So much has been made about the difference in Newcastle United’s form when Lewis Hall starts at left-back ahead of Dan Burn.
Burn is an undisputed Newcastle United legend and has been since the minute his feet touched the ground after banging in a header against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.
The England international remains a key player under Eddie Howe and doesn’t just live off that iconic moment, of course.
Still, Burn has struggled at left-back for Newcastle this season. That’s not really his fault, given he’s a 33-year-old central defender.
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Indeed, Burn just cannot match Hall for athleticism and crossing ability, as well as his movement.
Hall is one of Newcastle’s most important players and Howe’s side haven’t lost a game he has started all season.
While Burn has struggled to replicate what Hall brings to the Newcastle squad, the former Chelsea defender has been full of praise for his back-up.
Lewis Hall praises Dan Burn for his form at left-back for Newcastle United
To Burn’s credit, he started at left-back during Newcastle’s 2-1 win over Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday.
Clearly, Howe’s side will have always been expected to beat the Clarets at home, but it is worth mentioning that Burn hardly put a foot wrong.
Hall, who had been feeling unwell in the build-up to the game, eventually did come on towards the end of proceedings.
Interestingly, prior to the game, Hall and fellow full-back star Tino Livramento were asked about their importance to the cause by Sky Sports.
Hall paid a classy compliment to Burn and Kieran Trippier, who had to cover for Livramento’s injury absence on the opposite flank.
“There’s always going to be outside noise of things that the team’s missing, or things that the team needs,” he said.
Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall need help!
“Obviously, it’s nice to hear them when they’re about you and things like that, so that when you do come back in, you feel like you’ve got that bit of motivation to not only do it for yourself but for the team, which is obviously the main thing.
“But, yeah, at the same time, it’s not really something that I personally look too much into it.
“Because, although we [Hall and Livramento] weren’t playing, obviously Dan and Tripps are both amazing players as it is and have different qualities to what me and Tino might have and things like that.
“So, I feel like there’s always different ways you can look at teams and performances but I’m glad that we’ve managed to come back in and help the team.”
How Dan Burn felt about playing as a left-back for Newcastle United
Only a few months ago, Burn revealed he put on extra weight at Newcastle to become a better central defender.
It was a blow, then, that injuries to both Hall and Livramento at the same time forced him out to the left.
Burn didn’t want to play left-back for Newcastle but still did a largely decent job of it.
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Granted, his performances against West Ham and Brentford were poor, but he was hardly alone in struggling against the London sides.
Hall’s comments say a lot about the respect Burn has within the Newcastle United squad.
In fact, they speak volumes. Burn deserves a huge amount of respect, both for what he has done and what he continues to do.
Having to play him at left-back was hardly ideal but it was perhaps not quite the disaster it’s been painted to be after the back-to-back defeats in the English capital.