Vincent Kompany, Burnley’s struggles, style of play and points deductions: Co-owner JJ Watt appears on Stick to Football

The NFL legend appeared alongside Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, Roy Keane and Ian Wright, covering a wide range of topics, from his own career to his more recent investment at Turf Moor.

Watt comically called out Keane for his recent comments on Erling Haaland, quizzing if the Manchester United legend was on weed when he compared the striker’s all-round game to that of a League Two striker.

But here, we focus on what the 35-year-old said about the Clarets:

Vincent Kompany

“He’s great. The way he commands the respect of his players because of his knowledge, but also he’s a brilliant man, he speaks six or seven languages…you watch him at practice and he’s speaking to Fofana in one language, he’s speaking to Assignon in another language, he’s just seamlessly moving in between these guys. It’s incredible.

“He also keeps a level head about him, unless the ref…but all season long, even when things aren’t going the way we would have wanted them to, just the mindset and the ability to keep the players moving, it’s been really enjoyable to watch.”

Do you have to plan for the Championship?

“It would be naive of us not to be planning for both scenarios.

“In our board meetings and all of our discussions we are talking about what each scenario would look like.

“Every game I post all about Burnley and every single post is like ‘oh, we’ll see where you are next season when you’re in the Championship, I bet you don’t go to any games in the Championship’.

“Well A) I went to four games in the Championship last year and B) I’m not an investor that’s only going to be here for the Premier League, I’m here for the fight. I’m an athlete, I’m a part of this club now and I want to be here.

“I’m going to be right there in the Championship fighting to get back up. You can’t just jump off the shop because a team isn’t going to win.

“Where’s the fun in that? The fun is that yeah, we might get relegated and we might have to fight our way back up, but we’re going to fight. I want to be by their side for that fight.

“I don’t just want to jump to Ipswich because they’re coming up.”

Not expecting a return on investment, is it all about the passion?

“For me, yes. I know some people do look at it as a business endeavour, but I do think our group especially…if I was looking at this from a purely financial play, I’m looking at the end of this season and I’m like: ‘oh my gosh, £150m for staying up or £40m or £50m for going down’ but no, I’m looking at this as a competitor. I look at it that way.

“It’s incredible [the disparity between the Premier League and the Championship]. But also, how do you put the toothpaste back in the tube? It’s out there. The money is out there and the billions of pounds have been spent. How do you try and reel this whole thing back in?

“It’s pretty standard [to have relegation clauses], which is wild to me. That’s something I had to learn when I came over here than I did not know earlier, player contracts changing depending on which division you’re in. It makes sense when you physically look at it but in America that’s vastly different.

“We have guys with fully guaranteed contracts in the NFL but there are other sports where you might get paid for 10 to 12 years after you’re gone.”

Have you joined in training?

“I was supposed to last week but they didn’t have boots in my size! Next time I come over I’m definitely bringing my own.”

You talk about Vincent Kompany being cool and calm, is Craig Bellamy the opposite?

“I said to Bellers I’m going on Stick to Football, give me something. He said: ‘which one do you want?’ He’s got stuff on everybody.

“But no, he’s great. He actually had to take control during the second-half against Chelsea and he did a good job for us.

“He’s a feisty cat.”

Why haven’t Burnley adapted and changed their style?

“We definitely held that mentality for quite a while, but we learned it wasn’t going to be successful so we did have to switch it.

“Vince is obviously a first time manager as well, so he’s going into the Premier League for the first time.“The way we played in the Championship last season was so successful and so dominant, so you think you add players to that, you tweak it a little bit but then you go up and you try it in this league.

“But in this league you’re going up against £1bn and £2bn rosters, sometimes you literally don’t have the ability to do that.

“There’s the difference between Premier League football and Championship football. There are styles you might be able to play in one division that you might not be able to play in the other.

“Then there’s the players required to do each of those styles, so it’s a little bit of trying to find that balancing act, especially now with where we are.

“Okay, if you go back down, do you play this style with this group of players? And if you go back up, do you change that again? It’s constantly a learning cycle and it’s fascinating.

“Coming over from the States, I didn’t quite realise the difference in styles and what might work in the Championship and what works and doesn’t work in the Premier League.”

How do Burnley view the points deductions for Everton and Nottingham Forest?

“It’s very interesting. You sit here and you say you want it to be as fair as possible, which Financial Fair Play is a fairness issue. You don’t want to stay up just because somebody else got points deducted, but it’s also the reality of where we are.

“You’re hoping we get points on our side and control what we can control and then you see where everything else falls.”

If Burnley are going to stay up, how are you going to celebrate?

“There’s a chance with the Nottingham Forest game on the last day of the season…

“But last season in the Championship, I came in and within two months we won the Championship and Alan [Pace] looks at me and goes: ‘you carry the trophy onto the pitch’.

“I’m looking around saying: ‘Alan, these people are going to boo me out of the stadium, I’m the student that showed up to the presentation without doing anything’.

“But it was the coolest day, we did the bus parade and everything. Knowing that day, and always having that day in the back of my mind, that’s the only thing I want to give back to the people.

“The people have been great to me. I feel people over here are very sceptical about Americans coming in but I have to say they’ve been phenomenal with me and my family, so I’m very grateful.

“I can’t explain how deeply passionate I am about it. I knew I was going to be, but I didn’t realise it would be to this level.

“Even when I’m not here and I’m waking up in Arizona, waking up at 4am for a match, it is all out. My son is only 18 months out but he will yell at the TV when his Dad launches a bottle of water across the room.”