Newcastle United had to sell Elliot Anderson to avoid a points deduction. Now, he can help Nottingham Forest deal a crushing blow to their top-four hopes.
When the Premier League announced in February 2013 that new financial regulations were to be introduced, the aim was to improve financial stability of all clubs after they’d collectively made a loss of £361 million during the 2010-11 season.
While investment in stadia and academies was to be exempt, the new rules would put teams at genuine risk of a points deduction if they recorded a loss of more than £105m over a three-season period. Essentially, this was an extension of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations at the time, albeit providing teams with considerably more leeway considering Europe’s governing body only permitted a £38m loss over three years back then.
As well as looking to promote stability, these regulations – which would come to be known as Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) – looked to prevent wealthy owners from pouring unlimited sums of cash into a club and transforming their fortunes overnight.
“A new owner can still invest a decent amount of money to improve their club, but they are not going to be throwing hundreds and hundreds of millions in a very short period of time,” said Richard Scudamore, then Premier League CEO. “While it has worked for a couple of clubs in the last 10 years, if that’s going to be done in the future, it’s going to have to be over a slightly longer term without the huge losses being made.”
One consequence of these rules being adopted is homegrown players like Elliot Anderson, who was sold by Newcastle to Nottingham Forest last year, became more valuable in accounting terms.
In a sense, they always are of greater value than signings because of the way football clubs amortise – spread over the length of a contract – transfer fees, combined with the fact academy products generally required little to no initial cost. So, if an academy graduate is sold, the fee brought in is considered “pure profit” in the books.
This is obviously more important in the PSR era because clubs must adhere to stricter financial controls for fear of sanctions, and this is the only reason Newcastle sold Anderson in the first place, as Eddie Howe alluded to in pre-season: “It didn’t sit comfortably with me, but it was almost something we had to do. We had no choice.”
Premier League executives likely foresaw such situations arising but prioritised the general financial stability of the competition. They probably also liked the added bonus that the new rules would encourage teams further to develop their own players. Either way, Newcastle’s loss has been Forest’s gain, and Sunday will see Anderson return to St James’ Park for the first time.
The player has been open about how disappointed he was to leave his hometown club but clearly hasn’t let that get in the way of progressing his career.
At Forest, Anderson has become a key figure in a side who have taken monumental steps of their own as a collective. Having only narrowly avoided the drop last season after being hit with a points deduction for falling foul of the same regulations that necessitated Newcastle selling Anderson, they are now – rather astonishingly – fighting for Champions League qualification.
Nuno Espírito Santo has rebuilt a reputation that was damaged by an ill-fated spell at Tottenham, with his methods helping a host of players reach altogether new levels.
Anderson is one of them, though many would likely argue he was on such a trajectory anyway.
During his formative years at Newcastle and on loan in League Two with Bristol Rovers, Anderson was often used as a number 10. Then, having broken into the senior Newcastle side under Howe, he’d frequently feature from the left or even as a number 8.
Such versatility reflected well on his general ability and on-field intelligence, and it has been an aspect of his time at Forest too, though he has settled more into a deep-lying midfield role with the freedom to roam.
Initially, some had concerns he and Morgan Gibbs-White might struggle to coexist, especially if Nuno ultimately felt Anderson’s skillset was best suited to playing in a more advanced role; after all, he doesn’t really have the pace to regularly play as one of the wide options in the Portuguese coach’s counter-attacking setup.
But they’ve ended up complementing each other nicely. Technically, both are talented, and Anderson’s forward-thinking nature means he’s able to push into spaces vacated by Gibbs-White, who has even more freedom to roam in attack. Anderson’s first Premier League goal came from such a scenario, latching on to Gibbs-White’s flick before darting forward and firing home from 20 yards against Southampton last month.
That goal reflected the broader purpose that Anderson brings. Although usually deployed as one of the two defensive midfielders in Nuno’s side, he gets forward to good effect, and quite frequently.
For instance, only four nominal defensive midfielders – three of whom have played considerably more than his 1,645 minutes – have progressed the ball further up the pitch via carries (movements of at least five metres with the ball) than Anderson’s 1,239.8m.
Among the same group of players, he ranks sixth for progressive carries (123), whereas when compared with all central and defensive midfielders this season, only six can better his 15 carries ending in a shot or chance created. Those above him in that respect include the likes of Dejan Kulusevski, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Martin Ødegaard; in other words, very attack-minded individuals.
While some might feel slightly at odds with referring to Anderson as a “defensive midfielder” given his forward-thinking nature, he is generally one of the deep midfielders in a team that sees less of the ball than any other Premier League side, so it’s not an unfair label.
But his progressiveness shouldn’t be seen as Anderson neglecting his defensive responsibilities. Far from it, in fact.
Among all Premier League players to feature for at least 900 minutes this term, only Ryan Christie (7.5) wins possession back more often per 90 minutes than Anderson (7.2). Part of that comes down to him engaging opponents directly, as he tallies 3.2 tackles on a per-90-basis – that’s enough to see him rank 16th out of 237 outfield players.
That work rate is also reflected by how often he pressures – defined as engaging an opponent with the intention of winning the ball back – in his own defensive third, with his 12.1 per 90 bettered by just eight midfielders.
Of course, Anderson’s figures will be somewhat impacted by the fact he’s played in a few different roles this term, but that should also be seen as another part of his skillset.
“I believe that Elliot is a player who is able to start in different positions and still be able to play his own game. I think that makes him better,” Nuno told Sky Sports in November.
Nuno stresses the importance of balance to his Forest team, and Anderson encapsulates that perfectly with his excellent all-round ability, which also makes him a great fit in a team that looks to utilise quick counter-attacks and hurt teams in transition.
He can win the ball back, he can carry it forward with purpose himself, and he can also play a decisive pass, as demonstrated by his five assists being bettered by just six midfielders this term. Perhaps more goals will come further down the road too?
Although there was more than a pang of sadness and reluctance to the deal that brought Anderson to Forest, there’s also a strong case it helped accelerate his career in a way that may not have happened on Tyneside – at least not this season, anyway.
That isn’t to say there wouldn’t have been opportunities, but would Anderson have become as important a player in a Newcastle midfield that’s among the best in the Premier League with Joelinton, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães? It certainly wasn’t a given. Only 10 of his 21 Premier League games for Newcastle last season were starts.
Either way, Anderson’s made the most of his move as he thrives in a Forest side who’ve been a breath of fresh air in their unlikely pursuit of Champions League football, helping them directly rival Newcastle for a place at Europe’s top table.
It’s difficult to know just how much of an impact a points deduction would’ve had on Newcastle had they not sold Anderson, but it’s at the very least arguable that selling him saved their season before it even began.
Now, Anderson can help Forest put a dagger to Newcastle’s ambitions and further their own fairytale.
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