From Pep Guardiola's presumed Man City successor to Premier League relegation fodder! Where it's all gone wrong for Vincent Kompany and Burnley

There was little to suggest that Kompany would be a roaring success in Lancashire when he took over. His only previous coaching role was at boyhood club Anderlecht, where he failed to restore the Purple and White to their former glory.

Having initially come in as a player-manager, he soon relinquished his coaching duties after an underwhelming start, only taking on the job full time in summer 2020. Even without playing responsibilities to distract him, Kompany did not pull up any trees, finishing well adrift of the top in each of his full seasons in charge - though he did take his side to a cup final in his final campaign.

However, it soon became clear that his appointment by Burnley might be an inspired one. Kompany recruited smartly in the summer of 2022, bringing in Benson Manuel, Anass Zaroury and Josh Cullen from Belgium to replace the likes of Nathan Collins, Dwight McNeil and James Tarkowski. The loan market was used intelligently too, with Ian Maatsen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis arriving from Chelsea and Manchester City, respectively.

This overhaul was completed to shift the Clarets away from the safety-first approach they became famous for under Sean Dyche and instead adopt a more possession-based style. It did not take long for the squad to buy in. In Kompany's very first game in charge against Huddersfield Town, they completed 301 first-half passes - a figure Dyche's Burnley only bettered twice in 90 minutes during the 2021-22 campaign.

This 1-0 away victory set the tone for the season, with Swansea the only Championship side to register more passes per 90 minutes than the Clarets last term. This wasn't just sterile possession either; Burnley were scintillating going forward. Spearheaded by the free-scoring Nathan Tella, they were the second-tier's highest scorers in 2022-23. They also conceded the fewest goals, underlining their stranglehold on the division.

Kompany's stock was understandably high in the summer. He'd long been whispered about as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but once it became clear that the Catalan would be staying on at the Etihad Stadium after leading his side to a historic treble, other clubs began to circle.

Chelsea were loosely linked before Tottenham were credited with a serious interest in the Belgian. In many ways, they were in a similar situation to Burnley were when they turned to Kompany, with the fans in dire need of re-energising after a season of terrible football and even worse results.

However, Kompany stood firm. Instead of taking the next step to his dream role at City, he extended his contract at Turf Moor. The club made a serious commitment too, tying him down for five years.

“Burnley and Turf Moor felt right pretty much from the start - so it also feels right to sign for the next five years. Together with the fans, we have made Turf Moor a fortress again and continue to look forward to the future and the job of making Burnley better with every step," the manager said at the time.

Kompany's mission to take Burnley to the next level began in the summer, when he was given a sizeable transfer war chest to strengthen the squad. The approach was similar to 2022, with the Clarets focussing on young, hungry players who would be amenable to the coach's methods.

Zeki Amdouni (22) arrived from FC Basel, James Trafford (20) was snapped up from Man City and Wilson Odobert (18) came in from Troyes. The oldest new signing was Nathan Redmond (29), while 25-year-old Sander Berge - stolen away from Premier League rivals Sheffield United - was the second-most experienced.

While Kompany got a significant amount of his preferred targets, he did miss out on 2022-23 season stars Tella and Maatsen, with their respective parent clubs refusing to sell. Harwood-Bellis, a key figure at the back, also did not return, forcing Kompany to further alter his Championship-winning starting XI.

Despite these transfer disappointments, the pre-season projections were still fairly positive, with most pundits backing Burnley to finish somewhere in midtable. They were handed a baptism of fire on the opening weekend, though, in the form of a trip from Man City. They unsurprisingly lost 3-0, and followed this up with a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa and 5-2 thrashing at the hands of Tottenham.

Brief respite from this misery was provided by a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest - where a controversial VAR decision deprived them of a winner - but normal service was resumed with successive losses to Manchester United and Newcastle.

Then, at last, a win, as Kompany edged out Luton Town 2-1 at Kenilworth Road thanks to goals from Lyle Foster and Jacob Bruun Larsen. Since then, though, Burnley have endured their most concerning run of the season. They were thrashed by an underperforming Chelsea at the beginning of October, before then losing to Brentford, Bournemouth and Palace - all sides that the Clarets need to be competing with if they want to stay up this season.

To compound matters, they even lost to Everton in the Carabao Cup, in a result Toffees fans declared their most comfortable victory of the season.

So, what's going wrong then? The reasons for Burnley's disastrous start are many. What stands out above all, though, is their recruitment.

On the surface, it made sense for Burnley to try and identify talented young players. Not all of them will be oven-ready Premier League stars, but in theory and with the right guidance, they could improve rapidly and either help establish a club in the top-flight or be sold on for monster profits. Many clubs have adopted this model to significant success over the years, with Brighton the most prominent, recent example.

But, as Southampton discovered to their peril last season, signing too many inexperienced players can cause issues. And Burnley have endured similar problem this time out.

Just as Gavin Bazunu did for Saints in 2022-23, the Clarets' young goalkeeper Trafford has been struggling to adjust to life in the Premier League. Only Arsenal back-up Aaron Ramsdale has registered a lower save percentage than the England Under-21 star this season, and just Sheffield United's Wes Foderingham has conceded more goals. There's a feeling that Burnley fans are beginning to lose patience too, especially with last season's title-winning goalkeeper, Ari Muric, warming the bench.

Kompany is a fan of Trafford's ball-playing capabilities, though, and publicly backed his No.1 after he was embarrassingly lobbed by Philip Billing for Bournemouth's crucial winner recently. "He’s definitely showing a lot of maturity for his age. He will be fine, he will have a good career," he said.

Trafford is not the only new arrival faltering either. Aaron Ramsey, highly-rated at Aston Villa, has been principally used from the bench when fit this season, while missing four games through injury. Fellow fresh recruits Jordan Beyer, Odebert and Redmond have also seen their match time limited, either by injury or due to simply not being ready to contribute in the Premier League.

The most damaging absence of all, however, has been Foster. The South African only scored once in the Championship after arriving last January, but quickly emerged as his side's attacking talisman this season in the absence of Tella.

He netted against Aston Villa and Tottenham at the start of the season and also grabbed an assist in the Forest draw, before finding the net again in that priceless Luton victory. Keeping him on the pitch has proved a challenge, though.

He missed games against Manchester United and Newcastle earlier in the season through suspension and more recently he's been sidelined with an illness relating to his mental health which has ruled him out indefinitely. His absence was felt harshly against Crystal Palace, as the Clarets created more than enough chances to win the game, registering 17 shots to their opponents' four, but still ended up on the wrong side of a 2-0 scoreline.

The truth is that Jay Rodriguez and Zeki Amdouni just don't seem clinical enough, but even when Foster has been fit, things have not been perfect in front of goal. So far, just 28.1 percent of Burnley's Premier League shots have been on target - the second-lowest in the division. They're also underperforming their xG by 1.6.

This underperformance has been mirrored at the other end of the pitch. After boasting the best defensive record in the Championship last season, only Sheffield United have conceded more goals than Burnley in the Premier League in 2023-24.

Individual mistakes have been key in this story, as you might expect from such a young squad. Burnley have made eight errors leading to shots, with four of these instances resulting in a goal.

Again, an important absentee has compounded matters too. Beyer is probably Kompany's best defender and he missed a winnable spell of fixtures last month. Burnley looked far more assured against Palace with him in the side, and keeping the German available will be key to their hopes of avoiding relegation.

The volume of errors committed by Kompany's squad also raises a different question. Namely, is Burnley's open style sustainable now that they are coming up against a higher calibre of opposition?

Once promotion is secured, new arrivals in the Premier League tend to take less risks in possession. Kompany has embraced this orthodoxy to some extent, lining up with a back five against City on the opening day. But, more generally, he has stoically refused to compromise his principles.

Despite their lowly league position, just nine Premier League teams (Man City, Brighton, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Newcastle, Manchester United and Aston Villa) have completed more passes than the Clarets this season. They've also neglected to go direct, with only eight sides registering fewer successful long balls. Burnley have gone after teams out of possession too, starting their press higher than even the likes of Brighton and Chelsea.

And as the poor results have stacked up, Kompany has been quizzed on whether he would surrender his beliefs in pursuit of a few hard-fought, low-scoring wins. But he definitively dismissed that notion recently, saying: "I won’t deviate and take myself into anything other than making sure we stay on plan, we stay ready to get the best out of this team.

"It’s not in my style to get knocked off the ball, right? You have to have an idea as a manager and whoever says that style is the solution is a fool. The solution is good coaching, the solution is better players – and I’m not saying we need better players, it’s getting better or having the best players – and those are the foundations."

Kompany's bold declaration was likely influenced by his job security. After penning that long-term deal and with the club hardly flush with clash following a busy summer, it seems unlikely that Burnley will be sacking him anytime soon. But, if results don't improve, chairman Alan Pace may be forced to bite the financial bullet and give Kompany his marching orders.

There are at least some reasons for Burnley fans to be optimistic about Premier League survival. First and foremost, some of their main competitors have similarly failed to impress. Sheffield United are feeling the effects of a disastrous summer and are rock bottom, level on points with Burnley. Bournemouth are yet to benefit from the Andoni Iraola footballing revolution that was prophesied by football hipsters and online tacticos. And as for Luton, they probably lack the strength in depth to stave off the drop, even if they did hold Liverpool to a draw last weekend.

Then there's Everton, for whom a threat of sizeable points deduction looms large. In case you've lost count, that's four teams who might end up occupying the three relegation spots in Burnley's stead.

Kompany's side have also got a few favourable fixtures coming up before Christmas, including Sheffield United, Wolves, Everton and Fulham. They will be targeting this period for points after being handed a tricky start to the campaign.

If they remain in the mire by the new year, though, Burnley will have a big decision to make. And Kompany will be desperate to avoid putting the club in this position, not just for the Clarets' sake, but also to preserve his own reputation - which has taken a sizeable hit over the past few weeks.