It takes two to tango. Farke could have gone with a more offensive line-up. He could have brought in Junior Firpo for Sam Byram and kept forward-thinking Joe Rothwell in the midfield rather than defensive specialist Ilia Gruev.
Leeds were untidy in the final third and definitely played safe at times, so the monotony that played out was a crime of joint enterprise but even that one, late Daniel James shot that finally forced Trafford into action presented an argument that Parker was the ringleader and most culpable for the Championship’s big game being such a big disappointment.
How do Burnley fans get to sleep at night? They watch Burnley. Speak to Turf Moor regulars and they will tell you that the atmosphere is largely flat and the lack of goals and chances make for a hard watch. Leeds fans have, justifiably, complained about the entertainment factor at times this season but Elland Road has seen twice as many home league wins as Turf Moor. The Whites have scored 35 at home compared with Burnley’s 15.
The problem is that Parker’s football works. It strangles a game so completely that opposition sides simply cannot score goals. And then even when they do get gilt-edged chances, like Sunderland did with a pair of spot-kicks, Trafford is there with heroics.
There is, with all due respect, a lot of dross in the division and Parker knows that if Burnley don’t nick a win at home then they’ll draw because they so effectively shut down opposition offences. Who can really complain about being unbeaten at home, third in the table and just three points off the top at this stage?
The other problem is that football has been allowed to become so results-focused and promotion from the Championship has become so financially significant that an entire season and a year in the life of a supporter can now be explained away under the phrase ‘getting the job done.’ It’s a very transactional thing. Strictly business. Get the points, get out of the league.
Function over fun. It’s not Parker or Farke’s fault that a relegated club faces a race against time to scramble back up the ladder before the parachute payments run out.
It’s not their fault that managers are judged so brutally and almost entirely on results. Taking risks in possession might give the rest of us a bit of a thrill, but when it’s their livelihood hanging in the balance and when you can play safe and still sit up near the top then can anyone be blamed for setting up to be solid?
That’s what Parker did, as expected with his Burnley team. Farke did too but at least Leeds had a little go. After a nervy couple of minutes in which Ethan Ampadu was uncharacteristically wayward with passes to the wings, Leeds began to look the more dangerous. Or maybe the more willing to attack. Jayden Bogle was one of few players on the pitch with a bit of urgency and adventure about him and he was at the heart of anything promising the visitors offered up.
Burnley’s best and only real moment came when ex-Leeds men Connor Roberts and Jaidon Anthony linked up so the latter could cross, with Zian Flemming heading wide.
The game settled into a bit of a pattern. Leeds had more of the ball but did little with it. Burnley mustered a few crosses. A minute of additional time at the end of the first half was more of a cruelty to the paying public than an opportunity for either side to give them something worth watching.
Farke said prior to the game that he prefers being top and being chased to having to do the chasing. The second half said that Burnley were content to sit back and do precisely no chasing.
Leeds were in control and giving an impression, if nothing else, that they wanted to win it. They just didn’t go gung-ho, because that was not and is never really Farke’s plan. The Clarets did eventually give Illan Meslier something to do in the 68th minute but his smart leg save from Anthony’s drilled effort didn’t count because the attacker had nudged last man Joe Rodon to concede a free-kick.
Leeds registered a shot that did actually count in the 88th minute and it very nearly pinched the points. Gruev’s corner came all the way through to James and he uncorked a beautifully-struck half volley that Trafford did well to palm over.
Farke was happy with a point. Parker was happy with a point. The Leeds fans gave their side a rousing ovation at full-time, suggesting they too were happy with a point.
A Burnley fan near the press box exploded with rage at the sight of it. “Think you’ve ****ing won something?” he spat in the direction of the travelling fans on the far side of the ground. No one won anything, there were no winners here. And that gentleman, like his fellow Clarets, has been sentenced to watch more of this from now until the end of the season.
Leeds might not find themselves in many genuine thrillers but you would at least back them to score more goals than Burnley. Both sides will be right there in the promotion picture come May and perhaps both will celebrate the great escape back to the Premier League. And no one will feel the least bit guilty about how they got there because the job got done.
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