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30.
Anthony
Gardner (Defender) |
| ENGLAND INTERNATIONAL | |
| NICKNAME : ANT | |
| A junior
English Schools sprinter, who at 6'5" is a strapping young man. Gardner started at
the Port Vale Academy at the age of 11, joining
their and progressed through the ranks. On his arrival at
Tottenham, he appeared level-headed enough to realise he
had some work to do before he was ready for the Premiership.
Comfortable on the ball and quick off it, he can play left side of defence too and gets forward for set pieces. A dedicated player who was popular with the Vale fans and they were very upset to lose him for such a reasonable fee, considering him to be worth twice the potential £1.5 million he could cost Spurs. Originally a centre-forward, he has been converted into a defender and made his debut against Sheffield United in October 1998. He struggled at the start of the 2000-2001 season with injury, but was turning in good performances at left back (!) in the reserves and got his chance through injuries at the back. Made his debut at Derby County coming on as sub and looked assured in possession, making some important challenges when players were through on goal. Got a run in the side towards the end of 2000-2001 and did very well, but ended the season leaving the pitch with a knee ligament injury minutes into the final game against Man U. This will put him out of the game until October 2001 and will mean he has to break into the side again. Something he did at the tail end of 2001-2002 and then carried on at the start of the following season, showing great maturity. With injury striking just when he got back into the side each time during 2002-03, Anthony didn't get an opportunity to string many games together and Hoddle really wanted to pair him with Dean Richards in defence. This didn't happen often enough to establish a partnership again, but coming into the 2003-04 season, they paired up and made a good impression. However, Hoddle's sacking lead to Pleat introducing a 4-4-2 formation that made the midfield more solid and provided more protection for the back four, helping them tighten up in front of Keller. A frustrating 2004-05 season followed with more injuries (niggling foot injury and a broken nose) and Anthony seemingly becoming less confident, although he was played out of position at left-back on occasion. This left him poised to leave the club at the end of the season, only for a potential move to Charlton Athletic to break down over a failed medical. The start of the 2005-06 season left Tottenham without Ledley King and Gardner and Michael Dawson formed a good pairing in the middle of defence, as Spurs headed the league after a couple of rounds of games. Anthony seemed more assured and despite the pressure from Calum Davenport's presence in the squad, he looked a much better player and that might be because he was free of injury. |
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| NICKNAME : ANT | |
| FACT
FILE :
Born :
19.09.1980 HONOURS
: TRANSFERS
: CAREER
DETAILS : |
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