Iain William Anderson (born 23 July 1977) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder from 1993 to 2009.

He notably played for Preston North End and Dundee as well as playing in France for Ligue 1 side Toulouse . He also appeared for Tranmere Rovers , Grimsby Town , St Mirren , Ross County , Ayr United , Elgin City and Clydebank .

Career [ edit ]

Anderson became the youngest ever scorer in the Scottish Premier Division , when he scored with a penalty at the age of 16 for Dundee against Hibernian . ^[3] In 1999 he had a trial at Chelsea . ^[4] His trickery, pace and powerful right foot earned him a move to the French side Toulouse , where he continued his career. In 2000 Anderson was taken on loan by then division 2 side, Preston North End . Anderson scored two goals for the club in his loan period and set many more up for another loan player, Brett Angell . Together, they are widely credited with cementing Preston North End's promotion to division 1 (now known as the Championship .) ^{[ citation needed ]} His successful loan spell earned him a then club record ￡500,000 permanent move to Preston North End in July 2000, and he scored a number of high quality goals for the club, most notably against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City . Anderson was famed for cutting inside whilst playing on the left-wing and unleashing powerful efforts at goal. He was also useful from set pieces and surprisingly good in the air for a winger. ^{[ citation needed ]}

His time at Preston was marred firstly by injuries and then by a change in manager, which saw Craig Brown replace David Moyes at the helm. ^{[ citation needed ]} Brown did not approve of Anderson's predominantly attacking play, and criticized him for his lack of defensive awareness. ^{[ citation needed ]} It is commonly thought that Anderson became unmotivated under Craig Brown and lost his focus. ^{[ citation needed ]} He was involved from the start in Preston North End's infamous victory in the Championship play-offs against Birmingham City (which Preston won following a penalty shootout, a game during which Birmingham City Manager, Trevor Francis , tried to take his players off the pitch in protest at the end the penalties were being taken from). ^{[ citation needed ]} Anderson also set up Richard Cresswell for Preston North End's goal against Chelsea in the FA Cup , whipping in a cross from a free kick, which Cresswell headed past Carlo Cudicini .

Subsequently, he was loaned out to Tranmere Rovers (where he scored on his debut and became very popular with the Tranmere fans), then Grimsby Town . ^{[ citation needed ]} He eventually moved from Preston North End permanently and rejoined his former club, Dundee. He then moved to St Mirren , however in March 2007 his contract with the club was terminated by mutual consent, due to numerous injuries. ^{[ citation needed ]} He has since played for Ross County (where he scored once against Queen's Park ), ^[5] Ayr United (where he scored once, again against Queen's Park ), ^[6] Elgin City and Clydebank .

Retirement [ edit ]

Anderson retired from football aged 31 in 2009 due to personal reasons.

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

• Iain Anderson at Soccerbase
• Iain Anderson at Post War English & Scottish Football League A?Z Player's Transfer Database