A BOSS at Burnley has resigned after providing a scathing assessment of the first-team – and accidentally sending it to the wrong WhatsApp group.
Dave Longwell was appointed Burnley‘s academy manager last November while former Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany was gaffer.
But he has been forced to step down after writing a warts and all document outlining the negative aspects of each player in new manager Scott Parker’s squad.
The report – which appears to have been written for an agent – is also critical of Kompany, who left Burnley at the end of last season for Bayern Munich.
Longwell starts his Burnley current squad ratings report saying: “This is not easy to number as so many subjective parts re – what they cost, current injury, age, etc.
“There are so many players as well as Vinny signed a lot in the Champ then more when promoted to the Prem and then as struggling more again in January and then more again in the summer.
“Big issue they can’t get players out for the finance they spent and it’s been left a mess with that many players and Vinny who signed them left.”
He then goes through each of the 37 players and gives his view of them.
While goalkeeper James Trafford – a £19m signing from Manchester City – and midfielders Josh Brownhill and Josh Cullen are given rave reviews, others are not so fortunate.
Longwell slams one star as “lazy/not good attitude” before saying the club should not have kept him when they received an offer from another team.
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He goes on to call a different player a “big waste of money” and he hits out at his team-mate, labelling him “miles off it in the Premier League and too weak for England.”
His brutal report continued as he described three other stars as having a “strange athletic shape”, “rubbish” and a “disaster – mad guy”.
A source said: “He wrote this report which was pretty scathing about quite a few of the first-team.
“It looks like it was written for an agent because there was a lot of detail about how much he thought each player was worth.
“He sent it on WhatsApp but sent it to the Under-21 players so the first-team and the manager found out.
“It is a pretty indiscreet document so I believe he was hauled in and the only available outcome was that he would leave the club.”
On Monday, Paul Jenkins, Burnley’s director of football development, wrote to all parents of academy players to confirm the club had accepted Longwell’s resignation.
He previously worked as academy manager at Shrewsbury Town and Scottish side St Mirren.
He also worked in a similar role for US club Orlando City before moving to New York Red Bulls prior to moving back to the UK in 2019.
When he was unveiled in his role at Turf Moor, Longwell said: “I look forward to building on the club’s rich tradition of developing young talents and contributing to its future success.
“Together with the dedicated academy staff, we will grow and nurture the next generation of football stars at Burnley.”
Burnley, who were relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, are fifth in the Championship having won two of their first three games under Parker, losing the other.
The club was contacted for comment.
