Football Season Review

№7: Burnley

A historic campaign for Burnley who defied pre-season expectations of a relegation struggle to book their place in Europe for the first time in nearly six decades. They finished seventh in the league table which was enough to secure Europa League qualification. Having just about secured their Premier League status the previous campaign, Burnley showed early signs of being a different side this season as they pulled off a shock win over defending champions Chelsea in their opening game of the season. Burnley made themselves hard to beat, and while consistency was an issue with regards to victories, they were picking up points on a regular basis, and by the time the festive period rolled in, the Clarets found themselves within touching distance of the top four. Burnley's excellent campaign did threaten to go off the rails following long term injury to Tom Heaton, while top scorer Chris Wood also struggled with niggling injuries. However, Nick Pope proved to be more than an adequate replacement for Heaton, with his performances ensuring that the England keeper did not walk easily back into the team even after regaining fitness while Ashley Barnes chipped in with crucial goals over the course of the campaign. A solid defence though was the biggest strength for Burnley with Ben Mee once again enjoying an excellent season though it was James Tarkowski who made sure that Burnley did not feel the absence of the departed Michael Keane with some consistent displays in the centre of the defence. Burnley did hit a rough patch of form around New Year's day, going on an 11-match winless run in the Premier League, but five straight victories starting from March ensured they would be finishing at least seventh in the table. In fact Burnley could have even bettered their position and finished above Arsenal had they not ended the campaign with just two points from their final five games.


Player of the Season: James Tarkowski