CAN DYCHE FIX THIS RABBLE?

SEAN DYCHE walked towards the tunnel at full time with the purpose of a headmaster who had misbehaving pupils to berate. To put it politely, this was a pathetic performance from Burnley’s players. an afternoon of nothingness saw them attempt four shots to crystal palace’s 29 and none were on target. as one supporter said of the 2-0 scoreline: ‘Good result . . . could have been 10.’ He was not wrong. Burnley made goal-shy palace look positively lethal. So Dyche would have been well within his rights to have a pop in private. In public, he explained why his players should not be worried about going seven league games without a win. ‘We don’t have to worry about proving doubters wrong because we have been putting ourselves right for six years,’ Dyche said. ‘We have had plenty of doubters from outside. First season, 10 without a win. last season, 11 without a win. Sixes, sevens. ‘I told them, “look, lads, you have experienced this before and you have come through it before”.’ This defeat left Burnley in the bottom three and they face liverpool, Tottenham and arsenal in three of their next four fixtures. Roy Hodgson’s palace are heading in a different direction. after a 0-0 draw at Manchester United last week, palace secured their first win of the season at Selhurst park and their first goals from open play at home. James Mcarthur’s opener was a fluke as his cross crept in but andros Townsend’s strike was an early contender for December’s goal of the month. So this was encouraging for Hodgson —and wholly embarrassing for Dyche.

CRYSTAL PALACE (4-4-2): Hennessey 7; Wan-Bissaka 7, Tomkins 7, Sakho 7, Van Aanholt 7.5; McArthur 8 (Schlupp 78min), Milivojevic 8, Kouyate 7.5, Meyer 7.5 (Puncheon 90); Townsend 8 (Sorloth 88), ZAHA 8.5. Subs not used: Guaita, Ward, Ayew, Kelly. Scorers: McArthur 16, Townsend 77. Booked: Meyer. Manager: Roy Hodgson 7.5. BURNLEY (4-4-1-1): Hart 6; Lowton 5, Long 5, Mee 5, Taylor 5; Lennon 4.5 (Brady 46, 5), Defour 4.5 (Vokes 60, 5), Cork 5, Gudmundsson 4.5; Hendrick 4.5; Wood 4.5 (Barnes 80). Subs not used: Heaton, Tarkowski, Westwood, Bardsley. Booked: Mee. Manager: Sean Dyche 5. Referee: Lee Probert 6. Attendance: 25,098.