Are League One play-offs a realistic aim for Burton?

After a ninth-placed finish in England’s third tier and a dramatic run to the League Cup semi-finals last season, Burton have hopefully laid the foundations for a successful campaign in 2019/20. 

Outgoings

The Brewers have suffered three major losses so far in the summer transfer window. Prior to our closing game of last season, it was announced that they would not renew the contracts of Harry Campbell, Will Miller, Damien McCrory and Kyle McFadzean. Campbell struggled for game time, and Miller was certainly a talent, but couldn’t really get going. McCrory had been with the club since 2012, but struggled to return from a knee injury picked up whilst on loan at Portsmouth. It was sad to see McCrory leave, but it was a sensible decision. McFadzean had featured at centre half for most of the season, and posed an aerial threat from set pieces, however, with the Brewers trying to keep a balanced wage budget, McFadzean’s demands meant he left the club for free.

Burton have received two transfer fees so far this summer. They lost Jamie Allen, an enthusiastic box-to-box midfielder, to play-off rivals Coventry, where he was reunited with McFadzean. More recently, Marcus Harness signed for Portsmouth. Playing for Burton from a very young age, Harness joined Pompey for a fee that is rumoured to be anywhere between £300k and £1 million, which makes it comfortably in the top two of the biggest transfer fees received by the Brewers. 

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Incoming!

In terms of incomings, Burton secured the signature of former Northampton midfielder Jon-Joe O’Toole early on in the window. Following the O’Toole signing, the Brewers looked to sure up their increasingly thin back line options with the appointments of Richard Nartey and Jevan Anderson. Nartey joins for a season on loan from Chelsea, and the 20 year old has settled in well to Nigel Clough’s possession style football so far. Anderson is more an appointment for the future. Joining from Scottish side Fortmontaine, the towering centre-half could find himself getting first-team minutes in both cup and league competitions this season.

With the expiry of Bradley Collins' loan deal (from Chelsea, he's now at Barnsley), Manchester United keeper Kieran O’Hara joined on a year long loan. Dubbed the next Dean Henderson, the keeper impressed at Macclesfield last season, winning their player of the year award. Scottish Cup hero Ryan Edwards signed from Hearts and appears to be a like for like replacement for Jamie Allen. Edwards scored on his debut, in a 5-2 win at Chesterfield. Also starring in that game was former Benfica attacker Oliver Sarkic, who has put pen-to-paper over the previous few days. His positive link-up play with Liam Boyce caught Clough’s eye, who snapped up the Montenegrin on a free.

Potential weaknesses

Burton’s weaknesses are perhaps a bit tough to identify at the minute. Defensively, the Brewers can cover each position with at least one other player, most of whom have already played first team football for Burton. Despite the appointment of Sarkic, Burton are still a little weak up front, with only three real striking options. However, the thinnest part of our squad is on the wings, mainly as Clough favours a narrow formation. We have only two recognised wingers, one for each side in Lucas Akins and David Templeton, with the latter struggling with injuries throughout his time at Burton.

Strengths

The Brewers’ strengths have to be in midfield. Despite Allen joining Coventry, and Ben Fox suffering an ACL rupture in pre-season. In fact, Burton have eight, fit, first-team midfielders currently, so could rotate every-other game, in theory. Another strength of Burton’s is the balance between experience and youth. Burton had an aging squad just two years ago, but have managed to find what appears to be the perfect balance now. Skipper Jake Buxton is a great leader, and powers the squad through the tough times.

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Tactics

Until February of last season, Clough lined his Burton side up in a 4-3-3, with the game plan seeming to play narrow wingers, and play off Liam Boyce in the centre. However, this system seemed inconsistent, and it wouldn’t be uncommon for the Brewers to dominate one game, and then struggle in the next. Around February time, Clough changed into a 4-3-1-2, moving Lucas Akins (who had played most of the season across the back four) up front with Liam Boyce, and placing powerful dribbler Marcus Harness in behind them. This Burton side bossed possession, dictated the play, but also had the ability to change back into a 4-3-3 if it was unsuccessful. It worked a treat, with Burton falling just short of a playoff campaign.

This season, I expect Clough to line up in a similar system. Boyce and Akins worked excellently up front together, and with the appointment of Richard Nartey, the Brewers have more pace at the back to defend against counter-attacks. Full-backs Colin Daniel and John Brayford both like to get forward, and are great crossers of the ball. In the midfield, Stephen Quinn plays as the deepest of the three, playing almost as a deep lying playmaker, with Fraser and Edwards operating box-to-box alongside him. It will be interesting to see how Jon-Joe O’Toole fits into the system. The number 10 slot could be filled by O’Toole, Oliver Sarkic, or academy product Joe Sbarra. All of whom could fit in perfectly behind Liam Boyce and Lucas Akins.

Prediction

Some smart summer recruitments from Nigel Clough could see the Brewers push for Championship football. We will have a much better idea of how Burton will play in the forthcoming season after their opening game at home to newly relegated Ipswich Town. Overall, I see a positive season ahead, and can see the Brewers sneaking a play-off place.