Former Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton wasted no time in offering his congratulations to Elliot Anderson after he helped the Magpies secure Champions League football.
Elliot Anderson was a very late addition to Newcastle‘s starting XI last night as Joelinton pulled up with an injury during the warm-up. The local lad was given the nod to fill in on what was expected to be a mind-blowing night at St James’ Park.
Anderson has been on the brink of the starting eleven all season, and when his time has come things haven’t gone according to plan. He was the sacrificial lamb when Nick Pope received his infamous red card against Liverpool after just 20 minutes.
Joey Barton sent his congratulations to Elliot Anderson last night
However, last night he helped Newcastle make history as they secured their return to the Champions League after a 20 year absence.
A group of players posted the same image to their Instagram – a collage of Newcastle players in front of the Champions League logo. Anderson was one of them and almost immediately Joey Barton responded with his congratulations, saying simply “Well done mate”
Barton of course managed Anderson during his brilliant loan spell at Bristol Rovers where he was dubbed the ‘Geordie Maradona‘.
Anderson should get more chances next season with more squad rotation needed
While it probably wasn’t the season he’d dreamt, Anderson did get to feature in some big games for Newcastle this season and almost bagged his first senior goal were it not for a very questionable VAR decision.
I’m sure with a bit more time working with Eddie Howe and his team, Anderson will have a bright future at Newcastle and hopefully he can kick on next season with more game time as Howe will need to rotate his players a lot more than he’s been able to this season.