‘Petrified’ Newcastle star on reprieve under Howe

Newcastle United simply cannot string together a consistent run of results in the Premier League this season.

Three wins have come at home to St James’ Park, but Eddie Howe’s top-to-bottom Magpies remain winless on their travels, with back-to-back defeats in London to West Ham United and Brentford souring the mood on Tyneside badly.

Howe is under heavy pressure to turn around the Toon’s fortunes around four years into his role as boss, with journalist Jordan Cronin describing the current situation as “unacceptable”, with Newcastle now trailing just two points above the relegation zone.

Journalist Luke Edwards also weighed in, saying there were “huge problems all over the place”, with Dan Burn’s sad decline being an indictment.

How Dan Burn let Newcastle down against Brentford

Although it was a collective effort that saw Newcastle slip to their third away defeat of the season, the 6ft 7in defender ultimately gave Brentford a platform to win when he was sent off late on, which then resulted in a penalty being awarded to Igor Thiago.

When he was still on the pitch, the disastrous number 33 was all over the shop, once again presenting himself as a left-back option as the 33-year-old made just 20 accurate passes and won just one tackle.

He was somewhat saved by being the hero who gave Newcastle a 1-0 Champions League lead against Athletic Club.

But it was only a temporary respite from his terrible form in the Premier League, with Burn also poor at the London Stadium in failing to win any of their ground duels.

Even when Newcastle were victorious against Fulham in October, the Blyth-born warrior looked well off the pace, with just three of his 11 duels won in the 2-1 victory. Fortunately, on this occasion, it did not cost his team dearly.

But, with two consecutive horror shows on the road and Burn finding himself suspended, this seems like the perfect opportunity to ditch the 33-year-old for Lewis Hall to come in.

Burn isn’t the only one who looks like he’s on borrowed time as Howe’s mainstay, however, with another first-teamer in decline needing to be replaced if the Toon are to turn their topsy-turvy campaign around.

‘Petrified’ Newcastle man also on probation

Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes came out after the 3-1 defeat at Brentford to issue a rallying cry, declaring that “we have to stay together” to navigate the current choppy waters at St James’ Park.

Although a sense of unity and a strong core have helped Howe succeed at Newcastle in the past, it is clear that Burn and defensive teammate Nick Pope are no longer at the required level and will soon have to be dropped from his starting XI.

That will be easier said than done for the under-fire Newcastle boss, with Pope at 110 games now on Tyneside under the former AFC Bournemouth manager’s reign, with the 33-year-old once even described as “one of the best shooters” he has worked with.

Yet, just as with Burn, the 6ft 6in goalkeeper could well have overstayed his welcome as a key part of the first-team jigsaw, having been described as “petrified” last season by journalist Adam Clery, when injuries frustrated his campaign.

Now he looks uncertain and shaky with some unconvincing performances between the sticks, with Pope unable to make good use of his imposing frame when Kevin Schade scrambled his equalizer last time after a long throw-in.

With the England international also arguably at fault against West Ham in failing to keep out Lucas Paqueta’s stinging effort, it’s clear that Aaron Ramsdale is set to be given more first-team chances shortly, compared to the declining number 1, with Pope furthermore set to miss matches for the Three Lions over the international break due to injury concerns.

If he remains out of action, Ramsdale is the easy choice to replace him, with one Newcastle-based social media account going so far as to state that Pope’s constant mistakes are “crucifying” Howe and Co. That’s a shame for someone who has been largely as consistent during the Howe era. His reliability is such that it is no exaggeration to suggest that he was one of the best signings around.

That said, Newcastle desperately need to turn around the results once the break ends, and the aforementioned duo of Pope and Burn simply need to be sidelined to try and restart that positive streak.