additional centre-back. He’s been one in all our most strong performers since we certified for the playoffs, and probably dropping him this early within the season can be a correct kick within the enamel.
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You can see the distinction as time handed in the course of the sport. While Seelt has had an admirable pre-season, he’s no Dan Ballard. You can sense Burnley discovering just a little more room between our strains, and we appeared just a little disoriented. Ballard brings chew, a aim risk, and a little bit of old school centre half — all issues we’ll miss badly if he’s out for some time.
The larger situation? We had been brief on the again earlier than this. Now we’re in peril of being uncovered. Alderete has needed to hit the bottom operating and has performed a superb job in doing so, and while Masuake can cowl there, a profession centre-back may be very desperately wanted. The recruitment crew wants to select up the tempo earlier than the top of the switch window as we are able to’t afford to roll the cube on health or type and “see how we get on” — not in our season-long combat to remain within the division. Get somebody in. Now.
Alderete Impresses, However Few Others Shine
Omar Alderete was one of many few who appeared up for it at Turf Moor. Calm underneath strain, sturdy within the air, he gave us a little bit of spine when issues acquired scrappy. However past him, it was a really irritating watch, significantly after watching the identical XI dispatch West Ham with aplomb the week earlier than.
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Burnley did what works properly for them. They arrange deep and compact, and it felt all too acquainted for us followers. There have been echoes of final season once we struggled to interrupt down groups that sat again. We had greater than sufficient of the ball and territory (significantly within the first half) however did little or no with it. Talbi, who tore West Ham aside final week, appeared hesitant, however ought to be credited for narrowly. Adingra barely acquired a sniff, and even Reinildo — normally a driving power and overlapping the previous Brighton man for enjoyable — appeared drained and off the boil.
We lacked concepts, urgency, and that killer cross. Burnley didn’t need to do a lot — they simply stayed organised and took their probabilities once they inevitably offered themselves.
Attempting to place a constructive spin on it, there received’t be many groups within the division that can play us at residence and attempt to limit house and comprise, which ought to allow us to play to our strengths.
A Wake-Up Name for Le Bris’ Lads
After the euphoria of final week’s win over West Ham, this defeat to Burnley was a correct actuality verify. We appeared like a totally completely different crew from the one we noticed on opening day. We had been slower, much less intense, and brief on concepts. Burnley didn’t blow us away with aptitude; they simply sat in when wanted, stayed organised, and waited for us to supply them the alternatives they wanted. It was a well-recognized story and shades of final season, the place we frequently struggled to interrupt down groups that set as much as deny house.
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We had loads of the ball however didn’t do sufficient with it. The spark we noticed on the Stadium of Mild was lacking, and Burnley punished us for it. If we’re being trustworthy with ourselves, we acquired precisely what our efficiency deserved.
However let’s hold some perspective. It’s solely the second sport of the season, and Turf Moor hasn’t simply become a tricky place to go in a single day. Equally, our survival received’t hinge on away days like this, nor will our destiny be a results of dropping the second sport of the season — it’ll be determined by how we carry out at residence. There are nonetheless 108 factors to play for, with 54 of them being obtainable for us on the SoL. That’s the place we should be ruthless, the place the gang lifts the lads, and the place we’ve already proven we are able to compete.
Le Bris and the crew will be taught from this. It’s a wake-up name, definitely not a disaster or the top of the world. We regroup, we refocus, and we’ll be simply wonderful..