A moving open letter Dan Burn’s father once wrote to the Newcastle defender has gone viral after the club finally ended their 70-year wait for a domestic trophy by lifting the Carabao Cup on Sunday.
Burn chose the perfect moment to open his account for the season, rising the highest before beating Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher with a powerful header on the stroke of half-time at Wembley.
Arne Slot will have demanded an instant response from his side in the second period but Newcastle doubled their advantage in the 52nd minute through Alexander Isak, just moments after the Swede had seen a goal disallowed for offside.
While Federico Chiesa came on and slotted cooly past Nick Pope to half the deficit deep into stoppage time, it proved too little, too late and the Magpies held firm to seal a famous 2-1 victory.
It was the first time Newcastle supporters have been able to celebrate a major trophy since the team’s Fairs Cup triumph in 1969 and the club’s first piece of domestic silverware since the 1955 FA Cup.
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The jubilant celebrations went deep into the night and lifelong fan of the Toon, Burn, admitted he did not want to go to bed in case it was all a dream.
‘I’ve had worse weeks. I don’t want to go to sleep because I feel like I’m dreaming and it’s all going to be a lie,’ Burn – who was included in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad – told Sky Sports shortly after the win.
On his goal, Burn added: ‘I knew Alexis [Mac Allister] wasn’t looking at the ball and I’d be able to get a jump on him.
‘I don’t get many so I saved it for a big occasion.
‘I feel sometimes I get around bodies and it’s tough to get free. I feel strange, I feel numb at the minute.’
Burn was, of course, part of Eddie Howe’s line-up that suffered a painful 2-0 defeat to Manchester United in the 2023 Carabao Cup final, when a pair of first-half goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford broke Newcastle hearts.
Before the Magpies’ crushing loss that day, The Athletic got various family members of Howe’s squad to write to their loved ones and David Burn’s touching letter for his son really struck a chord with fans.
In the tear-jerking message, Burn’s dad opened up on the pride he felt for his boy, explaining how the centre-back-turned-left-back had gone from getting rejected and ‘pushing trollies at Asda’ to playing with the very best ‘on the world stage’.
The open letter Dan Burn received from his father
Dear Dan,
When I walked up Wembley Way with you, a mere seven-year-old, on my shoulders en route to the FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea in 2000, who could have predicted that the next time Newcastle would be fighting for a cup there, I’d be in the stands, watching my son in those gorgeous black-and-white stripes?
It was only ever going to be this club for you.
After all, you and Jack, your brother, drew teams out of a hat to decide which matches the pair of you would go to with our East Stand season ticket. Tyne-Wear derbies, top-of-the-table clashes and Champions League nights — you saw it all under Sir Bobby Robson.
For your own football journey, first there was Blyth Town — I’m still puzzled you decided to be a keeper — and then Spartans. A left-back to begin with — I suppose you’ve come full circle! — then a centre-half, you won everything going.
Those two years as a junior at Newcastle’s Centre of Excellence coincided with a growth spurt, when you struggled to adapt to your changing body. That letter on Christmas Eve, releasing you as a 14-year-old, was gut-wrenching.
But it never held you back. You made sure you made it.
You pushed trollies at Asda and grafted in non-League with Darlington before Everton and Fulham came calling. For your medical, I told you to “look the part”. In hindsight, perhaps wearing suits might not have been the best idea, seeing as you had to undress about 15 times. Then there was Yeovil — remember son, you’ve already won, and scored, at Wembley — Birmingham and Wigan.
Away from football, you married your childhood sweetheart, Roz, and started a beautiful family, only to move about as far away as possible to Brighton!
When the takeover happened, you told me: “That’s that, Dad. They’re never going to sign Brighton’s Dan Burn.” Then the speculation started and it was unbearable because I so wanted it to be true.
That night you came back, when I was stood alongside you in the boardroom, it moved me to tears. Your debut against Aston Villa topped it. Captaining (briefly) against Brentford was another level still.
That’s before we think about the quarter-final… I was so proud I can barely put it into words.
I still can’t believe I wasn’t there, instead, I was watching from a bar in Spain, but it doesn’t diminish it one bit. Seeing you slalom in from the left and caress the ball in with your right foot, at the Gallowgate End, with a finish Alan Shearer would be proud of — I’ve watched it hundreds of times since and I still can’t quite believe it. That was just so special.
Since then, I find myself driving places and suddenly I have a massive smile on my face because I remember that goal.
Newcastle brought you home and you bloody deserved that chance. You are still the very same lad; the best father, husband, brother and son we could all wish for. Nothing has changed you. You’re still Dan from Blyth, with the same mates who have followed you all the way and everyone can see that.
Your resilience, your perseverance, should be an inspiration to every young kid in the north east. You are no Peter Beardsley, but you proved that sheer determination and hard work can take you far. As our fellow fans sing, “You’ll never, ever beat Dan Burn.”
You are living the dream of so many and you understand that responsibility.
Sat on my shoulders 23 years ago, you were excited and euphoric walking up Wembley Way. This time it’s my turn. In the stands, I’ll be donning your match-worn shirt from the quarter-final, the one you saved especially for me. I’m welling up just thinking about the moment you run out…
That will be my lad, my Dan, on the world stage, showing who he is: a great footballer and an even better bloke.
I wish I could bottle up this feeling I have because it would make me millions if I sold it. I’m so immensely proud of you son.
Love Dad
Howe paid tribute to Burn in the wake of Newcastle’s win, joking that that he ‘couldn’t believe’ the defender had managed to score based on his training performances in the week.
‘We were well aware of the history and we wanted to do the club proud,’ the Newcastle head coach said.
‘We wanted to score, we wanted to perform and we wanted to win.
‘We are breaking new ground, I thought we were magnificent today.
‘We worked consistently for two weeks on set plays just for this game and if you had seen us in practice you would have said we had no chance.
‘We couldn’t believe Dan Burn scored – he didn’t train like that! He was a colossus for us.’
Fighting back the tears at his post-match press conference, an emotional Howe would go on to dedicate the victory to his late mother, who died in 2012 after a short illness.
‘Naturally you end up thinking of the players, the staff, but also the people that aren’t with you. Like for me, my mum and family members,’ he added.
‘You think of all the sacrifices and hard work they gave you as a child to give you the chance to have a good life.
‘I’ve just always had the thought that I want to make my family proud.’
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