"It was a very funny story," Al-Qadi said. "We were looking for an attacking midfielder, and we had our targets. Because of Joe and Eddie's strong footballing network and connections, you always get names thrown around from their colleagues in different clubs."

Al-Qadi continued, "Shola Ameobi called Joe up and said, 'Listen to me, just take this kid.' Joe, being Joe, was like, 'No, I'm not going to take him. How come nobody else has taken him? Now he must be crap then if you're trying to push him onto us and nobody has taken him.'

However, Al-Qadi said that Shola Ameobi assured Barton that Anderson was a talented player, and that he would be a good fit for the team.

Anderson's impact at Rovers was immediate, with Al-Qadi saying that he "immediately made the first of the playing starting 11" and "just never looked back."