Matt Scrafton's verdict on Burnley's 3-2 defeat to West Ham
Burnley boss issues verdict on Jaidon Anthony.
The Burnley forward started this season in electric form, helping his side pick up vital points as they returned to the top-flight. Jaidon Anthony scored four goals and provided one assist in his first six Premier League games of the season as the Clarets picked up four points in their opening fixtures.
But since scoring away at the Etihad in a 5-1 loss to Manchester City, the 25-year-old has failed to score in five straight league games, even though his side has managed to consistently find the back of the net as Scott Parker’s team have scored eight times throughout this period.
His manager agreed that he has struggled in recent weeks and puts this down to losing his sharpness in front of goal.
“I think it's probably fair to say a little bit, yeah [that Anthony has struggled recently],” Parker said after Burnley’s 3-2 away loss to West Ham at the weekend. “I think he does an unbelievable job, and today I asked him to play a bit of a different role.
“He’s very diligent, but probably just looking at a little bit of a sharpness has gone. It'll be fine, though, we'll get back to where we need to be.”
Has the pace of the Premier League caught up with Anthony?
Jaidon Anthonyplaceholder image
Jaidon Anthony | Getty Images.
The former Bournemouth forward has started every league game this season and was in scintillating form to help his side beat fellow newly promoted side Sunderland and earn a point against Europa League side Nottingham Forest. As well as these contributions to earn points, Anthony scored against both Manchester clubs away and showed he does not shrink when he plays against some of the league’s biggest clubs.
But the man who was mixing it with the league’s top scorers after six games has gone off the boil in recent games, and could this be down to struggling to keep up with the pace of one of Europe’s most intense leagues? Anthony has played 80 minutes or more in eight of Burnley’s 11 league games so far this season, and this lack of rest could be a major factor in why he has lost his sharpness.
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Scoring early on in the season will have helped the former Arsenal youth player’s confidence and carried him through the start of the season, but that momentum can be so important for a striker. Parker tasked Burnley’s top scorer with playing closer to goal this season rather than his usual role in the promotion campaign, where he was mostly hugging the touchline as a winger who can play on either side.
Speaking about this role earlier in the season, Anthony said: “Obviously, last season I was probably more on the touchline, whereas now I get to be inside and be more involved in the game, which I'm enjoying. “I'm enjoying the responsibility and I'm just going to keep trying to learn and hopefully keep affecting the games and we can get some more wins on the board.”
It might take a single goal after the international break to restore this sort of confidence in Anthony and go on another run of goalscoring form and shake off his current struggles.
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