Former Doncaster Rovers manager Stan Anderson dies at 85

Former Doncaster Rovers manager Stan Anderson has died at the age of 85.
Stan Anderson was manager at Doncaster between 1975 and 1979.Stan Anderson was manager at Doncaster between 1975 and 1979.
Stan Anderson was manager at Doncaster between 1975 and 1979.

Stan, who was in charge at Belle Vue between 1975-79, died yesterday.

The footballer made his name in his native north east and played for Sunderland, Newcastle United and Middlesbrough before entering management.

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Anderson captained all three of the north east giants during his playing career and began his playing days at Sunderland.

He was 19 when he made his first team debut in a 1-1 draw at home to Portsmouth on October 4 1952 and for the next eleven years he was a regular in the Sunderland side.

In 1955 and 1956 Sunderland twice made it through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but lost both games and in 1958 the club were relegated for the first time ever. Anderson was captain of a young side in the Second Division.

The strong-tackling wing-half appeared in his first England under-23 side in September 1955, but although he was to secure more under-23 honours and make an England 'B' appearance he did not win his first full cap until the 1961-62 season. After debuting against Austria he played in a 2-0 defeat away to Scotland before being selected as a squad member for the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, where he was unused throughout the tournament.

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After 400 appearances and 12 years, he signed for Newcastle United for £35,000 in November 1963 and assisted the Magpies in 1964-65 as they captured the Second Division title.

When he was sold to Middlesbrough in 1965 he became the first, and to date only, player to captain all three of the big clubs in the north east.

When he hung up his boots, he succeeded Raich Carter as Middlesbrough manager in April 1966 and remained at the club until resigning in April 1973 to be replaced by Jack Charlton.

Following stints managing in Greece for AEK Athens FC and in England at Queens Park Rangers, he became Doncaster manager in February 1975, taking over from caretaker manager Johnny Quigley in the Belle Vue hot seat.

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At that time, Rovers were in the old Fourth Division and in his first season, Anderson left the side to 17th.

The following seasons saw the goalscoring duo of Brendan O'Callaghan and Peter Kitchen propel Rovers up the League, with finishes of tenth and eighth respectively.

However, the early successes could not be maintained and with Rovers still in the Fourth Division, Anderson was replaced in November 1979 by Billy Bremner.

He retired from management in 1981 but continued as a scout for various clubs including Newcastle.

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Newcastle United led the tributes to the popular ex-footballer, posting on Twitter: "We're saddened by the news that Stan Anderson, who had the distinction of captaining Newcastle United, Sunderland and Middlesbrough, has sadly passed away. "Our deepest condolences go to Stan’s family and his many friends both in and out of football."