Darren Anderton: I was a Southampton fan - but Portsmouth became my club. I love the place.

Darren Anderton admits he was once a season-ticket holder at The Dell and turned up for his first Pompey training session in a Southampton replica kit.
Darren Anderton celebrates his FA Cup semi-final strike at Highbury against Liverpool in April 1992. Picture: Shaun  Botterill/AllsportDarren Anderton celebrates his FA Cup semi-final strike at Highbury against Liverpool in April 1992. Picture: Shaun  Botterill/Allsport
Darren Anderton celebrates his FA Cup semi-final strike at Highbury against Liverpool in April 1992. Picture: Shaun Botterill/Allsport

But the Blues would become the club he loves.

Interviewed in new book Played Up Pompey Three, the former Spurs and England winger details a childhood growing up in Bitterne and worshipping Steve Williams, Peter Shilton, Mark Wright and Mark Dennis.

However, he credits his time at Fratton Park for moulding him into a professional footballer.

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And he now classes himself as a Pompey follower, rather than a fan of his childhood club.

‘I attended Bitterne Park School, living on Oaktree Road, beyond the bottom of the playing fields, so I’d hop over the fence into school every day,’ he told Played Up Pompey Three.

‘I was a Southampton fan growing up, a season-ticket holder for three or four years, but have no interest in them now. People see me as Pompey – and I love that. When Southampton lose, I wind my mates up.

‘My Spurs debut was actually away at Southampton on the opening day of the 1992-93 campaign, as the newly-created Premier League kicked off. There were 19,654 in attendance at The Dell and, while taking throw-ins, I was being abused by these people. I was thinking “I used to sit there with you, now this”. It did make me laugh.

Darren Anderton was back at Fratton Park in December 2018 - and introduced to appeciative fans at half-time. Picture: Joe PeplerDarren Anderton was back at Fratton Park in December 2018 - and introduced to appeciative fans at half-time. Picture: Joe Pepler
Darren Anderton was back at Fratton Park in December 2018 - and introduced to appeciative fans at half-time. Picture: Joe Pepler
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‘I love Pompey, love everything about the club. I went on to have a pretty good career, but if it wasn't for Pompey I would never have been a player.

‘Growing up, I wanted to play for Southampton. Kevin Keegan was my hero, while I also adored Steve Williams, Mark Wright, Mark Dennis, the Wallace brothers, Peter Shilton, Mick Mills, such great players. I was even present when future Pompey team-mate Colin Clarke scored a hat-trick on his debut against QPR in a 5-1 win in August 1986.

‘My season-ticket was initially in the family section with my dad. Then we got front-row seats in the East Stand, only to discover Keegan had walked out for Newcastle United days before the start of the 1982-83 season without telling anyone, which left my dad annoyed as hell.

‘My gran’s house was in Milton Road, next to The Dell, so we’d have fish and chips around there before going to matches.

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‘On my first day as an associate schoolboy at Pompey, I even turned up in a Southampton top. I had no idea about rivalry, I was a 14-year-old kid!

‘Alan Ball said: “You can’t wear that!” – and then took me to the club shop and bought an all-white Pompey kit, consisting of shirt, socks and shorts. That was me, a Southampton fan, and I loved that Pompey kit he gave me.

‘As I got older, though, whenever I was visiting Southampton, the abuse I received was too much. You don’t mind it in a game, but this was in the street and on nights out. It was pathetic.

‘I received so much abuse that I preferred to go out in Bournemouth more, none of that nonsense happened there. It worked out well, too, as I bought a house in Bournemouth, which is such a lovely area.

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‘The other year I was at St Mary’s working for a Kuala Lumpur television station for a match against Spurs. The abuse I received while pitchside was ridiculous – they know I’m a Southampton boy, so it’s hilarious really.

‘Then I walked past the Spurs fans and they were singing my name. It was a lovely feeling.

‘I definitely regret not playing for Pompey again later in my career, although it nearly happened a couple of times. Funnily enough, it’s also a regret I didn’t play for Southampton because that was my team as a kid – who doesn’t remember their childhood club?

‘Pompey, though, is the bigger part of me. My experiences there, the fans, the players, I still look back at being a member of such a talented youth side, going on to play with my mates in the first-team.

‘It was such a special time.’

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Played Up Pompey Three is priced £18.99 and currently available from the Pompey Store, in Anson Road, and The Petersfield Bookshop.

For player-autographed copies, with the signatures of Benjani, Richard Hughes, Michael Doyle, John Durnin or Dave Munks, email [email protected]

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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