Anthony Gordon believes Newcastle United have ‘no excuses’ as they prepare for the 2024/25 season.
The Magpies now know who they will start the Premier League season against, with the fixture list being released on Tuesday.
It is Southampton at home for Newcastle United, which Anthony Gordon is delighted about. He is happy to be starting the season at St James’ Park, and believes he and his teammates have no reason not to make this a campaign to remember.
It is a contrast to the 2023/24 season, which presented Eddie Howe’s side with a lot of challenges.
Newcastle hit with multiple challenges last season
The challenges were immediate, with Champions League football meaning more fixtures. That was a welcome challenge, but one that was made much tougher when the Magpies were put in the group of death.
The cup draws Newcastle got last season were ridiculous, as were the injuries. All of those things conspired to make it an extremely testing campaign, and one that ended with no silverware and no European football.
Despite this, Anthony Gordon believes there were a lot of positives to take.
Anthony Gordon reflects on how Newcastle played last season
The 23-year-old has been speaking to TalkSPORT whilst he is away with England at Euro 2024, and was asked to reflect on the season that Newcastle have just endured.
“I think he season I came we were really successful and relentless in how we were playing,” he said.
“This year I thought we were really good. I thought we were actually very unfortunate and I am very honest, I wouldn’t say that if it wasn’t the case. I just thought the fixtures and injuries killed us.
“I thought we played really well in a lot of the games, if you think back to the PSG game with the handball, if we had won that game we go through and the season looks a bit different.
“But a lot of injuries so it was hard for us this year to go on and do what we wanted to do, but everyone is going to be back next year, we don’t have those fixtures now, so there’s no excuse for us not to go on and be successful.”
No excuses for Eddie Howe’s side in 2024/25
I have to agree with Gordon. The injuries and fixtures held Newcastle back, during a season in which they actually played very well at times. And if that PSG game in Paris had gone differently and we had stayed in Europe then things could have been very different.
In the end, Newcastle have nothing to show for last season. But it will certainly prove to be a learning curve, and one that the club must benefit from in the coming years.
At times, it could be argued that Magpies were protected by their injuries and their relentless fixtures. It was sometimes used as an excuse for poor performances, but there will be nowhere to hide when the new season begins.
Eddie Howe should have a fully fit squad, while the injuries should not mount up with less games to play. On top of that, Sandro Tonali will be back by the time Newcastle play their third Premier League fixture.
With that in mind, Gordon is right in admitting that he and his teammates have no reason not to make next season a success. There should be no excuses for Newcastle United to hide behind.
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