A Peterborough United debut against Blackburn Rovers aged 16, a glittering career beckoned at one of the biggest clubs in the land and then fate cruelly intervened

When Blackburn visited Posh for a Championship fixture in November, 2012, Darren Ferguson handed a debut as a substitute to 16 year-old midfielder Jermaine Anderson. It was supposed to be the start of a glittering career for a former Arsenal Academy student even though Posh were humbled 4-1 in that fixture.

Anderson remains the second youngest Posh player to appear in a Championship fixture behind fellow midfielder Charlie Coulson. At the time of Anderson’s debut only Coulson and Matthew Etherington had made a Posh debut at a younger age - remarkably Etherington was just 15.

Success didn’t find Anderson immediately. He didn’t appear again as Posh fought, and lost, that unforgettable battle against relegation in the 2012-13 season, but he made 19 appearances the following season and 27 appearances in the 2014-15 campaign during which he scored his first Posh goal at Colchester in a 3-1 win.

But it was the 2015-16 season when Anderson’s career looked set to take off. Graham Westley’s Posh side were rampaging up the third tier by deploying a midfield diamond which made best use of Anderson’s natural attacking instincts. He scored five goals in four games as Posh smashed 12 goals and picked up the EFL Young Player of the Month award.

Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony turned down a bid of £2 million for a player he described as a ‘Rolls Royce.’ New Leeds United boss Steve Evans was ready to make a bid in January, but fate cruelly intervened and, although he didn’t know it at the time, Anderson’s career was on the slide at just 19 years of age.

On December 6, 2015 in an FA Cup tie with Luton Town Anderson slipped over with no opponent anywhere near him. He suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

No matter, these things happen and Anderson was young enough to come back. He did at the start of the following season nine months after his injury, but nine appearances later he damaged the ACL in his other knee during a 2-2 draw with Port Vale.

He fought his way back again, but he was understandably never the same. He’d lost pace and he’d lost power and after 97 appearances he left Posh for loan spells at Doncaster and Bradford City which didn’t work out.

Anderson was playing National League football with Aldershot when he was 24 and now he’s at Woking at the same level. He’s still only 25.

While at Aldershot Anderson mulled over his early career. “It’s good to look back on and see that you pulled yourself through adversity,” Anderson told the Non League Paper. “I signed for Peterborough and played a lot of games there. That was my first experience of first team football at a young age. It was a mad transition.

“The manager at the time, Darren Ferguson, managed me well. I was thrown in and playing with men is completely different. There’s no time for passengers, you have to fit in or you get left behind.

“I learnt pretty quickly when I was younger it’s not a game anymore, you’re playing with people who have families and it’s their career. These points on a Saturday and Tuesday really matter.”