Andy Welsh
Encyclopedia
Andrew Peter David "Andy" Welsh (born 24 November 1983 in Manchester
, England
) is an English footballer currently playing for Carlisle United
. Despite being born in Manchester, Welsh qualifies to play for Scotland
and has played for the Under 19 side.
in October 2001, going on to make 85 appearances in his three years at the club. He also made six appearances on loan at Macclesfield Town
in 2002.
in November 2004, Welsh signed for the club, who paid an initial fee of £15,000 for his services, although this fee may have risen to as much as £35,000, depending on the amount of appearances he made. Upon signing for Sunderland he was allocated the vacant number 11 shirt, and made his club debut in a 3-2 defeat to Preston North End
on 1 January 2005, replacing Marcus Stewart
in the 68th minute.
Welsh made his first start for Sunderland a week later on 8 January 2005, scoring a free kick in a 2-1 victory against Crystal Palace
. Welsh went on to make eight appearances that season, scoring again, against QPR
at Loftus Road
on 2 April.
After Sunderland's promotion to the Premier League, Welsh retained the number 11 shirt, starting the season in place of injured defender George McCartney
. However, Welsh was controversially sent off in only the second game of the season against Liverpool
at Anfield
on 20 August 2005, although the decision was later overturned on appeal.
Welsh found himself out of the Sunderland team after Christmas, and many thought he had played his last game for the club after he was loaned to Championship club Leicester
on 1 March 2006. Welsh went on to make ten appearances for Leicester, scoring one goal,helping to stave off relegation for the Foxes.
Four days after playing his last game for Leicester, Welsh was back at Sunderland, playing in the club's last two games, against Fulham
and Aston Villa
, under new caretaker manager
Kevin Ball
. Following the transfer of popular midfielder Julio Arca
to Middlesbrough
in the summer, Welsh was expected to start the season as first choice winger, however injury hit early on in pre-season.
Welsh picked up an injury during a pre-season win against League of Ireland
club, Shelbourne, prompting Quinn and new manager Roy Keane
to sign Swedish
winger Tobias Hysen
and Celtic
midfielder Ross Wallace
to fill the left-midfield role. Welsh subsequently re-joined Leicester on loan when he regained fitness, although he managed only four league starts for them, and returned to Sunderland in the New Year. Coincidentally, Sunderland's next game was against Leicester at the Walkers Stadium
, where Welsh was named as an unused substitute.
(MLS) club, Toronto FC
, after the clubs agreed a deal to end his contract at Sunderland.
On 16 May 2007, Welsh, who was a fan favourite, scored his first goal for Toronto in a rain soaked 1-0 home win over defending MLS champions, Houston Dynamo
. Fans subsequently voted him "Man of the Match" on the club's official website. However, after the first few games Toronto struggled to find points hard to come by, Welsh was in and out of the team and soon decided to return to England.
,
who he signed for the following day. During the 2007-08 season
he made 21 appearances in the Championship
, mostly as a substitute. On 7 May 2008 he was released by Blackpool.
club Yeovil Town
. On 3 September, Yeovil manager Russell Slade
confirmed that the club had a verbal agreement to sign Welsh with him due to have a medical at the club the following day. Welsh signed a contract with the club until the end of the 2008-09 season. Welsh played 38 games for Yeovil in his first season,he became a bit of a fans favourite when the team went on a 4 game winning streak the team scoring 4 goals direct from his set pieces. He ended the season with Yeovil's most assists on 7 and most crosses on 80, in his 38 appearances.
At the end of the 2008-09 season, Welsh signed a new two-year deal keeping him at the club until the summer of 2011. In the 2009/10 season Welsh started well and was the divisional top goal maker with 7 assists. However, formation changes saw him slip out of the side a bit, making most of his appearances from the subs bench. However, he was Yeovil's leading creator for the second consecutive season with 10 assists. He also scored his first two goals for the club, in the 2 - 0 win over Brentford and the 4 - 1 win over Wycombe.
Welsh scored in his second game of the season 2010/2011 against local rivals Exeter City FC a stunning low volley and then a header against Tranmere Rovers FC 2 weeks later. Welsh again has been one of Yeovil Town FC outstanding performers this season leading the way in assists again and also scoring some important goals. Welsh recently secured Yeovil's league one status for another season with an 85th minute equaliser at home to Oldham Athletic the day after his first child was born.
He was informed by the club at the end of the 2010/11 season that he was one of seven Yeovil players who would be awarded new contracts.
's first signing of the summer when he joined Carlisle United
on a two-year deal.
supporter and he also has his own Twitter
account which he updates regularly and even shared the picture of the birth of his first child.
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) is an English footballer currently playing for Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
. Despite being born in Manchester, Welsh qualifies to play for Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
and has played for the Under 19 side.
Stockport County
After getting a trial by writing to the club and asking for one, left-footed Welsh made his professional debut for Stockport CountyStockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
in October 2001, going on to make 85 appearances in his three years at the club. He also made six appearances on loan at Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town F.C.
Macclesfield Town Football Club is an English football team. The club was formed in 1874 and is based in the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire. The team play its home games at the 6,355 capacity Moss Rose stadium...
in 2002.
Sunderland
After impressing in a three day trial with SunderlandSunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
in November 2004, Welsh signed for the club, who paid an initial fee of £15,000 for his services, although this fee may have risen to as much as £35,000, depending on the amount of appearances he made. Upon signing for Sunderland he was allocated the vacant number 11 shirt, and made his club debut in a 3-2 defeat to Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
on 1 January 2005, replacing Marcus Stewart
Marcus Stewart
William Marcus Paul Tubb) known as Marcus Stewart is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward from 1991 until 2011...
in the 68th minute.
Welsh made his first start for Sunderland a week later on 8 January 2005, scoring a free kick in a 2-1 victory against Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
. Welsh went on to make eight appearances that season, scoring again, against QPR
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
at Loftus Road
Loftus Road
Loftus Road is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, London. It is home to the English football team Queens Park Rangers of the Premier League and has a capacity of around 18,500. The four stands are called the Loftus Road End , Ellerslie Road Stand, South Africa Road Stand and the School End,...
on 2 April.
After Sunderland's promotion to the Premier League, Welsh retained the number 11 shirt, starting the season in place of injured defender George McCartney
George McCartney
George McCartney is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for West Ham United on loan from Sunderland. He began his youth career at Sunderland, moving to West Ham before returning to Sunderland at the start of Roy Keane's time at charge...
. However, Welsh was controversially sent off in only the second game of the season against Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
on 20 August 2005, although the decision was later overturned on appeal.
Welsh found himself out of the Sunderland team after Christmas, and many thought he had played his last game for the club after he was loaned to Championship club Leicester
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
on 1 March 2006. Welsh went on to make ten appearances for Leicester, scoring one goal,helping to stave off relegation for the Foxes.
Four days after playing his last game for Leicester, Welsh was back at Sunderland, playing in the club's last two games, against Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
and Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
, under new caretaker manager
Caretaker manager
In association football, a caretaker manager is someone who takes temporary charge of the management of a football club, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caretaker may also be appointed if the regular manager is ill or unable to attend to his...
Kevin Ball
Kevin Ball
Kevin Ball aka 'The Hatchet' is a former professional footballer and now coach. Between 6 March and 8 May 2006 Ball acted as Sunderland caretaker manager for the last ten games of the 2005–06 season following the sacking of Mick McCarthy, taking five points from these games...
. Following the transfer of popular midfielder Julio Arca
Julio Arca
Julio Andrés Arca is an Argentine footballer, he currently plays for Middlesbrough. Arca is also a former Argentina Under-20 captain. He is a left back or midfielder...
to Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
in the summer, Welsh was expected to start the season as first choice winger, however injury hit early on in pre-season.
Welsh picked up an injury during a pre-season win against League of Ireland
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...
club, Shelbourne, prompting Quinn and new manager Roy Keane
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....
to sign Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
winger Tobias Hysen
Tobias Hysén
Glenn Tobias Hysén is a Swedish footballer who plays as a striker for Allsvenskan side IFK Göteborg and the Swedish national team. He is the son of Glenn Hysén.-Early life:...
and Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
midfielder Ross Wallace
Ross Wallace
Ross Wallace is a Scottish footballer who plays for Burnley as a winger.-Celtic:Wallace was born in Dundee, Scotland and started his career with Celtic where he played as a left midfielder but under his former manager Gordon Strachan he played at left back for the reserves and eventually the first...
to fill the left-midfield role. Welsh subsequently re-joined Leicester on loan when he regained fitness, although he managed only four league starts for them, and returned to Sunderland in the New Year. Coincidentally, Sunderland's next game was against Leicester at the Walkers Stadium
Walkers Stadium
The King Power Stadium is a football stadium which hosts home matches of English football club Leicester City. The all-seater stadium, inaugurated in July 2002, holds 32,500 and has the 19th largest stadium capacity in England. The stadium is named after King Power, a company owned by club owner...
, where Welsh was named as an unused substitute.
Toronto FC
After failing to break back into Sunderland's first team, it was announced in March 2007, that Welsh would be heading to Canada for a medical before signing a contract with Major League SoccerMajor League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
(MLS) club, Toronto FC
Toronto FC
Toronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada....
, after the clubs agreed a deal to end his contract at Sunderland.
On 16 May 2007, Welsh, who was a fan favourite, scored his first goal for Toronto in a rain soaked 1-0 home win over defending MLS champions, Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo
The Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic...
. Fans subsequently voted him "Man of the Match" on the club's official website. However, after the first few games Toronto struggled to find points hard to come by, Welsh was in and out of the team and soon decided to return to England.
Blackpool FC
On 30 August 2007, it was reported that Welsh would be leaving Toronto for BlackpoolBlackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
,
who he signed for the following day. During the 2007-08 season
2007-08 in English football
The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...
he made 21 appearances in the Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
, mostly as a substitute. On 7 May 2008 he was released by Blackpool.
Yeovil Town
In August 2008 Welsh went on trial at Football League OneFootball League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
club Yeovil Town
Yeovil Town F.C.
Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...
. On 3 September, Yeovil manager Russell Slade
Russell Slade
Russell Slade is an English football manager currently in charge of League One side Leyton Orient.-Notts County:Slade was assistant manager to Mick Walker at Notts County, and took over as caretaker manager when Walker was sacked in September 1994. When County appointed Howard Kendall as manager...
confirmed that the club had a verbal agreement to sign Welsh with him due to have a medical at the club the following day. Welsh signed a contract with the club until the end of the 2008-09 season. Welsh played 38 games for Yeovil in his first season,he became a bit of a fans favourite when the team went on a 4 game winning streak the team scoring 4 goals direct from his set pieces. He ended the season with Yeovil's most assists on 7 and most crosses on 80, in his 38 appearances.
At the end of the 2008-09 season, Welsh signed a new two-year deal keeping him at the club until the summer of 2011. In the 2009/10 season Welsh started well and was the divisional top goal maker with 7 assists. However, formation changes saw him slip out of the side a bit, making most of his appearances from the subs bench. However, he was Yeovil's leading creator for the second consecutive season with 10 assists. He also scored his first two goals for the club, in the 2 - 0 win over Brentford and the 4 - 1 win over Wycombe.
Welsh scored in his second game of the season 2010/2011 against local rivals Exeter City FC a stunning low volley and then a header against Tranmere Rovers FC 2 weeks later. Welsh again has been one of Yeovil Town FC outstanding performers this season leading the way in assists again and also scoring some important goals. Welsh recently secured Yeovil's league one status for another season with an 85th minute equaliser at home to Oldham Athletic the day after his first child was born.
He was informed by the club at the end of the 2010/11 season that he was one of seven Yeovil players who would be awarded new contracts.
Carlisle United
On 1 June 2011, Welsh became Greg AbbottGreg Abbott (footballer)
Gregory Stephen "Greg" Abbott is an English football manager and former player. He played as a right back or midfielder, and is now manager of Carlisle United....
's first signing of the summer when he joined Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
on a two-year deal.
Personal life
Welsh is a keen Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
supporter and he also has his own Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account which he updates regularly and even shared the picture of the birth of his first child.