"Crazy” - Alan Pace urged to make Burnley FC changes | OneFootball

ALK Capital LLC bought the Clarets in December 2020, with the club going through two relegations since their purchase.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Burnley's owners have been urged to "calm down" if the club are promoted to the Premier League at the end of this campaign, following two relegations in three seasons.

ALK Capital LLC, led by American businessman Alan Pace, bought Burnley on December 31 2020, with the Clarets sat 16th in the top flight.

However, nearly four years later, the Lancashire outfit have been back in the Championship twice, and will now be hoping for an instant return to the Premier League after finishing 19th in 2023/24.

ALK bought an 84% stake in the club, and have had three full-time managers since their arrival, after Sean Dyche had previously spent almost 10 years in charge at Turf Moor.

Nevertheless, Burnley enter the new season with renewed hopes after the appointment of Scott Parker, who has previously won promotion to the Premier League with both Bournemouth and Fulham.

Vincent Kompany era has led to questions from Burnley fans

The Clarets had been in the top flight since 2016 before their relegation in 2022. However, they won the Championship in dominant fashion under the guidance of former Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany in their first season back in the second tier.

However, an extremely disappointing 2023/24 saw Burnley win just five games, finishing on 24 points, eight points off safety, despite Nottingham Forest's four point deduction for breaching profit and sustainability rules.

FLW'sBurnley Fan Pundit, Ben Livingstone, thinks that the last two years may have soured the fans' relationship with the owners, particularly after spending well in the Premier League and still being relegated.

"My opinion on the owners has changed a lot over the years," Ben told Football League World.

"I was very, very optimistic when they came in and, to be fair, the owners have always been really good to me personally. But there are a lot of things that you've got to question.

"We spent a lot of money, and we got too sucked into the whole Vincent Kompany situation, so it'd be interesting now to see whether he's more relaxed when it comes to the manager, maybe not being as reluctant to get rid of them.

"Obviously, with Kompany, I don't think many fans would have been discouraged if we got rid of him midway through last season, but we stuck with him and then as soon as the season ended, he was gone."

Alan Pace urged to avoid big squad turnover if Burnley are promoted in 2025

It has not been the greatest ride for Burnley's owners since their arrival, but this season there is a sense of anticipation following the exit of Kompany.

The club no longer faces the same pressures of having one of the Premier League's greatest ever players as their manager, and they can focus once again on the football.

Parker has started to come into his own in the Championship, and has been extremely successful in the division, and with new signings such as Lucas Pires and Shurandy Sambo, as well as Maxime Esteve's loan move turning into a permanent one from Montpellier, hopes are high for the new season.

Livingstone hopes that a good campaign can ease any tensions between supporters and the club's hierarchy, which has included trying to bring across ideas that may be more suited to sporting culture across the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

"They're American owners, and they've got a very weird idea of fan culture compared to what we have in England," Ben added.

"They tried to introduce drums, which has not gone down very well, and we’ve seen in the new documentary, they're constantly going on about drums and stuff like that.

"But if you have a good team on the pitch, the fans are going to respond.

"So, whether they're fit to take us on, I'd say yes, purely because I think the recruitment has been a lot better since they've come in, and we're signing a lot more players. "The turnover each year has been kind of crazy, I would like to see that calm down especially if we get promoted this season.

"If it can calm down next season, then we can build on the squad that's hopefully taken us up."