Football Season Guide

Burnley start the new season as members of the Premier League, having exceeded all expectations to finish second in the Championship last season. The promotion represents a return to the top-flight for the Clarets, who were last there in 2009-10, and went down with a whimper in the first season. The Lancashire outfit are determined to make much more of a fist of it this time but they certainly face a mighty struggle in the division full of heavyweights. Burnley were actually considered more likely to get relegated with a rather modest and small squad last season and for them to actually get up to second was a seriously impressive achievement. The superb form of Danny Ings and Sam Vokes up front carried them through the season while the solid defence and industrious midfield papered over the cracks too. However, Sean Dyche has not really managed to improve on the starting 11 from last season over the summer and one suspects that Burnley are bound to struggle badly. He signed a couple of new strikers in Lukas Jutkiewicz and Marvin Sordell to compensate for the injury-related loss of Vokes but they are both Championship-standard players and it is hard to see them getting too many goals. Thus, the momentum and the strong team spirit that Dyche has fostered will be the team’s main assets in the upcoming arduous season. Some versatile and experienced players like Matty Taylor and Steven Reid provide flexibility with their arrival over the summer but there is no denying that Burnley look very likely for a quick return back to the second-flight.