Darren Robert Anderton (born 3 March 1972) is an English former professional footballer and pundit. As a player, he was a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

who notably played in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

for Tottenham Hotspur and

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

. His twelve-year spell with Spurs yielded 299 league appearances, scoring 34 goals. He won the League Cup with Spurs in 1999, and was then runners-up in the same tournament again in 2002. He also played 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 ...

for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and Wolverhampton Wanderers before finishing his career with AFC Bournemouth. In his final ever game as a professional player he came off the bench to score the winner with a spectacular volley in a 3–2 win for Bournemouth on 6 December 2008. He was capped 30 times by

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, scoring seven goals and being ever present in the squads at UEFA Euro 1996 and

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

. Since retirement, Anderton has largely worked as a pundit, notably for Canada's The Sports Network.

Club career

Portsmouth

Anderton started his career in the Southampton Tyro League and played for Itchen Saints during a successful period for the side. His potential was evident and he was soon scouted and playing youth football at professional clubs. Anderton was signed as an apprentice by

manager Alan Ball, coming to prominence at 18 when he scored at Anfield in an FA Youth Cup match against

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

which ended 2–2. His first team debut came against Cardiff City in the second round of the League Cup in October 1990 as a substitute for youth team colleague Darryl Powell. Anderton made his full league debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 0–0 draw, making 20 appearances in the 1990–91 season. Under new manager Jim Smith, Anderton became a regular in the attacking side of the 1991–92 season, scoring his first club goal in the season opener against Blackburn Rovers. His performances soon drew the attention of bigger clubs and after an impressive

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 ...

run, during which he scored in a semi-final clash with

, he joined Tottenham Hotspur for £1.75 million in 1992.

Tottenham Hotspur

After a slow start, Anderton settled at Tottenham, playing as a right winger, forming part of an exciting attacking trio along with Teddy Sheringham and the young Nick Barmby. He turned down a move to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in the summer of 1995 following an exciting season spent playing with the likes of Jürgen Klinsmann at Tottenham, a decision that he later regretted. Anderton won the 1998–99 League Cup with Tottenham, and signed a new reported £24,000-a-week contract in March 2000. In the summer of 2001, Anderton was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool, but he remained at Tottenham for the 2001–02 season and started in his second League Cup final, which Spurs lost 2–1 to Blackburn Rovers. Despite interest from Leeds United in 2002 and both Portsmouth and West Ham United in 2003, Anderton remained at Tottenham until the summer of 2004. He was keen to remain at the club and was promised a new contract by David Pleat but the club, under the advice of incoming manager Jacques Santini, reneged. In all, he appeared in 364 games for Spurs, scoring 51 goals.

Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers

swooped to sign Anderton on a free transfer for the 2004–05 season. His best moment for the Blues was scoring the winner in the 1–0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield. Anderton left Birmingham on a free transfer after one year and reunited with his former Tottenham and England coach Glenn Hoddle at Wolverhampton Wanderers, signing a one-year deal at the start of the 2005–06 season. He played 24 times for Wolves, scoring once in the league against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

. He also scored in a 5–1 win over Chester City in the League Cup. His contract was not renewed at season's end.

AFC Bournemouth

On 8 September 2006, Anderton joined League One club AFC Bournemouth on a 'pay-as-you-play' basis, scoring a spectacular 40-yard free kick on his first-team debut against Scunthorpe United. On 10 February 2007, he scored his first career hat-trick against Leyton Orient. Following a pre-season friendly with Portsmouth in July 2007, Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp heaped praise on Anderton, telling the '' Bournemouth Daily Echo'': "In the right team and with the right players around him, I honestly think he could still be playing in the Premiership". At the start of the 2007–08 season, Anderton was named as Bournemouth's club captain by manager Kevin Bond. Anderton spearheaded a survival bid at the end of the season, with the Cherries winning six of the seven last games, but, ultimately, a 1–1 draw with Carlisle on the final day saw Bournemouth relegated to League Two. Bournemouth were deducted 10 points earlier in the season for going into administration and had this not happened they would have finished 15th. Anderton signed a new one-year contract with Bournemouth at the start of the 2008–09 season which would have taken him past his 37th birthday. However, on 4 December 2008, Anderton announced he would retire on 7 December 2008, one day after his last game for club against Chester City. In his last match, Anderton scored the winning goal with a spectacular volley in the 88th minute after coming on as a substitute in the second half of the game.

International career

In March 1994, Anderton was named in Terry Venables' first squad as

manager and went on to start in the friendly match against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

at Wembley Stadium. He scored his first goal for England in his second cap; opening the scoring in a 5–0 friendly win over

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

on 18 May 1994. In June 1995, Anderton appeared for England at the Umbro Cup mini tournament where he scored the opening goal of a 2–1 win against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and a stoppage time equaliser in a 3–3 draw with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Despite missing most of the 1995–96 season, first because of hernia surgery and then with a groin injury that kept him out for eight months, Anderton was named in England's squad for UEFA Euro 1996. He scored twice during his first England appearance in 11 months in a pre-tournament friendly against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. He went on to play every match for the England team that reached the semi-finals of the tournament and, in the semi-final against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, Anderton came within inches of putting England into the final when his shot hit the post during Golden Goal extra time. Anderton did not make a single appearance for England during the

qualifiers due to injury but was included in England's final squad by Glenn Hoddle. He appeared for the first time since Euro 96 in a pre-World Cup friendly against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, where he started at right wingback as the team drew 0–0. Anderton was again ever present during the 1998 World Cup and scored a spectacular opening goal in England's final Group G match against

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. After missing UEFA Euro 2000 with an Achilles tendon injury, Anderton played in England's 1–1 draw away to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in September 2000 and also featured against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

the following November. In November 2001, Anderton made his final England appearance in a friendly against Sweden. He was selected in England's squad for their next game, a friendly against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in February 2002 but withdrew due to injury and was not included in the squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. One notable statistic about Anderton's England career is that his last five caps were given to him by five different managers. These were: vs

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

(18 November 1998) by Glenn Hoddle, vs France (10 February 1999) by Howard Wilkinson, vs France (2 September 2000) by Kevin Keegan, vs Italy (15 November 2000) by Peter Taylor and vs Sweden (10 November 2001) by Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Personal life

Renowned as a player of huge potential, Anderton's career was constantly frustrated by injury, earning him the nickname "Sicknote", which was coined by Portsmouth goalkeeper Andy Gosney. Anderton has worked as the in-studio analyst for Canadian network TSN's coverage of Euro 2012. He now resides in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and states that he has no desire to move into coaching.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Anderton goal.''

Honours

Tottenham Hotspur * Football League Cup: 1998–99; runner-up: 2001–02 England U21 * Toulon Tournament: 1993

References

External links

Darren Anderton player profile
at wolves.co.uk * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderton, Darren 1972 births Living people English men's footballers Footballers from Southampton Men's association football wingers England men's international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers England men's B international footballers UEFA Euro 1996 players Premier League players English Football League players Portsmouth F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players 1998 FIFA World Cup players People educated at Bitterne Park School