Newcastle united manager Eddie Howe has paid tribute to Anthony Gordon amid the winger’s suspension.
The 24-year-old will miss Newcastle United’s next three games, including the Carabao Cup final. Anthony Gordon is suspended, having been sent off during the FA Cup defeat to Brighton.
It was a moment of madness from Gordon, who is now paying the price of missing the Magpies’ biggest game of the season.
Alan Shearer said Gordon’s red card was ‘stupid’, while others have questioned why a player should be banned in the Carabao Cup after being sent off in the FA Cup.
Regardless, Newcastle have not appealed Gordon’s red card, and his ban will begin on Monday night when the Magpies face West Ham United at the London Stadium.
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Eddie Howe praises Anthony Gordon after red card
Toon fans are yet to hear from Gordon, who has trained with his Newcastle United teammates this week.
Ahead of the game against West Ham, Eddie Howe has spoken to the media, with the Toon boss admitting that Gordon has been excellent behind the scenes despite the disappointment of his suspension.
“I think for Anthony of course he was hugely disappointed on Sunday,” he said.
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“I think there’s that realisation once – because your emotions are in the game that you’re playing and it can’t be for the future – the game ends, you sort of realise what’s happened and the repercussions of that incident.
“So I’m sure Sunday night at home and Monday, he would have been feeling all the potential negative emotions of that. But I think he’s very quickly come back to us, trained really well. You wouldn’t know there’s a disappointment there.
“Huge respect to him for that, and he’s trying to help his teammates because now he knows his job is to train really well, be there as a support for his teammates and try and push us on to achieve something great in his absence.”
Gordon still has a big role at Newcastle United this season
For the next few weeks, Gordon’s role at Newcastle United has changed. He needs to be a good teammate and a good trainer – particularly in the build-up to the Carabao Cup final.
While Gordon cannot feature in that game, he can help prepare his teammates ahead of facing Liverpool.
Howe has already praised Gordon’s application on the training ground, and hopefully it makes a difference at Wembley. Of course, it would be better if Gordon was available to play himself, but that is not possible.
Howe must now decide who replaces Gordon for Newcastle, with Harvey Barnes and Joelinton the leading candidates to play on the left of attack.
Once Gordon’s suspension is over, it is likely that he will return to the starting XI. While this suspension has came at a terrible time, there is still a lot of football to be played. There are plenty of opportunities for Gordon to atone for his error, as the Magpies continue to challenge for Champions League football.
If anything, this suspension could inspire Gordon to play even better. He knows he has let people down, and he is the only one who can make it up to them.
The 24-year-old has nine games to do that, as he prepares to sit the next three out.