Eddie Howe has a Dan Burn-sized problem at left-back – Tino Livramento could be the answer
As Dan Burn’s giant, battered frame lumbered its way off the pitch after a torrid run out against Luton Town last weekend, chants of ‘Tino, Tino’ filled the air inside St James’ Park.
The mood was angry. The home fans were calling for the introduction of Tino Livramento, who was rapidly stripping off his tracksuit on the sideline next to manager Eddie Howe.
Newcastle were 4-2 down at home against a side battling against relegation, Burn had already conceded a penalty for the visitors’ third goal, embarrassed and exposed once again by the speed of Luton winger Chiedozie Ogbene.
Minutes later, Burn gave the ball away in the middle of the pitch and Luton had broken away to score their fourth goal. The Geordie crowd were turning on one of their own.
Burn is a centre back who can play at left-back. In the last 18 months, he has played most of his football for the club he supported as a boy at full-back, but his Luton performance was the culmination of a worrying trend with opposition sides repeatedly targeting the left side.
A few days earlier, in the fantastic 3-1 away win at Aston Villa, Newcastle had briefly threatened to throw the victory away when Unai Emery brought on an equally direct and rapid winger in Leon Bailey to expose Burn’s lack of mobility and pace. Howe spotted the danger and brought on Livramento to snuff out Bailey’s ominous threat to his team’s lead.
Livramento is a right-back, signed for £32 million from Southampton last summer with the idea of him replacing Kieran Trippier, but he can play on the left and did so well when Burn was out injured with a back problem that may still be troubling him.
To make matters worse Newcastle also signed a specialist left-back in the summer from Chelsea, paying a £4 million loan fee for Lewis Hall that will become a £28 million transfer at the end of the season. Hall has started only one Premier League game and sources tell Telegraph Sport he has much to learn about what Howe wants from him.
Newcastle had a limited transfer budget in the summer because of profitability and sustainability rules and still spent £60 million on two full-backs who have been unable to dislodge Burn from the starting XI when he is fit.
Telegraph Sport reveals why Burn has been so important to Newcastle since his £12 million signing from Brighton two years ago and takes a look at what happens next.
The case for the defence of Dan Burn
Whenever you speak to a member of Newcastle’s coaching staff, they will praise Burn. He is a “warrior” and a “leader” and was integral to a defence which conceded the joint fewest goals in the Premier League last season alongside champions Manchester City. He is a role model for the younger players at the club and as a local boy, he has been vital in creating that link between city, fans and football club.
He has also, very rarely, let anyone down. At least before the back injury he sustained when he landed awkwardly in a 1-0 win over Arsenal at the start of November. Burn was sorely missed during Newcastle’s dreadful run of results in December during which they were knocked out of Europe and the Carabao Cup.
There are also sound tactical reasons why Burn plays – he is better in the air, defending in his own box, than both centre backs Fabian Schar and Sven Botman. In theory, he adds a layer of extra security against teams who might bombard the Newcastle box aerially, especially at set-pieces.
He has also scored some vital goals this season, including the crucial second against Paris Saint-Germain in the 4-1 Champions League win and again in the FA Cup fourth-round victory over Fulham last month.
It is his presence that reassures Howe, not just in both boxes, but in the team as a whole. When he has Anthony Gordon in front of him, constantly tracking back to help him defend against a winger, Burn is far less easily isolated. His limitations are masked because he has help and a proper understanding with Gordon.
Against Luton, Gordon was forced to play through the middle because of injuries to Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson. Neither Miguel Almirón, who is also not fully fit, or Jacob Murphy did the same sort of defensive job and Burn and Newcastle were repeatedly exposed down that flank.
The case for Tino Livramento
Newcastle knew what they were getting when they signed the 21-year-old from Southampton. An athletic and astute defender, Livramento is also dangerous going forward. He is quick and has wonderful balance and close ball control.
He looks a far more typical attacking full-back compared with the larger and more cumbersome Burn. That is part of the problem, people perceive him as a modern wing-back who will, in theory at least, offer what Trippier does on the opposite flank.
During Burn’s injury, Livramento has shown plenty of promise and should go on to become one of the best full-backs in the country. He is able to attack down the left, even though he usually plays on the right, in a way that Burn simply cannot do.
It is probably time to show more faith in him even if it will reduce Newcastle’s aerial firepower, especially after what happened against Luton.
Newcastle have not conceded so many goals this season – 37 in the league, which is already four more than they let in over the course of all of last season – just because of Burn playing at left-back.
Rather than change personnel and make the popular decision to drop Burn and bring in Livramento, Newcastle could change their system, move to three at the back against Forest (with Burn as one of the centre-backs) and play Livramento and Trippier further forward. That would allow one of the midfielders to sit in front of the backline and offer more protection.
Whatever decision Howe makes, making Burn a scapegoat feels wrong. He has his limitations but he also has important strengths. Newcastle would not have made the progress they have in the last two years without the 31-year-old. That should not be forgotten, even if it is time for a change.
Premier League title push will take longer than expected, says Howe
Eddie Howe has warned it will take longer for Newcastle United to compete regularly at the top of the Premier League than people initially thought when they were taken over by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Howe has argued that the speed of progress last season was way ahead of where the club is as a whole.
The club travel to Nottingham Forest this weekend sitting ninth in the table and although there is much still to play for this season many pundits have described this campaign as a reality check.
Howe does not like that expression as it implies the board and himself thought they were something they were not, but he has admitted that there is a lot of room for growth, not least in working to ensure they do not suffer another campaign beset by so many injuries.
“We went into this season with a squad built to cope with all the demands we would face and all the competitions we would play in,” said Howe. “Unfortunately, for us… we hope it’s been a one off season.
“Not just the number of injuries we have had, but the length of time those players have been out for. That has been the most difficult thing for us to deal with. You can handle one or two, but it has been three or four months for five, six, eight players.
“Certainly, we have made mistakes. Certainly we could do things better. It’s been one of those seasons where you can feel everything has gone against us.
“When you have the number of injuries we have had some of those have come from too much load or maybe our programmes are not good enough in the gym.
Newcastle have already replaced their head physio this season and are also looking at further changes to their medical department, as well as how they prepare players and manage their workloads from a sports science perspective.
“I don’t see it so much as a reality check,” continued Howe. “As that makes it sound we were thinking we were something we were not. We never thought we were anything.
“We knew we were on a journey to becoming a team that can hopefully compete for trophies and sustain an assault on the top areas of the Premier League. But that’s a longer term vision compared to the reality of where we started in the relegation zone of the Premier League not so long ago.
“So, we are building the club from the inside as well. You don’t just become a Champions League team from a relegation team in two minutes.
“We are on our way, but we are trying to improve everything internally as well. You don’t just get there, you have to build, and that takes time. For a start, the infrastructure, the training ground, we are trying to keep up with the speed [of progress] of the team.
“Financial Fair Play is going to limit our speed (of progress) on the pitch, so I think it’s going to take longer than three or four years. It might take longer than that for us to be the team everybody wants us to be.”