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Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson was in the stands at Wembley Stadium celebrating Newcastle United’s historic Carabao Cup win v Liverpool on Sunday.
The 22-year-old midfielder was on the pitch at Wembley two years ago when Newcastle were beaten 2-0 by Manchester United in the Carabao Cup final. This time he returned as a fan to watch Eddie Howe’s side end a 70-year wait for a domestic trophy.
The run to the trophy success started against Anderson and Forest back in August as Newcastle won on penalties in the second round. The Magpies brushed aside AFC Wimbledon, Chelsea, Brentford and Arsenal in the rounds that followed before beating Liverpool 2-1 in the final.
Dan Burn and Alexander Isak put Newcastle into a deserved 2-0 lead before Federico Chiesa came off the bench to pull a goal back in stoppage time - setting up a nervous end to the match. But The Magpies were able to see things out masterfully to claim the Carabao Cup.
At full-time, Howe and Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope spotted Anderson celebrating in the stands. It was a touching moment but also a bittersweet one.
While Anderson is enjoying an excellent season with Nottingham Forest, he could and possibly should have been out celebrating on the pitch with Newcastle on Sunday. Anderson’s Newcastle exit from his boyhood club was forced last summer as the club scrambled to comply with PSR.
The club didn’t want to sell him, Anderson didn’t want to leave - but it was either keep him or face a points deduction. The move has worked out for all parties in reality with the midfielder playing regularly and flourishing at Forest while Newcastle were able to avoid a points deduction and have their most successful season in recent memory, and it’s not even finished yet!
But it also shows the bad side of the Premier League’s financial rules where a boyhood Newcastle fan who progressed through the academy to the first team is forced to watch one of the club’s greatest ever moments from the stands as a player of a rival Premier League club. Although it’s fair to say Anderson still probably enjoyed the day regardless.
Elliot Anderson ‘sad’ following Newcastle United exit
In a recent interview with BBC Sport, Anderson spoke of his ‘very sad’ departure from Newcastle United, a club he had risen through the ranks at: “Yeah it was very sad,” Anderson admitted. “Obviously you never know you’re going to join a club and play so in my head at the time I didn’t know it was going to go the way it has. It was a really tough one to take.
“I was really settled there and I didn’t see it coming so it was a tough one to take. That’s just football and you’ve got to be prepared for any challenge that comes your way and it wasn’t to be there but I’ve come to a great club where I’ve found myself and I’m really enjoying it.”
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