He walks the walks and talks the talk at Newcastle United | OneFootball

Big Dan Burn is the epitome of a local hero.

If a man is defined by what he does and what he says, BDB scores highly on both fronts.

The fools who accused him of being a weak link, of contributing nothing to the attack in 2022-23, have been proved wrong repeatedly in this record-breaking season.

While such criticisms were nearly always ill-founded and unjustified, this campaign has seen Dan Burn at his most impressive.

Not only did he score four of our 102 goals (after two in the previous campaign), he also triggered plenty of attacks with his forceful pressing on the left flank. Officially credited with two assists in the Premier League in 2023-24, our tough-as-teak defender stopped countless attempts by opponents to make progress.

BDB walks the walk and talks the talk.

A few minutes before the match at Old Trafford last week, he was asked by a Sky Sports interviewer what he thought of the true United’s opponents. Perhaps the questioner was expecting a safe-as-houses, non-committal, media-savvy response. What he got was what any self-respecting member of the Toon Army would say.

To politely paraphrase:

“I’ve disliked that lot for many years and I see no reason to stop any time soon. They’ve inflicted misery on us since I was a boy and now I want payback.”

Born in Blyth on May 9, 1992, he was probably too young to comprehend the traumatic conclusion of the nearly season, though our defeat three years later in the 1999 FA Cup final would certainly have left its mark.

As we all know, our record at Old Trafford over the years is less than impressive. The most recent encounter proved no exception, even though a draw was the least we should have gained.

No matter.

We ended the season in seventh, with the promise of the UEFA Conference League on Thursday nights next season, while the team formerly known as Newton Heath finished below us for the first time since the 1976-77 season.

And, as we also know, eighth place is just not good enough to qualify for even the third tier of continental competition in 2024-25.

Is this the start of a longed-for, long-overdue payback? To quote Bradley Walsh, presenter of The Chase: “I certainly hope so.”

Unfortunately, while seventh place promises European football, a promise can be broken.

The Salfords have one more chance to rob us blind. They play Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday, knowing victory would propel them from nowhere into the Europa League, alongside Spurs. It would simultaneously demote Chelsea from that competition into the Conference League. And, of course, deny us a second successive season of European competition.

While the bookies make City a best-priced 1-5 to win, with their opponents 9-2 against, there is an unfortunate precedent that should not be overlooked.

In 1995, the Mancunian misfits famously failed to defend the Premier League title, thwarted by a Blackburn team inspired by a certain Mr A Shearer. Second place in that era, before the Champions League grew monstrously, earned a berth in the UEFA Cup, which was then the third-tier European competition.

Being the lucky devils they are, Fergie’s lot had a gilt-edged opportunity to qualify instead for the old European Cup Winners’ Cup. They were red-hot favourites to defeat Everton at Wembley. The relevance for Newcastle United was that the outcome everyone expected would free a place in the UEFA Cup and, having finished sixth, it would be ours.

My old mate David Mankelow takes up the story, as if we need reminding…

“They contrived to lose 1-0. I was doing a shift on the Sunday Telegraph and couldn’t believe it. Paul Rideout headed the winner and Neville Southall had a blinder. For the Salfords, Cantona was suspended after his kung-fu attack at Selhurst Park and Andy Cole was cup-tied, having played for us against Blackburn in the third round.”

Could history repeat itself? Will Man City, allegedly the greatest team ever to kick a pig’s bladder into the onion bag, be denied a domestic double, despite fielding such generational talents as Rodri, De Bruyne, Haaland and my favourite, Phil Foden?

If the improbable does happen, as it did in 1995, we will be left to concentrate on the Premier League next season without any European distractions.

However, would that be such a terrible outcome? I for one would welcome a sustained title challenge, nearly 30 years after the Entertainers gave us memories that will last a lifetime.