Scottish footballer
Russell Anderson
(born 25 October 1978) is a Scottish former professional
footballer
who played as a
centre back
. He played in the Scottish Premier League for
Aberdeen
, the
Premier League
for
Sunderland
, and the
Football League
for
Plymouth Argyle
,
Burnley
and
Derby County
. Anderson won 11
caps
for
Scotland
at full international level between 2002 and 2008.
Club career
[
edit
]
Aberdeen
[
edit
]
Anderson was born and raised in
Aberdeen
and attended
Aberdeen Grammar School
.
[4]
[6]
He began his career with local club
Aberdeen
, progressing through
the ranks
to make his
first team
debut in 1997; he scored his first goal for the club in a 4?0 win against
Hibernian
in 2000.
[6]
Described as a solid, reliable centre-back
[6]
(although he played some of his early matches at right-back), Anderson established himself as a first choice player and went on to make more than 300 appearances in his first spell with the club.
[6]
In 2003, he was appointed club
captain
, a role he held for four years before moving to Sunderland in 2007.
[6]
In the
2005?06 season
, he won the most league man-of-the-match awards from
BBC Radio Scotland
's
Sportsound
. In 2006, Anderson celebrated ten years at the club with a
testimonial match
against
Everton
,
[7]
a match where the Aberdeen fans showed their respect for his considerable ability and loyalty, with 12,000 fans attending the match. Despite Aberdeen leading 2?1, Everton won 3?2.
[8]
Sunderland
[
edit
]
Despite having stated his desire to remain at Aberdeen for the rest of his career,
[9]
on 27 June 2007, Anderson completed a £1 million transfer to Premiership club
Sunderland
, signing a three-year deal.
[10]
Anderson made his first appearance for Sunderland in a friendly match against Italian side
Juventus
on 4 August 2007. He came on as a substitute at the
Stadium of Light
with fifteen minutes of the match remaining. On 18 August 2007, he made his
Premier League
debut as a substitute against
Wigan Athletic
, where he gave away a penalty for a mis-timed tackle in a 3?0 defeat. This would prove to be his only Premier League appearance for Sunderland, as his next two years at the club would be blighted by injury. His second and last appearance for the club came against
Luton
in the
League Cup
on 28 August 2007. Anderson, making his full debut, ruptured his ankle ligaments.
[11]
After having reconstructive surgery, Anderson was ruled out for three months.
[12]
On 19 February 2008, Anderson joined
Plymouth Argyle
on a one-month loan, which was later extended until the end of the 2007?08 season.
[13]
[14]
He made his debut for Plymouth away to
Southampton
on 19 February 2008, with Plymouth winning 2?0.
[15]
Anderson went on to play in all 14 of Plymouth's final league games of the season during his spell at the club.
[
citation needed
]
On 26 August 2008, Anderson joined
Burnley
on loan until the end of the 2008?09 season.
[16]
He made his Burnley debut on 30 August 2008 in a 0?0 draw against his former club Plymouth. Anderson played four consecutive league games for Burnley, but in his fifth game for the club, a
League Cup
tie against
Fulham
on 23 September 2008, he suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season.
[17]
After spending 14 months out injured, Anderson finally made his comeback in a
reserve
game against
Wigan Athletic
on 1 December 2009.
[18]
Anderson's contract was due to expire at the end of the 2009?10 season. On 31 December, Anderson was reported to be in talks with
Hibernian
and an "unnamed Championship club", later revealed to be
Derby County
.
[19]
However, Hibernian said they had no interest in signing Anderson, giving Derby County an advantage to win the race.
[20]
Reports of Anderson leaving were confirmed on 14 January 2010, as Sunderland released him from his contract.
[21]
After leaving Sunderland, Anderson told MailSport in an interview:
"It hasn't been a great couple of years and I've spent more time in the treatment room than the dressing-room. But I can't moan about what happened at Sunderland because it won't do me any good."
[22]
Derby County
[
edit
]
On 15 January 2010,
Derby County
announced that they had signed Anderson on a contract until the end of the
2009?10 season
.
[23]
He made his debut as a second-half substitute in a 3?0 win at
Peterborough United
the following day and appeared sporadically as a late substitute for the club over the next eight weeks, behind the club's first choice pairing of
Jake Buxton
and
Shaun Barker
. He finally made his first start for the club in a 2?2 draw with
Middlesbrough
on 16 March, in place of Buxton, and kept it for the rest of the season as Derby successfully fought off relegation. Anderson scored his first goal for Derby County, and his first in three years, on 17 April 2010 with the opener in a 1?1 draw against
Crystal Palace
which ensured Derby were safe from relegation.
[24]
Anderson impressed enough for Derby manager Nigel Clough to confirm his intention to offer Anderson a two-year deal at the end of the 2009?10 season, seeing Anderson as one of four centre halves for the club's 2010?11 season alongside Barker, Buxton and
Dean Leacock
. The deal was signed on 21 April 2010
[25]
[26]
[27]
Anderson started the 2010?11 season alongside
Dean Leacock
in the centre of the Derby defence as they earned a 2?1 win at
Leeds United
before an injury sustained in training ruled him out for the next two months. He returned to action with a 60-minute appearance in the reserves 3?1 defeat at
Rotherham United
.
[28]
He returned to first team action as an 89th-minute substitute the following Saturday against
Preston North End
, winning a 93rd-minute penalty which
Robbie Savage
converted in a 3?0 Derby victory. He suffered a
hamstring
injury soon after which ruled him out for another three months before picking up a calf injury in his rehabilitation to rule him out until mid-February 2011.
[29]
He returned to the side on 2 April with a substitute appearance in a 4?1 defeat at
Cardiff City
and featured in the remaining six games of the campaign with a further three starts and three substitute appearances. Following the end of the 2010/11 season, it was reported that Aberdeen had a move for Anderson accepted but the player rejected the chance of a move, preferring to remain at Pride Park.
[30]
Anderson started the season in Derby's first team but was injured 35 minutes into the first game and missed the first month of the season. Upon returning to the side for a 3?0 win over
Millwall
at the end of September, Anderson played a role in seven of Derby's next eight games, often employed at right-back in the absence of first choice
John Brayford
. However, a hamstring injury sustained in a 3?0 home defeat to
Cardiff City
saw him ruled out of action for two months.
[31]
The injury proved to be the final injury of a blighted spell with the Rams as his contract was canceled by mutual consent on 12 December 2011, with just 19 appearances coming in his 15 months as permanent player at the club.
[32]
Return to Aberdeen
[
edit
]
Anderson signed for Aberdeen for a second time in January 2012 and was appointed as
captain
of the team.
[33]
In an exclusive interview with Daily Record, Anderson expressed return to Aberdeen, so he would overcome his injury.
[34]
[35]
After two months without playing due to an injury, Anderson finally made his first appearance in his second Aberdeen spell, when he came on for
Clark Robertson
in the 76th minutes as a substitute, as Aberdeen lost 3?0 against
Hearts
on 31 March 2012.
[36]
Despite the loss, Anderson expressed his delight at his return and said he felt that it meant a lot to receive a great welcome from fans.
[37]
Anderson stated his aim to help the club reach a final for the first time in thirteen years.
[38]
Having made twenty two appearances so far, Anderson signed a contract extension that will keep him until the next season.
[39]
Anderson said he was happy at signing a contract extension and delaying his retirement.
[40]
Anderson's first full season back with Aberdeen wasn't very successful, with the club finishing 8th in the
Scottish Premier League
.
[
citation needed
]
In the
2013?14 season
, Anderson said he had unfinished business at the club and vowed to take them back to where they belong.
[41]
On 25 January 2014, he scored his first goal for Aberdeen since returning to the club, scoring an injury time equaliser, as Aberdeen drew 2?2 with
Motherwell
.
[42]
After beating
St Johnstone
4?0 to reach the final of the
Scottish League Cup
, Manager
Derek McInnes
commented that the final meant many things for Anderson, while
Willie Miller
compared
Reynolds
and Anderson's central defense partnership to his own partnership with
Alex McLeish
during their time at Aberdeen.
[43]
[44]
Anderson was the sixth Aberdeen captain to lift silverware when they defeated
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
4?2 on penalties in the
2014 Scottish League Cup Final
. Anderson himself came very close to scoring in the match, hitting the post with a volley.
[45]
Anderson reacted on Aberdeen winning the Scottish League Cup as an "incredible feeling".
[46]
Following the final, Derek McInnes announced he would be giving a new deal to Anderson.
[47]
The captain's armband that he wore in the final, was snapped up by a fan who paid £500, which later went to charity.
[48]
On 15 May 2014, Anderson signed a new one-year contract with Aberdeen.
[49]
Anderson appeared and captained five out of the six for Aberdeen's Europa League matches. During the match against
St Johnstone
on 23 August 2014, Anderson was limped with a knee injury and was taken off in the 77th minutes.
[50]
As a result, Anderson was out for the most of the season.
[51]
On 7 May 2015, Anderson announced that he would retire from playing at the end of the
2014?15 season
.
[52]
He played his final match on 24 May 2015, as Aberdeen lost 1?0 at home to
St Johnstone
.
[53]
After announcing his retirement, Anderson remained at the club in a business development role.
[54]
As of September 2017, he continues in this position at Pittodrie, while also supporting brother-in-law,
Paul Lawson
? in an assistant manager capacity ? at
Highland League
club,
Formartine United
.
[
citation needed
]
International career
[
edit
]
Anderson played for the
Scotland national side
on eleven occasions and was both a youth and under-21 international.
[55]
He won his first cap against
Iceland
in October 2002, coming on as a late substitute.
[56]
Anderson went on to win 11 full caps in total, making his last international appearance in March 2008.
[57]
Awards
[
edit
]
Anderson won the
SPL player of the month award
in November 2006.
[58]
He was nominated for
Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year
for the 2006/07 season, and was the only nominee playing for a club other than league champions
Celtic
. Anderson was also named in the Scottish PFA team of the year for the 2006?07 season.
[59]
Career statistics
[
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]
Club
[
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]
International
[
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]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
[61]
National team
|
Year
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
Scotland
|
2002
|
3
|
0
|
2003
|
1
|
0
|
2004
|
2
|
0
|
2005
|
1
|
0
|
2006
|
2
|
0
|
2007
|
1
|
0
|
2008
|
1
|
0
|
Total
|
11
|
0
|
Personal life
[
edit
]
His son
Jevan
is also a footballer.
[62]
Notes
[
edit
]
- A.
^
Soccerbase's stats for the match between Nottingham Forest and Derby County on 17 September 2011 fail to count a substitute appearance made by Anderson, instead crediting it to
Lee Croft
.
[63]
Therefore, until and unless they correct it, he
should
have one more appearance for Derby than given on his Soccerbase page.
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]