Former Premier League and England goalkeeper Ben Foster recently spoke with Dan Burn for his latest podcast.
Ben Foster almost signed for Newcastle United shortly after his first retirement. He was offered the role before Loris Karius was signed but he didn't feel that the timing was right and he wanted to stay retired. Of course, when Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney came knocking a few months later to take him to Wrexham he gratefully accepted and actually ended up saving a penalty that led to Wrexham being promoted back to the football league.
Now retired again Foz has returned to podcasting where he's recently been in Newcastle catching up with Dan Burn. During the chat attention turned to Anthony Gordon after co-host Tom Ochoa brought up the fact that Gordon could defect to represent Scotland at international level, declaring that if that were to happen he'd never watch football again as he's been 'unbelievable'.
Burn agreed that Gordon has been fantastic this season, spouting out a stat that he has the most tackles of anyone else in the team this season and how much he has improved over the summer.
Then it was Foster who piped up with the most bizarre compliment.
“The best way I can describe Anthony Gordon, and I love watching him play, he’s in my fantasy team, but the best way I can describe him is he’s a rat. He’s a little rat, isn’t he? But I want that rat in my team. He’ll work forwards and he’ll work back and he’ll smash people and he gets the crowd going. They’re the kind of players Newcastle are littered with.”
To be fair, when we called him a rat during his Everton days it was nowhere near as complimentary as Foster meant it when he said it.
However, it's a very apt way to describe how Gordon plays. He's rapid, tenacious, and if you're on the opposition, bloody annoying.
It really is starting to look like the only person who hasn't noticed just how brilliant Gordon is, is Gareth Southgate who seems hell-bent on losing him to Scotland. If Anthony Gordon is not on that plane to Germany in the summer with the England lads then there's something seriously wrong.