Newcastle United aren’t exactly in amazing form heading into some tough games in March which includes an opportunity to pick up some honours in the EFL Trophy final versus Liverpool.
Indeed, it’s been very hit-and-miss as of late for Eddie Howe’s Magpies, with home wins against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest in league and cup soured by losses to Manchester City and Arne Slot’s convincing league leaders on the road, alongside the club’s recent FA Cup exit to Brighton and Hove Albion.
Danny Welbeck and former employee, Yankuba Minteh, broke Toon hearts with an extra-time winner for the Seagulls, as Newcastle just didn’t have enough in their tank come the end of the 120-minute marathon, which wasn’t helped by Anthony Gordon’s petulant dismissal.
Anthony Gordon's poor performance vs Brighton
This reckless red card for Gordon means he will now likely miss his club’s trip to Wembley, although Howe and Co are apparently going to appeal this sending off in a bid to try and get the 24-year-old back for the final.
Regardless, it was a poor showing from the ex-Everton man against Fabian Hurzeler’s determined visitors, as he failed to complete a single dribble, before being given his marching orders late on after a scuffle with Jan Paul van Hecke.
Away from this incident, Gordon does have nine goals and six assists from 34 games to shout about this campaign, but potentially missing out on the upcoming final against his ex-club’s fiercest rivals will be a huge kick in the teeth.
Minutes
83
69
Goals
0
1
Touches
50
32
Shots
1
1
Accurate Passes
19/26
12/18
Key Passes
1
2
Successful Dribbles
0/4
1/2
Ground Duels Won
3/10
4/7
Aerial duels won
0/1
0/0
Tackles
1
2
He will surely return to the starting XI very soon, but Howe’s side would no doubt be boosted in attack more if they had a former flop on the scene who has resurrected his playing days away from St James’ Park.
Newcastle flop is now just as exciting as Gordon
The Magpies attack at full throttle this season has been an absolute treat to watch, with Alexander Isak firing in 22 goals in all competitions from the main striker spot, alongside Jacob Murphy also chipping in with some meaningful contributions next to the standout Swede.
But, Newcastle would potentially be elevated to another level if former flop Florian Thauvin was back and at his current excellent best, with his original stint on Tyneside completely forgettable when amassing just one goal from 16 games.
Now, however, he’s a different beast altogether playing out in Italy with Udinese with his goal and assist haul across 2024/25 to date not far off Gordon’s ever-rising amount, with his own tally up at eight strikes and five assists from fewer matches (25), which included a curled strike hitting the back of the net in December.
Constantly twisting and turning defenders with ease, it’s safe to say the “unbelievable” star – as he was once heralded by former teammate Moussa Sissoko – hasn’t allowed his bruising Magpies experience to impact him one little bit.
Indeed, his form out in France right off the back of his short stay in England was equally as breathtaking as his peak in Serie A.
20/21
38
8
9
19/20
2
0
0
18/19
37
18
9
17/18
54
26
17
16/17
43
15
12
15/16
20
4
0
14/15
38
5
7
13/14
41
10
6
Looking at the table above is evidence enough that the electric French attacker never let his Tyneside demons get the better of him, with an outrageous 147 goals and assists coming his way during eight largely successful campaigns at Marseille after moving back in a £9m deal. All in all, he’s scored 88 times since moving away from the north east.
Gordon is deep into his second campaign back at Newcastle, with the 24-year-old striving to get back into his groove after all the drama surrounding this red card is over, whilst his equally as exciting counterpart aims to see out his career in style with Udinese.
Howe struck gold on Newcastle ace whose value's risen 780% since his debut
Newcastle and Howe will be pretty happy with this teenage talent.
1 ByRoss KilvingtonMar 1, 2025
