ANTHONY GORDON admits he was nowhere near ready for Eddie Howe coming from Frank Lampard’s Everton.
“Unfit” and nowhere near the tactical level required following his £40million January switch to Newcastle, the winger’s first months on Tyneside were a massive struggle.
From publicly throwing his toys out of the pram when hooked as a sub at Brentford to being replaced at half-time in his third start.
Gordon, 22, failed to score until the final game of last term – but there’s been no looking back since.
Named Player of the Tournament as England won the U21 Euros, big things are expected next season.
But Gordon reflected: “I was unfit when I first came, I didn’t feel up to speed at all.
READ MORE IN football
“And the manager’s tactical detail is so impressive – there is so much compared to what I was used to before.
“It is impressive and there is so much of it that it took a while. It was difficult, I won’t lie.
“He did warn me, and the other players did too. But the summer has put me in a really good place.
“Winning the trophy was class, it definitely boosted my confidence, but it’s more about getting used to the style of play. I’m already feeling more confident in the detail.”
Most read in Football
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST ONLINE CASINOS FOR 2023
And Howe said: “I’ve been impressed with him in pre-season. The key thing is that he carried the momentum on with us from England.
“He has huge promise and potential to be a very, very good player for Newcastle.
“He’s just got to keep working at every area of the game and keep developing.”
Gordon “likes” the competition Harvey Barnes provides on the left wing, with the £38m new signing playing 20 minutes off the bench in Sunday’s 3-3 draw with Aston Villa in Philadelphia.
But they – and £55m midfielder Sandro Tonali – were all upstaged by local lad Elliot Anderson, who the Toon Army have christened the “Geordie Maradona”.
The Whitley Bay-born attacking midfielder, 20, recovered from a shocking early miss to score one and create another to show Howe that he is ready to start the Prem season.
“The manager’s tactical detail is so impressive – there is so much compared to what I was used to before.
Anthony Gordon on Eddie Howe
Nineteen of his 22 appearances last season were short cameos off the bench but he has been Newcastle’s star of pre-season so far.
And Howe said: “He did really well nicking balls and being very aggressive but his composure around the box was elite.
“He’s in an area where there is huge competition but we really like him and he’s developing nicely.
“I’m looking for all players to leave a positive impression and stake their claim. Elliot has done himself no harm – he’s been hugely impressive.”
Newcastle have stuck with a 4-3-3 under Howe but the Mags boss tried an unfamiliar 3-4-2-1 against Villa in preparation for their Champions League campaign- and it didn’t go well as they were cut to shreds at will early on.
Read More on The Sun
Howe said: “There is a feeling we are going to need to be flexible next season with the different amount of competitions we are in.
“That is what pre-season is for and there were some bits we need to look at.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
