It was 19 October 2022 when that moment happened at St James’ Park

When Newcastle United played Everton on the 19th of October 2022, it was as one-sided an affair as you could imagine. Everton managed just the one shot in the entire game and that wasn’t on target.

Despite having a host of good chances, it was only a 1-0 victory for NUFC.

A young man made an impression on the Newcastle United support that day. Anthony Gordon, breaking beyond our backline, felt a nudge from Dan Burn.

We’ve seen Alan Pardew ‘nut’ players harder and yet Anthony Gordon tumbled to the ground hoping for a penalty. None was forthcoming and Trippier took umbrage with his opponent’s gamesmanship and charged over to give him a piece of his mind. Gordon squared up to him, which aggravated Schar and Pope, who both got involved before a free-for-all ensued.

Schar and Gordon went in the referee’s book and Gordon went in our book as Public Enemy Number Two (it’ll take more than that to displace our pal Pickford as number one).

When the news broke of our interest in Anthony Gordon, I was desperate for it to not be true. In terms of ability, I thought he was a decent player, but in terms of personality, I couldn’t stand the bloke. I worried that his arrival might mark the end for ASM too and I know which of the two I’d rather have in the squad. £40+ million too, really? I’d be happy with us spending around £20 million on him but this felt like too much.

Once my initial dismay had settled down, I began to think rationally.

The truth is, Anthony Gordon is a good player with a lot of potential. Last season he was easily one of Everton’s most positive and imaginative attacking threats. He’s skilful, tenacious, hardworking, determined and scrappy. He’s basically the personification of Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United.

He embodies the attitude that has become commonplace in our squad since we added players like Trippier and Guimaraes. There’s a newly coined noun ‘sh..houser’ that could be used to describe so many of our squad. The aforementioned players fit comfortably into that category, as do Wilson, Joelinton, Murphy, Lascelles, Pope and others. Gordon will add his name to that list.

I can’t abide diving, so that’s something Eddie will need to sort out, but every other attribute of his game will complement our team.

He’s absolutely rapid. He was clocked as the fastest player in the Premier League this season until Mudryk came in and usurped him. I thought ASM and Isak were quick, so if we’ve got someone even quicker now then that’s quite something. He will track back and press effectively. I can see him being a similar player to Miggy, putting in tackles and supporting his full back, but also comfortable bursting up field and twisting defenders inside out. Unlike Miggy, however, he’s two-footed, so could be more of a Miggy / ASM hybrid.

I read the article on The Mag that compared Gordon’s goals and assists per minutes with some of our current players. I’m not criticising that article, as I love a stat comparison, but we have to consider the underlying situations. Gordon is younger than any of our current midfield / wing options (besides Anderson) and was playing in one of the worst teams in the division. I think he could surprise a lot of people now that he’s joining a team on the ascendancy.

Does Anthony Gordon have an attitude?

The way he’s left Everton may suggest a falling out with the club. First of all, imagine being a young local player who has been doing his best for a season and a half in a shocking side and then getting surrounded by your own fans and told to get out of the club. I think, if it was me, I’d take that advice.

He supposedly didn’t turn up to training. However, it was clear that the deal was imminent, and he wasn’t training with Everton for that reason. It’s like players not being included in match day squads when on the brink of a transfer. You’re not going to risk a player getting injured in training when he’s about to complete a multi-million-pound transfer.

Will he disrupt our dressing room? Fat chance. Would Eddie Howe let him? Would Trippier, Lascelles, Burn, Longstaff, Bruno, Joelinton? This team is so unified and so full of big characters. No young buck is going to upset this dressing room without getting a stern dressing down.

Does it spell the end for ASM?

We’ll know in the next couple of days but I don’t think so. Although they typically play the same position, they are very different players. Gordon is simply improving the level of our squad. Fraser may well go, so we need another wing option and both Gordon and ASM are better than him, Murphy or Ritchie.

With Wood leaving we needed another attacking option and if we were to face the disaster of losing Wilson and Isak at some point, then we could utilise ASM or Gordon as a ‘false 9’, ‘impostor 10’ or ‘covert, double pivot striker-come-attacker’ or whatever we’re calling the bloke up front these days.

On top of this, Gordon can also play on the right, behind the striker or in midfield, so he’s actually an option across all five positions in midfield and attack.

Is £40+ million too much.

It all depends on how his Newcastle career pans out. I know that’s stating the obvious but a young player with potential these days will comfortably cost £30m / £40m /£50m (or £80m / £90m if you’re Chelsea). One thing is for sure, I trust Howe, Ashworth and all the recruitment team. Every signing they’ve made has added value in some capacity and I genuinely believe that Gordon will play a massive part in the next few years of our journey.

After a January with plenty of stories on the pitch but little in the transfer market, we have now splashed the cash on a new signing. Ashby is coming in at right back and I wouldn’t be surprised if one or two others were sneaked in before the transfer window shuts.

I would probably allow Lewis to go out on loan to the Championship. He is in desperate need of rebuilding his confidence / career and I’d rather keep Manquillo as cover in both full back positions. With Shelvey about to join the list of departees it wouldn’t shock me at all if Maddison or Tielemans came in on deadline day. Shelvey has been injured all season so he may not be someone we feel we need to directly replace, especially as Anderson hasn’t had many minutes and Gordon could drop into midfield if needed.

Isn’t it refreshing to have a manager and ownership that is honest with its support. Eddie said movement would be late in the window and it has been. We’ve had no transfer leaks or long-winded sagas. Incoming / outgoing deals only becoming apparent a few days before they are concluded.
Something else Eddie said recently was that we’re not here to be popular, we’re here to compete. I can see Anthony Gordon fitting in nicely with that mantra.

You can follow the author on Twitter @billymerlin