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Vivian Alexander Anderson, MBE (born 29 July 1956) is an English former 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, rugb ...
and coach. He won five senior trophies including the 1977–78 Football League title, and both the 1978–79 European Cup and the 1979–80 European Cup playing for
Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Engli ...
's Nottingham Forest. He was later part of the squads to win a domestic cup with each of
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
and
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
. He also played for
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
,
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough ha ...
and
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...
. He was the first
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
and second non-white footballer after Paul Reaney to play for the senior men's
England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Engl ...
.


Early life and playing career


Nottingham Forest

Anderson was born in
Clifton, Nottingham Clifton is a large suburban village and historic manor in the city of Nottingham, England. In 2020 it had an estimated population of 22,749. Clifton has two council wards in the City of Nottingham (Clifton West and Clifton East as of 2018) ...
. His parents, Audley and Myrtle were both from Jamaica. Audley came to England in 1954, while Myrtle arrived in 1955. Despite the racial tensions at the time, Anderson has said his childhood was relatively untroubled by discrimination and his parents must take a lot of credit for protecting him from the worst excesses of the environment they lived in. He spent a year as a schoolboy with
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
before being released. He returned to Nottingham where at school he sat and passed three CSEs. He then worked for three weeks as a silkscreen printer that he described as "a glorified tea boy really. I'd get the tea, and get the sandwiches at lunch time. I was just a dogsbody." Anderson had broken into the Nottingham Forest team during
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
and became a regular after the arrival of
Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Engli ...
as manager of the
East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, L ...
club, then in the
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
, in January 1975. He was part of the side that won promotion to the First Division in 1977, winning the title, along with the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
, a year later. Anderson was one of the first black players to represent top English clubs at the time, and regularly suffered racial abuse from fans of rival teams. He was regularly pelted with bananas and targeted with racist chants. Anderson made his debut for England in November 1978, for a friendly against
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
. He became the second non-white footballer to represent the men's senior England team after Paul Reaney who had first appeared for England in 1968. Coach
Ron Greenwood Ronald Greenwood CBE (11 November 1921 – 9 February 2006) was an English football player and manager, best known for being manager of the English national football team from 1977 until 1982, as well as being manager of West Ham United for 1 ...
was insistent that no political issue was at stake, despite the ever-rising number of young black stars in the game, born and raised in England. There was no doubt that Anderson was playing outstandingly in a form team that season and got his call-up entirely on merit. A gangly, awkward figure, he was a much-admired tackler and was also quick going forward and occasionally scored vital goals. Vindication for his selection on merit was further supplied when Anderson was part of the Forest team that retained the League Cup (though he missed the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
through injury) and then clinched the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
in 1979 with victory over
Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popul ...
. His second cap was in a friendly against
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
in June 1979. His third appearance was his first competitive international as England defeated
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
2–0 at Wembley in a qualifier for the 1980 European Championships. Anderson continued to impress for Forest during this period, and picked up his second European Cup winners' medal when they retained the trophy with victory over
Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...
in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. Forest did reach a third successive League Cup final that year, but lost to
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club' ...
. England had duly got through to the European Championship finals in Italy and Anderson was named in Greenwood's squad, playing in the final group game against
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
as a replacement for Phil Neal. England won 2–1 but did not progress further. Anderson later made his World Cup debut in a qualifier for the 1982 competition in a 4–0 win over
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
. Essentially the battle was now between Neal and Anderson for the No. 2 shirt, but after qualification for the World Cup, suddenly neither were appropriate for the role. Injury to
Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 a ...
had meant Greenwood needed to call upon an experienced club captain to lead the team out in Spain, so Ipswich Town's skipper
Mick Mills Michael Dennis Mills MBE (born 4 January 1949) is an English former footballer who played for Ipswich Town, Southampton and Stoke City. He managed Stoke City, Colchester United and Birmingham City. During his career he achieved Ipswich Town' ...
, normally a left-back, was put in the right-back slot (with regular incumbent Kenny Sansom remaining on the left) and both Neal and Anderson missed out. Neal played against
Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...
in the final group game to rest Mills when qualification had already been assured, but Mills returned for the second phase, from which England were eliminated. Anderson, meanwhile, never kicked a ball. With Forest beginning to fall from grace (the ageing side was breaking up and the 1980 European Cup win was to prove to be their last trophy for nine years), Anderson's England career seemed to be stalling. After the World Cup and Greenwood's departure, he did not feature at all under new coach Bobby Robson until 1984, with Neal still mainly getting the nod. England failed to qualify for the 1984 European Championships during this period. Anderson finally won an 11th cap, in April 1984, almost two years after his tenth.


Arsenal

In the summer of 1984, he aimed to revive his career with a move to
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
for £250,000. This duly helped Anderson revitalise his international standing and he won six consecutive caps from 1984 and into 1985, including four qualifiers for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico; in the first of which he scored his first of his two international goals in an 8–0 mauling of
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
. Then Robson gave a debut to the young Everton right-back Gary Stevens who was so impressive that Anderson found himself usurped again. Robson split his selection policy, but Stevens got slightly more appearances than Anderson as England completed their qualification for Mexico and though both were in the squad for the finals, it was clear that Anderson was again going as reserve. Anderson won three caps at the end of 1986 as England began their quest to qualify for the 1988 European Championships in Germany. In one of the qualifiers against
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
, Anderson scored his second and final international goal. His time at Arsenal saw the club develop from underachieving in the First Division, to enjoying a victory over Liverpool in the 1987 League Cup Final, and he finally enjoyed some club success for the first time in seven years since the European Cup. He also scored a vital goal against Arsenals rivals
Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...
in the second leg of the semi final. He scored 15 goals in his three seasons at
Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...
, a spell that saw him make 150 appearances for the club. Much of Arsenal’s upturn in fortunes at this time can be attributed to George Graham’s arrival in May 1986. The side was built upon a strong defence whose training involved being connected with rope to ensure they learned to work together. At this time, Anderson provided much inspiration to the young Tony Adams. The 30-year-old Anderson was rewarded with a three-year contract offer from Arsenal at the end of the 1987 season. Arsenal expected Anderson to agree to the new deal but he instead signed with
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
, the same club who had released him as a teenager.


Manchester United

After a tribunal agreed £250,000 fee, he became
Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...
's first signing since taking over as manager of Manchester United. Meanwhile, Stevens had forced his way back in as England qualified for the European Championships and Anderson won his 30th and (what proved to be) final cap in a Rous Cup game against
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
though was again in reserve when the squad went to Germany for the finals. They lost all three group games and Stevens came in for criticism, but maintained his place. For the third time, Anderson had travelled to a major international competition without getting a minute on the pitch. Robson began to look to the younger end of the playing spectrum for competition for Stevens, and Anderson's international career ended. At
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wembl ...
Anderson was a significant part of Alex Ferguson's rebuilding plans as he attempted to create a title winning side to end the wait that had started at the club in 1967. Following a dismal start to the 1986–87 season that had cost Ron Atkinson his job on 5 November, Ferguson had steered United from 21st to 11th of 22 First Division clubs in the final six months of the campaign. Anderson played his part in United's continued improvement in 1987–88, as they finished second in the league but never really looked like overhauling
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
, who finished champions by a nine-point margin with just two defeats all season as well as a 29-match unbeaten start to the 40-game campaign. Anderson remained first-choice right-back in 1988–89, but United had a slow start to the season and despite an upturn in their form in the new year that saw them climb to third place by mid-February, a dismal final quarter of the season dragged them down to 11th place. Despite finishing 13th in the league in 1989–90, United won the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
– but Anderson was not in the squad for the final. He had managed 21 games in all competitions that season but Alex Ferguson had chosen
Paul Ince Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince (; born 21 October 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship side Reading. A former midfielder, Ince played professionally from 1982 to 2007, sta ...
– normally a central midfielder – as his right-back for the first match (a 3–3 draw with Crystal Palace) and also the replay five days later, which ended in a 1–0 win. Anderson's hopes of winning his place back in the 1990–91 season were crushed when Ferguson paid
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
£625,000 for Denis Irwin, who quickly established himself as the first choice right-back, while Ince switched back to central midfield. He played just three more games for the club, and on his final appearance for them in the Football League Cup second round second leg against Halifax Town on 10 October 1990 he scored their first goal in a 2–1 win that gave a 5–2 aggregate victory.


Sheffield Wednesday

Anderson joined
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
on a free transfer in January 1991, helping them to promotion from the Second Division, although he missed the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
final triumph over Manchester United as he had played for his old club earlier in the competition. Despite originally being thought of as a short-term signing, Anderson established himself in the Wednesday first team and captained the side on many occasions. He played an active part in ''the Owls'' team that finished third in the 1991–92 First Division and seventh in the first season of the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
. He also helped Wednesday reach the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
and League Cup final in 1993, but they were on the losing side to Arsenal in both finals.


Barnsley

Anderson's manner on the pitch made him an obvious choice for management and in June 1993 he left Hillsborough to be appointed player-manager of
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough ha ...
following the departure of
Mel Machin Melvyn Machin (born 16 April 1945) is an English former football player and manager. A midfielder, he started his career at Port Vale in 1962, before he moved on to Gillingham four years later. He made his name at the club from 1966 to 1970, ...
. However, his first season at
Oakwell Oakwell is a multi-purpose sports development in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England used primarily by Barnsley Football Club for playing their home fixtures, and those of their reserves. While the name 'Oakwell' generally refers to the main s ...
was a disappointment as Barnsley narrowly avoided relegation to Division Two.


Middlesbrough

At the end of 1993–94, Anderson quit Barnsley after just a year to become assistant manager of
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...
under former
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wembl ...
teammate
Bryan Robson Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...
. Despite retiring from playing football in 1994, Anderson was still officially registered as a player and following an injury crisis at Middlesbrough he played two games for the club in 1994–95 when they were promoted to the Premier League as Division One champions. After gaining promotion he finally hung up his playing boots. Anderson helped Robson assemble a side that reached both domestic cup finals (both of which they lost) in 1996–97, although they were relegated due to a three-point deduction for postponing a December fixture at late notice as a result of so many players being unable to play due to illness or injury. However, Boro won promotion at the first attempt and were League Cup runners-up once again. Robson and Anderson finally left Middlesbrough in June 2001 when Terry Venables was brought in with the club facing relegation. Despite never achieving anything higher than ninth place in the final table the duo had managed to establish Boro in the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
.


After football career

Anderson has not been employed in football since leaving the assistant manager's job at Middlesbrough. In 1997, Anderson was given the right-back slot by Forest fans voting for the club's all-time greatest XI, gaining 96% of the vote. He was awarded an MBE in January 2000. Anderson was inducted into the
English Football Hall of Fame The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum in Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and m ...
in 2004 in recognition of his impact on the English league. He remains a keen supporter of the National Football Museum and regularly attends special events at the museum. As of 2005, Anderson ran a sports travel agency and also works as a goodwill ambassador for
the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
. Anderson appears as an occasional guest pundit on MUTV; Manchester United's official TV station. The People's History Museum in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
has one of Viv Anderson's shirts on display in the Main Galleries. The shirt was worn on his debut match against Czechoslovakia in 1978.


Career statistics


International goals

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


Honours

Nottingham Forest * First Division: 1977–78 *
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
: 1977–78, 1978–79 *
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
: 1978–79, 1979–80 *
FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier L ...
:
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...
*
European Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
: 1979 *
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
: 1976–77 * Anglo Scottish Cup: 1976–77 Arsenal *League Cup: 1986–87 Manchester United *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
: 1989–90 *FA Charity Shield:
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...


References


External links

* * *
Viv Anderson photos, biography and statistics at sporting-heroes.netProfile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Viv 1956 births Arsenal F.C. players Barnsley F.C. managers England B international footballers English Football Hall of Fame inductees English football managers English footballers England international footballers England under-21 international footballers 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players Living people Manchester United F.C. players Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Clifton, Nottinghamshire Nottingham Forest F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players UEFA Euro 1980 players UEFA Euro 1988 players Premier League players English Football League players Black British sportspeople Race-related controversies in the United Kingdom Barnsley F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. non-playing staff English sportspeople of Jamaican descent Association football defenders UEFA Champions League winning players FA Cup Final players Footballers from Nottingham