Watch Burnley: The team that does not give goals and broke out of retirement from retirement

When JJ Watt James Trafford, Burnley’s goalkeeper, offered a deal about what it would need to persuade him from retirement, it is fair to assume that the NFL icon knew that the chances were stacked in his favor.

Would he be ready, Trafford had inquired about WhatsApp to put on his pads for another season and return to the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals? And Watt replied that he would do it under one condition: this traffic only gave a different goal at the end of the season.

It may only be a bit of fun, since the challenge was made on December 28th and Watt, as one of the partial owners of Burnleys, would be very well aware that the team had almost half of its season. And although Trafford is a very accomplished goalkeeper, every team leaves a couple, right?

Well, maybe not this. Trafford holds twelve games at its end of the deal. Burnley has not granted a goal in the championship since the 80th minute of a 2-1 win against Watford on December 21st. These are astonishing 63 days. Or in football, 18 hours and 10 minutes of action.

Watt admitted on January 18 that “it started to get a little worried”, and since then Burnley has picked up another eight equipment, the last one on Friday in a 4-0 victory against Sheffield Wednesday. How concerned is watts? How long can Burnley continue with it? And has someone informed the Bengals (Trafford’s favorite -NFL team) about what is cooked in a small town in Lancashire?

This will be a bit worrying … pic.twitter.com/mrodjrz2en

– JJ Watt (@jjwatt) January 18, 2025

Ok, don’t let us get away too much. Burnley still has 14 games to play. The longest run of successive clean leaves was reached by Manchester United with 14 2008-09. So the chances that Burnley 26 reach? “Extremely slim,” says Trafford. Realistically, it would need something freakic.

However, it is increasingly likely that Burnley’s reinvention as a team that (many) gates does not admit, Scott Parker’s men publish the best defense figures ever recorded by an English side.

“I often said it,” says Parker. “This team has habits and properties that are badges on our chest. It is something we’re incredibly proud of. “

In his earlier role as Bournemouth Manager, Parker once saw his team 9-0 in Liverpool (a torture that led to it was released three days later). This season, his current team granted this number in 34 league games, conducted 25 clean leaves and the fewest goals per game (0.26) all teams have granted all teams since the football league was founded in 1888.

Liverpool gave 0.38 goals per game in the 1978-79 season. At 0.39, Jose Mourinhos Chelsea were not far behind in 2004-05. However, no other team can match the number of a Burnley team, which scored 78 goals in 38 games, while she got off the Premier League under Vincent Kompanys Management last season.

Against this background, it was a little surprise to visit the next bookmaker from Turf Moor before the game on Friday to tell from the man behind the counter that they did not offer any chances of Burnley’s defense until the end of the season.

There were even a few drinkers in the Royal Dyche-The Kneipepe-, who were named after the former manager Sean Dyche, who were in front of the kickoff grizzling that they were not entirely satisfied with the current episode of the results.

Burnley tries to regain advertising in England’s top division, but it is Leeds United and Sheffield United who take the two places that will guarantee that they will rise. Burnley is third and a look at the league table explains why they stay behind.

Nine other teams can achieve a total of 43 goals and even Norwich City in the 12th place (Leeds have 68). Eleven 0-0-ancestrial one all three games, actually is another meaningful statistics, which is particularly reminiscent of how Kompanys team was hit the championship title two seasons ago and scored 87 goals.

“If there is a criticism,” said Parker last week, “we have to be clinical with our opportunities.”

Parker observes Burnley’s latest shutout from the stands (Nick Potts/Pa pictures about Getty Images)

In other words, Burnley rely on her defense to do this for an advertising period. And the truth is: it is not always very exciting. But how can someone be too critical of a side that creates a piece of history?

“It is a way of thinking,” says Maxime Esteve, her commanding young, young central defender. “We are not a defensive” Park-The-Bus “team. But after one or two or three clean leaves in a row, something was created. We are together. Every time the goal is before a game: not admitted. “

Esteve, registered as a future France national player from Montpellier, signed Montpellier a year ago and, together with CJ Egan-Riley, a former Manchester City Academy player, has established his position in the heart of Burnley this season.

The two central defenders are both 22 and at this level it is often the case that championship teams will have an older and more experienced player in this position. Here, however, you keep a proven championship operator in the form of Joe Worrall, the 28-year-old former Nottingham Forest captain.

Esteve (left) and Egan-Riley have fake a fine central defensive partnership (Burnley FC)

A bond has formed. Esteve is a flowing English speaker who hardly knew a word of language when he arrived in the country. He and Egan-Riley live in the same apartment block in Manchester. They share a buoyancy for training and finally show the English audience in Egan-Riley’s case what he is able to do after he was in the last two seasons to Jong PSV (the reserve side of the Dutch club) and Hibernian in Scottish Hibernian was borrowed Premier League.

“We only played together this season,” says Esteve. “Now we have a very good relationship. The feeling (between us) was immediately. We like to play together, we are happy. We create good memories for the rest of our life. “

On average, Burnley grants a destination every five and a half hours. You didn’t let two in a league game. Another five clean leaves correspond to the record of 30 in one season, which is determined by Port Vale in the third division from 1953 to 1954. Southampton, the Bottom Club of the Premier League, excluded only for a good measure of Burnley, while eliminating it from the FA Cup.

“We are so proud to keep clean leaves,” says Egan-Riley. “It’s not just the defenders. It is the attackers pressing the midfielder, winning the second balls, and the desire for everyone to run back and take tackles. “

Trafford, another graduate of the Manchester City’s Academy, cannot be overestimated in this story – and not just because he was in goal for 24 of the 25 shutouts.

On January 25th, when Sunderland Turf Moor visited in a 0-0 draw, the away team had the opportunity to win the game with an 86th minute. Trafford dipped his right to keep Wilson Isidor’s attempt away and make himself a hero. But it was still astonishing that Sunderland received another penalty seven minutes after the break. It was even more astonishing that Trafford Isidor refused again.

“I gave away the first punishment,” says Egan-Riley. “When ‘hit’ it saved, I thought: ‘He helped me out there.’ I had the feeling that he would get the second one: “

Trafford celebrates with his teammates after his second punishment against Sunderland (Molly Darlington/Getty Images).

Until this season, the best defensive record for every second page in one season with 46 games from Sunderland was registered with 28 goals in 1998-99. At its current speed, Burnley could take the record with less than half of this number. At some point, however, a goal will achieve. And that, says Parker, will be a challenge for his players. How will you react when it was two months since you have experienced such a phenomenon?

Egan-Riley agrees. “We still have many games left, so we will certainly admit a goal at some point,” says the defender. “We have to find ourselves new at this moment because it will be a shock for the system.”

Until then, Burnley are the kings of exclusion, the lovers of defense, cleaner leaves than Molly’s foam – and it could simply record them.

“If it stands out in my head tonight, it’s not just the four goals,” said Parker after the victory over Sheffield Wednesday. “It is Max Esteve who blocked and celebrated a shot on the goal line as if he had scored a goal.”

Go to the gym … https://t.co/beqvxrai2h

– JJ Watt (@jjwatt) February 21, 2025

Incidentally, Egan-Riley is another Bengals fan one legacy, as he saw a television function in Joe Burrow during his college years.

In the meantime, Watt reacted to Burnleys 12. In a row in a row with a speaking post to his 5.6 million followers to X: “Go to the gym …”

It was December 2022 when Watt announced his resignation from the NFL and he will be 36 on his next birthday. Will he sweat with Trafford because of his agreement?

“Maybe,” says Egan-Riley. “We are so proud to keep clean sheets. So, yes, maybe he gets the jitter a bit. “

(Upper photo: Nick Potts/Pa Pictures about Getty Images)