Rise and fall is a part of life. For some football teams, it’s been a part of their life too. From West Brom to Norwich and even at one stage Fulham, rising and falling again was a big part of their journey. Now, Burnley is another name on this list.
In the case of both The Cottagers and The Canaries, they have stopped their yo-yo effect up the footballing pyramid. Fulham now appear to have stabilised themselves as an established Premier League club and as for Norwich, they’re painfully close, but yet too far from sitting at England’s top League table.
When using the term yo-yo club to reference the up-and-down nature of their League status, the teams mentioned were prime examples, but another team that can be mentioned in the same bracket is Burnley.
The same Burnley side that were Champions of the Championship just two seasons ago. Coming into the Premier League, many hoped that The Clarets could put up a bit of a fight when trying to survive in the top flight.
Naive tactics from former manager Vincent Kompany, which saw the Lancashire side often exposed and left open at the back, meant that although going forward Burnley would show a lot of heart, poor defending would see The Clarets conceding some very silly goals.
I argue that Burnley relegated themselves due to their bizarre tactics on occasion. Despite the deemed struggles of manager Vincent Kompany, he’s been poached by Bayern Munich and been appointed their head coach.
With a new head coach (Scott Parker), The Clarets will surely be favourites to go back up and get promoted. As champions, as runners-up or even play-off winners only God knows. Parker is a former Fulham, Bournemouth and Standard Liege manager so does come with quite a bit of managerial experience.
Under the management of Kompany, naturally, The Clarets were more ‘easier on the eye’. However with Scott Parker in charge, there might not be as much sparkling football, but Burnley will be a bit tougher and more resilient.
This will be needed as Parker’s new side readjusts themselves back to life in the Championship. Burnley are no doubt a candidate for promotion, but so will Leeds United, who were beaten by Play-Off finalists last term.
The three sides Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton will all fancy their chances to be there in the mix for promotion come May. As well as Leeds, there’s teams like Blackburn and not forgetting to mention a surprise package. Last year’s surprise package was Ipswich.
Maybe this year’s surprise package could be East Anglian rivals Norwich. Only time will tell