A round-up from the national media following Newcastle United’s pre-season tour
A look at what the national media has had to say following Newcastle United’s pre-season tour of America.
Elliot Anderson’s fairytale journey from League Two to Champions League
Craig Hope of the Daily Mail said: “Not too many players journey from League Two to the Champions League in little more than a year but Elliot Anderson still believes his Newcastle career is approaching a crossroads.
“The 20-year-old is not content with existing on the fringes of the team this year, despite playing on loan at Bristol Rovers in the bottom tier the season before last.
“And so Anderson should have that ambition, so good has he been during Newcastle’s tour of the United States. He scored two late goals as they came from behind to beat Brighton 2-1 here in New Jersey on Friday night, even winning comparison to Gazza among some supporters.
“But Anderson said: ‘It is a huge season for me. I’m trying to get on the pitch, trying to keep pushing and have more of an impact than I had last season. ‘It could go two ways really. If I don’t perform… I need to perform and cement a place in the squad.’
“Eddie Howe has revealed that Anderson was No 1 in all of the squad’s fitness tests when they returned to training this month.”
Newcastle notes from New Jersey: Anderson impresses, fan engagement, fitness and transfers
George Caulkin of the Athletic wrote: “Eddie Howe declared himself “exhausted” and he had not been playing.
“Newcastle United’s tour to the United States has been productive on and off the pitch — three games unbeaten, connecting or reconnecting to their supporters — but it has also been brutal; hot, humid and intense, rattling between three cities. And now? “I’ll probably have a very good sleep,” the head coach said. “And then I’ll be watching this game back.” Because of course he will.
“Friday night’s 2-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion brought a positive, dramatic end to Newcastle’s participation in the Premier League’s Summer Series, but there has been a different feel to their summer camp this year. They have spread the gospel in fertile territory. They have sweated and worked, but there has been none of the quiet, focused, intimacy of Austria 12 months ago.
“It has felt like a big deal. It has felt loud. As their trip to Philadelphia, Atlanta and Harrison ends, here are The Athletic’s Notes from New Jersey.
“This may be Elliot Anderson’s time
“Elliot Anderson is in the frame for Newcastle’s opening league match against Aston Villa, Howe said, and so he should be.
“The 20-year-old midfielder has scored four goals in pre-season, including two against Brighton, and he and Lewis Miley, 17, have been the standout performers on the U.S. tour. The two young homegrown products were watched by Steve Harper, the club’s academy director, in the Red Bull Arena; suddenly it feels like a bit of a production line.”
Newcastle starlet ready for “huge season” after Maradona and Gazza comparisons
Simon Bird of the Daily Mirror said: “Newcastle rising star Elliot Anderson has been compared to Diego Maradona, Gazza and Peter Beardsley during his rapid rise.
“But the homegrown midfielder is seeking the biggest endorsement of all this season – Eddie Howe putting his name in the starting XI. Anderson has been the big winner of Newcastle’s summer tour to the USA. Three goals, including two against Brighton on Friday night, has shot him further up the pecking order.
“When he was banging in goals as a teenager on loan at Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton made the Maradona link. Ex-Toon chief scout Graham Carr went for Beardsley. Others see a bit of the bulldozing Gazza used to do in his newly strengthened physique.”
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