You Ask The Questions: Darren Anderton on Eileen Drewery, Alan Sugar and Scooby Doo
If I’d scored against Germany, it would have been the first ever Golden Goal – we were all going to run straight down the tunnel
The message flashes up on FFT’S phone, and it’s rather unexpected. It’s from Darren Anderton. “Hi, there’s been a bomb scare.”
We’ve arranged to interview the Euro 96 star at Home House in central London, but our Wednesday lunchtime rendezvous has been thrown into doubt by an unexpected security issue. As we arrive, police cars are all around. The place is cordoned off. As far as FFT interviews go, this is an unusual start.
Thankfully, following a short delay, Home House is reopened and Anderton arrives to greet us, waved inside by a Tottenham-supporting police officer. “One of them was definitely a Spurs fan,” says the former White Hart Lane hero, laughing. “He said, ‘Hi Darren, how are you doing? All clear!’”
Anderton splits his time between Europe and Monterey in California these days, having tied the knot with his American fiancée last summer. “I got married in this room actually,” he says with a smile, as he poses for photos inside the plush private members club.
Soon he’s sitting down to chat about Alan Sugar, Eileen Drewery, Christian Gross and more – as well as reflecting on what might have been in 1996…
As a boyhood Southampton fan, was it a hard decision to join Portsmouth as a youngster? Stephen Kyle, Eastleigh
Not at all. I did have a season ticket at Southampton, but I just wanted to be a footballer – I didn’t care where. I never thought it’d happen. At 13 or 14 I was playing for the city of Southampton and three or four of our players were in the club’s academy. The club would come and watch, but obviously didn’t think I’d progress. So, my dad called Portsmouth. They came to watch me, then I trained with them once a week until I was 16.
I didn’t think I’d get an apprenticeship, though. We had some trial games, and I was a sub. I told my dad, “There’s no point.” He said, “Just go to training – you never know.” There was one last trial match and Alan Ball, the first-team manager, was watching. He said to my dad, “He’s got a chance.” On Monday they gave me an apprenticeship. From there, I had a career.
Is it true that you could have been a cross-country runner? Lisa Smith, Dorchester
I was once the Hampshire cross-country champion! It helped my football: I was very slight but it gave me strength to get around the pitch. At Portsmouth, at the start of pre-season a PTI [physical training instructor] from HMS Nelson would take our squad running and say, “Follow me”. I ran with him, then even he said, “If you need to go ahead, the finish line’s over there.” Our squad loved that. Our skipper, Kevin Ball, said: “You can run!” Every other day, they’d bring new PTIS to try to beat me. I was doing pre-season on my own; everyone else was jogging, shouting, “Go on Darren!”
What were your thoughts after scoring for Pompey against Liverpool in the 1992 FA Cup semi-final? Martin, via Instagram
“S**t! We’ve done it!” I think it was my first live TV game – the biggest game I’d played in my life. When I scored, it was the fairy tale... although when Liverpool equalised, that soon turned to despair. We lost on penalties in a semi-final. I lost five semi-finals in my career.
Which was scarier: making your professional debut or joining Spurs? Mark Wharnsby, via Facebook
I think it was making my debut, for Portsmouth. It’s daunting, not knowing if you’re good enough, desperate not to make a mistake. Signing for Spurs was the best feeling in the world, even if I did think, ‘Wow’ when they paid £2m, one of the biggest fees ever for a 20-year-old, when I’d never played at the top level.
My first game for Spurs was hostile, though, getting absolutely abused at The Dell! When I heard what our first fixture was, I thought, ‘For f**k’s sake!’ The biggest cheer of the day was when Franny Benali elbowed me and I needed eight stitches across my eye. I was taking throw-ins near where I used to sit, getting abused and thinking, ‘I’m pretty sure you used to give me sweets when I sat there’. I found it quite funny.
There were a couple of times I could’ve gone to Southampton. I spoke to Harry Redknapp when I was at Birmingham. But I’d never have joined Southampton from Tottenham. If I’d had 12 years at Southampton rather than Tottenham, it would have been a worse career. They know that, whether they like it or not.
How did you feel when Tottenham sacked Terry Venables? Emma Jones, Wood Green
Pretty angry. I struggled when I went to Spurs, but the fans were unbelievable
and Terry looked after me. We were losing at home to Everton and I was useless again – my confidence was shot and there was something wrong with my groin. I came off and went into the dressing room to get some ice – and Terry came in, while the game was going on. He said, “Darren, don’t worry, there’s something wrong with you – you’re going to be a top player.” He was a father figure. I had an operation and when I came back, I was playing great. The transformation was incredible.
Then he got sacked. I was devastated. Stuff happens off the pitch, but we were playing brilliantly – how could Alan Sugar not want Terry to take us further?
Who claims the credit for the corner routine: you or Teddy Sheringham? Chris Harvey, via Twitter
[Laughs] Teddy was so clever, that was all down to his movement. We didn’t plan it in training. He just said, during a game: “Roll it to the penalty spot.” The difficulty was to make it bounce so he could hit it on the volley. We scored from it three weeks in a row. The third one was against Chelsea when they put a young lad on Teddy, and afterwards Dennis Wise said to me, “I f**king told them what would happen – that was obvious!” I do smile when people try it now and they say it’s the corner Teddy did with David Beckham. I think, ‘Hmm, you might have got that wrong…’
How excited were you when Jurgen Klinsmann agreed to join Spurs? Becky Davies, Solihull
I thought it was a wind-up at first. I was in awe of him. But he came to training in his Beetle and he was the nicest guy you could wish to meet: he mucked in, had good banter and was so down to earth. He couldn’t get his head around playing on Boxing Day, though. We were at Norwich and I thought, ‘Yeah, he doesn’t want to be here…’ We still won!
Do you remember Klinsmann’s diving celebration on his debut? Jonny Byrne, Liverpool
People ask, “Were you there for Jurgen’s dive?” I say, “Yeah, I crossed it.” They ask, “What about when Gazza scored his goal against Scotland?” I say, “Yeah, I passed it to him.” I had a hand in two of the best goal celebrations of the ’90s! [Laughs] We’d played in Ireland on the Monday before the season started – David Kerslake and Teddy were there, we were playing cards on the bus and we said: “Jurgen’s got to do a dive if he scores.” There had been so much talk about him diving. Luckily he didn’t score that night – it would have been wasted on a pre-season friendly in Ireland!
What was it like to play in Ossie Ardiles’ ‘Famous Five’ forward line of yourself, Klinsmann, Sheringham, Nick Barmby and Ilie Dumitrescu? Oliver Unwin, Leighton Buzzard
It was great. The way we played under Ossie was complete football – it was defending that was the problem. We’d have meetings and say, “Ossie, we need some shape when we lose the ball – what are we going to do?” He’d say, “No, you’re all top players – you should never give the ball away.” That was it!
Everybody wanted to watch us play, but Ossie was fired. Then Gerry Francis worked on us defensively, and from then until the end of the season, we may have been second only to Man United on points accumulated. If we’d added to the squad and kept Jurgen, Nick Barmby and Gica Popescu that summer, I think we would have had opportunities to go on and challenge for the league.
How was your first day in the England camp? Harry Griffin, via Instagram
Pretty daunting. But when I arrived at Burnham Beeches, Tony Adams and Dave Seaman were in the bar and said, “Come on, have a beer.” On the morning of the game against Denmark, Terry named the team and I was playing. In the afternoon, Gazza knocked on my door. He said, “Enjoy it. I didn’t really enjoy my debut. It passed me by. Take it all in. Terry knows you’re good enough to be here. You’re going to be here for a long time – you’re a top player.” The confidence that gave me – my idol from Italia 90 giving me advice, wanting me to do well. It was so selfless. It meant everything. That was one of my best ever games. We won, I was man of the match and I was walking on cloud nine.
What was it like to play in the game at Lansdowne Road that was called off because of a riot in the stands? Andy O’connor, Galway
Really strange. Coming off the pitch, I was pissed off because I wanted to play. You think, ‘OK, we’ll go off, then we’ll come back’, but then they said the game was abandoned. And then we thought, ‘How are we going to get out of here? What’s going on?’ You’re in the dressing room and don’t really know. It felt like we were there for a long time, waiting to leave.
How close were you to joining Manchester United? Ross Jacobs, via Twitter
Very close. There was a clause in my contract: if a club offered above £4m, I could go. I was in the hotel with the England squad in 1995, I’d had a great season, and Gary Pallister said, “Do you
mind if I give the gaffer your number?” Blackburn and United were offering £6m and it was down to me. Fergie called and said, “I’ve had a problem with [Andrei] Kanchelskis – I really want you to come.”
The next day, I went to the chairman’s house. Alan Sugar wouldn’t let me leave until I’d signed a new contract to take out the clause. He gave me a ridiculous contract, but I didn’t actually want to go, either. Spurs fans had been good to me, I’d just had the best year of my career, and Euro 96 was coming. I thought, ‘They’ve lost Mark Hughes, Kanchelskis, Paul Ince... I’m better off where I am’. Obviously not!
Then Becks came through at United, and Teddy went there in 1997. He called me to say he’d gone. Two years earlier, he had begged me not to go! Of course I’d have wanted to win titles like the Champions League, but I’ve no regrets.
Were you there for the dentist’s chair incident before Euro 96? Lloyd Parsons, Gravesend
We were all there – it was a proper night out! We all got on really well. There were a few Tottenham boys, Liverpool boys, Gazza the lunatic... The next day was his birthday, so once it hit midnight, it was flaming sambucas. Then: ‘What’s going on over there? There’s someone in that chair.’ Then the boys were in it. Someone took photos and we got done.
Afterwards, I spoke to people in that bar, and the people who did that were fired. We were vilified in the press, which I guess you should be as it was before a tournament – but it was two weeks before. You should act professionally, but you’re all young men and you’re stuck in a hotel. The manager says you can have a few beers and sometimes you get a bit carried away! [Laughs]
Did the players believe England would win Euro 96? Alex Horton, via Instagram
We believed. We were at home, and what a chance it was. We were useless in the first game against Switzerland and morale was at rock-bottom, but beating Scotland changed it all.
I almost missed Euro 96, though. I’d done my groin and been given the wrong diagnosis – the physios at Spurs weren’t good enough and basically said it was fine. I tried to play and I ripped it even more. I spoke to Terry Venables. The England physio was Dave Butler, so most nights I would go to see him. I got myself fit with the England physio – if I hadn’t, I would have missed the tournament. I got in trouble for going to see him, but I didn’t give a crap. I really wanted to be fit for the Euros.
I played wing-back at Euro 96. I had never played there in my life, but Terry saw it as a positive thing as he wanted us to attack. They were tough positions to play, running up and down, but Steve Mcmanaman was a good runner, too – he’d done cross country as well. I had played only three or four games at the end of that season, so I was still getting back to match fitness. It took a couple of games, but after the Scotland game I was there. I was a different player against Holland, Spain and Germany.
When you hit the post in extra time of the semi-final against Germany, were you sure it was going in? @spursdab, via Twitter
No, I couldn’t even see it. The ball was behind me – I fell backwards and hit it, went down and presumed it was going in. But it hit the inside of the post. Not only did it do that, but the keeper had dived past it and it went back into his hands. I thought, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’. We had the celebration sorted if I’d scored: we were all going to run down the tunnel, because that would have been the first Golden Goal. The tunnel was at the other end of the ground, so it would’ve been a long run!
Do you think your career would be viewed in a different light if you had scored against Germany? Do you have any regrets? Shaun O’hara, via Instagram
Not really. I had chances in matches where I think, ‘S**t, I should have done better there’. For that one, though, the ball was behind me – I just had to react. I couldn’t have done anything different. But I felt we would have gone on to win the final, and we all would have been heroes, so of course there’s a regret that it didn’t go in. Gazza also had his chance, which felt like slow motion. People say, “Why didn’t he get to it?” Because he thought the goalie was going to get a hand on it – he’s not stupid. He just needed longer studs! [FFT: Did you watch the final?] No, my friends came round and I think I had a barbecue. I didn’t bother watching it.
How surprised were you when Glenn Hoddle dropped Paul Gascoigne for France 98? Did you fear for your own place that day in La Manga? Stuart Steelyard, via Facebook
I definitely feared for my own place, because I’d been injured again. Christian Gross had come in at Spurs and he was an idiot. I’d torn my groin but he said, “You’re fine, it’s in your head.” I played on one leg at home to Barnsley – it was scandalous. We won 3-0 and I did all right, but Barnsley weren’t good. Then I felt it go again in training, and I walked off. He came into the changing room, shouting, “You don’t walk off the pitch!” I went, “F**k off!” He said, “I’ll do you a favour: you can be on the bench at Villa.” I thought, ‘Really?!’ The next day, we’re losing 4-1 and he puts me on to hobble around. A day after that, Jurgen Klinsmann was back on loan and he asked, “How is it?” I said, “It’s a f**king disaster – I’m playing with a torn groin.”
Then we had Arsenal at home, and I said I wasn’t playing. The manager
“WE’D TELL OH SO SJ IEN WO EL NER EE DB SOME SHAPE WHEN WE EH LT OE SB EO THE BALL. HE’D JUST SAY, ‘YOU SHOULD NEVER LOSE THE BALL’”
said, “No, I let you go on the bench so that you could play against Arsenal.” I said I wanted a scan. It showed I had blood all the way down. I didn’t play for four months. I spoke to Glenn Hoddle and he had this physio from Chelsea – it was deja vu, because I was going to his house to get fit for the World Cup.
Before the tournament, we were in La Manga and we all had a slot to go and see the manager, to find out if we were in the squad. It was like being back at school, getting exam results. I went in and Glenn said, “What are you worried about? Of course you’re going – there was never any doubt, as long as you proved your fitness.” I went down to the pool, and those who hadn’t been picked left straightaway – you didn’t see them. We thought, ‘Who’s here and who isn’t?’ Then the news about Gazza came through. No one saw it coming. The boys were worried for him, because of his love for football. How would he react?
What did you think when Christian Gross produced that Tube ticket at his Spurs unveiling? Harry Watson, Haringey
I wish that he’d stayed on the Tube! [Laughs] He brought in some things that everyone does now, but his other methods weren’t great. His fitness guy had some weird ways. He said that five or six hours before a game, you had to wake your body up. We won at Everton in his first game, then we were at home to Chelsea. We stayed in a hotel on the Friday night, then on Saturday morning we were doing runs around the car park. On the coach on the way to the game, half of the team were asleep. I thought, ‘What’s going on here?’ We lost 6-1.
What was your favourite moment in an England shirt? a.man0161, via Instagram
Euro 96 is one, of course: playing the Dutch at Wembley, 30 minutes to go, 4-0 up and “football’s coming home” reverberating around the stadium – I was literally humming along, too.
Individual moments? My debut, my first goal and scoring at the World Cup against Colombia [above]. We had to win, and it was a pretty good goal as well. The first touch was spot on, it sat nicely and I hit it on the volley. I couldn’t believe it when it sailed into the top bin!
The squad tried to work song titles into interviews during France 98 – how many did you get in? Kris Lainton, Carlisle
Only one or two – Against All Odds or something. It was pretty stupid, really – we were that bored. Glenn was very straight-laced, and it wasn’t as lively a camp as Euro 96. We’d gone from the dentist’s chair to song names! [Laughs]
If David Beckham hadn’t been sent off against Argentina, could England have won the 1998 World Cup? Mohd Nasri, via Facebook
I think so. We were unbelievable in that first half – it was so easy. Michael Owen was ripping them to shreds. The year before, at Le Tournoi, Becks got booked in two games and missed the last one. Glenn had a pop at him in the media, saying, “If you do that, you might cost us in the World Cup.” He was right – although it was never a sending-off.
Sol Campbell’s goal shouldn’t have been disallowed. From taking a corner, Sol scoring and thinking, ‘Yes, we’re winning!’, suddenly it was, ‘Oh s**t!’ because Argentina took the free-kick and off they went. Our players were celebrating and didn’t hear the whistle, because the atmosphere there was unbelievable. Four or five Argentina players were attacking, and there was just me and Paul Merson at the back. I made the tackle – my best tackle ever!
We were devastated when we lost the shootout; one of the quietest changing rooms I’ve been in. Afterwards, we were standing by the bus with our families, and there were a few tears. Then the Argentina bus came past and they were banging on the window, jumping up and down, giving us all sorts of signs. It was poor – no need – but I heard that Becks and the boys did the same to them four years later, which made me very happy!
Did you go to see Eileen Drewery? Frederick Milton, Shrewsbury
I did. My mum believed in all of that – I sometimes called her a bit of a witch! But at one point my hamstrings were bad and never getting better. Glenn asked me to see Eileen. I said no but he said, “Please just see her. She’ll probably be able to help.” She was a lovely lady and she suggested a stretch for me to do before and after exercise. It worked, and I did it for the rest of my career.
Did Alan Sugar leak your injury news to the press, to put clubs off signing you on a Bosman? How did you react? Charlie Hodges, via Instagram
George Graham was in charge, I was going into the last year of my contract and a specialist said, “I think you’ve got degeneration in your Achilles. You need an operation.” I was devastated – in tears. I’d had enough. I just wanted to play. It wasn’t like I wanted to leave, but I was having negotiations with George, which was never easy. Then it came out that I was injured – ‘Sicknote’ this and that. Someone told me how it had got out, and I called Alan Sugar. I said, “How dare you?! I’m a human being. I love playing for your club. I’ve never said a word against you. Why would you do that?” He said, “You and Teddy, you’re always giving me grief.” I said again, “How dare you?” I was seeing a girl and she asked who I was talking to. I told her it was the chairman and she said, “You speak to your boss like that?” But generally I had no problem with him. He desperately wanted to do well for Tottenham. He was always floating around the dressing room with Claude Littner. People didn’t like Claude. He did some funny things, cost-cutting.
Once, Alan Sugar asked, “Do you think you can go on the bench tomorrow? I just think it’ll give the crowd a lift.” I’d been injured, but I was nearly fit and we’d started the season badly. I said, “I don’t think I should, but all right.” We were 3-0 up at half-time and he might have smiled at me, like, ‘See, I told you’. Then it was 3-2 and I was told to warm up. I thought, ‘Oh no’. I came on for the
"I SHOULD'VE WON TWICE AS MANY CAPS. WHEN I WAS STARTED. MY LAST FIVE CAPS WERE FOR FIVE DIFFERENT MANAGERS”
last 10 minutes, looking at the clock the whole time. It was a stupid thing to do, but I got through it.
Just how annoying is it that people remember your injuries so much? @gnorman125, via Twitter
It always bugged me, because no one ever said that I was a bad player. In all,
I got 30 England caps, but I feel like I would have got loads more. My first 28 caps were starts – when I was fit, I started. In the end, my last five appearances for England were for five different managers, which kind of summed it up. I should have ended up with at least double the amount of caps that I got.
How proud are you to be Spurs’ top Premier League appearance-maker? Matt Walters, via Facebook
Very proud. I was there for 12 years and showed loyalty. I’ll sort out a testimonial at some point, maybe. I need a kick up the backside; Daniel Levy said I can have it whenever I want. I said, “I’ll have the first game in the new stadium then!” He said, “No, you can’t do that!” [Laughs]
Are Vinnie Jones rift rumours true? Karla, via Twitter
We play at the same golf club – there’s no rift. Once, at Wimbledon, he took me out round the neck and got sent off: I had flu, I spat and he ran past and caught it on the back of his shorts. He wanted to kill me! But we have spoken since and he knows it was an accident.
How important to you was your Birmingham goal against Liverpool? Barry O’loughlin, via Facebook
I loved it. We had been so defensive in training, I’d told a few mates to bet on 0-0. Then I get the winner: 1-0!
Leaving Spurs was sad. I felt let down – they offered me a contract, then took it away. They put back our negotiations, then I picked up my injury, played when I shouldn’t have, again, and missed the end of the season. They said no thanks.
Did you get any hate from fans when you left Birmingham for Wolves? Alfie, via Instagram
Not really. Both sets of fans were good to me. I was back with Glenn Hoddle at
Wolves. I went there to play, but he would play me in four or five games, then rest me for two or three. I said, “Glenn, I haven’t come here for this.”
When you played for Bournemouth 12 years ago, did you ever envisage them in the Premier League? Leo Howard, via Instagram
No chance – there was more chance of them being in non-league! Me retiring was the first step of that journey to the Premier League! Within a week, Jimmy Quinn was sacked and they knew that was why I called it a day: because he was useless. [FFT: How was it, scoring the winner in your final game?] Brilliant! But also s**ty, because I thought, ‘Why am I retiring? It’s insane!’
We’d played Luton away on the Tuesday night. Both clubs had points deductions, we were 91st and 92nd in the Football League, and I was a sub. I thought, ‘This is ridiculous’. The next day, I phoned the manager and said, “Just to let you know: Saturday is my last game.”
Why didn’t you become a coach? Ramon Betech, via Twitter
I never wanted to. The only thing I did think, especially at Bournemouth, was that if a coach left, I might be asked to oversee things and find I love it. Sean O’driscoll left Bournemouth basically on the day I got there and the chairman asked if I’d do it. I said no – I wasn’t there to replace him and it would have looked that way. [FFT: If you hadn’t retired days earlier, would they have offered you the job, not Eddie Howe?] Who knows? Every chance. I probably would’ve taken it then. But I definitely wouldn’t have done as good a job as Eddie, so happy days for Bournemouth!