THIS ZOOM CALL with Freddie Anderson and his father Viv took place on Tuesday. It was supposed to happen one week earlier but then Freddie went and got himself sent off in Cork City’s 1-1 draw with Waterford.
“These are the things he has to learn from,” Viv says midway through a 50-minute chat. “The first tackle he could have been done for GBH and the second one he didn’t touch him, but when you’re on a yellow and you put yourself in that position… you have to be capable of learning from that if you are to go and build a career.
“If you keep getting sent off for stupid things like that then you’re not going to have it. It’s all part of the rich tapestry of life.”
Freddie sits and smiles and, as always, listens respectfully to his father. “I can’t really argue, can I? He’s been there and done it in the game and knows what he is talking about.”
Viv’s playing career was long finished by the time Freddie, now 18, was born. He won the English First Division and back-to-back European Cups under Brian Clough with Nottingham Forest in 1979 and 1980, before joining Arsenal and Manchester United.
He became the first black player to represent England’s senior men’s team in 1978 and spent the next decade as an international. Viv Anderson was a trailblazer and an inspiration but, right now, he is just a father who has not yet joined the Zoom call.
“He usually relies on me or my younger sister for stuff like this,” Freddie teases, just as Viv’s beaming smile appears.
“Oh shut up!” he says, a laugh bellowing through the screen.
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Viv was 29 when he got married and 50 by the time Freddie was born. “Football got in the way of doing things sooner,” he says.
Cork City's Freddie Anderson makes a tackle. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
He had no problem setting up a LOI TV account, though, and has been tuning in ever since Freddie joined on loan from Stoke City over the winter. His trip to Dublin for the Shamrock Rovers game ended in disappointment when it was postponed at late notice.
When Tim Clancy wanted to bring his son on loan it was Viv who the Cork boss phoned before Freddie’s older brother Charlie – who is his agent – worked out a deal with Stoke to gain the kind of experience required in the League of Ireland.
“See, I’m learning new stuff already. I didn’t know that the manager spoke to you,” Freddie says.
Viv and Freddie are from different generations in the game. After being rejected initially by United in the early 70s Viv returned to Nottingham to work a silk screen printer. That is where he thought his future might be until Forest offered him another chance. One trial game turned into a second before the offer of an apprentice deal.
The honours and milestones that followed are cherished by his family. “I wish I could have seen him play but his legacy is there and I’ve come to understand what he means to people as I’ve got older,” Freddie says.
He also qualifies to play for the United States from his mother’s side of the family but he was brought up in Manchester.
“He’s a token Blue (City supporter),” Viv, who is a Red, jokes.
Freddie had a season ticket at City alongside his uncle and was behind the goal where Sergio Aguero scored that famous winner against QPR to clinch the Premier League title. “I was five and it was amazing,” he says.
“I was up in Sunderland with United when I thought we won it, waiting for that game to end. That wasn’t amazing,” Viv replies.
His son’s career was beginning and Viv was the chauffeur, taking him to Liverpool, City and United from the age of four.
“It would be one kit one night, another the next, another the next, after a while someone had to make a decision,” Viv says.
Freddie was six when he joined City, joining formally as per English FA rules from the age of nine. “It just felt normal,” he says.
A right back like his father, Freddie was emerging through the City academy with his ambitions steadily growing for a career in the game. He suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in the final weeks of a season when he was just 14, a recovery that took 18 months due to complications with a growth spurt.
He was 5ft 11in when the injury happened and 6ft 3in by the time he was fully fit. Teammate Josh Wilson-Esbrand (now at Stoke) was recovering from the same injury while Morgan Rogers, now at Aston Villa, and women’s star Chloe Kelly, were sources of encouragement along the way.
Viv Anderson (right) in action for Nottingham Forest against Liverpool's Ian Rush during 1980s. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
“How much I loved football growing up was down to how Dad still loved the game and spoke so well about it, that is what nurtured my love for football,” Freddie says.
“I’m not one of these bitter and twisted old pros,” Viv adds. “I had my time and you have to move on, and seeing Freddie come through the hardship made him realise that being a footballer is really what he wanted. I wasn’t going to force him to do the recovery right, he had to be the one to do what was needed.”
He did, but when it came to renewing his contract after the drawn out recovery City made the decision to release him.
“That’s football, I needed to go and play and the main thing was I knew it’s what I wanted.”
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“You have to have the will to do it, to come back and work,” Viv adds. “I showed Freddie the scars on my knee after I dislocated it and snapped the ligaments all in one go when I was 17. We both did the left one and we both came back, now you just have to play for England,” he smiles.
That may feel like a long way off for the 18-year-old but battling to get to this stage of a career, with a professional contract secured and the chance to come of age at Cork, shouldn’t be sniffed at.
“What is it that I always say to you, Freddie?”
“You tell me a lot, in fairness, Dad.
“Keep a clean sheet and you’ve got half a chance. And stay on your feet, son.”
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Family business: An hour with Cork City's Freddie Anderson - and legendary dad Viv
THIS ZOOM CALL with Freddie Anderson and his father Viv took place on Tuesday. It was supposed to happen one week earlier but then Freddie went and got himself sent off in Cork City’s 1-1 draw with Waterford.
“These are the things he has to learn from,” Viv says midway through a 50-minute chat. “The first tackle he could have been done for GBH and the second one he didn’t touch him, but when you’re on a yellow and you put yourself in that position… you have to be capable of learning from that if you are to go and build a career.
“If you keep getting sent off for stupid things like that then you’re not going to have it. It’s all part of the rich tapestry of life.”
Freddie sits and smiles and, as always, listens respectfully to his father. “I can’t really argue, can I? He’s been there and done it in the game and knows what he is talking about.”
Viv’s playing career was long finished by the time Freddie, now 18, was born. He won the English First Division and back-to-back European Cups under Brian Clough with Nottingham Forest in 1979 and 1980, before joining Arsenal and Manchester United.
He became the first black player to represent England’s senior men’s team in 1978 and spent the next decade as an international. Viv Anderson was a trailblazer and an inspiration but, right now, he is just a father who has not yet joined the Zoom call.
“He usually relies on me or my younger sister for stuff like this,” Freddie teases, just as Viv’s beaming smile appears.
“Oh shut up!” he says, a laugh bellowing through the screen.
Viv was 29 when he got married and 50 by the time Freddie was born. “Football got in the way of doing things sooner,” he says.
He had no problem setting up a LOI TV account, though, and has been tuning in ever since Freddie joined on loan from Stoke City over the winter. His trip to Dublin for the Shamrock Rovers game ended in disappointment when it was postponed at late notice.
When Tim Clancy wanted to bring his son on loan it was Viv who the Cork boss phoned before Freddie’s older brother Charlie – who is his agent – worked out a deal with Stoke to gain the kind of experience required in the League of Ireland.
“See, I’m learning new stuff already. I didn’t know that the manager spoke to you,” Freddie says.
Viv and Freddie are from different generations in the game. After being rejected initially by United in the early 70s Viv returned to Nottingham to work a silk screen printer. That is where he thought his future might be until Forest offered him another chance. One trial game turned into a second before the offer of an apprentice deal.
The honours and milestones that followed are cherished by his family. “I wish I could have seen him play but his legacy is there and I’ve come to understand what he means to people as I’ve got older,” Freddie says.
He also qualifies to play for the United States from his mother’s side of the family but he was brought up in Manchester.
“He’s a token Blue (City supporter),” Viv, who is a Red, jokes.
Freddie had a season ticket at City alongside his uncle and was behind the goal where Sergio Aguero scored that famous winner against QPR to clinch the Premier League title. “I was five and it was amazing,” he says.
“I was up in Sunderland with United when I thought we won it, waiting for that game to end. That wasn’t amazing,” Viv replies.
His son’s career was beginning and Viv was the chauffeur, taking him to Liverpool, City and United from the age of four.
“It would be one kit one night, another the next, another the next, after a while someone had to make a decision,” Viv says.
Freddie was six when he joined City, joining formally as per English FA rules from the age of nine. “It just felt normal,” he says.
A right back like his father, Freddie was emerging through the City academy with his ambitions steadily growing for a career in the game. He suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in the final weeks of a season when he was just 14, a recovery that took 18 months due to complications with a growth spurt.
He was 5ft 11in when the injury happened and 6ft 3in by the time he was fully fit. Teammate Josh Wilson-Esbrand (now at Stoke) was recovering from the same injury while Morgan Rogers, now at Aston Villa, and women’s star Chloe Kelly, were sources of encouragement along the way.
“How much I loved football growing up was down to how Dad still loved the game and spoke so well about it, that is what nurtured my love for football,” Freddie says.
“I’m not one of these bitter and twisted old pros,” Viv adds. “I had my time and you have to move on, and seeing Freddie come through the hardship made him realise that being a footballer is really what he wanted. I wasn’t going to force him to do the recovery right, he had to be the one to do what was needed.”
He did, but when it came to renewing his contract after the drawn out recovery City made the decision to release him.
“That’s football, I needed to go and play and the main thing was I knew it’s what I wanted.”
“You have to have the will to do it, to come back and work,” Viv adds. “I showed Freddie the scars on my knee after I dislocated it and snapped the ligaments all in one go when I was 17. We both did the left one and we both came back, now you just have to play for England,” he smiles.
That may feel like a long way off for the 18-year-old but battling to get to this stage of a career, with a professional contract secured and the chance to come of age at Cork, shouldn’t be sniffed at.
“What is it that I always say to you, Freddie?”
“You tell me a lot, in fairness, Dad.
“Keep a clean sheet and you’ve got half a chance. And stay on your feet, son.”
Tonight – Shelbourne v Cork City, 7.45pm.
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