Anthony Gordon

[Wallace]

He will be in demand for interviews as he is eloquent and honest and doesn’t come out with the same old soundbites.

[The College Dropout]

11 hours ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Such a smart lad. 

 

Only negative I can see is he might get overconfident because of his intelligence, but no real evidence of that at the moment. 

 

 

 

Such a British thing to say. 

[Zero]

2 hours ago, 1964 said:

They will know who that is aimed at

Aye, I think that’s pretty clear, all the players knew it

[AyeDubbleYoo]

1 hour ago, The College Dropout said:

Such a British thing to say. 

Well, he speaks very freely and confidently, the downside being he might make a mistake where another player would be keeping quiet and delivering meaningless cliches.

 

I’m not saying he will, just a possible negative.

[Kid Icarus]

2 hours ago, The College Dropout said:

Such a British thing to say. 

Yeah, we tend to take issue with people who let everyone know that they think very highly of themselves.

 

One of the best things about Britain imo.

 

 

Edited September 8, 2024 by Kid Icarus

[TRon]

18 hours ago, kingxlnc said:

He also isn’t great at taking his man on. Feels a bit one dimensional in that sense, fairly predictable 

 

I know what you are saying, he doesn't have the tricks in the box you would get from someone like Ben Arfa or Maxi, but I think that can also be seen as a strength. He's very direct and doesn't waste time with stepovers and other showboating, probably well appreciated by team mates.

[Jimburst]

1 hour ago, Kid Icarus said:

Yeah, we tend to take issue with people who let everyone know that they think very highly of themselves.

 

One of the best things about Britain imo.

 

 

 

[Joe1984]

14 hours ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Such a smart lad. 

 

Only negative I can see is he might get overconfident because of his intelligence, but no real evidence of that at the moment. 

 

 

 

He could also do whatever he did at Everton, leaving fans chasing him down the street...

 

Can't see it happening though, he comes across as an intelligent, likeable person.

[Fak]

Thought a few were putting 2+2 together when they said Gordon wasn’t getting anymore game time because of what he said at FT after his 5 minute cameo in the Euros. Looks like Southgate actually was upset by it. 
 

And because he fell off his bike. 
 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13826443/Anthony-Gordons-stock-Gareth-Southgate-fell-bike-hes-proving-missing-gear-interim-boss-Lee-Carsley.html

[Yorkie]

He does talk a lot does Gordon, mind. I respect the confidence and it's clearly an asset because he's fiercely determined to turn it into performances, but he's got a fair bit to prove still after one brilliant season. Dearly hope his head hasn't been too turned because he's got everything he needs at this club to improve as a player. 

[Gottlob]

I agree with Yorkie and AyeDubbleYoo. Gordon is a gobshite who presents as an intellect, but thankfully the likes of Kid Icarus will be around to cut him down to size.

[Smal]

25 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

He does talk a lot does Gordon, mind. I respect the confidence and it's clearly an asset because he's fiercely determined to turn it into performances, but he's got a fair bit to prove still after one brilliant season. Dearly hope his head hasn't been too turned because he's got everything he needs at this club to improve as a player. 

he owes Howe a lot. His career would be nowt without him. 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

39 minutes ago, Gottlob said:

I agree with Yorkie and AyeDubbleYoo. Gordon is a gobshite who presents as an intellect, but thankfully the likes of Kid Icarus will be around to cut him down to size.

That’s not what I said

[80]

1 hour ago, Gottlob said:

I agree with Yorkie and AyeDubbleYoo. Gordon is a gobshite who presents as an intellect, but thankfully the likes of Kid Icarus will be around to cut him down to size.

[Kid Icarus]

2 hours ago, Gottlob said:

I agree with Yorkie and AyeDubbleYoo. Gordon is a gobshite who presents as an intellect, but thankfully the likes of Kid Icarus will be around to cut him down to size.

 It was Ian W for a start, but that's also not what he said.

 

 

Edited September 8, 2024 by Kid Icarus

[Yorkie]

 Good craic. Fwiw I think incredibly highly of Gordon and want him to become a legend here; the rumours about him leaving in the summer were hideous and I didn't expect them. Just saying he's gonna look a bit daft if his performances don't match his words. 

 

One thing is for sure is that Southgate was a bloody fool for not using him in Germany. Absolutely ludicrous. We need the England manager to be pro-Gordon, tbh.

[80]

10 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

One thing is for sure is that Southgate was a bloody fool for not using him in Germany. Absolutely ludicrous. We need the England manager to be pro-Gordon, tbh.

This bit, definitely. Think we'll really benefit from this week.

[The College Dropout]

7 hours ago, Kid Icarus said:

Yeah, we tend to take issue with people who let everyone know that they think very highly of themselves.

 

One of the best things about Britain imo.

 

 

 

It’s a loser mentality that reinforces the status quo.  Also encourages anti-intellectualism.  In our society but 100% in football.  
 

Rafa said it about English football. Whilst at Liverpool He suggested a 10k run the day before a game and the lads immediately went off to run. He said in Spain the players wouldve pushed back because running 10k the day before a game is insane.   
 

7 hours ago, TRon said:

 

I know what you are saying, he doesn't have the tricks in the box you would get from someone like Ben Arfa or Maxi, but I think that can also be seen as a strength. He's very direct and doesn't waste time with stepovers and other showboating, probably well appreciated by team mates.

He also just doesn’t beat his man very often for a winger of his calibre.  Trick or no trick. 

[TheBrownBottle]

8 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

It’s a loser mentality that reinforces the status quo.  Also encourages anti-intellectualism.  In our society but 100% in football.  
 

Rafa said it about English football. Whilst at Liverpool He suggested a 10k run the day before a game and the lads immediately went off to run. He said in Spain the players wouldve pushed back because running 10k the day before a game is insane.   
 

He also just doesn’t beat his man very often for a winger of his calibre.  Trick or no trick. 

It’s also the mentality which protects from extremism.  The ingrained ‘oh come off it’ which sits in the British psyche is often a strength, not a weakness.

 

Gordon being a bit self-aggrandising is hardly intellectualism, and creates a pressure to perform.  Great if you’re genuinely a player who can just turn it on week after week - as in truly world class - but Gordon isn’t that, and he isn’t pulling up many trees at the moment.  Not saying he isn’t a good player - he is - but actions speak much louder than words in football.  

[The College Dropout]

He’s an elite level professional athlete tbf.  
 

We still see Premier League footballers as fairly talented boys. If he was a lawyer, he’d be one of the best what 500 in the world? In his specialism he’s top 10 in the country where the level is v. high. 
 

If he was in any other professional field - this is how mid level professionals would talk as de rigueur

[Sibierski]

On 08/09/2024 at 00:18, LFEE said:

This. Did canny. Nothing great. Never feel confident when he’s 1v1.

 

It’s the one part of his game he has to increase in quality this season, better care with the finishing. Since he’s joined, his decision making with and without the ball has improved loads, picks the right options so often now, but it’s the finishing that lets him down.

 

Too often it’s tame efforts that are more often hit the target, rather than any conviction. He’s got Isak in training who’s the opposite, so you’d hope over season he works and works on that side and he improves. Because he can be 15+ wide man. 

 

 

Edited September 9, 2024 by Sibierski

[Lush Vlad]

1 hour ago, Sibierski said:

 

It’s the one part of his game he has to increase in quality this season, better care with the finishing. Since he’s joined, his decision making with and without the ball has improved loads, picks the right options so often now, but it’s the finishing that lets him down.

 

Too often it’s tame efforts that are more often hit the target, rather than any conviction. He’s got Isak in training who’s the opposite, so you’d hope over season he works and works on that side and he improves. Because he can be 15+ wide man. 

 

 

 

 

Missed the first 5-10 minutes of the Ireland game and so I only just saw Rice's goal this morning.  First thing I thought of was the above when watching the passage of play back.  Seems harsh with how many goals he got last season.  But he really could improve his 1 on 1 finishing and he'd then kick onto that elite level.  Certainly in agreement that he often goes for a 'safe' finish and just wants to hit the target.  Can't remember many goals where he's gone for height or something a bit cute like a dink or trying to round the keeper.  

 

I get he can work on it, still.  But I'm not convinced it is something you can get really good at just through training.  I think it is a mindset thing and how calm and confident you are in those situations.  

 

I saw that Suarez goal v PSG doing the rounds again the other day in Twitter.  That is just disgusting levels of self-belief.  The skill to get there and then putting it top bin for no reason whatsoever

If Gordon could get anywhere near that level of self-belief when finishing.  Then you're looking at a possible world beater. 

[TRon]

14 hours ago, The College Dropout said:

 

He also just doesn’t beat his man very often for a winger of his calibre.  Trick or no trick. 

 

He doesn't, he tends to cut inside a lot, but he does it to good effect. He is probably getting overrated slightly by Newcastle fans when you compare his skillset to the really top wide men, but in the PL he's still a very good wide man. But I do think we need to look at getting him to sign a new contract or selling him while he's at maximum value if he's reluctant to do so.

[PauloGeordio]

Why England are a better team with Anthony Gordon in than Phil Foden

 

 

Bit of a read. Summary: last line 

 

Anthony Gordon was damningly clear in his assessment of England’s Euro 2024.

“Failure — because we lost,” he told ITV. There were no hesitations to the follow-up: what were England missing?

“Expression of freedom. You could say we controlled the games, but I don’t think we were very dynamic; we weren’t relentlessly trying to score”.

 

Gordon could, justifiably, be accused of sour grapes. He started every game on the bench and Gareth Southgate only brought him off it once, as an 89th-minute substitute for Phil Foden in the final group-stage game — a 0-0 draw against Slovenia.

 

His point was analytical more than emotional. England only created six big chances in seven games, with nine countries bettering that. Spain, who created 25, beat England 2-1 in the final.

Spain won the game through dynamic, dribbling wingers who ran in-behind. For the opener, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williamscombined for the latter to score from 10 yards out. England needed a Cole Palmerfinish from outside the box.

Fast forward 55 days from the final and England are in Ireland for their first game since the Euros and Southgate’s resignation. Gordon is given only his second start and fifth cap total.

 

Foden, along with Palmer and Ollie Watkins, withdrew from the squad. There will come a time where Lee Carsley, interim head coach, has a selection headache. This time, England were dynamic and relentlessly trying to score goals — for the first half, at least.

“We’ve tried to get three or four different ways of playing,” Carsley said pre-match. “We have to play to players’ strengths. It’s not about my style or way of playing.”

 

Inside the first minute, Trent Alexander-Arnold, who had rolled into midfield from right-back, hit a long, diagonal pass to Gordon. Ireland had committed to press, with right wing-back Matt Doherty stepping up to mark No 8 Jack Grealish.

Gordon stayed high and wide, exploiting Doherty’s position. The move only broke down as he miscontrolled Alexander-Arnold’s pass and the ball hit his arm.

Those passes continued throughout the opening 45 minutes. On one occasion, again when Doherty jumped to Grealish, left centre-back Harry Maguire released Gordon — he dribbled inside then out and fired a cross which was overhit.

The end product needed work, but Alexander-Arnold collected the loose ball and found Harry Kane with a cross.

Alexander-Arnold to Gordon was the key pass in England’s opener. Another long, raking ball from a central position was hit in-behind the Irish defence. Gordon arced his run inside Doherty and took a smart, heavy first touch to run through to goal and take the line of Nathan Collins as he recovered.

 

Left with just the goalkeeper to beat, Gordon should have scored, but his finish was low and central, allowing Caoimhin Kelleher to keep it out with his feet. Gordon picked up the loose ball and found Kane with a cutback. When his shot was blocked, Declan Rice followed up to fire in.

With Levi Colwill, left-back on paper but tucking in to play as a third centre-back and give cover, Gordon had full licence to switch positions with Grealish and run in-behind.

England had the left-sided balance that they dreamed of in Germany, when Kieran Trippier (right-footed) was a makeshift left-back and Foden played more as a second No 10 than left-winger.

Foden might be one of the finest English technical players ever, especially in what Pep Guardiola calls the “pockets”, and he has matched or improved his Premier League goals plus assists tally in each of the past four seasons.

 

In 2023-24, he scored 19 Premier League goals and assisted eight, winning the Premier League Player of the Year award. Cole Palmer was the only Englishman involved in more goals. And yet, England are a better team with Gordon in than Foden.

In fact, Foden has only scored four times in 41 caps, and just once since the 2022 World Cup. He is the best of the profile that England have in abundance: a ball-to-feet No 10 who can receive and dribble under pressure, and shoot from distance.

 

Against compact opposition blocks, and back-fives especially, solutions have to come from out wide. England had 76 per cent possession against Ireland.

Games like that offer limited space for a Foden profile, especially when England have a team built around Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, a No 9 who has built his game on dropping in.

Gordon told ITV that his liking to run in-behind when Kane drops in means teams have to “pick their poison (as to) what way they want to defend. We created a lot of chances from it.”

Even though Carsley gave considerate positional freedom, Gordon said “we’re always trying to score, so we don’t want everyone coming to the ball. That’s my role and Bukayo’s (Saka) role — to stretch them and cause danger in-behind”.

 

Foden’s touches at the Euros primarily came out wide and in deeper positions. Trippier, wanting to cut back on to his right foot, was of limited threat on the overlap, so teams marked Foden more tightly when he moved centrally.

Gordon is a completely different profile. Of England’s starters against Ireland, only Kane (27) had fewer touches than Gordon (41). The Newcastle winger didn’t attempt a dribble.

He benefited from Doherty’s positioning and the chance to run at Seamus Coleman, which was a mismatch for pace, but Coleman spent years training against Gordon when they were at Everton together. Few players will have defended against him as much.

Yet neither Coleman nor Ireland could stop him. There was a four-v-two counter-attack, from an Ireland direct free kick, where Gordon found Kane with a cutback, but his shot was saved.

 

There was one moment that captured Gordon’s tactical maturation perfectly. He pressed Coleman into a rushed pass, which hit Kane, and England won the ball in their own half. Gordon made an early, arced run inside Coleman in the hope that Saka would play a through ball.

When that pass did not come, he stayed central and England built their way up the pitch, eventually finding Gordon through Kane, though his shot was blocked.

 

If the counter-argument is Ireland’s 58th-place FIFA ranking, then that falls apart based on the quality of England’s Euros opposition.

They beat Serbia (32nd) 1-0 on matchday one, drew 0-0 versus Slovenia (52nd) on matchday three and needed extra time to beat Slovakia (44th) in the round of 16. England had six big chances in Dublin, as many as Euro 2024 entirely.

There are myriad reasons to justify Gordon’s inclusion as a starter, even if he can be impactful from the bench.

Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling, England’s main left-side individualistic wingers under Southgate, have struggled for fitness and form and did not make the Euros squad. It is a profile England have never had many of.

He did not hit Foden-level numbers, but 2023-24 was a breakout season for Gordon, who join Newcastle from Everton in January 2023. Gordon scored 11 Premier League goals and set up 10 more — one of only five players with double digits in goals and assists.

Finally, there is the importance of the coach-player relationship. Gordon was player of the tournament last summer when England Under-21s, managed by Carsley, won the Euros. Gordon played as a false nine and scored three times.

England need more of Gordon.

 

[Menace]

I could've told you that without writing 3000 words. Foden is shite for England, simple really.