Andy Todd

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For the Scottish footballer see Andy Tod

For the current Accrington Stanley player see Andrew Todd

Andy Todd
Personal information
Full name	Andrew John James Todd
Date of birth	September 21, 1974 (age 32)
Place of birth	Derby, England
Playing position	Central Defender/Defensive Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Blackburn Rovers
Number	4
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1992-1995 1995 1995-1999 1999-2002 2002 2002-present 2003	Middlesbrough → Swindon Town (loan) Bolton Wanderers Charlton Athletic → Grimsby Town (loan) Blackburn Rovers → Burnley (loan)	08 (0) 13 (0) 84 (2) 40 (1) 12 (3) 87 (4) 07 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:23, 6 January 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Andrew John James Todd (born September 21, 1974 in Derby, England) is an English football player who currently plays for Blackburn Rovers. He is a central defender who can also play as a defensive midfielder, and he is the son of former Derby County and England defender Colin Todd who was manager of Middlesbrough when Andy made his debut.

Todd's strengths are his ability to read the game, strength in the tackle and good passing ability out of defence. Although relatively small for a centre-back, Todd is also very strong in the air. He is well known for getting stuck in and putting in aggressive challenges, which has won over many fans.

Contents 1 Early Career 2 Blackburn Rovers 3 Controversies 4 External links

[edit] Early Career

Initially a trainee at Middlesbrough, Todd made his debut in 1992. He was loaned to Swindon Town shortly before leaving Boro in August 1995 to join Bolton Wanderers for a transfer fee of £250,000. He scored two goals in total for Bolton over a four-year period, winning the 1996-97 Division One championship in the process. Todd left Bolton under a cloud, after allegedly breaking assistant manager Phil Brown's jaw and cheekbone in an incident at a team bonding session.

He then moved to Charlton Athletic, another Division One club, and won Division One for a second time. However, a training fracas with a then unnamed player (who was later revealed to be Dean Kiely), meant that he was on a knife-edge at the club. Initially welcomed back, he was loaned to Grimsby Town in February 2002, who at the time were struggling in Division One. Todd scored three goals in twelve league games for the Mariners, helping the club keep their place in the division.

[edit] Blackburn Rovers

In May 2002, Todd left for Blackburn, attracted by the lure of a big club, but found first team opportunities hard to come by. Soon after breaking into the team in January 2003, he was sent off against Birmingham for kicking Christophe Dugarry in an off the ball incident. His first Rovers goal was in a 3-2 victory over Leeds United towards the end of that season.

Todd was put on the transfer list in 2003/04 and was loaned to Rovers' arch rivals Burnley. Good performances for Burnley prompted a recall and Todd was thrust straight back into Rovers' first eleven with the team struggling near the bottom of the league. Todd's "wearing his heart on his sleeve" attitude was just what Rovers needed and his strong and assured performances in defence helped Rovers move up the league. Todd won Rovers' player of the year award.

In 2004/05, Todd was handed the Rovers' captaincy by Mark Hughes following the departure of Barry Ferguson to Rangers, a recognition of his continued solid performances. He once again won the player of the year and then led Rovers to European qualification the following season. He remains a key member of the Blackburn squad today, despite first team opportunities being more limited. More recently, he has been linked with a move away from Ewood Park, with interested teams including Sheffield United and Rangers^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Controversies

Todd has often found himself at the centre of controversy. In addition to the aforementioned incidents, he was accused of elbowing Robin van Persie in the 2005 FA Cup Semi Final against Arsenal . However, the FA subsequently cleared him of any wrongdoing, as it could not be proven as a deliberate act.

Todd name came up in the 2006 allegations of corruption in English football. Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp was secretly filmed discussing the possibility of buying Todd with agent Peter Harrison, which is illegal under FA rules. However, the programme merely showed Harrison approaching Redknapp and asking direct questions which Redknapp answered. Redknapp simply stated, "Yeah, I'd have him, I like Toddy, he's a tough bastard."

[edit] External links

• Andy Todd career stats at Soccerbase

Blackburn Rovers F.C. - Current Squad
1 Friedel | 3 Khizanishvili | 4 Todd | 5 Tugay | 6 Nelsen | 7 Emerton | 8 Savage | 9 Nonda | 10 McCarthy | 11 Bentley | 12 Gamst Pedersen | 13 Enckelman | 14 Reid | 15 Mokoena | 16 Henchoz | 17 Jeffers | 18 Gallagher | 19 Dunn | 20 Ooijer | 21 Samba | 22 Warnock | 23 Brown | 25 Berner | 27 Derbyshire | 28 Fielding | 29 Treacy | 30 Roberts | 31 Peter | 32 Nolan | 33 Gray | Manager: Hughes