One Burnley FC January failure could prove catastrophic for Scott Parker | OneFootball

Scott Parker's failure to recruit a striker could prove catastrophic to Burnley's promotion hopes

Most Burnley fans would acknowledge that their side went into the January window with one aim - to recruit a striker - and they came out of it having failed to do so.

That leaves the Clarets in a position where they're now forced to work with what they've got for the rest of the season, and in truth that isn't very much, although they only have themselves to blame for that.

Adding Marcus Edwards should help with their creativity problem, as should the return of Manuel Benson, but creating chances is futile if you don't have someone to stick them away.

Aside from Edwards, Jonjo Shelvey, Oliver Sonne and Ashley Barnes were all recruited over the winter window, but none of them particularly offer immediate help to the biggest problem Burnley face right now - scoring goals.

Still, the best defence in English Football League history has helped them into second spot after their 1-0 midweek win against Oxford, but some could argue that only served to paper over the cracks for Parker, who is coming in for intense criticism.

Burnley could live to regret not signing a striker

Their failure to bring in a recognised and proven number nine in January was evidently a huge failure, particularly given Zian Flemming - a well-known #10 - has been plugging the striking gap for Burnley most of the season.

He's performed relatively well in a role he simply isn't accustomed to, but he can't be viewed as the long-term answer in that role, which makes the decision not to bring in a number nine even more baffling.

Burnley do actually have a recognised number nine in their ranks, one who they paid a lot of money for too, in Lyle Foster, but Parker is playing him out of position too, shipping him out to the left in recent weeks, where he has largely been ineffective.

Even when he has played up front though, he hasn't been particularly prolific, and if anything, reinforced the need for a new face through the door in January which ultimately never arrived, leaving Parker stuck with what he has for the rest of the campaign.

For a side who concede so few goals, they only need one true chance to fall to the right person to win most games, but the issue Burnley have is that they don't have that right person.

Oxford United evidence proved Burnley's shortcomings

Parker unsurprisingly elected to go with Flemming up front on Tuesday night and the outcome was the same as most would've predicted pre-match.

Burnley created five gilt-edged chances in the first half alone, two of which fell to Flemming and two of which fell to Foster, with none of the four combined efforts finding the back of the net, and therein lies the issue for the Clarets.

When they do create chances, they're not getting taken because the forwards they do have simply aren't clinical enough, and Tuesday night's game proved that once again.

An own goal proved to be the way Burnley won the game, and on another night it would probably have been another frustrating 0-0, but Oxford offered precious little in an attacking sense.

It was the Clarets' first game post-transfer window, and perfectly encapsulated the massive mistake they made in January.