Burnley’s ‘boring’ label brings sweetest of rewards as Clarets secure promotion to Premier League | OneFootball

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Josh Brownhill had fired Burnley to the Premier League when he referenced the reputation they have acquired across the most puritanical of promotions.

“People call us boring,” the captain said. “We’ve bored our way to the Premier League.”

If so, Burnley found a sweetness to their dullness. A season of 12 stalemates has culminated in a swift return to the top flight, a pitch invasion and a triumph for Scott Parker. It wasn’t always easy or entertaining but Burnley are back. As Turf Moor erupted, as Parker’s players bounced around in jubilation, as Ashley Barnes marked his fourth promotion by hoisting chairman Alan Pace off his feet, the achievement was appreciated. Boredom can have a beauty.

Two clubs went up with one blast of referee David Webb’s whistle. Leeds had demolished Stoke 6-0. They had reached 94 points a couple of hours before Burnley saw off Sheffield United. “For the teams above us to have the ability to finish on 100 points is insane,” said Chris Wilder, whose Blades were top for 143 days but whose valiant automatic-promotion push was ended by a Brownhill double.

He was a fitting match-winner. The only inappropriate element was that Burnley conceded, which, at times this season, has verged on being a headline in itself. Tom Cannon’s goal was just the 15th Burnley have let in during a campaign of asceticism. Some 44 games into their season, they have not conceded twice in any of them. They have 29 clean sheets.

There are theories that defences win titles, that teams should be built from the back. Burnley have taken that to extremes. It is rare that a goalkeeper is the most influential footballer in a division, but James Trafford is that exception. Expected goals suggest that Burnley should have conceded 45 times this season. Trafford feels Friday’s spectacular stop from Watford’s Edo Kayembe was the best of his many saves.

The back four of Lucas Pires, CJ Egan-Riley, Maxime Esteve and Connor Roberts have been an iron defence. Esteve, in particular, has been outstanding; he is one of the finest parts of Vincent Kompany’s legacy. Burnley’s prospects in the Premier League depend in part on whether Esteve and Trafford remain at Turf Moor.

But Parker has prospered because of his ability to adapt. A third promotion with as many clubs showed his methods can work in different contexts. “This one feels special,” said the former Fulham and Bournemouth manager. “The journey we've been on is nothing short of incredible. There have been bumps in the road. There is no smooth road.”

But reaching their destination has given him a place in both Championship and Burnley history. This was a 31st game unbeaten, taking a record set by the title-winning team of 1920-21. Back then, of course, Burnley were not raided by Bayern Munich, but Parker proved the most sensible of choices after Kompany left.

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Josh Brownhill put Burnley back in front from the penalty spot (Getty Images)

“He’s a living legend,” said Pace, who considered many another, Frank Lampard, Craig Bellamy and Ruud van Nistelrooy among them. But Parker has a pedigree. “He’s shown multiple times that he knows how to handle this league,” he added.

Parker had a difficult inheritance. He adapted to fast-changing circumstances. Seven of the players to feature in the opening win over Luton were gone when the summer transfer window closed.

“There were some tough times: players leaving, players who didn’t want to be here, who didn’t want to be at the club 12 hours before the game,” said Parker. “We needed to react quick. Players came in. There were wholesale changes.”

He took the chaos of August, when 23 players left in one summer, and imposed order, with consistency, his own brand of control and extreme competence. It wasn’t always exciting. They lacked the stardust of Kompany’s more cavalier side. But this has been pragmatic and professional.

His man-management skills have helped. “The main thing for me is togetherness,” said Parker. There has been spirit in abundance; a contrast with last season when an attempt at organising a team-bonding night out failed because so few players replied. They have a love of blocking shots that Sean Dyche’s Clarets shared.

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Brownhill's double sealed the Clarets' return to the top flight (Getty Images)

And, when they were accused of being dullards, Parker added more incision. Burnley have been more expansive in the last couple of months; before then, they only had nine goals in 10 games, five of them in the thrashing of Plymouth. Since, they have 22 in 11, improving when they needed to.

The last pair came from Brownhill, whose tally of 16 puts him third in the Championship, whose burst of seven in the last 12 games has helped clinch promotion, who has been prolific in a low-scoring side and who has done it all from midfield. “He has been incredible for us, immense,” added Parker.

Against United, Brownhill followed up to finish after Josh Cullen’s shot was parried by Michael Cooper. He then sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from the penalty spot after Anel Ahmedhodzic had hacked down Hannibal Mejbri.

United had levelled, Cannon’s belated first goal after a January move that has not worked out. Wilder instead highlighted a disastrous eight days that brought defeats to Oxford, Millwall and Plymouth. “We just had that one week where we didn’t get it right,” he said.

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Anel Ahmedhodzic conceded the crucial penalty (Getty Images)

And one week proved enough. Leeds and Burnley can celebrate instead. “I have had nights like this, I am jealous but both teams deserved it,” he said.

The pitch invasion provided his only grievance. “We were told by the referee before we would be getting stewards surrounding us but they went on the missing list,” he said. “It was scary, 40 or 50 lads running at you, shouting and doing bits and pieces. I didn’t think we got protected by the football club or the stewards.”