There's no doubt that from a purely financial point of view, the sale of Ade Akinbiyi represented good value.

However, there are significant side-effects to be suffered from having to sell your key player - not least of which is that everything has to be changed.

Prior to his departure, the side was built around Akinbiyi and his four chief assets; pace, power, mobility and goals. He was the focal point, the outlet. His presence in the side enabled Burnley to play in a number of ways, be it direct or on the counter-attack.

Countless were the times when Ade would chase a ball over the top, running one-on-one at a suddenly exposed, panicking defender.

Now however, Burnley are having to change the whole way they play. Akinbiyi generally played up front on his own, the tip of a 4-5-1 formation, whereas now, with Gifton Noel-Williams and Michael Ricketts up top, Burnley are lining up more like 4-4-2.

You don't have to have your UEFA coaching badges to see that Ricketts and Noel-Williams are totally different players from Akinbiyi.

With the best will in the world, Gifton is never going to chase down full backs like Ade used to and Ricketts, while clearly capable of finding the back of the net, prefers service into feet rather than latching onto long passes from defence.

Service from the midfield is a sore point - as in there isn't much of it.

Of the regulars, Hyde has held the midfield together this season but is limited creatively, James O'Connor is a scrapper and poor Branch seems so afraid of failing - and the inevitable cat-calls that follow - that he rarely takes on his right-back when the opportunity presents itself. This leaves Wade Elliott who, when in the mood can give left-backs twisted blood, but for long periods seems consigned to the periphery of the action.

But if midfield is struggling to supply the ammunition, maybe the defence can, and more specifically Michael Duff.

Overlapping on the right wing, Duff sees more ball than most during the game and gets himself into decent positions from which to provide crosses.

It would be interesting to know what percentage of balls delivered into the box thus far this season have come from the right-back's right foot.

As for tonight, here's hoping Michael Ricketts can continue his run of goals and inspire us to that rarest of things - a league double over Wolverhampton Wanderers.