DARREN ANDERTON
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
