Burnley face more worrying times as VAR controversy overshadows woeful result vs Luton

Burnley and Vincent Kompany will complain about Carlton Morris’ controversial equaliser, but they should be thankful people are talking about VAR and not how doomed they are.

It was one of those fouls you would scream for as a Burnley fan and laugh off as a Luton fan, insisting it was just a coming together, which is what PGMOL has said was the case.

It was actually pretty refreshing to see VAR stand with the referee’s on-field decision and not give James Trafford the over-protection goalkeepers have been afforded since the beginning of time. One minute it looks like a blatant foul, the other it looks soft. Had the referee given a foul, VAR would not have overturned it.

Trafford has understandably found things difficult in his first-ever top-flight campaign as a professional footballer. He is not the biggest or strongest and opposition players and managers know that, flooding the six-yard box from corners with strikers often imposing themselves on the promising shot-stopper.

He was always second favourite in the aerial battle with Elijah Adebayo – who looked like he just stood his ground. Arijanet Muric has only been allowed to impress in cup competitions, which is awfully harsh given his form in the Championship last term. This is a conversation for another day, though. This result is not because of Trafford, far from it, but Burnley’s Premier League naivety that has been evident from day one and will be the reason they go down, if (probably when) they do.

We all overlooked the Clarets before the season got underway. It was Luton, Sheffield United, and maybe a Wolves or Everton who would go down this season. We probably should have seen this coming. Looking back, it reflects on us badly that we did not.

On matchday one against Manchester City, Burnley made it clear to everyone that they were going to come up to the Premier League and play their way. That quickly looked like a silly approach and over halfway through the season, it still looks silly and naive.

There is a long way to go but it looks very bleak, doesn’t it? They spent £94.5million in the summer transfer window and there are one, maybe two standout performers in that team.

Wilson Odobert is a rare bright spot for Burnley. The 19-year-old did very well in one-on-one situations with Andros Townsend and Teden Mengi and created Zeki Amdouni’s opening goal. Luca Koleosho – who did not play against Luton – is another promising player. But they do not have enough about them to carry this side to Premier League safety.

It is clear what Kompany wants to do and at least he has an evident philosophy; the problem is that he has picked the wrong squad to use these methods with. It is time to show some adaptability or face the consequences. It is fine taking the mick out of teams in the Championship, but it is all about becoming a regular Premier League outfit, which is unlikely given the current sorry state of affairs.

Luton, meanwhile, have Premier League experience in Andros Townsend and Ross Barkley and you can tell, especially with the latter.

Only four points separate the two sides in the Premier League but the narrative around them is so, so different. The £94.5m Burnley spent in the summer is around £5m more than Luton’s entire market value, as per Transfermarkt, and Rob Edwards has £18.9m worth of loan players in his squad. Staggering.

Barkley has been a revelation in the Luton midfield, pulling the strings and creating dangerous opportunities for his wingers consistently.

He has finally found a home after leaving Everton all of those years ago. Should Edwards’ side go down, Barkley will be given the choice of repaying the faith put in him and helping the Hatters get promoted again, or joining a Premier League club. He has proven he is good enough to stay in the top flight when that did not look possible a few months ago.

A draw at Turf Moor was probably the fair result, though Burnley will feel very disappointed with the way they lost those crucial two points. Luton’s journey down the road will be a lot sweeter, mind.

Disappointed with the refereeing and lack of VAR overturn will leave a sour taste in Kompany’s mouth and the post-match talk will be all about that, which papers over the cracks a bit.

There is a lot of work to do and given the financial outlay last summer, it is unlikely the Clarets will be very active again this month. Unproven striker David Datro Fofana will join on loan from Chelsea. Time will tell on that one.

Unless Kompany changes his ways (he won’t) or all that young talent simultaneously reaches their peak (they won’t), Burnley will continue to struggle and they will be in the Championship next season.

They had to win on Friday night. The term ‘six-pointer’ can get thrown around so much that it loses its meaning, but it was just that. Anything other than a win for Kompany’s side would quite rightly bring an extreme amount of panic.

Burnley can blame VAR for not disallowing Morris’ equaliser, but they were not good enough yet again. It’s not looking good. Not at all.