Viv Anderson - The Memories
There is no doubt about it. If you are of a certain age and love your football, there are characters and players that have left their mark on the beautiful game and whose endeavours both off and on the pitch leave an indelible mark on the game forever, and when you mark down those players, then Viv Anderson’s name just has to come into the conversation, and for a great many reasons.
When I was growing up in the North of England, my own football team had developed a terminal illness made up of no money or ambition and, as a result, the teams I saw us play as I took my tottering steps of loyalty changed from Manchester United and Arsenal to Rochdale and Wigan Athletic. Not that there's anything wrong with either of the latter names, but we were on the highway to Millmoor not Wembley and, as a result, even though I still attended every game at home and a good many away, my eyes turned to the other clubs from this country that were up and coming as the 70’s drew to a close.
My first real look at Brian Clough’s Forest came at Bramall Lane in March 1977- we were limping along looking for low table finish under Jimmy Sirrell and Clough. We reunited with Peter Taylor, and started looking quite the unit with Robertson, McGovern, O’Neil, Woodcock and, of course, Viv Anderson.
As a youngster, players like Viv simply stood out for me. I was a defender when I played for the school, so my heroes weren’t the glory boys who stuck the ball in the net for the most part, it was the lads who were there to stop the opposition doing it! A Nottingham lad, I guess also he epitomised just what it meant to come from the streets around the ground and city to play in the Club Colours, and I could see just what that meant.
On that day, we beat them 2-0 on their way to promotion with both Blades goals coming from the incomparable Keith Edwards, which must have been a bit of a shock for the Garibaldi wearing boys from the side of the Trent, in fact those two dropped points cost them a runners up slot for promotion, but Viv made an impression on me that day, as did Forest full stop.
I grew up in a multi racial area of Sheffield and went to school with kids of Black and Asian origin and was never aware of just what struggles friends' families could be having at that time - I was fortunate to be brought up to understand not to judge by colour or religion, and I am always hugely grateful to my parents for those values, but footballers then were left open to some of the bigoted vitriol that could be directed from areas of grounds, and it was players like Viv who took this and shoved it back down their throats by the class and style of their play allied to the dignity and strength they had in skip loads to beat the racism back to where it belonged - out of the game and out of life itself.
Viv Anderson was a wonderful player - two European Cups, League Titles, Final appearances and International Caps are the CV of a true winner, and one that, over the years I watched and enjoyed. No fuss, no wasted ball and a will to win no matter how high the odds - an integral part of one of the greatest British Club sides ever put together, of that there is no doubt.
Arsenal, Manchester United and even across the city with our blue and white brethren, a winner is a winner, and I recall Viv in a Wednesday shirt, even in his 30’s running the game in a team that certainly played the game as it should be.
For me, playing a part in the auction of this player’s collection is a true honour. For my generation, Viv Anderson was a true star - the local lad who made good for his club, a Clifton boy with two European Cup Winners Medals - and we could all identify with just what that would have meant. There are some truly wonderful pieces offered at our On the Road to Manchester Auction, taken from each step of Viv's ground-breaking football journey. It is now the time that these items will write yet another chapter in their history.
When we sell anything on behalf of a client, we are merely only ever temporary custodians, hoping its next destination is the right one, but to be able to curate such wonderful treasures from the collection of a player that meant so much to me growing up and to countless others is a true honour, and we hope you can join us in Manchester on October 1st for the sale of the collection. Also, don’t forget that we’ll be back in Manchester on the 2nd of October for our ‘Kits of Legends: A Special Football Memorabilia Auction’ too!
