· 25 August 2025, 23:00
**As satisfying as it was to see Virgil Van Dijk getting clattered by Anthony Gordon tonight, the resulting red card was definitely deserved.**
Newcastle United had to play the entirety of the second half with 10 men after VAR and referee Simon Hooper deemed Gordon's late challenge on Liverpool skipper Virgil Van Dijk was worthy of a straight red.
Initially, it did look like the Newcastle forward had tried to pull out of the challenge, and indeed he had, but he was unsuccessful and instead scraped his studs down the back of Van Dijk's calf.
If we'd had a player sent off from literally any other position, we could have coped much better. Not that the team didn't cope well tonight, it's more about what it means for the future.
Newcastle's desperation for a striker has reached another level now
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Anthony Gordon will be hit with a three-match ban following his dismissal, and seeing as he was the only 'striker' Eddie Howe had at his disposal, it now forces the club into a very tricky situation.
Obviously, there's Will Osula, who did himself a huge favour by scoring tonight, but away from him, there's only Alexander Isak, who is still on strike, although Jamie Reuben and delegates from the PIF went to his house today to talk things through. Hopefully, they can convince him to return to action.
However, in the meantime, Newcastle have a week in which to bring in a striker. At least one striker, that is, they really need two.
Premier League teams, especially, will look to exploit Newcastle even more now
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newcastle were already desperate for a striker before kick-off tonight, but now that our go-to centre-forward is set to miss the next three matches, every player Newcastle have in their sights will just have seen their value go up a few million quid.
Brentford were already holding out for way more than Yoane Wissa is worth, and we can expect them to be even more bullish now, knowing how desperate Newcastle are.
Similarly, Wolverhampton Wanderers have already rejected a £50 million bid for Jorgen Strand Larsen, and they claim that no fee would be enough to get them to deal, and now they can pretty much name their price.
We don't want to throw too much blame at Anthony Gordon, as it was just one of those things. A definite red card, but there was no intent there. If it were Joelinton or Bruno Guimaraes, then maybe we'd say there was intent there because those two were out for blood tonight.