ANTHONY GORDON opens up on being a 'Scouse scally' and why he was initially hated by his Newcastle team-mates

Anthony Gordon has enjoyed a breakthrough year in international football, making nine appearances for the Three Lions since his debut in March.

The recognition comes after he impressed Gareth Southgate and then Lee Carsley with his performances in a Newcastle shirt over the past 12 months, although he endured a largely frustrating Euro 2024, making just one late substitute appearance.

Just before his first call up earlier this year, Gordon spoke with Mail Sport’s Craig Hope about his international ambitions. 

Anthony Gordon won’t give up the culprit, but his bloodied ankle sock shows he took a hefty tackle in training earlier.

Now, it is his turn to do the tackling, and the subject is perception.

We all have an opinion of this lean, bleached haired, nuisance winger from a deprived suburb of Liverpool – it frustrates his manager, Eddie Howe, who believes the general impression to be wildly inaccurate – but the player himself has, so far, accepted those beliefs as, while mistaken, not entirely unfair. Until now.

He spoke to Mail Sport’s Craig Hope in March ahead of his first ever England call up

Sitting here at Newcastle United’s training ground in March, the 23-year-old, a new dad, wants to challenge the perception of him. 

Not with hostility and anger – and this will surprise many – but with a desire underpinned by eloquence, maturity and a gentle wit. He was not supposed to be like this.

‘I understand the Scouse scally perception but, away from football, I’m not like that at all,’ Gordon said, speaking in March. 

‘Everyone who meets me says, “I thought you were gonna be a….” I won’t say the word, it’s not a good one. But if they leave with a better opinion, that makes me happy. To be honest, the lads here hated me before I joined!

‘But the way I have played, at times, can villainise me. I’m fine with that, because I’m just trying to win. That is why I can’t really blame people for having that perception. 

‘The environment I was in at Everton, that Scouse environment, it’s very aggressive. When teams came to Goodison, I felt a responsibility to be the antagonist. 

‘I have more security in myself now, I have grown into who I want to be. I’m more focused on changing that perception because I feel I’m in a place to do so.’

You could also just have brown hair?

Gordon has impressed for Newcastle over the past 12 months as he continues to develop

Gordon discussed being labelled a ‘Scouse scally’, and why he was hated by team-mates

‘Well yeah, that definitely hasn’t helped!’

As we chat, Bruno Guimaraes, Dan Burn and Fabian Schar wander by. Following Gordon’s £45million arrival from Everton in January 2023, he had to win over his new team-mates before anyone else.

‘I walked in and thought, “There’s no way this lot will like me!”. I’d had a scuffle with a few of them up here, including Fabby (Schar). 

‘So I made a joke with him when I met the lads and he said, with such a straight face, “You have to earn your protection”. I thought he was going to laugh! 

‘That put me on edge! It was a good icebreaker, though, and he was right, I didn’t have a problem with earning their respect.’

Gordon has achieved that, on and off the pitch. Last season he scored 11 goals, assisted ten and played in 35 of Newcastle’s 38 league games. He has netted three and set up three more this time around. It was not like that in 2022-23.

‘It was naive of me. I thought I’d come in, fit right in and not look back. I got a rude awakening! I couldn’t keep up with the intensity in training. 

‘In games, I would run forward and the gaffer would be screaming at me to use the same effort all the way back. I just couldn’t do it, and it was getting me down.’

Gordon whips up the Newcastle fans after netting against Manchester City back in January

Things came to a head when he brushed off Howe after being substituted at Brentford in April 2023. At what point did you think, “I wish I hadn’t done that”?

‘Straight away!’ Gordon said. ‘I won’t shy away from this, because I feel it’s been a vital part of my journey. My relationship with the manager could not be better now. If you take things like that away, maybe it wouldn’t be the same.

‘We had two days off after and I just remember the anxiety. Nothing could get rid of it. I couldn’t really go about my day. I was horrendous company for my family. It was that sick feeling in my stomach. 

‘I’m passionate, but that was way overstepping the mark.’

The last thing you needed was two days off?

‘Exactly! Honestly, the days off killed me! Someone text saying, “Are you training with the Under-23s?”. I’m thinking, “What? No-one has told me so, but am I?!”.

‘I spoke to the gaffer as soon as I came back in. I was so surprised at how he handled me. He basically said, “Whether you like it or not, you’re going to be a success here”. 

‘I did not expect that conversation. He understood where I was coming from. It was the insecurity of not doing what I thought I would. I regret it, of course, but the way the manager handled it, that helped me so much.’

Gordon brushed manager Eddie Howe away at Brentford in April 2023 but their relationship has since gone from strength to strength 

Gordon shows off his volleying skills in an exclusive photoshoot with Mail Sport in March

He wants to say more about Howe.

‘This is fresh in my mind because I was speaking about it yesterday with Matt Ritchie. I say to people, “You don’t understand what he (Howe) has done for my life, never mind my football”,’ Gordon explained in March.

‘His standards and the way he treats people, how good a person he is, how hard he works and how determined he is to be successful, that is the reason I am doing well at the moment – he has dragged me to that level. 

‘I was not like that when I first joined. I’m like that outside of football now. I’m so glad I’ve had him in my life.’

He is not just thankful for his manager. Top of the hit parade at St James’ – and wherever the Toon Army march – is a song about Gordon. It has been so since last season. 

To the tune of ABBA’s Voulez-Vous, ‘Gordon, running down the wing, Gordon, make the Geordies sing, Gordon, we’re all going to Milan’.

‘I remember hearing it for the first time and I couldn’t believe it was for me. I didn’t feel like I’d earned it at the time. It would be very easy for the fans to go, “Ah, he’s not good enough”. 

‘But they stayed with me, accepted me and allowed me to grow – I’ll never forget that in my lifetime. I don’t think fans know how much that can mean to players. And the song is so catchy – I’ll be walking down the corridor here and one of the lads will be singing it in the dressing-room – we love it!’

Gordon squares up to Newcastle defender Fabian Schar during his Everton days

The Newcastle faithful absolutely adore the 23-year-old, creating a catchy tune for him

He should have known the fans would take to him after what he calls a ‘crazy’ episode on his first day in January 2023.

‘Me and my girlfriend had gone to the MetroCentre to get a few things, but we just could not get a taxi back to the hotel. A fan came up and was welcoming us to Newcastle when I said, “I can’t get a taxi”. She said, “Do you want a lift?”. 

‘I looked at my missus and was like, “We don’t know these people, but they seem nice, let’s go!”.

‘They were picking up their son from work. He got in the car, dead nonchalant, chatting to his mum, turned around and he sees me – he just went white and didn’t speak for the first few seconds! 

‘But they were lovely, I got a good feeling from that moment.’

At home, Gordon has a bedside notebook in which he writes his thoughts and ambitions. His partner, Annie, has holiday brochures. Here go conflicting interests.

‘I’m not going to shy away from my aim of going to the Euros,’ Gordon said about his international ambitions in March. ‘I don’t think that I should. My missus has been nagging me , “Can we book a holiday? Places are getting full”. I’ve told her, “Germany is very nice”.

He was player of the tournament as England won the Under-21 European Championship in the summer of 2023. He then skipped a holiday to return for pre-season.

Gordon did make the squad for Euro 2024, although he endured a largely frustrating tournament, making just one late substitute appearance.  

And speaking to Mail Sport in March, he explained his plans – which proved to be successful – for breaking into the Three Lions set-up.

‘Good question. I’ll give you my honest answer. I absolutely love playing for England. Those words can be said too easily. I’ve played with players in the youth system and they’ll throw on Instagram, ‘Always an honour’. I’m thinking, ‘You’ve just hated those two weeks away’. I take so much pride in it. It feels like a going-to-war-type feeling for me.

‘I wrote in my notebook at the start of the season that the top target was England. I also wrote that I wanted to be Newcastle’s most important player, someone the manager could depend on. I wanted something in there that I could hold myself accountable for.

‘I feel like I’ve done everything I can to get in the squad. I understand the competition, and the ability in that team is frightening. But I’ve done my utmost – I’ve ran every yard I possibly could and I’ve scored and assisted at a good level. I’ve still got more to give, but I can be proud and say, ‘I’ve given it everything’. Every time I’m tired, I think, ‘Dig in, England could be watching!’.’

There was another motivation that trumped England and Newcastle and, until March, Gordon had not spoken publicly about his son Antonello.

The 23-year-old winger helped England’s under-21 side to European Championship in 2023

He put off booking a holiday with his partner Annie Keating in the hopes of going to Euro 2024

‘He’s the best thing that ever happened to me,’ he said in March. ‘The responsibility that comes with it, although hard at times, has changed my life for the better. Footballers, we can live this very easy, laid-back life. Football, home, rest. Now, it’s football, home, baby! 

‘On the pitch, it’s given me so much more purpose. Having a child changes everything. It’s bigger than you now, you have to succeed for more than just yourself. I have a picture of him on my shin pads. 

‘I look at that before I go out, kiss it and remind myself who I’m doing it for. The ‘A-sign’ celebration I do is for him. People think it’s A for Anthony, no wonder there is a certain perception of me!’

That essence of childhood takes us back to Gordon’s own, and the terraced houses of Kirkdale. He is the oldest of three brothers.

‘I come from an environment where you’re not really built to succeed, it can beat you very easily, there’s a quick path to failure. There is a lot of gang violence, not good stuff. I’m fortunate that I’m quite introverted and stayed away from that, I was just off playing football. 

‘It’s more the personality traits of friends and people around me. Some of that rubbed off and I’ve had to slowly take those things out of me.’

One trait he has not lost is an addictive personality, and nor does he want to. Gordon attributes that to the extra work he does after training and the ‘challenge’ he now sets himself in being able to run back as hard as he runs forwards. Annie, however, thinks he has ADHD. Why?

‘Ah, there’s so many reasons! She says it because I’m a bad hobby hopper. If I’m playing snooker for the week, I’m buying the best cue, I’m googling how to hit shots. But within the week, “Nah, I don’t play snooker anymore, I like golf”. She says, “You’re not normal”. 

Gordon revealed his ‘A’ celebration is for his son Antonello, not himself as some thought

Gordon recreates the special celebration just for Mail Sport’s cameras during the interview

‘I think that personality is a positive, I want to be the best at everything. She hates that, we can’t even play a game of Connect 4!’

What’s the latest craze?

‘I’ve got a new darts board,’ he told Mail Sport nine months ago. ‘Luke Littler has been my inspiration. It’s easy. Go home, you play. Snooker, you have to plan your day around it. Also, you realise how hard it is. I honestly think doing a 147 is the hardest sporting achievement. 

‘Thirty-five was my best break, which isn’t bad, but it’s a long way from 147! Me and Elliot Anderson were going to Whitley Lodge to play. There’s a big Newcastle badge on the wall, so people were a bit shocked when we walked in every day!’

How about TV?

‘This is another reason she thinks I’ve got ADHD. I like watching the same things over and over, which is quite strange, isn’t it? I have four boxsets – I finish one, do the next one and go back.’

What are they?

‘Friends. Big Bang Theory. How I Met Your Mother. Entourage. I like rom-coms, light-hearted.’

Sticking with light-hearted, how about this – I’ve written down three words that best describe you as a player, what are they?

‘Passionate. Fast. Determined,’ he offers.

They were actually hard-working, direct and robust.

England boss Gareth Southgate called up Gordon to his Euro 2024 squad but barely played him

Gordon says he has been inspired by teenage darts sensation Luke Littler to take up the sport

‘Yeah, I like robust,’ he said. ‘It’s a mindset thing. I made it clear when I first joined, the medical staff never see me. I never want them to see me, and they don’t. For me, availability is the best ability. There’s no point being a good player if you can’t play.’

OK, I’ve also written one word that captures you as a person? He pauses. For the first time in an hour together, he is stuck for words.

Misunderstood, I tell him.

‘Yeah, I should have said that,’ he said. ‘I get that a lot. I just know when people meet me they change their mind.’

He is right. As we walk outside to take some pictures, Gordon pointed to our camera and added: ‘I’ve always fancied photography. Maybe that will be my next thing.’