The Football Interview is a new series in which the biggest names in sport and entertainment join host Kelly Somers for bold and in-depth conversations about the nation’s favourite sport.
We’ll explore mindset and motivation, and talk about defining moments, career highs and personal reflections. The Football Interview brings you the person behind the player.
Interviews will drop on weekends across BBC iPlayer, YouTube, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. This week’s interview will be broadcast on BBC One from 23:35 BST on Saturday, 2 May (and in Scotland at 00:35 on Sunday).
Elliot Anderson’s stock has risen quickly.
Four years on from playing in League Two with Bristol Rovers, the Nottingham Forest midfielder has become a regular in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad and is tipped to play a lead role at the World Cup this summer.
The 23-year-old has started six of England’s past eight games, having been named in the tournament’s best XI as the Three Lions won the European Under-21 Championship last summer.
Things have not gone as well for Forest, and they are still in the relegation scrap as they go into the final four games of a season in which they have had four managers.
Anderson sat down with Kelly Somers early last month to talk about his first England call-up, proving himself to his team-mates, and coming out of his shell.
Kelly Somers: Let’s take you back to the very beginning, Elliot. Football… how did it first become a thing in your life? What are your earliest memories?
Elliot Anderson: I’ve got two older brothers who were football crazy as well – and my dad loved football. I watched them go and play football with their mates and things. I just wanted to copy them, I think. In the house, there were footballs everywhere and we would just play all day.
Kelly: Can you remember a first memory or a first specific thing – with your brothers maybe?
Elliot: Probably my first training session with them, I think. I went and joined them with their team at my school on a Sunday.
Kelly: How old were you at that point?
Elliot: I’d say I was really really young – probably like four or five.
Kelly: Oh wow!
Elliot: I was just messing about with them really. I would have stayed out of the games and stuff, but they just took me along and the coach let me join in. That’s what they tell me about.
Kelly: What was the first proper team that you played for?
Elliot: I played for Wallsend Boys Club.
Kelly: Ah, of course!
Elliot: It’s quite a famous boys’ club up in Newcastle that quite a lot of players have played for. So I was lucky enough to get in through trials and played for them for a few years.
Kelly: Tell us what that’s like – because, as you said, as football fans we hear a lot about it because it’s produced some fantastic players.
Elliot: Yeah, it’s a great boys’ club. Everyone wants to be in academies at Newcastle and stuff. I think the boys’ club to get to was Wallsend. Probably the best players around the area joined Wallsend so that was good.
Kelly: Can you remember the moment you found out that you were going to be able to go and play for them?
Elliot: Yeah, I think it was the trials – I think I played under-sevens to under-nines. So you go through trials and stuff and then obviously the group gets smaller and smaller – and then you get the final message to say you’ve made the squad.
Kelly: We know you went to Newcastle and you came through the academy there and then you went to another big club here in Nottingham Forest – two of England’s biggest clubs. What was it like coming through at Newcastle?
Elliot: It was amazing. It was obviously every kid’s dream in Newcastle to play for Newcastle, so I loved it. I loved every minute of it! I remember progressing through the ages and getting closer and closer to that professional deal – obviously a scholarship first, and then signing my first pro was massive. And putting that shirt on was an amazing feeling.
Kelly: How did you get from Wallsend to Newcastle? Was that trials? Were you spotted there? Can you remember that process?
Elliot: There was a scout from Newcastle who used to work at Wallsend as well so I think he put my name forward. I used to go to the development things before you could sign on at under-nines. And then I signed for Newcastle at under-nines and had to come away from Wallsend. It was good.
Kelly: Sad, I guess, to leave Wallsend? But that must have been your ultimate aim… to get in the Newcastle academy?
Elliot: Yeah, definitely. Obviously it becomes a little bit more serious. At the boys’ club you’ve got tournaments with your mates and stuff and then you’re going into the academy – which is obviously where everyone wants to be – but it notches it up a level.
Kelly: Was there a moment where you looked around, maybe at Wallsend or after, where you thought, ‘OK, I could make it here – maybe I’ve got this opportunity to make it professionally’?
Elliot: I think I was probably too young then. I was always a good player and stuff and everyone would tell me… they’d say: ‘You’re better than your brothers…’
Kelly: How did that go down?
Elliot: Not very well! But, no, I think that would probably be too young. I think I was probably just playing for the enjoyment and stuff. Maybe towards 15 or 16 you get an inkling that you could possibly go all the way. There’s obviously a lot of years to come, but I think at that age I was getting quite excited that I felt I was good.
Kelly: Has there been a turning point? If you look back on your career and you think, ‘if that hadn’t happened maybe I wouldn’t be sitting here playing in the Premier League, playing in Europe, playing for England right now’?
Elliot: The most obvious one is leaving Newcastle. That’s not to say I might not have been in this situation if I hadn’t left, but you never know do you? I came to Forest, I came out of my comfort zone… I look at where I am now and I’m really happy that I made that move.
Kelly: What about coming here has got the best out of you?
Elliot: I think the club just believed in me and gave me a platform to go out there and show everyone what I can do on a weekly basis. It just helps so much when you’ve got that sort of backing behind you. Off the pitch as well, it’s given me that confidence within the group. Last season, I was quite shy and stuff and now I feel a bit more like a leader in the group. It’s a really nice responsibility on me and I’m enjoying it.
Kelly: What’s changed then? How have you come from this shy player to a leader?
Elliot: Maybe it’s performances? Sometimes when you’re a new player and you maybe don’t feel part of the group enough, you keep opinions to yourself in trying to help team-mates and stuff. But now I feel like I’ve got that voice within the group. And, yeah, I’m happy about that.
Kelly: Was it a big change as well, coming from a club that you knew so well to a new club and getting used to how they do things differently?
Elliot: Yeah, definitely. Obviously the faces at Newcastle were all I knew for three, four years going up to the first team. That change took me by surprise, but I thought I took it really well – I really enjoyed my first weeks here and it helped me settle in well.
Kelly: You mentioned you’re a leader. What kind of leader are you, do you think?
Elliot: I would say more on the pitch as a leader, not necessarily big talks in the changing room and stuff. I’ll leave that to Ryan [Yates] or Morgs [Morgan Gibbs-White], or whoever. Maybe it’s just leading by example on the pitch, I think, and communication – stuff like that.
Kelly: You’ve become an England international as well… that got a smile straight away! What has that been like for you? And has it given you a new level of confidence? Does it change the way you feel on the pitch?
Elliot: Yeah, definitely. I think that’s maybe also played a part in feeling like a leader, you know? Bringing that confidence in my voice. And just the belief in me – that people recognise that I’m the player that I thought I was. I’ve always believed in myself, but when you’ve got the backing of other people, it really helps.
Kelly: Talk to me about Thomas Tuchel – when you got that first call-up. I imagine that’s every little boy’s dream?
Elliot: Yeah, it is. We had Crystal Palace away and I was just sat in the changing room getting ready for the game and a message came through… ‘TT’. And he was like: ‘Can I see you after the game?’
Kelly: Hold on, you knew who ‘TT’ was straight away, though?
Elliot: Well I just had a bit of a guess, yeah, because there was a bit of talk around at the time and then it said: ‘Can I see you after the game?’ So straight away my nerves were going before the game. I just knew I had to perform and then he told me the news after the game so I was buzzing!
Kelly: It looks like he’s put a lot of faith in you and he’s obviously a big fan because straight away it helped with your performances, but it feels like a lot of people are saying now that not only are you going to be in the squad, but you’ll be one of the first names on the teamsheet. How does that feel?
Elliot: It’s good – yeah, he’s a top coach. He’s really helped me going in the group and just coaching me in that role. I hadn’t played it too much before and then now I’ve dropped into the six a little bit more. He’s helped me understand the game and coached me.
Kelly: What is your best position? Or what position do you enjoy the most?
Elliot: Erm…
Kelly: You’re going to be careful here, aren’t you? Because you’re not going to want to upset any managers!
Elliot: I used to be an attacker, to be honest. I used to be a number 10 or a winger. And then I’ve slowly just dropped back.
Kelly: You’re saying that as if you didn’t want to!
Elliot: I really don’t care, to be honest. Six or eight, I’d say – you know, getting on the ball, finding the attacking players and getting them the ball early in the pockets and letting them do their stuff. And then obviously when I play eight I’ve got more of an opportunity to shoot and score so I really like both.
Kelly: So, a lot of people will think of you as a defensive midfielder, but actually you still want to score goals? You’ve mentioned scoring goals a few times during this chat!
Elliot: Yeah, definitely. It’s the hardest thing in football isn’t it? So it’s something I would love to do more.
Kelly: What do you think has changed for Nottingham Forest from last season to this season – because you’ve spoken about trying to maintain your levels, but you haven’t quite reached the heights after a phenomenal campaign last year?
Elliot: It’s tough to put a finger on what has changed. We were really good defensively last season – as a unit we had clean sheets and stuff… set-pieces and things. Maybe we’ve lacked in that department a little bit this season. Maybe teams have understood what we were doing last season and realised the way we played. So now we have to evolve our game a little bit and change. But, yeah, we’re all just doing what the manager asks.
Kelly: Bringing it back to yourself, what’s the best match you’ve ever played in? Or perhaps one you wish you could relive?
Elliot: I really enjoyed the semi-final against Man City last season. I really enjoyed that one. Obviously we didn’t win but playing at Wembley was really special. And I’d probably say my England debut. I loved that, you know! Coming in from the start as well.
Kelly: What can you remember of it? Talk me through it…
Elliot: I was pretty nervous to be honest, as I think everyone would be. You’re in the warm-up and you’re thinking every pass needs to be good – and then your first few touches. I started well and it gave me that confidence. I just picture the pass and getting the ball – passing forward – being involved in a lot of stuff, which I quite like to do.
Kelly: In terms of everything you’ve achieved so far, what do you still want to achieve in football?
Elliot: I think we’re in the best league in the world so I would say just staying in the Premier League as long as I can and playing as many games. I’d…
Add Comment