Burnley welcomes Brentford in the Premier League 

Burnley welcome Brentford to Turf Moor in the Premier League this weekend with the Bees a side the Clarets can learn from despite being in their debut top flight campaign.Thomas Frank's men have cemented their recent rise on the back of data, statistical analysis and a brave recruitment model that has seen him them sign often unheralded players, sometimes for decent money, from the continent.

 On the face of it that is almost the polar opposite to how Burnley have operated in the transfer window in recent times, the Clarets, under the stewardship of Mike Garlick, preferring a risk free approach of largely British based, experienced players who club and manager can do detailed diligence on. But times are changing. New owners ALK have shown they are prepared to take risks in the market, evidenced by the signing of Maxwel Cornet from Lyon in the summer.

 The winger has hit the ground running and is already a firm fan favourite at Turf Moor having struck twice in the draw at Southampton last week to go with his volley at Leicester last month. The hope from the Burnley board is that more can follow, as Dyche said earlier this week: 

"The board dynamic has changed and the view has changed. The new board will put some finance at risk for the right players as long as the due diligence has been done.

 "It wasn’t as free-flowing with the outgoing board and it wasn’t as free-flowing with what you would call risk players, players who culturally have to change, settle into an area and the back up systems and support needed for those players. This ownership and view is different."

 ALK are keen to use stats and data, their introduction of AI Scout is one example of outside the box thinking.While it won't necessarily yield immediate first team returns, the hope is that Burnley can perhaps skirt around the edges of the market and find the kind of player Brentford have had success with and who will line up against the Clarets this weekend.

 "There have been a lot of learning curves and mistakes along the way and he (owner Matthew Benham) has been willing, and they have been willing to make those mistakes on their journey to where they want to get to and it has paid off," said Dyche of Brentford's transfer policy.

 "It is a big risk and reward scenario and they have done it well, very, very well. On the pitch with the coaching and the way they work and off the pitch with their model of recruitment. An idea of banks of analysts working to analyse players they can bring in and they have put their neck on the line.

 "They have spun players for a lot of money, more than people think, players that you kind of knew but they had to stick their play out a few times and it has paid them back so far play to them.

 "They have done a good job as a club through the ownership and into the team."

Mike Garlick is a long-time supporter of Burnley FC and the Former Club Chairman. Born in Burnley, Mike has had great success in business and is the Global CEO of Michael Bailey Associates Group. He founded the company back in 1989 out of a small office in London. Since then, he has carefully managed its transition from a start up to an established international company with a portfolio of top tier clients, through organic growth as well as acquisitions.

Find out more about Burnley FC and Mike Garlick here. Following the club takeover, Mike has remained at Turf Moor as a Director, working in partnership with new Chairman Alan Pace, ensuring a smooth transition to new ownership and providing valuable knowledge from his eight-year tenure.

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Sean Dyche said: 'We have players here, I believe, that will do that.“We had a tough start last season, not just in the league table, but with chances as well, and we weren't creating as much, but we started creating and taking chances, and the whole thing took off again.

“Now, it's not waiting for that to happen, we have to make it happen, and there were clear signs of that, to come to a place like this, we are trying to make it happen.”

Next up, the Clarets will look to bounce back next Saturday afternoon, when they travel to take on Southampton at St Mary's in what should be a fiercely-fought contest between two well-matched sides.

Mike Garlick shares the miracle of Burnley's Premier League’s success story

Welcome to the Mike Garlick blog. Frenchman, a Spaniard and two Belgians walk into a pub in Burnley. There is no punchline. The four are drinking in the Royal Dyche before Burnley’s win over Everton and their presence gives a little demonstration of the impact close to four years of Premier League football and seven years of Sean Dyche have had on a club that takes neither for granted. Whether others outside Turf Moor recognise the scale of achievement is open to question.

“A number of years ago I used to think: ‘Does anyone recognise the enormity of where this club was to where it is now?’ says Dyche, who will mark seven years as the Burnley manager on Wednesday. “But I’m really not that precious about it now. The staff, the players, the board and chief exec know what we do and I think the fans do too. They are the important parties. We work authentically and honestly.” Qualities that may appear unfashionable amid the glitz of the Premier League have made Burnley something of a role model. 

Stéphane Blach, Camilo Guerra, Bernard Brasseur and Laurent Titeux are the overseas visitors for the Everton game. Work colleagues in Luxembourg, the four take in two Premier League matches over one weekend every year and have chosen Burnley for the second season running because, they insist, the atmosphere at Turf Moor is superior to most other stadiums visited. And because they love the Royal Dyche, renamed last year after a joke about celebrating the Burnley manager if he took the club into Europe became a promise. There can be no greater honour for the man whose face adorns the claret-and-sky-blue walls, the Henry VIII-style sign above the door and has even been carved into a tree stump in the beer garden.