Everton's Gordon post reaction speaks volumes - but context is important

Everton's official X account upset Jamie Carragher and Dan Donachie with a post replaying Jordan Pickford's penalty save from Anthony Gordon

Everton's Anthony Gordon social media post reaction speaks volumes - but context is important

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From the moment Anthony Gordon stepped up to the spot, it was always going to be a huge talking point. And to the delight of Everton supporters, their former favourite saw his penalty saved by Jordan Pickford.

It proved costly for Gordon and Newcastle United, who were unable to find their way through a patched-up but resolute Everton backline. And had Craig Pawson awarded what looked a blatant spot-kick at the other end, the Blues may even have been celebrating a 1-0 win rather than settling for a 0-0 draw.

But despite the game ending goalless, there were more than enough incidents to discuss, with Everton's official X account adding to the narrative on Sunday with a post, in response to a request from a fan, showing Pickford's superb save from Gordon accompanied by the buzzer sound effect.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, the boyhood Blue who became a legend with rivals Liverpool, and Everton's one-time medical director Dan Donachie were not impressed.

So did the club cross the line? Or is this just all a bit of fun? Our writers have their say...

Matt Jones - The pearl-clutching over a tweet has been remarkable

It is perhaps an indication of how short on talking points the Premier League weekend was that a tweet from Everton about their goalkeeper saving a penalty has somehow become a news story. But here we are.

Former Blues fitness coach Dan Donachie and Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher both took to social media on Sunday afternoon to call out the club for showing Jordan Pickford's save from Anthony Gordon on social media, complete with a Family Fortunes sound effect.

Donachie called it 'disgraceful' and remarkably suggested Everton have not been sensitive to the mental health of their former player. Carragher used it as an opportunity to question Everton's moniker of 'The People's Club'. Pearl-clutching from rival supporters has naturally followed to quite a hilarious extent.

Some might think it's in bad taste for an official account to be indulging in anything other than stuffy statements, serious official updates and training photos. But those days are long gone. Club accounts have a personality of their own now and social platforms like Tik-Tok are rife with teams taking little digs at rival players, managers and supporters. The Tik-Tok-ification of X, Instagram and Facebook is inevitable for Premier League clubs as they search for clicks and look to appeal to more diverse audiences.

And so what? Football isn't supposed to be serious. Neither is social media. If you want sanitised matter-of-fact reports and formal updates, the official club site is the place to go, not Twitter.

Of course there is a line that shouldn't be crossed. In this instance, Everton are nowhere near it. Their post was as much championing their goalkeeper as it was anything to do with their former player, who refused to train and play before moving to Newcastle.

Gordon, who has spoken openly about his own self-confidence in addition to his penalty-taking 'prowess', will surely shrug it off too. And if he was to score on the last day of the season and Newcastle were to take a dig back? That'd be fine. Everton are used to being the butt of the joke after all - it's clear seems some are uncomfortable when the tables turn.

Paul Wheelock - Don't call the Fun Police, I just think there was no need

Let me explain. Don't call the Fun Police yet. But that tweet was just not for me.

Did I laugh out loud and mock Anthony Gordon after he missed that penalty and celebrate Jordan Pickford's save like it was a goal at the other end? Too right I did. Have I watched the penalty back time and again since Saturday? Most definitely.

But having had the last laugh, let's just leave it there.

That said, you've got to understand the context. The buzzer sound effect on the video - that those of us old enough to remember became synonymous with Family Fortunes - was used specifically because it was also aired during half-time of Saturday's game after supporters failed in the 'Hit The Bar' challenge.

It was an in-joke. But clearly Jamie Carragher - who was at the match for Sky Sports - and Dan Donachie did not find it funny. But calling it 'disgraceful' and throwing digs at 'The People's Club' were unnecessary.

There could well be two sides to the story - there usually is in football, especially when it comes to acrimonious transfers - but the way that Gordon behaved toward the end of his time at Everton and some of his actions since have left a bad taste in the mouth. So the reaction to the spot-kick was a very human emotion.

But should the club's official X account have got involved beyond replaying the incident? While there's a strong argument to suggest that the buzzer sound is celebrating Pickford's heroics as much as it's poking fun at Gordon fluffing his lines, I'm not so sure.

Again, I'm probably showing my age here, but I'd prefer official club accounts not to do something a fan account should and would be all over, although the boundaries between both have becoming increasingly blurred in recent years as audiences and how we consume media evolves.

And, let's face it, this is just all part of the fun and games in the 24/7 world of social media and Premier League football nowadays.

But maybe it's the pessimist in me - sadly it comes with the territory of being an Evertonian of 43 years - but I can't help but fear that last-day trip to St James' Park to take on Newcastle. Let's hope there's nothing riding on it because you don't want the joke - which, it was, nothing more, nothing less - being thrown back in our faces.

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