Liam Spencer Gordon (born 15 May 1999) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for club

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

. Born in England, he plays for the Guyana national team, for whom he competed at the

2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 15th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was p ...

. Gordon spent time in the youth systems at

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

and

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

, before making his senior debut in the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

at Carshalton Athletic in January 2016. He joined

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club (), often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England that play in the , the sixth level of the En ...

later that year and played 50

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

games for the club. He also spent time on loan at

Whitehawk Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was originall ...

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

and

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

. He left Dagenham to sign for

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

in August 2020, helping the team to win promotion out of League Two at the end of the 2020–21 campaign, which he ended back on loan at Dagenham & Redbridge. He was let go by Bolton and joined Walsall in May 2022, playing on the losing side of the 2025 League Two play-off final. He left Walsall for Port Vale in June 2025.

Club career

Non-League

Liam Spencer Gordon was born on 15 May 1999 in the

London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough, borough in South London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of and had a population of 397,741 as of mid-2023, making it the most populous London borough. It is London's southernmost ...

. He spent four years in the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

up to under-12 level, before spending two years with

until the club scrapped their academy program. He played for the Carshalton Athletic first-team in January 2016 as a 16-year-old due to an injury crisis, but conceded a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

and was sent off for a second booking in a 7–1 defeat to

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

in the

Division One South. Manager Matt Howard was sacked after the match. He joined

of the

and made his debut at Victoria Road in an

Essex Senior Cup The Essex Senior Cup is a knock-out system football competition that has been running since 1884, and is the most prestigious cup competition in the county of Essex. The competition is run mainly for non-League clubs in the region, although leag ...

win over

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

on 11 October 2016. He played one further game in the competition during the 2016–17 campaign. He started the 2017–18 season on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...

side

and remained there for three months until November. He scored two goals in 17 games for the Hawks. In January 2018, he went on a one-month loan to Isthmian League Premier Division side

, along with Joe White. He was praised by manager Gary McCann despite the team losing both of his first two appearances for the Greens. He made his league debut for Dagenham under

John Still John Still (c. 1543 – 26 February 1607/1608) was Master of two Cambridge colleges and then, from 1593, Bishop of Bath and Wells. He enjoyed considerable fame as an English preacher and disputant. He was formerly reputed to be the author of an ...

on 19 April 2018, scoring the second goal in a 5–3 victory away at

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is an area in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-west ...

. In February 2019, he signed a new one-year contract with the option of a further year after an impressive first half of the season as manager

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politic ...

felt he had "a very bright future". He featured 38 times throughout the 2018–19 campaign, scoring two goals. Gordon joined National League South club

on loan after falling down the pecking order at Dagenham during the 2019–20 campaign, finding that Dartford manager Steve King – who had managed him at Whitehawk – gave him "a massive confidence boost". The initial one-month loan began on 2 November and was extended into a second month. He was recalled to Dagenham on 2 January after ten appearances for the Darts. He left Dagenham & Redbridge after rejecting the club's offer of a new contract.

Bolton Wanderers

On 1 August 2020, Gordon signed a two-year deal with recently-relegated League Two club

. He was one of Ian Evatt's first signings as manager. His debut at the

University of Bolton Stadium The Toughsheet Community Stadium is a football stadium in Horwich near Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers Football Club, with an all-seated capacity of 28,723. Opening in 1997, it was originally na ...

came on 5 September, a 2–1 defeat to

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

in the first round of the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

. He began as the Trotters starting left-back and played 15 games in the first part of the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

campaign, though he lost confidence, however, as he struggled to adapt to playing in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

(EFL). On 17 December, he was loaned back to Dagenham & Redbridge for a month. Dagenham manager Daryl McMahon stated that "''we fought hard to keep him and kept in touch while he was at Bolton''". However, league postponements meant that Gordon was only able to feature in one

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

match during the initial loan period. On 19 January, the loan was extended to the end of the

season. He scored four goals in 25 games for the Daggers, mostly playing on the left-side of midfield, greatly impressing Evatt back at Bolton. Bolton had gained promotion to League One during his absence. He served as Declan John's stand in during the 2021–22 campaign, learning from John's superior attacking play. He also filled in at right-back during an injury crisis in November, saying he felt comfortable there in a 3–0 victory over

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

. On 3 May 2022, Bolton confirmed that he would be released at the end of his contract. Gordon later admitted that he "wasn't good enough" or ready enough as a 21-year-old for the challenge of breaking into the EFL playing for a "massive" club far away from home during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, but that the experience helped to "''shape me into the person and player I am today

n 2025 N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

'".

Walsall

On 25 May 2022, Gordon agreed to join League Two club

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

on a free transfer, with his two-year deal starting on 1 July. However, during his first pre-season with the club, he was diagnosed with acute

compartment syndrome Compartment syndrome is a serious medical condition in which increased pressure within a Fascial compartment, body compartment compromises blood flow and tissue function, potentially leading to permanent damage if not promptly treated. There are ...

, which forced him to undergo three operations in five days, which could have resulted in his leg being

amputated Amputation is the removal of a limb or other body part by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is ...

. He was able to overcome the condition and return to play, despite suffering chronic shin inflammation. He returned to full fitness in September, with manager

Michael Flynn Michael Thomas Flynn (born 24 December 1958) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as the 24th U.S. national security advisor for the first 22 days of the first Trump administration. He resigned in light of reports tha ...

commenting that his strength and resilience was "resonating" with the squad as they attempted to overcome a bad patch of form. Gordon scored his first goal for the Saddlers on his second league start for the club, in a 3–1 victory over Harrogate Town. He featured 36 times throughout the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

campaign. Speaking in November 2023, he said he was "loving" his time at the club despite the team's indifferent form. In January 2024, Gordon signed an 18-month contract with the club. He went on to make 49 appearances in the 2023–24 season, scoring two goals. On 2 November 2024, he scored the winning goal against his former club Bolton Wanderers in a 2–1

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

victory at the

Bescot Stadium Bescot Stadium, currently known as the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in the area of Bescot, Walsall, West Midlands, England, and is the current home ground of Walsall Football Club and Aston Vill ...

. Gordon told the press the following month that Walsall boss

Mat Sadler Mathew John Sadler (born 26 February 1985) is an English former professional footballer who is currently head coach of Walsall. He played as a left-footed defender, capable of playing either at full-back or as a centre-back. Sadler played in ...

was the best manager he had worked with. Walsall were 12 points clear at the top of the table at one stage of the 2024–25 campaign, but ended up in the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

after a 13-game winless run cost them automatic promotion. Walsall reached the play-off final, losing to his former club AFC Wimbledon at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, after which he said he needed "to pull myself together and go again". He then left the club after rejecting the offer of a new contract.

Port Vale

On 12 June 2025, Gordon signed a two-year contract with newly-promoted League One club

International career

Gordon made his debut for the Guyana national team on 6 June 2019 as a starter in a friendly against

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. He was then selected for the country's

final 23-man squad after it was whittled down from 40 players. He was recalled to the national team in March 2023 and scored on his first match back against Bermuda. He captained the team for the first time in a loss to

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

in the

CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...

on 16 October 2024.

Style of play

Gordon can play

or left-wing back. He has good athleticism and crossing ability.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Guyana score listed first, score column indicates score after each Gordon goal''

Honours

Bolton Wanderers *

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

third-place promotion:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Liam 1999 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Croydon English people of Guyanese descent Sportspeople of Guyanese descent Black British sportsmen Men's association football fullbacks English men's footballers Guyanese men's footballers Guyana men's international footballers Fulham F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players Carshalton Athletic F.C. players Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players Whitehawk F.C. players Hendon F.C. players Dartford F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players English Football League players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 21st-century English sportsmen 21st-century Guyanese sportsmen