Explore our detailed guide on managing Burnley in Football Manager 2025. Learn key strategies, player management tips, and tactical setups.
A Comprehensive Guide to Leading Burnley Back to the Premier League in Football Manager 2025
One of the most intriguing options on the new game will be managing Burnley as they strive to make an immediate return to the Premier League.
Vincent Kompany's debut campaign at Turf Moor was a resounding success, with the club splashing the cash to win promotion from the Championship.
Kompany implemented the same strategy in the Premier League last season, but it backfired spectacularly. His side were relegated after collecting just 24 points from 38 games.
Despite botching Burnley's chance to re-establish themselves as a top-flight club, Kompany somehow landed a job at Bayern Munich this summer.
The club has appointed Scott Parker to replace him, but we believe we can do a better job than the former Fulham, Bournemouth and Club Brugge boss.
Cullen Will Lead the Charge Back to the Top-Flight
Burnley captain Josh Cullen will be key to our plans for securing an immediate return to the Premier League in FM25.
The Republic Ireland international was a standout performer for the Clarets in a vastly underwhelming 2023/24 campaign.
He was a force to be reckoned with in the middle of the park, recovering the ball an average of 5.6 times per 90 minutes and winning 61% of his ground duels.
Despite the change in management, online bookmakers still fancy Burnley as one of the favourites to clinch the Championship title next season, and Cullen will be crucial to their ambitions.
With Cullen wearing the armband, the best betting sites in Ireland could be inundated with wagers as punters in the Emerald Isle bet on Burnley to win the title.
Their support could be rewarded if Cullen produces his best form and we will be backing him to deliver the goods in FM25.
Transfer Market Business Will be Crucial
Burnley have done a decent job of keeping their top players at Turf Moor, and that will be the key for a swift return to the Premier League.
However, we may need to offload some players in FM25 to raise the necessary funds to strengthen the squad.
Despite boasting plenty of cash to splash on the transfer market last summer, Burnley's budget was far from a war chest in FM24. The Clarets board released a meagre £3 million to spend on player recruitment, while the salary budget was pegged at £1m.
Given their relegation to the Championship, we're anticipating a similar financial situation in FM25, so we may be forced to sell some key players to fund our recruitment drive.
We'll need to utilise our wage budget wisely to add talented players to the squad, especially if we employ a youth-based strategy that targets players looking for a loan spell to boost their development.
Luca Koleosho and James Trafford are among Burnley's most prized assets. Cashing in on both players and some dead-weights will give us enough leeway to navigate the transfer market.
Implementing a 4-3-3 System
Kompany's first course of action when he was appointed was to revamp Burnley's style of play, obliterating Sean Dyche's conservative, counter-attacking and set-piece-reliant system.
His possession-based football failed miserably in the Premier League, but it helped the Clarets establish dominance in the second tier, so there's already a solid foundation for us to build upon.
The Belgian switched from a 4-2-3-1 system to a 4-4-2 formation in the Premier League, but we'll implement a 4-3-3 set-up that keeps us compact in defence while providing plenty of attacking threat.
We will adopt a positive mentality when on the front foot to avoid leaving the defence exposed out of possession. Our 4-3-3 system will feature an inverted full-back on the left and an inverted wing-back on the right side of the defence.
When in possession, the inverted full-back will tuck into central defence to form a back three alongside the centre-backs, while our right-back will slot into midfield to partner the defensive midfielder, creating a 3-2 build-up shape.
We will play with a Mezzala and a box-to-box midfielder in the middle of the park, two wingers tasked with stretching the pitch, and a complete forward who will drop deep to link up play.
This will effectively create a 5-5 system that allows us to attack and defend with five players across both phases of play. We'll use shorter passing and allow the team mentality to dictate the tempo, but we'll be looking to create chances by working the ball into the box.
Counter-pressing will be key when we're out of possession. The team will also adopt a high defensive line and a higher line of engagement to press the opposition in their half.
If all these elements fall into place, we should be celebrating promotion back to the Premier League at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
