‘Ridiculous’ – Newcastle star looks a shadow of himself – Eddie Howe has a big decision to make

Newcastle United have a huge decision to make over Anthony Gordon, in Paul Nicholson’s view.

The ex-PDC darts star and current talkSPORT Darts commentator was speaking on the latest edition of Inside The Toon about the forward’s form.

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We are heading into the 2026 World Cup, and Gordon is a key contender for Thomas Tuchel‘s side.

The German is a huge fan and has used the former Everton man consistently since his arrival in November 2024 to replace Gareth Southgate.

However, Gordon has been the subject of criticism from certain elements of the Newcastle fanbase.

This is mainly due to his poor league performances.

Before his goal against Liverpool in the 4-1 defeat at Anfield, Gordon hadn’t scored from open play in the Premier League for over a year.

Now, he had in the Champions League, and from the penalty spot, he has been almost immaculate for the Toon.

But given he is one of their key attacking threats, not scoring from open play for that long is a problem.

And Nicholson didn’t hold back when assessing Gordon.

Speaking on the latest Inside The Toon, he said: “I can’t count the times I’ve watched Anthony Gordon go one-on-one with the keeper, only to fiddle it straight to the keeper.

“It’s ridiculous. Get him on his left side, and he can’t finish. Get it on his right side, and he is probably going to put it in row Z.

“He can’t cross or finish with his left—so why put him there?

“I know he’s going to cut in, but that makes him one-dimensional.

“The fact is, he’s not as good as Harvey Barnes. And [against Man City], we saw the cracks in the armour of Anthony Gordon and some others.”

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Barnes over Gordon

Eddie Howe has built a squad where he has a few positions that are nailed down by certain players.

In those positions, the players underneath are very much squad players.

However, on the left, Barnes and Gordon are very equal, and as a result, one of them – usually Barnes – is either benched or shoehorned in on the right.

This has led to Newcastle’s attack looking unbalanced, but the former Leicester winger has still enjoyed a stellar campaign.

He has 12 goals across all competitions for the Toon with every one from open play.

They have also been a combination of right foot, left foot and headers.

The problem Howe has is that both want to play on the left, but in the manager’s own words, Barnes is more ‘willing’ to be on the right.

It is a point of frustration that has clearly angered Nicholson.

Barnes to get his chance

Ahead of facing Brentford on Saturday, Howe has confirmed that Gordon is unlikely to be available.

This is due to the England international limping off with a hamstring injury at the Etihad during Newcastle’s 5-1 aggregate defeat in the Carabao Cup semi-final.

That ended their defence of the trophy, and Barnes replaced Gordon.

And he’ll likely get the start in the position he’s been craving.

On Gordon’s injury, Howe said: “No major update on Anthony. [There’s] every chance he’ll miss this game, but we hope it’s not a serious injury and he’ll be back soon.”