Darren Anderton told Goals on Sunday he is on a high after Bournemouth staying in the league.
From Euro 96 to Bournemouth, it's been fantastic says Darren
Darren Anderton told
Goals on Sunday he had plenty of cause for celebration after Bournemouth clung onto their league status this weekend.
The former England and Spurs midfielder has a close attachment to the club after finishing his career at the south-coast outfit last December and in some style too.
Anderton buried a last-minute strike to secure a 1-0 League Two victory over Chester before hanging up his boots.
So it was with some relief that he learnt the Cherries had avoided dropping out of the league for the first time since 1923 despite incurring a 17-point deduction for failing to come out of administration.
Reflecting on his memorable finale, Anderton said: "I had made my decision to finish; it was a sad day but also a great day with the way it ended. To come off the bench and score the winner is always nice!
"It's a lovely club and a great area to live. I didn't really enjoy my time at Wolves and in the end I thought I just wanted to get back down south and enjoy my football again."
Thankful
Anderton scored 14 goals for Bournemouth in 79 appearances but, of course, spent the bulk of his career at Tottenham for whom he played 358 times after turning down a possible move to Manchester United.
"I was happy where I was at the time," he recalled. "We had just had a good year at Tottenham and the following year was going to be Euro 96 and I didn't want to uproots and go somewhere and not settle.
"I was only 23 so I thought there might be another opportunity later on in my career but it didn't work out like that.
"Playing for a club like Manchester United would have been great but I am still very thankful for the time I had at Tottenham.
"I enjoyed being part of Spurs; it's a great club, a classy club. I was lucky enough to play with so many good players like Jurgen Klinsmann.
"It was a great team to play in under Ossie Ardiles, with our all-out attack approach but unfortunately it couldn't go on for ever! Gerry Francis then came in and sorted us out defensively and we had a great season."
Highlight
Despite Tottenham's 5-2 defeat to Manchester United on Saturday, Anderton insists that Harry Redknapp has proved he is the right man for the job since taking over at White Hart Lane last October.
"It's great to see him go to Tottenham," he said. "I think they deserve a manager like Harry. He's a great character who gets his teams playing the right way. He's exactly what Tottenham need and it will be interesting to see how they do next year."
And of course,
Goals on Sunday presenters Ian Payne and Chris Kamara could not the opportunity to have a quick reminisce about Anderton's part in Euro 96 pass.
"It was great to be part of that tournament," said Anderton, who played 30 times for England. "It didn't start too well for us with the draw against Switzerland but after the Scotland game it was a great time.
"I remember going to the games - that was the highlight for me. On the way to the games there were people lining the motorways and streets, it was fantastic.
"Another highlight for me was the game against Holland and the way the team played; with Terry (Venables), it was everything that he had worked for, to have a performance like that."
