Newcastle Toons
Fansided

3 reasons why fans shouldn’t worry after losing to Burnley

By Durim Halimi

BURNLEY, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 14: Andy Carroll of Newcastle United protects the ball from Phil Bardsley of Burnley and Jeff Hendrick during the Premier League match between Burnley FC and Newcastle United at Turf Moor on December 14, 2019 in Burnley, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
BURNLEY, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 14: Andy Carroll of Newcastle United protects the ball from Phil Bardsley of Burnley and Jeff Hendrick during the Premier League match between Burnley FC and Newcastle United at Turf Moor on December 14, 2019 in Burnley, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Newcastle United were defeated by Burnley at Turf Moor yesterday, but the loss is not significant at all.

Once again, Newcastle United go on the road with a two-game winning streak only to have that good run snapped by a team that lost their last three games. Burnley only needed one goal to seal the deal against Newcastle United. The key question to ask here is how does this defeat impact the Magpies?

My short answer to that question is that this defeat doesn’t set the team back at all. Yes, Newcastle United looked terrible yesterday, but here are three reasons that explain why losing to Burnley yesterday is insignificant.

1. No Shelvey, Almiron or Saint-Maximin

Newcastle United were not at full strength when they took on a Burnley side that deployed their strongest lineup and played with two strikers up top. Steve Bruce was without his top goalscorer, Jonjo Shelvey, his speedy winger, Miguel Almiron, and his best playmaker, Allan Saint-Maximin.

Just because Burnley won doesn’t mean they played well. Burnley were actually just as bad as Newcastle United yesterday, and if Bruce had Shelvey, Almiron and Saint-Maximin at his disposal the Magpies would have dominated from start to finish. If the Magpies’ three star players were in action and the team played like this, then I would be worried, but yesterday’s performance simply demonstrated just how important that midfield trio is for Newcastle United.

2. Missed call gifted Burnley the win

Steve Bruce was quick to criticize referee Tim Robinson for his poor judgment when he granted Burnley a corner kick instead of blowing for a foul on Federico Fernandez, who was pushed from behind and landed on the ball as it went out of play. Managers will obviously side with their team in such situations, but I have to agree with Bruce on this one.

Robinson, who called a total of 27 fouls yesterday, was blowing the whistle against United players for pushing in the back multiple times. However, when Fernandez was pushed from behind on the touchline Robinson let it go and that corner kick then led to Burnley’s goal.

3. Seven points clear of relegation

The final reason why yesterday’s defeat is insignificant is because luck was on the Magpies’ side in terms of other results around the league. The bottom three – Watford, Norwich City and Southampton – earned a combined total of one point after Norwich City somehow held Leicester City to a 1-1 draw.

Next. Newcastle United player performances vs. Burnley. dark

As a result, Newcastle United are still seven points clear of Southampton (18th). Bruce’s men are still in a good place and they know they can bounce back from this result since they have been in similar situations earlier in the season. A loss is always frustrating, but we as fans should not lose sleep over yesterday’s game.