Eddie Howe on Anthony Gordon’s Newcastle future

Anthony Gordon was on the bench for Newcastle at Nottingham Forest, did not start the 1-1 draw and immediately found himself at the centre of a selection call that Eddie Howe framed in future-facing terms. Howe said Gordon had come back from injury and was training well, but he also said he was looking at the future. That makes the omission look less like a one-off and more like part of Newcastle’s current thinking.

Why Howe left Gordon out

Howe was explicit that the call was tactical. He said Newcastle had gone with a bit more solidity, with Joelinton wide on one side and one winger on the other, because they were not happy with how they were defending. He also said the team had performed well in Gordon’s absence and that he did not want to make too many changes.

That is a hard line for anyone reading the benching as a punishment or a contract story. Howe did not present it that way. He presented it as a choice about balance, shape and the here and now, with Gordon back from injury and available again.

The numbers do not make Gordon look like a peripheral player either. He has played 26 Premier League matches this season, scored 6 goals and been given a 7.08 league rating. This is still one of Newcastle’s more useful attacking options, which is why leaving him out draws attention in the first place.

Trippier, Hall and the wider selection picture

Gordon was not the only notable omission from the starting line-up. Kieran Trippier was also on the bench, while Lewis Hall started at right-back. Howe denied any suggestion that Trippier’s omission was about bonuses. “Absolutely not. I make football decisions,” he said.

He also backed Hall’s ability to adapt on the right side. Howe described him as “an outstanding technical player” and said he did not think playing off a different side would affect him too much. Hall played 95 minutes, completed 59 passes and was rated 7.5 against Nottingham Forest, which supports the manager’s decision to trust him in a difficult role.

Howe’s point about looking at “the players that will be here next season” is the sharpest line in the whole discussion. It does not settle Gordon’s long-term situation, and the brief says not to treat it as a transfer conclusion. It does, though, show that Newcastle’s selections are being shaped by more than just one afternoon at the City Ground. On this evidence, Gordon’s benching was a tactical call, not a signal that his Newcastle days are suddenly done.