Verbal exchanges in a contact sport like football gets the blood boiling and the adrenaline flowing for fans and footballers alike, and further emphasizes the sky-high level of competition at the highest level of the game.
Such an instance of a heated exchange took place when Burnley hosted Aston Villa at Turf Moor in a Premier League clash last month. Burnley head coach Sean Dyche and Villa midfielder John McGinn were involved in the war of words, as the story of the spat went viral after it was disclosed recently on the Football Ramble podcast.
Dyche is one of the most vocal managers in the division, always barking orders to his players from his technical area, in the deep, gravely voice most associated with him. The English manager was right in the thick of the action when John McGinn lunged in into a challenge on one of Dyche’s Burnley men, and it is safe to say that Dyche was not very pleased with McGinn.
As Dyche tried to make his complaints heard to the referee, McGinn did not take very lightly to it: the Scottish midfielder retorted as he told the Burnley head coach to “shut up.”
The Scotsman’s insolence clearly exasperated Dyche as he replied by asking McGinn whether he considered himself “big time” after only being in the Premier League for a short time – “Oh what you’ve been in the Premier League for a season and you think you’re proper big time”.
McGinn was speedy to reply with his own cocky dig, as he criticised Dyche for being in the English top-flight for six seasons and still wearing the same outfit on the touchline: concluding his retort by calling Dyche a “big prick” – “You’ve been in the PL for 6 seasons and you’re still wearing that same s*** coat you big prick”.
The confrontation between player and manager ended then and there and did not escalate into anything further.
Dyche eventually had the last laugh as it was Burnley who came back from 2-1 down to go on to defeat Villa 3-2. Two goals within the space of three minutes by Dwight McNeil and Chris Wood ensured that Burnley had secured the three points against Dean Smith’s Aston Villa side who have been flying high this season.
The war of words waged on the touchline offers a very interesting subplot, as it provides proper insight into what a high profile game truly means to everyone involved: be it player or manager.
An argument between Sean Dyche & John McGinn is the exact type of content I needed today 🤣 pic.twitter.com/iAV4Qk5BaZ
