Anderton's United regret

Former Spurs star regrets turning down the chance to play for Fergie

By Richard Bailey   Last updated: 5th December 2008

Anderton's United regret

Anderton: One big regret

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After announcing his retirement earlier this week former England winger Darren Anderton admits his only regret was turning down Manchester United.

The former Spurs man will play his last professional game on Saturday for Bournemouth as they host League Two rivals Chester City.

After successful spells with Portsmouth and most notably Spurs, Anderton's career has taken him to Birmingham, Wolves and back to the South Coast where he has spent his last two years at Bournemouth.

The 36-year-old joined the Cherries in September 2006 and has enjoyed every moment of his career but the winger reveals he often wonders how his career would have panned out had he taken Sir Alex Ferguson up on his offer to join Manchester United.

He told The Sun: "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 the 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 advisor 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.

Regret

"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."

Anderton insists that he still enjoys playing but finds it increasingly harder to get up in the morning to go training, especially in the cold winter months.

The midfielder leaves Bournemouth in a precarious position down at the bottom of League Two but he insists that Cherries manager Jimmy Quinn understands his decision.

He added: "Bournemouth manager Jimmy Quinn understands, I think. I've been considering it for a few weeks.

Displeasure

"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. Getting up at this time of year is becoming more and more difficult. I certainly won't miss training or pre-season."

Anderton admits that he feels no jealousy when he sees 40-year-old Dean Windass still plying his trade in the Premier League and he knew it was time to call it a day.

He added: "I've come to Bournemouth and loved every minute of it. I didn't expect to come down here and play for two and a half years.

"I said I came here to enjoy playing. But I'm not enjoying it so much right now, so I'd rather not let it drag on."