Ballard Injury a Big Blow
Well, that didn’t take long to go pear-shaped. Dan Ballard limping off with a groin strain is exactly what we didn’t need — especially when we were already screaming out for another centre-back. He’s been one of our most solid performers since we qualified for the playoffs, and potentially losing him this early in the season would be a proper kick in the teeth.
You could see the difference as time passed during the game. Whilst Seelt has had an admirable pre-season, he is
no Dan Ballard. You could sense Burnley finding a little more space between our lines, and we looked a little disoriented. Ballard brings bite, a goal threat, and a bit of old-fashioned centre half — all things we’ll miss badly if he’s out for a while.
The bigger issue? We were short at the back before this. Now we’re in danger of being exposed. Alderete has had to hit the ground running and has done a good job in doing so, and whilst Masuake can cover there, a career centre-back is very desperately needed. The recruitment team needs to pick up the pace before the end of the transfer window as we can’t afford to roll the dice on fitness or form and “see how we get on” — not in our season-long fight to stay in the division. Get someone in. Now.
Alderete Impresses, But Few Others Shine
Omar Alderete was one of the few who looked up for it at Turf Moor. Calm under pressure, strong in the air, he gave us a bit of backbone when things got scrappy. But beyond him, it was a very frustrating watch, particularly after watching the same XI dispatch West Ham with aplomb the week before.
Burnley did what works well for them. They set up deep and compact, and it felt all too familiar for us fans. There were echoes of last season when we struggled to break down teams that sat back. We had more than enough of the ball and territory (particularly in the first half) but did very little with it. Talbi, who tore West Ham apart last week, looked hesitant, but should be credited for narrowly. Adingra barely got a sniff, and even Reinildo — usually a driving force and overlapping the former Brighton man for fun — looked tired and off the boil.
We lacked ideas, urgency, and that killer pass. Burnley didn’t have to do much — they just stayed organised and took their chances when they inevitably presented themselves.
Trying to put a positive spin on it, there won’t be many teams in the division that will play us at home and try to restrict space and contain, which should enable us to play to our strengths.
A Wake-Up Call for Le Bris’ Lads
After the euphoria of last week’s win over West Ham, this defeat to Burnley was a proper reality check. We looked like a completely different team from the one we saw on opening day. We were slower, less intense, and short on ideas. Burnley didn’t blow us away with flair; they just sat in when needed, stayed organised, and waited for us to offer them the opportunities they needed. It was a familiar story and shades of last season, where we often struggled to break down teams that set up to deny space.
We had plenty of the ball but didn’t do enough with it. The spark we saw at the Stadium of Light was missing, and Burnley punished us for it. If we are being honest with ourselves, we got exactly what our performance deserved.
But let’s keep some perspective. It’s only the second game of the season, and Turf Moor hasn’t just turned into a tough place to go overnight. Equally, our survival won’t hinge on away days like this, nor will our fate be a result of losing the second game of the season — it’ll be decided by how we perform at home. There are still 108 points to play for, with 54 of them being available for us at the SoL. That’s where we need to be ruthless, where the crowd lifts the lads, and where we’ve already shown we can compete.
Le Bris and the team will learn from this. It’s a wake-up call, certainly not a crisis or the end of the world. We regroup, we refocus, and we’ll be just fine..
