Sicknote signs off

I didn't know quite what to make of Darren Anderton's arrival at Bournemouth when he signed for the Dorset club a little over two years ago.

At the time I was still reeling from the news of manager Sean O'Driscoll's defection to Doncaster and it was hard to tell exactly what the former England international's motivation was.

It couldn't have been for the money, noone signs for us for a pay day, but we all knew Dazza lived in the area and there were fears that he might just come down and cruise through a final year of football while enjoying the short commute.

The response was emphatic, from his first start at Dean Court when he smashed in a long-range free kick against Scunthorpe, Anderton was a consummate professional who was totally committed to the Cherries' cause.

The former Portsmouth, Spurs, Birmingham and Wolves man even reached new heights in his first season with Bournemouth, claiming his career first hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Leyton Orient, and was instrumental in our survival.

His vision and the quality of his passing were simply at a different level as the former winger revelled in his reincarnation as a ball-playing holding midfielder.

He underlined his commitment to the club by extending his stay for another year but, as was so often the case during his peak years with Spurs and England, injuries began to take their toll again.

He played a limited role as the Cherries struggled early on and, although he played his part in their brave survival bid following a ten-point deduction for going into administration, could not prevent them sliding into the bottom tier of the football league.

Faced with the prospect of a season in League Two with a club starting the campaign on minus 17 points, few would have blamed Anderton for walking away in the off season.

But Anderton again took the professional approach and faced the challenge head on and at the start of the campaign he seemed to be playing with a commitment to match that of his international days.

However, as the team struggled with the rough and tumble nature of the basement division, Dazza cut an increasingly frustrated figure.

He seemed to let his head drop whenever we went a goal down, an away game against Shrewsbury a couple of months ago was a prime example, and his rants over misplaced passes from teammates became more and more demonstrative.

He still showed moments of pure class that you knew noone else on the pitch was capable of but, at this level and in our situation, the stomach for the fight is just as important as quality.

Anderton, completely understandably, had lost his fight and - rather than go through the motions for the rest of the season - he has opted to do the decent thing and call time on a great career, freeing up his wages for our cash-strapped club.

As a Bournemouth fan of over 10 years I rarely witness players of his quality and the fact he showed total commitment just about until the end spoke volumes for his professionalism.

Anderton was a genuine star name and perhaps the width of a post away from a true national hero (had his shot gone in in the Euro '96 semi-final v Germany).

I will always be grateful that he shunned a lucrative contract in the States or somewhere and chose to end his playing days in the unforgiving atmosphere of lower league football.

I can't wait to give him his send off tomorrow and I am delighted that, for someone with a reputation as perhaps the definitive injury prone player, he is able to leave on his own terms.