The Clarets boss was eulogised for his sterling work last season, but his first Premier League campaign has been disastrous so far
Almost exactly seven months ago, Burnley supporters were catapulted into dreamland as victory over Middlesbrough at Turf Moor confirmed their return to the Premier League. A few weeks later, they secured the Championship title, eventually finishing with an astounding 101 points – the joint fourth-best tally in second-tier history.
Flash-forward to the present and memories of champagne corks popping and confetti raining down seem like a lifetime ago. At the time of writing, the Clarets sit 19th in the Premier League, having registered just four points from their opening 11 games. They're also the division's lowest scorers so far, with last Saturday's disappointing 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace representing the sixth time they've failed to find the back of the net this campaign.
Nobody said the top-flight would be easy, but there is still a feeling that the runaway Championship winners are underperforming, and Kompany has not been immune from criticism – something he has almost entirely avoided since taking over a Turf Moor last summer.
GettyHailed as a genius
There was little to suggest that Kompany would be a roaring success in Lancashire when he took over. His only previous coaching role was at boyhood club Anderlecht, where he failed to restore the Purple and White to their former glory.
Having initially come in as a player-manager, he soon relinquished his coaching duties after an underwhelming start, only taking on the job full time in summer 2020. Even without playing responsibilities to distract him, Kompany did not pull up any trees, finishing well adrift of the top in each of his full seasons in charge – though he did take his side to a cup final in his final campaign.
However, it soon became clear that his appointment by Burnley might be an inspired one. Kompany recruited smartly in the summer of 2022, bringing in Benson Manuel, Anass Zaroury and Josh Cullen from Belgium to replace the likes of Nathan Collins, Dwight McNeil and James Tarkowski. The loan market was used intelligently too, with Ian Maatsen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis arriving from Chelsea and Manchester City, respectively.
This overhaul was completed to shift the Clarets away from the safety-first approach they became famous for under Sean Dyche and instead adopt a more possession-based style. It did not take long for the squad to buy in. In Kompany's very first game in charge against Huddersfield Town, they completed 301 first-half passes – a figure Dyche's Burnley only bettered twice in 90 minutes during the 2021-22 campaign.
This 1-0 away victory set the tone for the season, with Swansea the only Championship side to register more passes per 90 minutes than the Clarets last term. This wasn't just sterile possession either; Burnley were scintillating going forward. Spearheaded by the free-scoring Nathan Tella, they were the second-tier's highest scorers in 2022-23. They also conceded the fewest goals, underlining their stranglehold on the division.
AdvertisementGetty/GOALLinked with summer exit
Kompany's stock was understandably high in the summer. He'd long been whispered about as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but once it became clear that the Catalan would be staying on at the Etihad Stadium after leading his side to a historic treble, other clubs began to circle.
Chelsea were loosely linked before Tottenham were credited with a serious interest in the Belgian. In many ways, they were in a similar situation to Burnley were when they turned to Kompany, with the fans in dire need of re-energising after a season of terrible football and even worse results.
However, Kompany stood firm. Instead of taking the next step to his dream role at City, he extended his contract at Turf Moor. The club made a serious commitment too, tying him down for five years.
“Burnley and Turf Moor felt right pretty much from the start – so it also feels right to sign for the next five years. Together with the fans, we have made Turf Moor a fortress again and continue to look forward to the future and the job of making Burnley better with every step," the manager said at the time.
GettyBold transfer window
Kompany's mission to take Burnley to the next level began in the summer, when he was given a sizeable transfer war chest to strengthen the squad. The approach was similar to 2022, with the Clarets focussing on young, hungry players who would be amenable to the coach's methods.
Zeki Amdouni (22) arrived from FC Basel, James Trafford (20) was snapped up from Man City and Wilson Odobert (18) came in from Troyes. The oldest new signing was Nathan Redmond (29), while 25-year-old Sander Berge – stolen away from Premier League rivals Sheffield United – was the second-most experienced.
While Kompany got a significant amount of his preferred targets, he did miss out on 2022-23 season stars Tella and Maatsen, with their respective parent clubs refusing to sell. Harwood-Bellis, a key figure at the back, also did not return, forcing Kompany to further alter his Championship-winning starting XI.
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Getty ImagesA historically bad start
Despite these transfer disappointments, the pre-season projections were still fairly positive, with most pundits backing Burnley to finish somewhere in midtable. They were handed a baptism of fire on the opening weekend, though, in the form of a trip from Man City. They unsurprisingly lost 3-0, and followed this up with a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa and 5-2 thrashing at the hands of Tottenham.
Brief respite from this misery was provided by a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest – where a controversial VAR decision deprived them of a winner – but normal service was resumed with successive losses to Manchester United and Newcastle.
Then, at last, a win, as Kompany edged out Luton Town 2-1 at Kenilworth Road thanks to goals from Lyle Foster and Jacob Bruun Larsen. Since then, though, Burnley have endured their most concerning run of the season. They were thrashed by an underperforming Chelsea at the beginning of October, before then losing to Brentford, Bournemouth and Palace – all sides that the Clarets need to be competing with if they want to stay up this season.
To compound matters, they even lost to Everton in the Carabao Cup, in a result Toffees fans declared their most comfortable victory of the season.