AS it turned out, Burnley’s transfer window woes had one last sting in the tail. If Daniel Levy’s dealings with West Ham did not seem entirely relevant at the time, ultimately they would cost the Clarets victory six days later.

Brown Ideye was set to leave West Bromwich Albion last Monday as a £10m disaster, unfancied by one manager who had only seen him play on DVD, then surplus to requirements under new boss Tony Pulis.

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Having scored just one league goal, the Nigerian was all set to depart for Qatari club Al-Gharafa until a host of transfers collapsed like a pack of cards.

Tottenham chairman Levy refused to sanction Emmanuel Adebayor’s move to West Ham, so the Hammers called off Carlton Cole’s move to West Brom.

This had little to do with Burnley, save perhaps for suggestions that they attempted to sign West Ham’s Matt Jarvis on loan in the final hours of the window.

But in the end the Clarets were struck by the butterfly effect. Unintended consequences that could yet make a huge difference to the outcome of their season.

Short of numbers up front once the Cole deal was axed, Ideye had to stay at West Brom.

Fast forward to Sunday and perhaps the script was written. Ideye comes on as a substitute, Ideye scores the equaliser. Two points lost. Thanks, Daniel Levy.

Not that this was all Levy’s fault. Burnley had plenty of blame to shoulder themselves for the way they twice allowed West Brom players to ghost in unmarked to score from corners.

The Baggies had netted twice from corners at the Hawthorns in September too, when Burnley lost 4-0, still the low point of their season.

Things seemed pretty low last Monday night too, when the Clarets failed to sign anyone at all to bolster their already threadbare central midfield options.

Fast forward to Sunday, and Dean Marney gets injured.

The gods are not on Burnley’s side right now.

But the gloom around Burnley had appeared to clear in more ways than one in the 45 minutes before that, as the dense fog around Turf Moor lifted and goals from Ashley Barnes and Danny Ings put the Clarets in command.

According to the stats, the second goal probably came from one of those pesky long balls. Kieran Trippier’s clever dummy meant Marney’s slide-rule pass travelled some distance before marathon man George Boyd caught up with it and crossed for Ings to head home. In reality, it was a brilliantly crafted move.

Two goals up, no negatives in that, you would think. But a nagging thought remained, if not in the minds of the players then certainly many fans.

The Clarets had been 2-0 up against both Tottenham and Crystal Palace in recent weeks, and those games didn’t end well.

Sadly, the same was true again. Corner from the left. Free header for Brunt. 2-1. Corner from the right. Free header for Ideye. 2-2.

By the time Ideye equalised, the fog had started to drift back across Turf Moor, obscuring the hills and the nearby rooftops.

After blizzards beset their last home match against Crystal Palace, perhaps a plague of locusts will descend when Swansea City arrive in town on February 28.

Such is the way things are going right now.

But Burnley remain 17th, one place outside the relegation zone. They will keep fighting.