It’s football’s literary event of the year… Darren Anderton is releasing an autobiography!
The Adventures of Sicknote
We’re on an international break and it’s a Friday, so it follows that this will be One Of Those Days when the world of football has nothing interesting to say for itself.
What better way to celebrate a day of disappointment and setback than announcing the release of Darren Anderton‘s autobiography, ‘Takenote!’
The Sun have kindly chosen to serialise the work and kick things off in light-hearted fashion with a story about hapless Darren being screwed over by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.
Anderton claims to have agreed a deal with Levy and then manager David Pleat in January 2004, before being told he’d have to wait until the end of the year to actually sign the papers. The midfielder recalls:
I was furious.
So you are reneging on the contract you’ve offered me and I had accepted? Surely you can’t treat a player who has been here 12 years like that?
Daniel Levy said: “This doesn’t mean you are not getting a contract. We are just leaving it until the end of the season.
I thought to myself ‘Yeah, good one’.
He don’t gets no respect, I tell ya. Darren continues:
I knew they were only going to keep one of the more experienced big-earners and my fears were confirmed when Daniel Levy called to confirm I would not be offered a new deal.
Written confirmation came in a short letter from club secretary John Alexander. It said:
‘Dear Darren, I am writing to inform you Tottenham Hotspur FC will not be offering you terms of re-engagement upon the expiry of your current contract on 30 June 2004.
‘Can I thank you for all your efforts on behalf of the Club and wish you good luck for the future. Best wishes. John Alexander. Club Secretary’.
What Spurs did was wrong. No question about it. It was scandalous.
The Spoiler can confirm we have seen officially confirmed confirmation which confirms Darren Anderton needs a new ghostwriter. Here’s the most galling part in this tale of woe:
A couple of days later, I phoned Daniel Levy to ask him why, after offering a contract and saying he would leave it ’til the summer, nothing was happening.
He said they had decided to give a contract instead to Jamie Redknapp, who, after missing most of the season with injury, had come back to figure in the last few games of the season.
He told me Jamie was very settled in the area with Louise, who had recently become pregnant.
I replied: “I’ve been here 12 years. Do you not think I’m settled?”
He said: “You don’t seem happy here any more.” I said: “I’m very happy but not happy you withdrew a contract offer.
“Why would I be happy with that?”
I just put the phone down.
Bumped for Jamie Redknapp. The shame.
And what did the shiny-suited Redknapp do with his equally shiny new contract?
Make just 14 more appearences before being transferred to (Harry Redknapp’s) Southampton in the winter window. Ouch.
Darren is understandably still slightly bitter:
[Levy] had let me down more than anyone has ever done in my life.
I much preferred Alan Sugar. You knew where you stood with him. At least you could have a conversation with him.
A rather damming indictment of Mr. Levy, considering the next part of The Sun‘s serialisation – a conversation Anderton once had with Sugar entitled “Alan Sugar doesn’t have a clue” – features jovial exchanges like this:
Sugar: ‘You’re f*****g injured again and you won’t sign a new contract.’
Anderton: ‘You’re an absolute joke! I can’t believe what you’ve done to me with that s****y article.’
1 response so far
Coolface // October 9, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Can’t wait.
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