Paul Anderson has announced his retirement after a 17-year senior career that began with a first-team appearance for Swansea City in 2007.
Anderson, a Liverpool academy product, played for nine different EFL clubs during his career, but it was at Swansea, Nottingham Forest, and Ipswich when he truly made an impact and demonstrated his abilities as a clever winger.
Anderson, who has spent the last three years playing for Melton Town in the United Counties League Premier Division North, has become somewhat of a forgotten guy, although the three aforementioned clubs will remember him fondly.
Paul Anderson had a promising start to his EFL career.
On the books at Liverpool, the youngster was loaned to Swansea City before of the 2007/08 season to obtain first-team experience, and it’s fair to say he made an impression in South Wales.
Anderson’s first taste of senior football came at Swansea, where he dazzled, scoring ten goals and contributing nine assists in 41 appearances to help the Swans win League One and return to the Championship after a 24-year absence.
The teenager also earned the club’s Young Player of the Year title, and Roberto Martinez was hoping to reunite with him for the 2008/09 season, but it never happened.
Instead, he joined Nottingham Forest on loan for the season before signing permanently in the summer of 2009.
He made 131 games for Forest, more than any other team, scoring 11 goals and assisting 17 times to help the club solidify its place as a credible Championship club following their promotion from League One in 2008.
After leaving the City Ground in the summer of 2012, he spent a season with Bristol City, making 30 appearances, but he was on the move again the following summer, this time to Ipswich Town, which proved successful.
Ipswich Town fans will remember Paul Anderson fondly. Anderson’s transfer to Portman Road in the summer of 2013 coincided with Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’ move in the opposite direction, and the winger enjoyed some memorable moments with the Tractor Boys.
Mick McCarthy’s side finished ninth in the Championship table in 2013/14, which was a decent result, and Anderson appeared 33 times, scoring five goals and assisting once, but the best was yet to come.
The Tractor Boys made the play-offs the following season, finishing sixth, and while Anderson did not have the best of seasons in front of goal, he etched his name in Ipswich Town history when he scored against bitter rivals Norwich City in the play-off semi-finals.
It meant the first leg ended 1-1, giving his team a chance to advance to the final, but they were defeated in the second leg and missed out on promotion to the top division.
Anderson’s goal against the Canaries was one of his two during the 2014/15 season, but a score against Norwich in a game of such magnitude will always leave supporters with good memories of the
He left Portman Road that summer to join Bradford City, and he later played in the EFL for Northampton, Mansfield, and Plymouth Argyle before joining local side Melton Town in 2021.
While Anderson has fallen off the radar in recent years, the news of his retirement should bring back fond memories of his time in the EFL, particularly with Swansea, Nottingham Forest, and Ipswich.
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