Burnley: Boring Or Brilliant?

Burnley boss Scott Parker has dismissed claims that his side are dull to watch, insisting their defensive strength is "remarkable" despite ongoing criticism over their entertainment value. The debate reignited after a goalless draw with Leeds United—one of the lowest XG games of the season—sparked accusations that the Clarets lack attacking intent.

However, just days ago, Burnley produced a dominant display, thrashing Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 to underline their attacking capabilities. While Leeds remain the Championship’s top scorers with 68 goals, Burnley have netted just 43—the second-lowest in the top six. But defensively, they are in a league of their own, conceding just nine goals in 33 matches—the best record across England’s top four divisions.

🚨 DONE DEAL

Scott Parker has been appointed a new Burnely Head coach.

Scott Parker comes in as Vincent Kompany's replacement who left for Bayern Munich.

The deal is done and sealed pic.twitter.com/0wP4EBd6AB

— @DevonWest🇺🇬😍 (@devonwest256) July 5, 2024

"It was only a week ago we scored five against Plymouth," Parker told BBC Radio Lancashire. "We didn’t score against Leeds and suddenly we’re labelled boring." Both teams faced criticism after their Turf Moor showdown, but Parker was quick to defend his side’s approach.

"That game wasn’t a classic, we know that. But defensively, we were incredible. What we didn’t quite execute was being more of a threat going forward, but we’ll keep working on that." With back-to-back dominant wins proving they can turn on the style, is Burnley’s defensive resilience simply misunderstood? Or do they still lack the excitement fans crave?

Scott Parker’s Former Teams

Parker has been in this situation before. He has previously managed both Fulham and Bournemouth in the Championship, with exciting attacking players at his disposal. The Fulham team that he got promoted to the Premier League was stacked with players like Aleksandar Mitrovic who went on to be a part of Fulham’s 2022 Championship side that scored 106 goals.

Granted Scott Parker has got both Fulham and Bournemouth promoted - but it was with squads that frankly any manager should. His attitude and style of play stunk the place out. Fulham & Bournemouth fans are not remotely sad to see him go. It’s not because they lost 9 nil.

— Jake Watson 🎙 (@JakeWatson_TV) August 30, 2022

His Bournemouth side conceded the fewest goals in the Championship in the 2021/22 season but limped over the line towards promotion. Bournemouth fans will be quick to tell you just how boring their side were to watch under Parker.