SITTING PRETTY ... Darren Anderton is happy to
quit after more than 550 club games
The Cherries’ former Tottenham star, 36, has announced
he will hang up his boots after the South Coast strugglers’ home
League Two date with Chester tomorrow. He revealed: “I don’t
have many regrets. But, with hindsight, when Manchester United came
along in 1995 maybe I should have gone.
“I had a clause in my contract at Tottenham saying I
could leave if another club offered so much, which United
did. “I spoke with Alex Ferguson and he wanted me to go there.
But the following day I went to see Spurs chairman Alan Sugar and
he wouldn’t let me leave his house until I had signed a new
deal.
“He’d already lost Jurgen Klinsmann, Nicky Barmby and
Gica Popescu that year and probably thought it would kill him if
another player left. “When I went to meet him, he had Spurs
manager Gerry Francis there along with my trusted adviser Leon
Angel. He even had his chef present to cook me a nice
meal.
“Sugar looked after me, to be fair, and I signed the
deal. But perhaps I should have gone. After that I picked up
injuries and United went on to win the title. “Had I left, I
would have had a Premier League medal to my name. “But my decision
to stay at Spurs opened the door for Becks and the rest, as they
say, is history.
“It’s where it all started for Becks — and I hope he
remembers that! I like to think I was responsible for giving his
career a helping hand.”
Despite that reputation for spending more time in the
treatment room than on the pitch, Anderton has clocked up more than
550 club games for Portsmouth, Tottenham, Birmingham, Wolves and
Bournemouth.
He also won 30 England caps. But now the last remaining
member of the starting XI beaten on penalties by Germany in the
Euro 96 semi-final is quitting.
He admitted: “It’s becoming a bit of a slog and,
instead of waiting until I’m really not enjoying it, I thought I’d
call it a day now. I’m finding it hard work at present, both
mentally and physically.
“Bournemouth manager Jimmy Quinn understands, I think.
I’ve been considering it for a few weeks. “It’s not so much the
playing, it’s more the everyday thing of getting yourself up to go
into training. I’ve been doing it for around 20 years and I’ve just
had enough.
