| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Andrew Neil Webster | ||
| Date of birth | 23 April 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Dundee, Scotland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Heart of Midlothian | ||
| Number | 6 [1] | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2001 | Arbroath | 17 | (1) |
| 2001–2006 | Heart of Midlothian | 149 | (6) |
| 2006–2008 | Wigan Athletic | 4 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | → Rangers (loan) | 1 | (1) |
| 2008–2011 | Rangers | 2 | (0) |
| 2008 | → Bristol City (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | → Dundee United (loan) | 31 | (4) |
| 2011- | Heart of Midlothian | 26 | (3) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2003– | Scotland | 22 | (1) |
| 2009 | Scotland B | 1 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:24, 16 October 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Andrew Neil "Andy" Webster (born 23 April 1982 in Dundee, Scotland) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a centre back for Heart of Midlothian. He is well known for the transfer saga in which he invoked updated FIFA transfer regulations to leave Hearts for Wigan Athletic, a move which has been compared to the landmark Bosman ruling and is now known as the Webster ruling.
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Webster began his career at Arbroath in the Scottish Second Division. He made his debut aged 17, against Stirling Albion in the League Cup on 24 August 1999. He went on to make 24 appearances in total over nearly two seasons. His first and only goal for the club came on 17 March 2001 during a league match against Queen's Park which Arbroath won 2–0.
Little over a week later, Scottish Premier League club Dundee United confirmed they had had a "five-figure bid accepted", with the bid to be completed at the end of the season.[2] Two days later, Webster phoned manager Alex Smith to inform he had turned down the chance to move to Tannadice.[3]
Shortly afterwards he was signed to Hearts by then manager Craig Levein on 30 March for a reported £75,000. During his time with the Jambos he established himself as a regular at the heart of defence playing alongside club captain Steven Pressley and also became a fixture in the Scotland national team.[4] He was a regular for the side and made 184 appearances for the Jambos but in 2006 he was left out of the match against Dundee United because of a disagreement over contracts, with chairman Vladimir Romanov, who later suggested to many that Webster would leave soon.
Webster made football transfer history when he was the first player to invoke a loophole in Article 17 of new transfer regulations FIFA had adopted to bring football's transfer system into line with EU law. This enabled him to cancel his contract with Hearts in the third year of a four-year deal, with the proviso that he join a club in a foreign country and that sufficient notice be given to his former employers. Webster's transfer to Wigan Athletic was ratified by FIFA on 4 September 2006, seemingly creating a legal precedent for the conduct of international football transfers.[5]
In May 2007, FIFA ruled that Webster had cancelled the contract "without just cause" and without the required full 15-day notice. FIFA suspended him for the first two matches of the 2007–08 season. They also ordered him to pay £625,000 to Hearts.[6]
On 30 January 2008, Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Heart of Midlothian Football Club were to be awarded £150,000 for Webster's breach of contract. This amount was to be paid by Webster to the club. The arbitration board reduced the compensation from previous amount of £625,000 that Hearts appealed against.[7][8]
Webster made his Wigan debut in a league match in a 4–0 win against Manchester City, as a second half substitute for Fitz Hall, on 21 October 2006.[9] He went on to start the next three matches but found the switch to the English Premier League difficult. His time with Wigan was short-lived and, after just four appearances, he was deemed surplus to requirements
On 4 January 2007, the day Paul Le Guen left Rangers, the BBC reported that Webster would sign for the Glasgow club on a loan deal, which was confirmed the following day.[10] Soon after, Hearts issued a formal complaint to FIFA and the SFA regarding Webster's registration. The Edinburgh club contended that Webster was unable to play for another Scottish team within 12 months of leaving Tynecastle.[11] However, FIFA decided that Webster's move to Rangers was in order and this ruling was followed by the SFA.
Webster missed the rest of the 2006–07 season due to an injury suffered during his first training session with Rangers. He made his debut in a post-season friendly match in May 2007, against LA Galaxy at the Home Depot Center, coming on as a substitute for Karl Svensson.
On 29 June 2007, Webster's loan deal at Rangers was extended to last until January 2008.[12] He made his first official appearance for Rangers in September that year, scoring in a win 4–0 home win against newly promoted Gretna.[13] Shortly after this match he was sidelined with an ankle injury and then it was revealed that he would be out until the new year after further surgery on his previously injured knee.[14] On 9 June 2008, Webster's loan deal from Wigan Athletic was made permanent for an undisclosed fee despite Webster only being fit enough to make one appearance during his loan tenure.[15]
As he continued to struggle with injuries and played very little first-team football he was loaned out when fit. A brief spell at Bristol City was followed by a season long loan at Dundee United.
He returned to Rangers with renewed hope following an impressive season at Tannadice but upon his return to Ibrox he was once again dogged by injuries and struggled to break into the first-team ahead of David Weir and Madjid Bougherra and was subsequently released when his contract with the club was cancelled on 31 January 2011, allowing him to sign outside the transfer window for another club as a free agent.[16]
Webster signed a six month loan deal with English Championship club Bristol City on 18 August 2008.[17] He made his debut against Coventry City. He returned to Rangers on 29 December 2008.
Over eight years after nearly joining Dundee United, Webster finally made the move to Tannadice in July 2009, joining on a season-long loan.[18] While on loan his performances earned him a nomination for SPFA Players' Player of the Year and he also was captain of the team that won the Scottish Cup.
After four-and-a-half injury-plagued years away, on the 3rd of February 2011 Webster returned to Hearts. He turned down a contract offer from city rivals Hibernian to sign a two-and-a-half year contract, tying him to the Tynecastle club until 2013. He described the club as "the club that gave me the base for a successful club and international career."[19][20] He made his debut on the 12 of February away from home against Hamilton. On only his third appearance for Hearts he was withdrawn after only thirty minutes with a groin injury. It was thought his torrid time with injury had followed him to Hearts however it was later discovered after a scan it was only a minor strain.[21]
Webster has won 22 Scotland caps during his career. His last cap came against Switzerland in March 2006. He made his debut in a friendly match during the Berti Vogts era, the match ended in a 2–0 defeat to Austria. His first and only goal came in a friendly against the United States during a 1–1 draw at Hampden Park on 12 November 2005.
On 6 May 2009, Webster was selected for a Scotland B team match against a Northern Ireland B team. He played the full 90 minutes and scored the opening goal in a 3–0 win for Scotland.[22]
On 22 February 2010, Webster was called up to the Scotland national team for the first time in 4 years. His absence was mainly due to a torrid time with injuries. He was called up alongside uncapped Dundee United duo Paul Dixon and Garry Kenneth.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 12 November 2005 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | United States | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly match |
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arbroath | 1999–00 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 16 | 1 | |
| Total | 17 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 1 | |
| Heart of Midlothian | 2000–01 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 1 | |
| 2002–03 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 1 | |
| 2003–04 | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 39 | 3 | |
| 2004–05 | 35 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 50 | 3 | |
| 2005–06 | 30 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 1 | |
| Total | 149 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 184 | 9 | |
| Wigan | 2006–07 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Rangers (loan) | 2006–07 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2007–08 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Rangers | 2008–09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Bristol City (loan) | 2008–09 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 |
| Total | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Dundee United (loan) | 2009–10 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 4 |
| Total | 26 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 4 | |
| Heart of Midlothian | 2010–11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Career total | 205 | 11 | 22 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 252 | 14 | |
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