"Forgot he was playing" - Chris Iwelumo slams Burnley FC man for Millwall performance | OneFootball

Sky Sports pundit Chris Iwelumo singled out Jaidon Anthony as one of Burnley's poorest performer against Millwall

Ex-Burnley striker Chris Iwelumo has slammed the performance of loanee winger Jaidon Anthony in Sunday afternoon's 1-0 away defeat at Millwall.

Iwelumo claimed he "forgot Anthony was even playing", which is a damning indictment for a man who is considered to be one of the Clarets' main attacking outlets under Scott Parker.

Anthony is not alone in under-performing in the final third for Burnley, as most of their key attackers are either injured or have flattered to deceive this season, which has undoubtedly contributed to the fact the East Lancashire outfit find themselves near the bottom of most attacking metrics in the Championship.

Bournemouth loanee Anthony himself can't be held totally responsible for that, but he's been part of a Burnley front-line which has scored just eight goals in their last 11 games.

He's come in for some intense scrutiny from Burnley fans of late, so it was perhaps no surprise to see Iwelumo also give a frank assessment of his performance on Sunday.

Burnley FC: Chris Iwelumo doesn't hold back in Jaidon Anthony criticism

Iwelumo spent time at Burnley back in the early 2010's, and although his time at Turf Moor wasn't exactly a roaring success, he did come to understand what the fans expect of their team.

Speaking after Sunday's defeat to Millwall, Iwelumo told Sky Sports that he felt some Burnley players weren't doing enough, and Anthony was the one who perhaps took the harshest criticism.

"I will single out three players. You’re looking at Josh Brownhill, Josh Cullen and Josh Laurent," Iwelumo said post-match.

"When Millwall go up against you with that front five and try to stop you from playing, you still have to get on the ball and play. Once you do that, you get a lot more space and joy.

"Andreas Hountondji came in. Okay, he started well and showed a couple of nice touches, but he was feeding off scraps.

"You’re looking at Luca Koleosho and Jaidon Anthony...Jaidon Anthony I forgot was even playing. Yet he’s usually on the front foot and so aggressive on the ball, so I think the players really have to take responsibility."

The former Burnley striker hinted that performances like that are probably part of their issue, and he claimed that Scott Parker needs more from his wide attackers if they're to break out of the downward spiral that they're currently going through.

"I don’t understand why the likes of Koleosho and Jaidon Anthony weren’t demanding the ball - they should be the outball every single time" he added.

"Get your wingers in one-vs-one situations, get the full-backs up in support to create overloads, but it just wasn’t the case. There was no energy in the performance, which was very telling."

Jaidon Anthony performance will not have gone down with Burnley FC fans

Anthony's latest performances will be frowned upon by Burnley, who know that if they go on to win promotion this season, they're obliged to sign him for a reported £10 million.

One goal and two assists is hardly the sort of return you'd want from a £10 million player, and the struggles Burnley are having out wide are almost certainly contributing to their lack of goals.

Iwelumo claimed the "quality wasn't there" in the final third for Burnley on Sunday, which has been a recurring theme for Burnley this season.

The clock is ticking for Scott Parker to turn things around, but he's reliant on players like Anthony to produce moments of magic to do so.

An impressive 14 goal involvements in Bournemouth's promotion campaign in 2021/22 proves he's got it in his locker at this level, and Burnley fans can but hope that Iwelumo's scathing assessment is the wake-up call he needs.