Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest | England)

He has had an excellent season, and keeping injury free is going to be the key. However, most of the goals he has scored have not been against the top sides. He is good but not outstanding in the EPL.

He only played 4 EPL games against the "big 6", and during those games Burnley only scored 2 goals. 

Wood scored one of them, in a 1-1 draw with Spurs. 

Hard to blame Wood for not scoring against the big teams we Burnley would often set themselves up to contain and counter. In a different team (a more competative one) he would be asked to play a different role.

and Lukaku in terms if minutes more goals

I still would not swap him for Lukaku as I'm sure Jose would not either.

He reminds me more of Aubameyang than Lukaku. For both players, almost all their goals have been instinctive finishes around the 6 yard box helped by a fantastic sense of positioning and anticipation. They don't necessarily rely on skill or guile, and they don't have to. Though Auba obviously has a ridiculous amount of pace, Wood brings the strength. Looking forward to seeing how he goes next year with Robbie Brady back in the side, Gudmundsson was Burnley's only real creative force for most of the season (Lennon was OK, not great in my opinion) and you get the feeling based on this season, if they can get Wood better service he'll only score more goals.

Wood really missed Brady I think... will be interesting if they bring in reinforcements as well now that they are in Europe.

I didnt mean it to sound like he had done poorly, 1 in 4 against them is ok, especially when your team only scored twice across the games

As a comparison, Rufer scored 10 in his first season in the Bundesliga, and was 26 or 27 at the time (Wood turns 27 in December). As has been the story of his career in England, when he plays regularly, he scores, so here's hoping for an injury free season ahead

played full 90 away in 1-1 Europa game vs Aberdeen. Not on score sheet, and no mention in this report.

This is not really how you measure the performance of strikers from mid to low table sides, though. The real test for them is how they perform against sides who are similar in stature. If a club like Burnley achieves success against the likes of Man Utd, then it's seen as a bonus - not expected - and same goes for any of their players.

Reckon Wood did better than even the most optimistic kiwi fan thought he would to be honest.

Burnley finished 7th in the league last season by the way. 

Scored his first goal of the season against Aberdeen in the Europa League, before being subbed off at H/T.

Currently ahead 3-1 with 5 minutes left in extra time. 

They'll face Turkish opposition in the next round, Istanbul Basaksehir. First game away in Istanbul next week, the return leg in Burnley the week after.

Anyone know why he was subbed off at H/T? It was 1-1 at the time. 

Did he take a knock or is Dyche just being cautious ahead of the Premier League season?

https://streamja.com/pPPN

Fantastic composure there, nerves of steel.

Basaksehir are a very good team, got recognisable players such as Arda Turan, Emmanuel Adebayor, Emre, Gael Clichy and Eljero Elia. Will be a real est and i don’t think Burnley will win considering English form in the EL, but who knows

Yeah he got injured :(

Burnley boss Sean Dyche on BT Sport: 

"Chris Wood came off, we have to be careful. He had a tight hip and it's still pre-season for us"

Interesting- and a bit worrying if he is injured. the Guardian article has him substituted at half time because. . . "Dyche, by contrast, was furious at his team’s defending and Wood’s poor clearance. The Kiwi striker was replaced by Barnes during the interval."

Taking a striker off for poor defending wouldn't make much sense

especialky when he scored the opening goal

Lashed it in

Not involved this morning against Istanbul Basaksehir. Burnley got a 0-0 away from home, but sounds like they were under the pump for most of the game.

Ruled out because of a infection following a "bite"    www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/world-game/1061554...

bug? opponent? team mate? girlfriend? ...

Could have been a toddler...I know something about that at the moment!

Looking forward to Zombified Wood for the next AWs game

Back from missing Europa League tie in Turkey midweek, leading the line at Southampton. Kick off in an hour. 

Playing a zombie? It's a bold call, Cotton.

No goals but a solid 75 or so minutes from Wood, won most aerial duels, had a couple of headers saved and didn't do anything wrong. Looks like he's worked a bit on his passing during the offseason.

Burnley beat Istanbul Basaksehir 1-0 this morning, after extra time. Wood came on with about 10 to go in regulation time.

They now have to get past Olympiacos to make it to the group stages of Europa League, first game in Piraeus next Friday morning.

Subbed after 65 mins as Burnley lose 1-3 at home to Watford

I've watched almost every minute Wood has played in the EPL for Burnley and this was by far his (and Burnley's) worst performance. Wood barely had a touch in the first half and wasn't able to get himself involved, though was becoming more prominent in the second after Watford scored their third and shifted down a gear. 

Delivery from both wide players was terrible, Gudmundsson was at least somewhat productive, but I don't think I've seen Lennon pick out Wood with a cross or a pass the entire time he's played for Burnley.

Burnley were by far the most dangerous last season when Wood was paired with Barnes up-front, but for some reason Dyche is refusing to play the two together this season. Initially persisting with possibly the worst 'creative' player in the league with Hendrik after replacing Wood, and only subbing in Vokes up-front with Barnes late on (a partnership that has never really resulted in a lot of goals).

Perhaps not surprising after their Europa exploits;  squad isn't big enough to nullify the effects of travel and the extra games. I expect Burnley to struggle this year.

Wouldn't be the first nor last club to struggle with the domestic/European cycle in a season; it takes a while to nail that down. 

It may seem paradoxical, since for the big clubs Europe is the main aim, but for smaller clubs, Europe is a curse. Seeing clubs unused to Europe getting relegated in their 'European' season has happened more than once.

Wood starts with Barnes in Burnley’s Europa League playoff game in Athens.

Wins and scores a penalty in the 33rd minute, 1-1 so far