After three weeks of bliss, Burnley were firmly brought back down to earth with a bump.
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Scott Parker bemoans 'world of robots and AI' following Burnley's defeat to Brig...](https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/scott-parker-bemoans-world-of-robots-and-ai-following-burnleys-defeat-to-brighton-6571378 "Scott Parker bemoans 'world of robots and AI' following Burnley's defeat to Brighton")
An unusually long 21-day break between games brought some sweet relief from the misery of another hugely disappointing Premier League campaign.
For some time now we’ve all known where this is headed. But with only six games left, the end is near. In fact, it feels like the Clarets are almost ready and willing to be put out of their misery already.
While I don’t buy claims the players aren’t trying or don’t care – they clearly do, they just haven’t been up to the task – it has felt for some time now that everyone is just going through the motions, just awaiting the inevitable.
That was the overriding feeling walking away from this fixture. While Burnley weren’t poor by any stretch of the imagination, they’ve certainly played a lot worse this season, you never truly felt the belief was there that they could 1) pick up a much-needed three points and 2) back up their words and pull off an unlikely great escape.
Instead, it was all very ‘meh’. Not bad, okay, 6/10 and so on, but they just don’t have the quality to compete at this level and haven’t all season long.
As for the supporters, it feels like they’re past the point of anger. It’s now turned to apathy, a quiet resignation. So much so, the stands were largely empty at full time, having not been particularly full for the start of the game either.
Scott Parker and his Burnley players thanks the fans following the 2-0 defeat to Brighton. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Scott Parker and his Burnley players thanks the fans following the 2-0 defeat to Brighton. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
Even during the early exchanges, the atmosphere was very flat and, to come back to it, resigned. And who can blame them? The season is petering out into nothingness.
The only thing left to play for – other than matching and/or beating Vincent Kompany’s record of 24 points – is the avoidance of bottom spot. With Wolves just three points adrift of them, it could set up an entertaining – but for all the wrong reasons – wooden spoon clash on the final day.
But before that point we’ve got five more games and six more weeks to endure, before we can finally lay rest to another torrid top flight campaign.
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Lesley Ugochukwu holds his hands after a miss. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Lesley Ugochukwu holds his hands after a miss. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
This latest chapter was a tale of two right-backs. For Burnley, Kyle Walker was surprisingly dropped to the bench, while Mats Wieffer was the hero for Brighton, scoring both of their goals.
Ironically, Burnley struggled down their right flank all game long. In Walker’s absence, Scott Parker opted to push Bashir Humphreys – a left-footed centre-back that sometimes plays at left-back – out to the right. It was a decision that backfired.
Humphreys looked uncomfortable from the very first minute, not helped by a lack of support from a defensively-resistant Marcus Edwards in front of him.
It was no surprise then after a relatively even first-half, Brighton would take the lead two minutes before the break via a Pascal Gross cross from the left flank. Wieffer was allowed to coast in from the opposite side unopposed to steer home from no more than 10 yards out.
Zian Flemming tries to connect with a cross. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Zian Flemming tries to connect with a cross. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
Burnley could easily have been in front themselves before that point, having had a goal ruled out for offside by the tightest of margins during the opening exchanges.
Jaidon Anthony was the unfortunate man to be denied, met by the linesman’s flag after drilling a low effort across Bart Verbruggen and into the far corner of the net.
Upon watching it back, the naked eye suggested Anthony might well have been offside, but once the lines were drawn – now the bane of our lives – it turned out to be another of those shirt sleeve jobs.
If that wasn’t frustrating enough, Burnley were to be denied by a marginal offside call for a second time later in the game. On this occasion, Bashir Humphreys was adjudged to have unfairly gained an advantage by daring to stand ahead of the last man by a few centimetres of his knee cap as he slammed home what would have been an equaliser from close range.
For the avoidance of doubt, the offside calls or VAR wasn’t to blame for Burnley’s defeat, it’s just another reminder of the soul-sapping nature of the dreary technology. At least that’s one advantage of being back in the Championship next season.
Down with a whimper
Scott Parker thanks the fans following the 2-0 defeat to Brighton. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Scott Parker thanks the fans following the 2-0 defeat to Brighton. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
Other than Wieffer making sure of Brighton’s win in the 89th minute with a well-taken finish, that’s all she wrote.
The Clarets were left to lick their wounds of another defeat, especially on home turf, where they’ve been so, so poor. Saturday’s defeat makes it 175 days since their last league win at Turf Moor.
Overall, meanwhile, Parker’s side have now won just one of their last 23 league games.
To make matters worse, Burnley aren’t going down with a fight. They’re going down with a whimper. Where’s the intensity? Where’s the fierceness? Where’s the blood and thunder? Nowhere to be seen.
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