William John Anderson, born Liverpool, England, January 24, 1947. Willie Anderson started out his professional footballing career with Manchester United in 1963. A confident and tricky footed flanker, Anderson was handed his First Division debut for Manchester United by legendary manager Matt Busby in a confidence-boosting 5-1 triumph against Harry Potts´ Burnley at Old Trafford on the 28th of December 1963.
While with Manchester United, Willie Anderson only managed to amass twelve first team outings for The Reds and the winger was sold to Aston Villa for a transfer fee of around £20,000 midway through the 1966-67 campaign. Anderson was a member of the team which lost 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in February 1971 and he helped the Midlanders to gain promotion to League Division Two the following year. He also featured in the 1972-73 Charity Shield at Villa Park where The Villains suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Malcolm Allison´s Manchester City. As an Aston Villa player, the flankman notched up 231 Football League appearances for the team before he joined Second Division Cardiff City for a fee of £60,000 in February 1973. Willie Anderson later played for Portland Timbers where he appeared in 177 North American Soccer League games for the club between 1977 and 1982. Willie Anderson Playing Career: Manchester United, Aston Villa, Cardiff City, Portland Timbers. Managing Career: None.