Eddie Howe made five changes to his Newcastle United side which defeated Brentford last night at St James’ Park.
Some of the changes were forced with Joelinton heading to Barcelona to have a knee injury looked at, but others were more tactical, such as switching Anthony Gordon to the right flank and playing Harvey Barnes on the left.
It was always going to be likely that Eddie Howe was going to have to tinker with his Newcastle line-up more this season than he did in the last campaign due to a much heavier demand from fixtures.
Gordon is now just one booking away from a ban
Anthony Gordon, however, is set to had Howe a selection dilemma very soon after the forward picked up his fourth yellow card of the season after just five games. One more and he will pick up a one-game ban.
The rate Gordon is going with picking up cards it’s evident that it’s something that Howe is going to have to deal with sooner rather than later.
Thankfully, Howe has plenty of options available to him to cover when it happens, but with Gordon being in the form he’s in, he will be a big miss for whichever game his ban lands on.
Gordon could obliterate the Premier League bookings record
Gordon has been Newcastle’s stand-out player this season. He looks hungry and desperate to prove himself, which is likely why he sometimes rushes into challenges and picks up bookings.
I’d rather have that Anthony Gordon than one who is just a passenger in the game, though, so if yellow cards are the price Newcastle have to pay to have a full-blooded Anthony Gordon, then bring them on.
Last season Joelinton almost reached the Premier League record for yellow cards in a season (14) with 12 bookings, Gordon is on course to obliterate it.
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