DAN! DAN! DAN! DAN! DAN! DAN!
Ousmane Dembélé must have posters of Dan Burn on his wall, such was the way in which PSG’s World Cup-winning Frenchman appeared completely overawed by the sense of Big Cup occasion at St James’ Park, burrowing so deep into the towering defender’s pockets that only his final acute accent was visible as the final whistle blew on Newcastle’s mighty 4-1 win. Released by the Magpies at 13, pushing supermarket trollies around Asda car parks when he was 16, Burn’s rise has been one hell of a ride; from Blyth Spartans, via Darlington, Yeovil, Birmingham City to Fulham (where he was again released at the age of 25) before yet another renaissance at Wigan, Brighton and finally back at Newcastle.
There is a serious point to make here. Burn is a very good footballer, and Newcastle are a very good football team – this isn’t a David and Goliath story. But whatever disillusionment you might have with elite football, of one team backed by a Saudi sovereign wealth fund beating another owned by a Qatari sport investment, it is still possible for hearts to be warmed – to an extent – by the ballistic reaction as Burn’s towering header contributed towards Newcastle’s first Big Cup win for more than 20 years. Indeed, it was something of a triumph to watch a back four of Kieran Trippier, Jamal Lascelles, Fabian Schär and Burn give a front four of Randal Kolo Muani (€75m), Gonçalo Ramos (obligation to buy the 22-year-old for €65m plus €15m in add-ons), Dembélé (€50m) and some bloke called Kylian Mbappé about as much room as Craig ‘Ballon’ Dawson gave Erling Haaland at the weekend – zilch.
“Genuinely we feel unstoppable when we play at home,” roared Burn in his post-match interview with CBS, shortly before exhibiting his now-trademark dance with Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards – a collection of movements more suited to Al Harrington’s Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tubeman Emporium and Warehouse than St James’ Park. “It’s a dream. When the takeover happened I was with my dad, and I said: ‘I think that’s me done now, I don’t think I’ll get to Newcastle.’ Three months later and I was signing on deadline day. I couldn’t have asked for a better time to be part of the club.”
If vibes are high in the north-east of England, spare a thought for PSG fans, who must surely take almost no satisfaction in walking Ligue Urrrrrrrrrrn for the 1,568th time and absolutely no joy in getting trounced in Big Cup, the only competition they appear to care about. Neymar, Mbappé and Leo Messi have all tried to bring the big-eared trophy to Paris, and Football Daily suspects that if you can’t win it with that crew, you’re probably never going to. If Mbappé was still unsure about shipping out to join perennial contenders Real Madrid next summer, as the rain swept off the North Sea on to his beleaguered boat, he had probably made his mind up by the time he made it back to Newcastle airport.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Join Michael Butler from 5.45pm BST for hot Big Vase clockwatch coverage of Marseille 2-1 Brighton, Freiburg 1-1 West Ham and Aris Limassol 1-2 Rangers, while Scott Murray will then be on hand for Liverpool 2-1 Union Saint-Gilloise.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“After discussions between people at the club and the fantastic organisers of the Gofundme, we have decided to split the fund between everyone at the club. That includes the football staff, the players, the office staff, the groundsmen and any other loyal members of staff who haven’t been paid. The reason we’ve asked for the equilibrium is so we can all look each other in the eye, know we’re in the same boat, know that we stood together, United as one, and from this adversity we have all experienced, forge lasting relationships that can drive our football club forward. It isn’t lost on me how tough life is for everyone right now, I have a wife and four young children myself, and fully understand the cost of living we’re experiencing is extortionate. Your generosity has made a difference to so many of our lives and will hopefully give SUFC its best chance of survival going forwards” – Firewall FC manager Jimmy Dean offers his thanks for the fan-backed fundraising campaign that – at the time of writing – is approaching its £70,000 target, after owner David Hilton pulled all funding from the club.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
If the Premier League granted Jürgen Klopp’s request to replay their game against Spurs (yesterday’s Quote of the Day), would he then start complaining about his team being asked to play an extra game, putting additional demands on his players in comparison with those of other teams? Is he going to demand that everyone else has to replay their fixture from the weekend too, to balance that up? It might work, a roundabout way to the 39th game” – David Wall.
Re: the possibility of ‘cuing in Del Amitri again’ for the 2028 Euros (yesterday’s Football Daily). Surely revisiting the song Don’t Come Home Too Soon for a tournament in which you’re one of the home teams would be a mistake too big even for the Scottish FA? Actually … never mind” – Phil Smith.
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … David Wall.
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