Mission to Burnley

This programme contains very strong language from the outset and throughout.

Boys, I hope that the moment you set foot

on this pitch today, I hope that you will be able,

from the first minute to the last minute,

to show what you're really feeling inside.

Cos I know, and I've seen time and time again

for the rest... for everybody in this team, everybody in this dressing room,

how much you're willing to do to make this story successful.

Now, when we start this game and we say, "Guys, believe, believe,

believe, believe," we don't say fucking believe because it's just good to say.

It's cos it's a fucking fact of life.

I have told you before, all of us in this dressing room,

we've needed something fucking special along the way

to arrive here where we are today, in the best league in the world.

We've all had fucking special moments before we got here.

Today we just need another one.

We need another one together, in this place here today,

and we go and fucking celebrate with our fans.

That's the picture at the end of the fucking game.

So I'm asking you only one thing, guys.

Show from the first minute to the last minute who we fucking are.

Two arms, two legs, just like these other fuckers on the other side.

No fucking respect for them, boys.

Fucking aggressive and we stay us, boys, OK? Fucking go. Let's go!

Come on! Come on!

Two fucking games that we win. Come on.

The permutations are simple.

Burnley must win to keep their slim survival hopes alive.

# JOHNNY CASH: 'God's Gonna Cut You Down'

# I've been down on bended knee Talking to the man from Galilee

# He spoke to me in a voice so sweet

# I thought I heard the shuffle of an angel's feet

# He called my name and my heart stood still

# When he said, "John, go do my will!"

# Go tell 'em that God's gonna cut you down

# Tell 'em that God's gonna cut you down #

Burnley have done it. The Championship title is theirs.

'It doesn't really matter how much I've achieved in the past,

has nothing to do with it. If you ask me where are my medals,

where are the trophies, I couldn't tell you.

I don't see it as a trophy. I see it as a cycle of improvement.'

They have been simply irresistible,

one of the best sides this division has seen.

'You can draw almost more joy out of seeing a team get better

every day, rather than the actual achievement,

and I want to see how far we can get

with this group of people at that level.'

The Premier League is getting further and further away from the Championship.

If you try and play that style in the Premier League

you will get cut to bits.

I think Vincent Kompany's spent a lot of money. The pressure will be on him.

'We are getting into a league where in order to be at that level

we'll have to over-achieve.

We'll have to do more than what on paper

we should be able to achieve, And we get a chance

to prove ourselves against the best players in the world, the best teams,

the best managers, and that, for me, is something we want to embrace.

The odds are not in our favour, but it doesn't matter.

We'll give it everything.'

Hello, and welcome along to the start of the new season,

and of course... ..Burnley to fight relegation, but stay up.

Vincent got everyone believing.

Not only the players, the whole town is believing in him. I think

they're the most equipped of the three to stay up. I don't see them and think,

"Wow, you know, they've got no chance."(PUNDIT) We're all buzzing about this new season,

but unfortunately it's Manchester City, the champions of Europe,

champions of England, and... Burnley hosting City

on the opening night of the season.

The Clarets bounced straight back to the top flight after relegation.

Please, Alan. You're a legend, man. Really great to meet you.

Got a long way to go to be a legend. Don't worry. Thank you.

The vision of the club hasn't changed.

We have felt from day one that, you know,

this club belongs in the Premier League.

Thank you.

Are you from Sesame Street? I am from Sesame Street.

Eh, it's OK.

Even my own children think I sound like Kermit the Frog,

so... I keep getting told to be patient, that we're not

going to see nearly as many goals and as many wins as we saw last year.

Contrary to what I think a lot of people are expecting,

I'd like to be in the middle of the table this year, and I think

that that would be a good ambition for us, and a hard one, to be fair.

What's up, guys? Nice to see you.

And you. Yeah, enjoy.

Let us know, let us know if everything...

Well, the truth of last season is we got to where we are

a lot sooner than we thought we would, right?

And so if we had had two to three years in the Championship,

that gives you a lot more development time,

a lot more cohesion time.

I don't regret that we're up right now, where we are,

it just makes the pressure a little bit steeper.

Hi, guys. How are you?

Can I say hello?

You have... you have no idea how much of a fan I am of Barcelona.

I went to school there. OK. Oh yeah?Yes.

Yeah, so... but we think you're the best. We love you.

OK. We will try, OK?

Enjoy, but not too much, OK?

Keep the intensity high, yeah?

Keep that intensity right up.

First tackle, first pass, make it good. Come on.

Fucking enjoy it, fellas, yeah?

Vincent Kompany's charges facing the best that there is,

the best that there has been for some time. Come on, Burnley!

Come on, Burnley!

The first minute now of the season

we've all been waiting for,

but this season didn't start now,

not for us, not for anyone in this place.

This season didn't start now. It started from when each and every one of you

was even fucking kids, home, whatever you were doing

to get to this level. It started a fucking long time ago,

and in a different place than this... than this place.

But today, all of us get a chance to make it worth something,

to show why we wanted to be in this place.

And the only thing I'm gonna ask you now, at the start of the season,

look to your left, look to your right.

Yeah?

The person on your left and the person on the right

is not defined by just the good times.

You find out about people in good times and bad times.

Can we be a team in good times and bad times?

Be a fucking team until the end of the season?

Fucking enjoy, lads. Alright? Let's go.

The Premier League show back on the road,

with the champions of the top two divisions

from last season going head-to-head. Go, here we go.

De Bruyne, linking up again, and it's headed back

across to Haaland! He's already made his mark!

And that is the difference at this level,

the sharpness, how clinical the top strikers are.

Now Foster, trying to work it out to Vitinho.

Koleosho with the attempt.

It's almost as though conceding the goal has had the opposite effect

of what you might have expected from Burnley.

It's encouraged and emboldened them.

Here's Foster making progress for Burnley.

Right across the face of Ederson's goal.

They've been fantastic, Burnley, they really have

in the opening 29 minutes.

Wouldn't have thought they were one-nil down.

Yeah, another lesson for these players.

That is the difference between Championship and Premier League. That was a good goal.

Curled round by Foden, and it drops for Rodri!

Kyle Walker goes down.

The red card is produced.

The rudest of rude awakenings for newly promoted Burnley.

OK, boys. I said that this is step one for us.

We can look back through the game and say, do you know what?

We just let them play and we just sit back and whatever happens, happens.

We didn't fucking do that. Whenever we play, guys,

we fucking create the chances. We hurt them.

But you have to now stay focussed on that progression.

It was good, but like every fucking game I will tell you,

not good enough.

We can do more. We can do better.

Can't celebrate defeat, of course, but I'm still gonna say well done.

I'm proud of you, and we go again, alright?

I went to Burnley last night.

I went to the game last night, but they were so naive. It is hard

to keep the ball out of the net when you're playing against City,

but I think Vince Kompany will learn by that. From Burnley's point of view,

they will improve, but it's gonna be a long season for them.

It was nice last year that we went with a non-betting brand.

It would have been nice to be a trailblazer

and stuck with the non-betting, even though we're taking a hit commercially.

That's what I find disappointing.

You know, gambling is a really serious problem.

You know, you don't have beer anymore, you don't have cigarettes.

You know, people kill themselves because of their addiction to gambling.

Almost feels a little bit disingenuous in that we've been told

we're gonna write our own story, we're the underdogs and we're gonna do things differently,

except when it comes to our shirt sponsoring.

Then we'll just take the highest bidder. Let me jump in for two secs.

I'll try not to take too much offence

to that comment, because it does actually hurt

that someone that is completely opposed to gambling

has had to accept that we had no other choice.

You're asking me to write a cheque for four or five million,

just because we don't want something on the front of the shirt.

It's the only way for me to get four or five million.

Or, if you like, I can go and sell, you know, Anass.

What's the choice?

It was never intended as a criticism.

It's just it would have been nice to move forward from that.

But we completely understand the financial side of it,

and we'd like to keep Anass.

We are keeping Anass.

But even the trade-off, just to be clear,

these are the trade-offs that are the hardest part every single day.

Do you accept this, or have to go do something else that you don't wanna do?

Now, the person you really want to talk to.

So, I wanted to kick off on transfers.

The biggest challenge is not necessarily the players' terms

and demands. We can manage that. It's the agents.

It's a player that we are in advanced talks with

and we've conceded on pretty much everything,

other than his agent wants a £2 million agent fee.