"I think it is pretty poor" - Issue raised with Burnley FC ownership | OneFootball

Alan Pace is currently the owner and chairman of the club, a position he has held since 2020.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Burnley's ownership have been in the limelight in the last few years after they bought an 84% stake in the club nearly four years ago.

ALK Capital LLC, fronted by American businessman Alan Pace, purchased the Clarets on 31 December 2020, while the team were 16th in the Premier League under the guidance of Sean Dyche.

Nearly four years, and two permanent managers later, Burnley are back in the Championship, where they have started brightly and are looking for their second promotion in three seasons following two relegations in 2022 and 2024.

Scott Parker is currently in charge at Turf Moor, with this summer's transfer window perhaps having more control to it compared to those of the Clarets' past few. In the 2023/24 campaign, the club spent huge amounts of money on too many players who failed to get the results that perhaps were expected.

Nevertheless, with football club owners consistently being questioned by supporters in recent times, questions have been raised over Pace's communication with Burnley's fanbase.

Pace should communicate with supporters much better

Despite things on the pitch going well currently, there is always room for improvement off it, and despite a calm and relatively successful summer, some sections of the Turf Moor faithful would possibly like to know a bit more about what is happening at the club.

Pace does use social media, and it gives him a platform for supporters to directly see what he has to say, but his posts are usually very limited, and since the season started, have become quite infrequent.

Football League World's Burnley Fan Pundit, Nathan Rogers, thinks that Pace could do more to keep fans in the loop, particularly as the campaign wears on.

He said: "I think our ownership don't communicate very well with the fans. I think they're very one-track-minded and anytime they do communicate anything it's decisions that have already been made, and things that they’re going to do, regardless of fan thought and fan care.

"I do believe they have got the best intentions of the club at heart, which is always a good thing, but in terms of communication, I think it is pretty poor and a lot of stuff that does come out is pretty misguided and not thought out well enough.

"So, for me, I think the club owners can do a lot better in communicating with the fans a bit more and in remembering what kind of fans they have in their club."

Results on the pitch will dismiss worries of ownership communication

While open communication will always be welcomed by supporters, if Burnley continue to perform well in a footballing capacity, then it perhaps will matter less to those like Nathan. But, this does not mean Pace can isolate himself if there is success.

In the Clarets' last appearance in the Premier League, there did not seem to be a clear plan for how to stay in the division, and ultimately, a lot of money was wasted on players who were not good enough to play in the top flight.

They can not afford for this to happen again, and therefore, if Parker does manage to get the team promoted, he must be allowed to bring in his own players and form a collective team rather than of individuals.

Supporters must be informed of that plan, and shown how the club expects to grow in the coming years. Nevertheless, getting out of the Championship is the first aim, and anything after is currently an after-thought less than 10 games into the season.