Newcastle's star signings sent warning as Anthony Gordon makes honest admission
Anthony Gordon was warned adapting to Eddie Howe ’s tactics would take time and effort.
And the Newcastle midfielder admits it has taken hours of meetings and study to immerse himself into the way Howe wants him to play.
But the work behind the scenes certainly appears to be paying off, with the Newcastle boss full of praise for Gordon’s “aggressive and versatile” style after his second-half performance in Sunday’s goal-laden Premier League Summer Series draw against Aston Villa in Philadelphia.
Gordon joined Newcastle in January in a £40million switch from Everton after the club brought forward their plan to sign him. And he admitted he was “unfit” physically and mentally in terms of the new demands on his shoulders.
“It was difficult, yes, I won’t lie,” conceded Gordon. “The manager’s tactical detail is so impressive. And there is so much of it compared to what I was used to before. It is impressive and so much of it that it took a while.
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"He did warn me it would take a while, and the other players did warn me too. It is a lot of meetings, visualising stuff, and then on the pitch helping me when we do tactical sessions and shape. Those sort of things.”
It seemed as if the dynamic forward was struggling to take it all in, especially after he was hooked at half-time against Southampton back in April, having made a rare start for the Geordies in the Premier League.
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Gordon struggled after arriving at Newcastle from Everton (Getty Images)“I was trying not to be too emotional with it,” said Gordon, as he was forced to watch from the bench as Newcastle overturned a 1-0 first half deficit to win 3-1.
“I had a decent half and I knew I wasn’t playing to the style of the team, which I didn’t fully understand. This pre-season can only help me in that way.”
As can his starring role in England’s march to victory in the European Under-21 Championships.
“I would use ‘unfit’ when I first came in,” said Gordon about his conditioning when he arrived at St James’ Park. “I hadn’t trained for a week or so. I just felt previous games before the move I didn’t feel up to speed at all.
“And I got injured soon after joining Newcastle. I never got fully up to speed. This summer has put me in a really good place.”
Gordon will need to draw on all he has learned and his improved physical condition to ensure he can translate an impressive summer into regular action this season, especially following the big money arrivals of Sandro Tonali and, more significantly for Gordon, Harvey Barnes.
But Gordon is certainly happy Newcastle have bolstered their ranks with players of the calibre of former AC Milan star Tonali, as they gear up for their return to the Champions League.
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Gordon labelled Tonali as a “classy guy”, adding “On and off the pitch he’s really good and really humble. On the pitch you can see he is really composed and a great midfielder. I am excited to play with him.”
Howe switched tactics to an unfamiliar 3-5-2 in the friendly against Villa which ended in a chaotic 3-3 draw after Newcastle were down 2-0 after 11 minutes.
"We tried something different,” said Howe, admitting they will need more tactical strings to their bow this season. We are aware of the amount of competitions we are in next season.
"There is a feeling that we are going to need to be flexible next season. Whether that is a system we look to start with or go with in a game, we just felt it was a good game to trial it in pre-season. There were some good bits and bits we need to look at."
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