Chris Dunlavy

Chris Dunlavy: Dan Burn has shown you can keep it simple…

Dan Burn’s England call-up is a welcome reminder that you don’t need to play like Franz Beckenbauer to reach the top of the game.

by
Chris Dunlavy
23 March 2025

By Chris Dunlavy

INSPIRATION: Dan Burn

Dan Burn’s England call-up is a welcome reminder that you don’t need to play like Franz Beckenbauer to reach the top of the game.
These days, we are taught to believe that centre-backs are practically worthless if they can’t take the ball under pressure.
Or even ping 60-yard balls to feet and outsprint a centre-forward in a footrace from the halfway line.
Yet Newcastle United defender Burn is none of those things.
Modern game
The 32-year-old is a player who does the basics of defending extremely well and very rarely makes a mistake.
That’s it - and it...

Continue reading...

Access all our premium content from as little as 14p per day!

Already a subscriber to our website? Login

Read our latest news on any of these social networks!

Tackle the News

- Sign Up for our weekly Football League Newsletter Today!

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

More in Chris Dunlavy

Marti should have let Foxes run free

Chris Dunlavy A FRESH TAKE ON FOOTBALL CARLO Ancelotti’s unprecedented success hinged on the principle that great players should never be constrained by tactics. It was a lesson learned the hard way. As a young coach at Parma in the summer of 1997, Ancelotti rejected the chance to sign Roberto...
Tame Terriers in hunt for lost spirit

Chris Dunlavy A FRESH TAKE ON FOOTBALL IS MANAGING Huddersfield Town the most difficult job in the EFL right now? Liam Manning is about to find out. On paper, the 40-year-old is walking into a dream job. The Terriers have a fabulous stadium, a generous owner in Kevin Nagle and...
CLOSING ‘CHUTE PAYMENT WILL DO FOR ME…

Chris Dunlavy A FRESH TAKE ON FOOTBALL PLEDGE: David Kogan DAVID Kogan, the chair of the new football regulator, has promised to review the impact of parachute payments on the EFL. It shouldn’t take long, and it certainly won’t require the “indepth analysis” the watchdog has pledged to undertake. A...
Chris Dunlavy: James McClean’s time at Wrexham shows the value of a veteran

James McClean’s success at Wrexham shows that there is value in the older generation.