[BBC]Natalie Bromley - Fan writerMon, December 1, 2025 at 3:06 PM UTC·2 min read
[PA Media]The discourse on my social media feeds on Saturday evening was dominated by talk of sacking Scott Parker - which is apparently the fundamental necessity for Burnley's chances of survival in the Premier League. Whether a new manager would have a better chance than Parker of keeping the Clarets up depends on one fundamental question: who exactly is to blame for Burnley's poor form?
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIs it a question of naive tactics or of a poor squad? Because if it is the latter and the squad just does not have the quality to compete at this level, then the blame sits with the board and not with the manager.
But perhaps no-one is to blame. Perhaps Burnley Football Club will never have the financial resources at its disposal in order to survive in the modern Premier League.
The "sack-the-manager sticking plaster" has been used as a staple of Premier League strategy for as long as I can remember, and this year we have already seen West Ham and Nottingham Forest taking the gamble with a new manager.
The common consensus seems to be that Nuno Espirito Santo and Sean Dyche will be more than capable of pulling both teams away from the bottom of the table. But it is still close, with the Clarets sitting just one or two points behind both of them and having already faced all but one of the trickiest teams so far.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIf the Burnley board is considering a new manager, when do they do it? Do they see what comes in through the January transfer window and give Parker time to fight? Or do they give whatever war chest they do have to the new one?
Having watched this board show (misplaced, in my view) loyalty to Vincent Kompany as he worked on his career and not his job, I will be amazed if ALK are even thinking about a change in manager.
But this is the Premier League. And it does funny things to people...
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What do you think? Is the blame at Parker's feet?
Or is he doing the best he can with the resources at his disposal?
Give us your thoughts
