The Big Dan Burn Debate of 2024: Where do you stand?

A huge debate has kicked off in a Newcastle United WhatsApp group of which I am a part, but having looked online, it's not an enclosed discussion.

After a quick look on social media and even watching Craig Hope's post-match review on YouTube, it's clear that topic of Dan Burn is a huge one amongst Newcastle fans right now.

Fans seem to be split on who takes the blame for yesterday, Dan Burn or Eddie Howe? With some of Burn's recent performances being sub-par, some fans are frustrated that Howe is persists with Burn when Tino Livramento has proven to be more than adequate at left-back, and that's before even mentioning poor Lewis Hall.

Did Eddie Howe make a bad call starting Burn against Luton?

However, it just felt like Dan Burn was hung out to dry by Howe against Luton. Everybody knows that Burn lacks any kind of pace and he was up against the player clocked at the highest speed in the Premier League this season. It was never going to end well.

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The big debate, however, is whether or not fans were wrong to start chanting "Tino" after Luton's fourth goal went in and there seems to be very little space for nuance on this debate. There are fans who think it's their right, having paid good money to watch the game, to be able to voice their opinion, and others who think it shows a lack of class to chant for another player when it's clear what you're really doing is chanting against a player on the pitch.

As I have become accustomed to balancing delicately on the fence, I can see both sides. I've also seen people who were chanting "Tino" say they were doing so because they saw him warming up and it was merely in support of him.

What are your thoughts on the chanting?

Everyone could see that Burn was out of his depth against Chiedozie Ogbene, but as Howe said at full-time, there are other things to consider before hoiking a player off because he's getting done for pace. In this case, the height we'd lose at the back against a team notorious for headed goals.

We've often been critical of Dan Burn on this site, as we will continue to be of him and any player who we feel had a poor game. We're not here to give our players a free pass because we like them, if someone has a shocker we will call them out on it, so yes, we think Burn should have been hooked earlier than he was, or even should have been rested to give someone with a bit more pace a chance up against Ogbene.

We can't change things now, obviously, and hindsight is a marvellous thing. But let us know in the comments, where do you stand on the Dan Burn Debate? Should be be dropped for Nottingham Forest, or should Eddie Howe stand by his man?