Why Josh Brownhill has to keep playing in the middle

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Article from The Athletic by Andy Jones:

"GOOD BROWNY!”

Time and again the shout rang out around The Hawthorns from Sean Dyche and Josh Brownhill’s team-mates.

As Burnley picked up their first point of the season, it was another all-action display from the midfielder who was back in the centre of the park, the position in which Burnley need him to keep playing.

With injuries to Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Robbie Brady, Brownhill was shifted to the right for Premier League games against Southampton and Newcastle. In his place, Dale Stephens was thrown into the deep end against Southampton, two days after signing for the club and with one training session with his team-mates under his belt.

Usually Dyche likes to give new signings time to bed in and get used to the framework in which his side operate. That certainly applies when it comes to the central-midfield area due to their importance of setting the tempo both offensively and defensively.

Rewind to January, Brownhill had the opportunity to ease himself into the learning process, despite it being an odd one. After training with his team-mates for around a month and a half he had become accustomed to how the team operated thanks to help from Ashley Westwood, Jack Cork and Dyche in the weeks after his arrival, while playing only two minutes of football.

Given Burnley’s lack of depth, Dyche was forced into playing Stephens immediately and there was a noticeable difference in Westwood’s partner when it came to drive and intensity. Stephens was and still is in the early stages of adjusting to the central midfield role, learning the pressing triggers, narrow structure and passing patterns.

Dyche and the coaching staff have tried to speed up that process by providing Stephens with video footage to watch in order to get a feel for how he should operate. With Burnley’s packed schedule before the international break there was little time to train.

The two-week break provided time on the training pitch. After the players had a week off for the international break, they had six intense days of training with a rest on Friday, which has been beneficial for the former Brighton midfielder.

He will do well to force his way into the team given Westwood and Brownhill’s performance levels. Back in June, players leaving and a glut of injuries had left manager Dyche no option but to insert his January signing into the starting line-up. With Cork and Westwood set as the central midfield duo, and injuries to Brady and Gudmundsson, the right midfield position was open.

At the time, for Brownhill, it was about doing what was asked and learning on the job as he acclimatised further. In his opening appearances, Dyche and Brownhill’s team-mates were vocal with him. They offered positional guidance, defensive advice and encouragement very much like they had been doing pre-lockdown. He had the Burnley nickname (a shortened version of your surname with a “y” on the end) very quickly.

There was little evidence of the vocal presence that had seen him take the Bristol City captaincy at the age of 23. That was understandable, though. Even though he had been with the group for six months, the majority of that had been in isolation away from them. He was still getting to know them and prove he belonged.

Slowly, he has found his voice. Cork’s injury saw him move into the middle of the park alongside Westwood. Brownhill was able to show off what he had learnt. He’s grown in stature, confidence and importance to this Burnley team ever since.

Fast forward to the game against West Brom and the communication with Brownhill is much different. It was his voice among the usual leaders such as Nick Pope, James Tarkowski and Westwood. His Warrington accent barked around the empty ground during the 0-0 draw.

He was the one demanding the ball and organising others. There was still encouragement, but it’s not just directed at Brownhill, he’s dishing it out himself. He’s shown what he can do and continues to do so while demanding the same of his team-mates. He’s offering as much positional advice as he is receiving. He’s learnt his role, he doesn’t need lots of guidance any more.

Before West Brom, he had started the past two Premier League games on the right and his influence in the centre of the park had been sorely missed. He may have had the same number of touches in the game against Southampton (55) and one fewer against Newcastle (54), but he couldn’t drive the team forwards and be as effective as he can be when central.

Against West Brom, that central starting point allowed Brownhill to involve himself in the game more. He worked really well with Westwood again. The structure and defensive framework was back with West Brom struggling to penetrate centrally and forced wide and limited them to few chances. The work the central pair got through was key to that.

Defensively, there were two tackles, one clearance, one interception and six possession gains. His energy also helps him in the press that Burnley look to utilise both as the more advanced central midfielder and the deeper one who has to be alert and shuffle across.

He was constantly demanding the ball from his fellow midfielders and the defenders to try and build attacks. His first instinct is to play forward, and he plays with his head constantly up. He combines that with the ability to progress Burnley forward with the ball at his feet combining.

Playing on the left side of the midfield two means he links up with Dwight McNeil often, and the pair have developed a good relationship on the pitch and off it. Brownhill is constantly encouraging (“Go on D-Mac”) if a ball is up for grabs. It constantly gets a response from his team-mate.

Brownhill’s move back into the centre was facilitated by the return to full fitness of both Gudmundsson and Brady. It was a welcome sight to see Gudmundsson back on the right from the start after he suffered a knee injury in Burnley’s first game of the season against Sheffield United. Having an out-and-out winger on the right is something Burnley have not had the luxury of too often. He provided a different threat on the opposite flank which meant West Brom weren’t able to focus solely on McNeil.

That showed with the 20-year-old providing 16 crosses during the game and in general play it was McNeil at his best with only a tiny bit more freedom. Quick feet, dragging defenders around and getting on the ball in the final third; it made Burnley, especially in the second half, look very threatening.

Brownhill seemed to be involved in starting everything that led to Burnley’s best chances. In the second half, his long pass forward aimed towards Gudmundsson led to Wood heading against the bar. Later in the half, it was his run beyond Burnley’s strikers that opened the game up. He was found and kept things simple. The move ended with Barnes forcing an excellent save from Johnstone from a Taylor cross.

Dyche mentioned after the game that Brownhill, along with McNeil and Westwood, were “very good” and it has been that trio who have been consistently available for Burnley. It is that partnership that has established itself as a promising combination that should continue to get better, and Brownhill playing centrally is integral to that."

[Dodobdobodobo]

Excellent from Andy Jones. He must definitely stop in the middle of the park.

[Burnley1989]

Nice, hard to disagree

[FactualFrank]

I think we all know he's best in the middle. We have to hope JBG can stay fit.

Get Ben Mee back in defence, keep JBG free from injury and I'm confident we'll be fine. Let's get the Barnes-Wood partnership firing again too, so we can bump John's thread.

[kaptin1]

Nice to read some proper in depth analysis for once rather than the usual journalistic claptrap. Pundits take note too ... tell us what we can’t always easily see not what we can see. That is the value add.

[aggi]

Nice to read some proper in depth analysis for once rather than the usual journalistic claptrap. Pundits take note too ... tell us what we can’t always see not what we can see. That is the value add.

The Athletic has a lot of articles like that (and far less in the way of regurgitated transfer rumours). Pretty sure they're doing an annual subscription for a quid a month at the moment which is well worth it.

Edit - yes they are https://theathletic.com/checkout2/intro1/introperiod12

[jojomk1]

Given the current form of JBG and Brady he will move wide right once Cork is fit

[FactualFrank]

Given the current form of JBG and Brady he will move wide right once Cork is fit

I don't think so. JBG is just back from injury so doesn't currently have any form. We know what he can do, but he needs a run of games.

[TopCat]

Need Jay starting with Wood.
Barnes from bench.

[williamjblazkowicz]

I wonder how The Athletic feel about people who copy and paste their content for others for free. On the one hand, it's a bit of a slap in the face when they produce some really high-quality stuff. On the other hand, I wonder if this will generate more subscriptions off the back of it. Food for thought!

[Chester Perry]

I wonder how The Athletic feel about people who copy and paste their content for others for free. On the one hand, it's a bit of a slap in the face when they produce some really high-quality stuff. On the other hand, I wonder if this will generate more subscriptions off the back of it. Food for thought!

the key is don't do it too often and always give full accreditation - The Athletic has very few full article appearances on this board and an awful lot of positive comments and links to it's subscription offers