Jacob Ramsey of Newcastle United celebrates scoring his team's second goal with teammates Joe Willock and Anthony Gordon during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 10, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)placeholder image
Jacob Ramsey of Newcastle United celebrates scoring his team's second goal with teammates Joe Willock and Anthony Gordon during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 10, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Newcastle United beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 without playing any of their recognised strikers.
For the second Premier League away match in a row, Howe benched his £139million strike force of Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa and Will Osula in favour of moving Gordon from the left wing and into the centre.
It was the same front three of Harvey Barnes, Anthony Elanga and Gordon that started the recent 4-1 defeat to Liverpool, but the scoreline didn’t tell the full story. For 35 minutes, it worked. Gordon opened the scoring before the Reds hit back.
And at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night, it worked again, this time for a sustained period, as Malick Thiaw and Jacob Ramsey, scored either side of Archie Gray’s equaliser to give Newcastle a 2-1 win.
After scoring at Anfield, Gordon registered an assist in North London as he scurried into the box to pick out Ramsey, who finished first time into the bottom left corner.
Eddie Howe explains Barnes-Elanga-Gordon decision
On selecting his front three, Howe explained: “We wanted to play with quite a fluid front line. We wanted to play with pace on transitions, we wanted to press aggressively.
“To do that, you have to have quick and mobile players, so, all added to the mix, I think they all played well. They all showed their strengths with the legs.
“I think that's pivotal to playing away from home. We haven't always had that this season. I think we've looked a little bit off our normal level, so, today was definitely a twist in the right direction.”
Newcastle United find alternative to £124m problem
Signing Woltemade and Wissa for a combined £124m in the summer and starting neither tells its own story. It’s a damning assessment of the club’s summer transfer business, but the reality of where the team is at currently.
Following an up-and-down Premier League campaign so far, Howe is under pressure to end the season strong and push towards the European places. Now, whether you blame Howe’s system or the players individually, again, the reality is, United have struggled to find a solution with Woltemade or Wissa.
Gordon isn’t the long-term option; he has and always will be a winger, but in the short-term, it could be the tactic Howe uses in order to get results whilst the Woltemade and Wissa conundrum continues.
Howe said: “Yeah, I think it's a valid option for us. I think Anthony has done really well there this season whenever he's played and actually the team's done well off the back of that.
“Now, we haven't always scored the goals that a lot of our performances have deserved. I go back to the Liverpool [home] game before he got sent off, it was probably our best half an hour that we'd had and we could have scored a number of goals.
“It hasn't quite clicked in front of goal, but in some senses his mobility and his legs and his desire to press has made the team play better. So, that's why I went with it today and it's got a fluid look about it.
“He can drift wide, he can come lower, but he's got that pace that threatens the opponent's back line, so, I was delighted with his attitude and his work rate today and I thought the team responded well to it.”
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