Tottenham put Burnley out of their misery… Vincent Kompany’s side only survived this long due to points deductions and the quality of the teams around them
- Tottenham defeated Burney 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon
- The defeat saw the Clarets relegated back to the Championship
- Another nightmare… which players are to blame and should Thomas Tuchel come in? Listen to the It all starts! Man United Crisis Special podcast
Perhaps it was fitting that on the day the Burnley Express officially called time on his international cricket career, it also called time on Burnley’s time in the Premier League.
However, that’s where the similarities end. While Jimmy Anderson may have been guilty of overstaying his welcome, his football team never looked like staying in the Premier League this season and got what they deserved.
Unlike the scenes at the London Stadium ahead with Rob Edwards and his Luton players, there were no tears or much emotion from the Burnley players as the final whistle blew at Tottenham, confirming their fate.
The fact that Vincent Kompany’s team even survived until the penultimate weekend of the season was down to points deductions and the quality of the teams around them, rather than the fight they have shown this season.
With 24 points, Burnley should have been put out of their misery well before Saturday afternoon. For context, 34 points is the lowest total achieved by a Premier League team when West Brom achieved ‘The Great Escape’ in 2005.
Vincent Kompany’s Burnley saw their fate sealed when they were relegated by Tottenham
In fairness, Burnley put up a decent fight against Tottenham and took a surprise lead in the first half, but that was down to keeper Arijanet Muric keeping them in the game in the second half.
It also summed it up that Muric was the first out of the changing rooms, through the mixed zone and out of the ground well ahead of his teammates.
Muric was belatedly recalled to the starting XI in March after James Trafford was dropped. Muric made seven more saves here and showed his value again.
With 60 saves in nine games in Premier League football, his save percentage of 80.8 percent is the best in the division and certainly a justification that Kompany should have turned to him earlier this season.
The Burnley boss insisted after the match that this was no time for sulking or whining, but the reality is that if he remains in office he will have to decide what to do with what is now a bloated and expensive squad. His own reputation has deteriorated enormously after this season.
Vincent Kompany’s team did well to survive until the penultimate weekend of the season
‘It’s the end of a chapter, not the end of a story’ were the words on Burnley’s X’s account after the relegation was confirmed.
And from the way the team was cheered and sung by what seemed like the entire traveling support, Kompany still has plenty of credit in the bank.
It was only a year ago that his side were promoted with a whopping 101 points and with seven games to go – a Championship record. Now he has to do it all again.