Decade of Dyche eventually brought stasis as rivals evolved and spent more money on improving their squads
A lot can change in a week in football but for Sean Dyche the problem was a lack of change in a decade at Turf Moor. His methods were tried and tested: play 4-4-2 and finish 17th or above. Dyche was the master of keeping unfashionable Burnley in the Premier League but the faith of the players and owners ran out.
Ten of the squad that beat Chelsea on the opening day of the 2017-18 season and took them to a seventh-placed finish are still at the club. Some would see it as a sign of stability but others would argue the team have not evolved in that time, when the plan rarely changed week-to-week and season-to-season. Senior players grew frustrated that areas of weakness were not addressed in recent years, leaving the squad short of depth and in need of revitalising.
