I was in the room when then Blackpool manager Mick McCarthy was famously asked: “it can’t go on like this, can it?” amid a miserable run of results.
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'I will not waver': Burnley boss Scott Parker vows to fight on despite fan disco...](https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/i-will-not-waver-burnley-boss-scott-parker-vows-to-fight-on-despite-fan-discontent-during-west-ham-defeat-5507397 "'I will not waver': Burnley boss Scott Parker vows to fight on despite fan discontent during West Ham defeat")
His blunt answer in that strong Barnsley accent of his went viral and has, to this day, provided laughter aplenty as the meme continues to be shared across social media.
I can assure you, Blackpool fans weren’t amused at the time and McCarthy didn’t last much longer, being relieved of his duties a few weeks later.
As I witnessed similar levels of toxicity settling in at Turf Moor on Saturday, I couldn’t help but ask myself the same question: how long can this go on for?!
Yet Parker has vowed to fight on, the board show no hint of wielding the axe and, as the Clarets boss admits himself, the supporters will only get back on side if they’re treated to victories – and that doesn’t look like happening any time soon – so we’re stuck in a vicious cycle where fans, players and club staff only serve to turn on one another.
It’s now 16 league games without a win, while 105 days have passed since that 3-2 triumph at Wolves at the end of October. It’s hard to see where the next three points come from.
Scott Parker leaves the field flanked by extra security following Burnley's defeat to West Ham United. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Scott Parker leaves the field flanked by extra security following Burnley's defeat to West Ham United. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
The whole situation is just sad. Sad that a good man like Parker is taking the brunt of such abuse. But also sad in how supporters feel so hopeless and ignored they feel they have no other option but to resort to these chants.
For the most part, Burnley fans have actually remained pretty patient this season. It’s only recently they’ve come to the end of their tether.
That’s what tends to happen when a side doesn’t win for 16 games, but trust me there’s a lot of other fanbases that would have turned a lot earlier.
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“Let’s be different” was the rallying call from Parker in the build-up to this game as he called for fan unity.
The atmosphere was subdued from the off and, although there appeared to be a smattering of boos as Parker emerged from the tunnel, accompanied by extra security, any dissenting voices largely remained quiet.
But as soon as West Ham scored their first goal, and it only took 13 minutes to arrive, the mood swiftly changed. Boos quickly rang out and we immediately heard our first rendition of “you’re getting sacked in the morning”.
It was a pitifully simple goal that Burnley conceded, it has to be said. The home side were forced wide open, Matheus Fernandes had all the time in the world to play in Crysencio Summerville and the nippy winger chipped over the onrushing Martin Dubravka and into the back of the empty net.
The second goal was just as bad, if not worse. Kyle Walker was beaten to the ball by Summerville, allowing El Hadji Malick Diouf the freedom of the left flank to curl in a cross from the left that Valentin Castellanos expertly headed home. Predictably, the boos only got louder.
It feels almost pointless at this juncture to analyse Burnley’s performance, but – for what it matters – it actually wasn’t that bad. It just feels a lot worse because of everything surrounding it.
It was certainly a whole lot better than Sunderland on Monday night, where they produced a Premier League low of the season for Expected Goals (xG) with just 0.06. On this occasion, it was 1.28.
They also produced 18 shots on the West Ham goal compared to the visitors’ six, while the Hammers’ two first-half strikes came from their only shots on the Burnley goal.
This actually felt like one of those home defeats under Vincent Kompany, where the opposition offered very little but still came away grateful for the three points, having done little to achieve them.
I actually felt West Ham were one of the poorer sides to have visited Turf Moor this season, but the fact they came away with a relatively comfortable 2-0 win – barring some early pressure from Burnley at the start of the second-half – says a lot more about the Clarets than it does about Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
Of course, these numbers are all completely meaningless if you don’t have the quality to convert said chances, which has been the theme of the season, and you can’t keep goals out at the other end. But in the interest of context and all that.
Toxic
So the cycle continues. Things may calm down a bit until Tuesday, when every word of Parker’s will be picked apart and over-analysed during his pre-match press conference (what else is he supposed to say at this point?) and then we’re onto Crystal Palace a night later.
Even if the Clarets pick up a positive result at Selhurst Park, even if the unthinkable happens and they win, it still feels like the toxicity will just be around the corner.
Parker had actually done pretty well to stabilise things after that dreadful seven-game losing run just before Christmas.
Starting off the year with draws against Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham, while you still felt survival was a long shot, Burnley were at least giving themselves a foundation. Not only that, they were giving the fans something to get behind.
But all it takes is for a defeat like the one at Brighton, or the one against Sunderland or even West Ham, and it all comes crumbling down.
With 13 games still to go, virtually a third of the season, a long two or three months could be in store.
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