Eddie Howe believes Anthony Gordon played well as a striker for Newcastle United against Marseille.
Newcastle fans were unhappy with Gordon’s performance against Marseille, with the forward once again ineffective.
It should be noted that Gordon, of course, isn’t a natural striker.
Still, the 24-year-old has played there a number of times under Howe and it would be fair to say that it is yet to work for Newcastle United.
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Gordon has played well in the Champions League this season but his outing at the Stade Velodrome felt like a step back.
Still, the Newcastle United manager was impressed with what he saw.
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Eddie Howe backs Anthony Gordon in Newcastle United striker role
Howe was speaking to reporters in his post-match press conference.
Asked why he didn’t start Nick Woltemade, Howe admitted that he was looking to rest the German international.
He then expanded on Gordon’s performance by saying: “I thought he did well in that first half.
“I thought he was a contributing factor to our performance and of course he played a big part in our press as well and we regained the ball high at times.
“That was all part of playing him.”
Anthony Gordon no longer has a place in Newcastle United’s strongest XI
Sadly for Gordon, it doesn’t appear as if he has a place in Newcastle’s strongest eleven right now.
That would have been unthinkable after the 2023-24 campaign but is now the grim reality for the England international.
Woltemade will be Newcastle’s starting striker more often than not, while Yoane Wissa and William Osula are still to return.
Newcastle United have NEVER won a game that Anthony Gordon has started up front…
Harvey Barnes, meanwhile, is in fine form out on the left wing and dropping him any time soon would seem incredibly harsh.
Judging Gordon on his performance as a striker is slightly unfair given it’s not his natural position, but he has surely played there enough by now to make some sort of impact.
Even away from that, he’s simply not done enough out on the left wing to warrant starting ahead of Barnes.
Gordon has a brilliant record in the big games for Newcastle but that does not feel like it’s enough to keep him in the team any longer.
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