Anthony Gordon’s stock with Gareth Southgate fell with his bike but now he’s already proving he was the missing gear under interim boss Lee Carsley

Anthony Gordon fell from his bike during the European Championships in Germany, dashing England’s hopes of better equipment.

Gareth Southgate stopped using the winger, said to be irritated by both the crash – Gordon was using his mobile phone – and by the player subsequently telling the media that England’s style was too predictable.

It didn’t take a genius to decipher Gordon’s intention – play me, I’ll make us unpredictable. But it also didn’t take a genius to realise that he was exactly what England needed.

In his five minutes against Slovenia in the final group match – remarkably his only appearance in the tournament – ​​he both broke the lines and the dullness of England’s play. If it was an audition, he would have been given a more prominent role. Two days later he was over the top and Southgate decided, to the team’s detriment, to keep the stabilisers on for the knockout rounds.

There were two major frustrations in Germany this summer: delayed trains and Gordon sitting on the bench. At least Deutsche Bahn paid back the delay. England, on the other hand, will forever pay the cost of not fielding the one player who could have got them up to speed.

The Newcastle striker suffered multiple facial injuries after falling from his bike during the European Championship

Here in Dublin on Saturday, caretaker boss Lee Carsley ventured down the right path by deploying Gordon – a left winger – to the left wing. A simple solution to what had become a complex problem. Who would have thought?

Gordon not only provided balance and shape, he also distorted it. He did what Phil Foden could not do: run at the back and do it at pace. England needed just 11 minutes to score with this tactic. Eleven minutes, if only Gordon had been given that long in Germany.

The Newcastle man can play much better than this. But he didn’t have to be at his best to prove his point. Because this was Gordon’s point. It was the point he was trying to make to Southgate through his performances in training (and then during 300 seconds in Cologne).

It was the point he felt he had to make to the media at the time, as he sat there with bloodied hands and a broken soul. Because this was killing Gordon, the frustration of knowing he was both fit and in form – unlike others – and yet his manager continued to choose loyalty over logic.

It is interesting to travel through Gordon’s own words. This is what he told us in Blankenhain before the round of 16 against Slovakia. Sources close to the camp suspected that some of it was not well received by the management.

“I know I’m a nightmare for everyone I play against,” he said. “I’m sure of it. Every time I get the ball, I always try to make something happen.

“I’m not a very safe player. I always try to put people on the back foot. I think I bring a different element to the team. It (my style) brings a sense of unpredictability.”

He reiterated the above last week, when asked what England missed at the European Championship.

There were two major frustrations in Germany this summer: delayed trains and Gareth Southgate’s decision to bench Gordon

Here in Dublin on Saturday, Lee Carsley ventured down the right path, selecting Gordon – a left winger – on the left wing. A simple solution to what had become a complex problem

“I think that expression, that freedom to express yourself,” he said. “You could say we controlled all our games, but I don’t think we were very dynamic. We weren’t killing teams, we weren’t relentless in trying to score goals. We lacked a bit of excitement.”

To complete the trilogy, he was asked after Saturday’s match why England looked different under Carsley.

“I think freedom,” Gordon said. “Unstructured players here, there and everywhere. You had Jack (Grealish) going all over the pitch and they couldn’t really pick him up. Me and Bukayo (Saka) tried to keep the width and make runs at the back so the boys could get on the ball more.

‘It was in a way a positionless kind of football, where players could pick up the ball anywhere and intricate passes could be made, but the focus was always on scoring goals.’

In just one game has Carsley shown where England have gone wrong in the previous seven. Play Gordon. It’s as easy as riding a bicycle, you might say.