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Viv Anderson
Vivian Alexander Anderson MBE (born 29 July 1956) is an English former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He is best known for his ten-year stint with Nottingham Forest, with whom he won the First Division title in 1978, as well as the European Cup in 1979 and 1980.
In 1978, he became the first black footballer to play for England's senior men's national team, and from 1980 to 1988, was selected in the England squad for four major tournaments. He also had a short-lived managerial career with Barnsley, before joining Middlesbrough as assistant manager to Bryan Robson, where he remained until 2001.
Anderson was born in Clifton, Nottingham. 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 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 and became a regular after the arrival of Brian Clough as manager of the East Midlands club, then in the Second Division, 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, 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 was part of the Forest team that retained the League Cup (though he missed the final through injury) and then clinched the European Cup in 1979 with victory over Malmö. He picked up his second European Cup winners' medal when they retained the trophy with victory over Hamburger SV in Madrid. Forest did reach a third successive League Cup final that year, but lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Additionally, the 1980 European Cup win was to prove to be their last trophy for nine years.
In the summer of 1984, he aimed to revive his career with a move to Arsenal for £250,000. 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 rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of the semi-final. He scored 15 goals in his three seasons at Highbury, 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, the same club who had released him as a teenager.
After a tribunal agreed £250,000 fee, he became Alex Ferguson's first signing since taking over as manager of Manchester United. At Old Trafford, Anderson was a significant part of 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. In the 1987–88 season, United finished second in the league, nine points behind Liverpool.
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Viv Anderson
Vivian Alexander Anderson MBE (born 29 July 1956) is an English former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He is best known for his ten-year stint with Nottingham Forest, with whom he won the First Division title in 1978, as well as the European Cup in 1979 and 1980.
In 1978, he became the first black footballer to play for England's senior men's national team, and from 1980 to 1988, was selected in the England squad for four major tournaments. He also had a short-lived managerial career with Barnsley, before joining Middlesbrough as assistant manager to Bryan Robson, where he remained until 2001.
Anderson was born in Clifton, Nottingham. 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 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 and became a regular after the arrival of Brian Clough as manager of the East Midlands club, then in the Second Division, 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, 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 was part of the Forest team that retained the League Cup (though he missed the final through injury) and then clinched the European Cup in 1979 with victory over Malmö. He picked up his second European Cup winners' medal when they retained the trophy with victory over Hamburger SV in Madrid. Forest did reach a third successive League Cup final that year, but lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Additionally, the 1980 European Cup win was to prove to be their last trophy for nine years.
In the summer of 1984, he aimed to revive his career with a move to Arsenal for £250,000. 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 rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of the semi-final. He scored 15 goals in his three seasons at Highbury, 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, the same club who had released him as a teenager.
After a tribunal agreed £250,000 fee, he became Alex Ferguson's first signing since taking over as manager of Manchester United. At Old Trafford, Anderson was a significant part of 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. In the 1987–88 season, United finished second in the league, nine points behind Liverpool.