Former Everton players rally around club to blame Anthony Gordon

The Everton players trained Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday without Anthony Gordon.

The 21 year old back at the training ground on Friday.

However, Gordon’s presence at Finch Farm yesterday (Friday) morning was swiftly followed by news breaking that Everton and Newcastle United had reached agreement on a transfer, with the player set to travel to Tyneside for his medical.

Sure enough, Anthony Gordon pictured on Saturday at the Newcastle United training ground, as he goes through his medical and the other final details are sorted, before the formal announcement is made ahead of the transfer window closing (at 11pm on Tuesday 31 January).

No surprise to see one-time Everton players flocking to blame Anthony Gordon and insist that this is a great move for the club, because the winger / attacking midfielder isn’t actually all that good…

Former Everton defender Alan Stubbs talking to Sky Sports:

“I think it’s a good deal.

“Anthony Gordon has not hit anywhere near the heights as he did when he first came into the team. Since the summer when he was linked with Chelsea, he’s not been the same player since then.

“What’s happened during this week doesn’t really reflect good on him, if I’m honest.

“Everton have got a good deal, £40m is a lot of money and hopefully, they can invest it wisely and make the team stronger.

“I think it was more disrespectful to his team-mates more than anyone else. We’ve all been in those situations before, but there is a way of going about it.

“Talks could’ve been held higher up and privately about him not wanting to be here but it’s been played out in the public and he’s not come out of it very well. But ultimately, he’s probably got what he wants out of it.

“Gordon has flattered to deceive even towards the end of last season.

“There’s not been any end product and his goals and assists haven’t come.”

Former Everton striker Kevin Campbell talking about Anthony Gordon to Sky Sports:

“It seems that he took advice from elsewhere but two of his days off weren’t granted.

“One way of upsetting the applecart is to stay away from the club and not honouring training.

“He’s engineered the move.”

I can’t help think that this is all very convenient, lining up to blame the player, rather than the shambles that is currently the case at Goodison Park.

Anthony Gordon wasn’t at training on Tuesday but straight away across the media this was reported as a ‘planned’ absence, club approved. Clearly Everton informing the journalists.

It has now emerged on Tuesday, that was when negotiations were properly set in motion, David Ornstein of The Athletic revealing that a meeting was held in London with representatives of Newcastle United and Everton meeting to thrash out the basics of a deal. The planned absence of Anthony Gordon from the training ground on Tuesday, surely so that he and his representatives were available to be on call to help get the deal done.

My take on it is, that the basics of the transfer were agreed on that Tuesday, with then the finer details of it ironed out in the next couple of days. So my belief is that when we get to Wednesday and Thursday, all parties, both clubs and player, know that Anthony Gordon is going to be moving to Newcastle United. So, in my opinion, it wasn’t the 21 year old going on strike, disrespecting his current club, or whatever.

Rather, I think Everton were fine with Gordon not going into training, maybe even it was their idea. Just this for whatever reason, hasn’t been communicated to the media, whether a case of believing nothing said was the least worst route to go as the transfer was getting sorted, or maybe just as likely, Everton happy for the player’s absence to be distracting fans from having a go at the owners / directors of the club for a couple of minutes.

Then with the deal completed, Anthony Gordon went to the training ground on Friday to say his goodbyes and clear his stuff out.

Not as exciting a story for the Everton fans or former Everton players but for me, a lot more believable.

The club (Everton) certainly didn’t come out and say Anthony Gordon had stayed away without permission.

As for Anthony Gordon supposedly not being that good anyway.

Well, as Newcastle fans we are about to find that out soon enough, either way.

What I do know is that in a very poor Everton squad, Anthony Gordon was certainly one of their best players.

Even though he has started just over half their PL games, he is joint top scorer and has pretty much the best underlying attacking statistics in their poor squad.

In the 12 PL matches he has started, Gordon has helped Everton pick up 11 points. In the other eight they have picked up only four points. If Anthony Gordon had started all 20 games and continued the average of points picked up in the games he had started, Everton wouldn’t be in the relegation zone. They wouldn’t be out of it by much BUT are better with Gordon in the team.

Truth is that Frank Lampard had only started Anthony Gordon once in the PL since October and many Everton fans had already turned on him, making the 21 year old a scapegoat.

All of this long before the transfer was sorted to Newcastle this week.