17 games. 1 win. 8 draws. 8 defeats. 11 points. Second favourites for relegation.

Doesn’t make pleasant reading, does it? 

The table doesn’t lie, and neither do the results, but I am genuinely scratching my head a little at the root cause of this season’s terrible form.

Is it the ability of the players? We know we have an ageing squad who are naturally going slow in pace and sharpness as the years tick on, but they are all still a talented group with a huge amount of experience.

We of course need those talented players to step up and be counted though, and having a couple of key players struggling for form is not helping. 

So is it a confidence thing? We always used to be known for that strong jaw mentality and throwing our bodies on the line to defend the goal.

Right now we look soft, don't put the tackles in and don’t block the shots. We just didn’t turn up to two big games recently - Newcastle and Leeds - and that is so very unlike us.

Could it be a Dyche thing? The man has worked miracles over the years, and we all desperately want him to be the one who pulls us out of this. But we cannot ignore the fact that the tactics look stale and the trusted 4-4-2 looks dated.

We need to think about changing things up. Perhaps a 5 man midfield, or three centre-halves. I don’t know the answer, but if we carry on the way we are doing and don't change it then we are going down. Does Dyche have that in his locker?

We still have half a season before we throw the towel in and the immediate priority is a few games to catch up on, having had four back-to-back games postponed.

The December fixture debacle irritated me. Not because of the pandemic - I remain respectful of the seriousness of Covid and our collective responsibility to the players and staff - but the handling of it by the Premier League has to get better. We need transparency.

We also need some explanation as to how and why struggling Watford were able to prevent their star player from going to the AFCON. Pretty handy given that we now have to play them when our star player is at that very tournament…

But for now, we get a 90-minute escape from the pressures of the Premier League and dive right into the magic of the FA Cup 3rd round - my favourite weekend of the sporting calendar.

If you are going to Turf Moor for the Huddersfield game enjoy the escapism. You never know, you might see a win!

UTC