Portsmouth Anderton started his career in the Southampton Tyro League and played for Itchen Saints during a successful period for the side. His potential was evident and he was soon scouted and playing youth football at professional clubs. Anderton was signed as an apprentice by
Portsmouth manager
Alan Ball, coming to prominence at 18 when he scored at
Anfield in an
FA Youth Cup match against
Liverpool which ended 2–2. His first team debut came against
Cardiff City in the second round of the
League Cup in October 1990 as a substitute for youth team colleague
Darryl Powell. Anderton made his full league debut against
Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 0–0 draw, making 20 appearances in the 1990–91 season. Under new manager
Jim Smith, Anderton became a regular in the attacking side of the 1991–92 season, scoring his first club goal in the season opener against
Blackburn Rovers. His performances soon drew the attention of bigger clubs and after an impressive
FA Cup run, during which he scored in a semi-final clash with
Liverpool, he joined
Tottenham Hotspur for £1.75 million in 1992.
Tottenham Hotspur After a slow start, Anderton settled at Tottenham, playing as a right winger, forming part of an exciting attacking trio along with
Teddy Sheringham and the young
Nick Barmby. He turned down a move to
Manchester United in the summer of 1995 following an exciting season spent playing with the likes of
Jürgen Klinsmann at Tottenham, a decision that he later regretted. Anderton won the
1998–99 League Cup with Tottenham, and signed a new reported £24,000-a-week contract in March 2000. In the summer of 2001, Anderton was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool, but he remained at Tottenham for the
2001–02 season and started in
his second League Cup final, which Spurs lost 2–1 to
Blackburn Rovers. Despite interest from
Leeds United in 2002 and both Portsmouth and
West Ham United in 2003, Anderton remained at Tottenham until the summer of 2004. He was keen to remain at the club and was promised a new contract by
David Pleat but the club, under the advice of incoming manager
Jacques Santini, reneged. In all, he appeared in 364 games for Spurs, scoring 51 goals.
Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers Birmingham City swooped to sign Anderton on a free transfer for the
2004–05 season. His best moment for the Blues was scoring the winner in the 1–0 victory over Liverpool at
Anfield. Anderton left Birmingham on a free transfer after one year and reunited with his former Tottenham and England coach Glenn Hoddle at
Wolverhampton Wanderers, signing a one-year deal at the start of the
2005–06 season. He played 24 times for Wolves, scoring once in the league against
Sheffield Wednesday. He also scored in a 5–1 win over Chester City in the League Cup. On 10 February 2007, he scored his first career hat-trick against
Leyton Orient. Following a pre-season friendly with Portsmouth in July 2007, Portsmouth boss
Harry Redknapp heaped praise on Anderton, telling the
Bournemouth Daily Echo: "In the right team and with the right players around him, I honestly think he could still be playing in the Premiership". At the start of the
2007–08 season, Anderton was named as Bournemouth's club captain by manager
Kevin Bond. Anderton spearheaded a survival bid at the end of the season, with the Cherries winning six of the seven last games, but, ultimately, a 1–1 draw with Carlisle on the final day saw Bournemouth relegated to
League Two. Bournemouth were deducted 10 points earlier in the season for going into administration and had this not happened they would have finished 15th. Anderton signed a new one-year contract with Bournemouth at the start of the
2008–09 season which would have taken him past his 37th birthday. However, on 4 December 2008, Anderton announced he would retire on 7 December 2008, one day after his last game for club against
Chester City. In his last match, Anderton scored the winning goal with a spectacular volley in the 88th minute after coming on as a substitute in the second half of the game. ==International career==