Alan Shearer was less than complimentary about Anthony Gordon’s performance against Southampton after Newcastle United’s January signing spurned two first-half chances.
Newcastle made tough work of the first half against Southampton which was evidenced in the 0-1 scoreline at the break. However, had Anthony Gordon had his shooting boots on it could have been a much different story.
The £45million signing from Everton twice showed his quality with a perfectly timed run and a burst of pace to carve through the Southampton defense, but both times his shooting let him down. First firing into the side netting and second, in a one-on-one with the ‘keeper he rolled the ball onto the outside of the post.
Alan Shearer must have based his assessment on Gordon’s finishing
Alan Shearer wasn’t in the mood to give credit where it was due, though, and said in his column for the BBC: “Anthony Gordon had been pretty poor and missed a big chance but Howe had the luxury of bringing Callum Wilson on, who changed everything.”
I think that’s a bit harsh on Gordon. Although I had made the claim in my NUFC text group that he should be hooked at half-time for Callum Wilson. Nobody agreed with me, but Eddie Howe did, so I win.
Gordon will be a different player after a full pre-season with Newcastle
To be fair to Gordon, he tried so hard but nothing he did seemed to fall right for him. His shots were both on the wrong side of the post, every time he tried to beat his man the ball would get caught under his feet or ricochet off the defender as he made his move.
There’s just something that happens to Gordon when he’s picked to start. It’s like he’s trying too hard and that leads to mistakes.
With a full pre-season with the group and Eddie Howe having more time to put his arm around him and tell him what he wants, I think Gordon can be a huge star at Newcastle, but he just has to get through these last few games.
