Andy Todd

Andrew John James "Andy" Todd (born September 21, 1974 in Derby, England) is an England football (soccer) player who currently plays for Derby County F.C.. He is a central defender (football) who can also play as a midfielder (soccer), and he is the son of former Derby County F.C. and England defender Colin Todd who was manager of Middlesbrough F.C. 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.

Club career

Early career

Initially a trainee at Middlesbrough, Todd made his debut in 1992. He was loaned to Swindon Town F.C. shortly before leaving Boro in August 1995 to join Bolton Wanderers F.C. 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 (footballer born 1959)'s jaw and cheekbone in an incident at a team bonding session.

Charlton

Todd then moved to Charlton Athletic F.C., 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 F.C. 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.

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 City F.C. for kicking Christophe Dugarry in an off the ball incident. His first Rovers goal was in a 3-2 victory over Leeds United A.F.C. towards the end of that season.

Todd was put on the transfer list in 2003/04 and was loaned to Burnley F.C.. 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 F.C., 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.

Todd was accused of elbowing Robin van Persie in the 2005 FA Cup Semi Final against Arsenal F.C.. However, the the Football Association subsequently cleared him of any wrongdoing, as it could not be proven as a deliberate act.

Todd's name came up in the 2006 allegations of corruption in English football. Portsmouth F.C. 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."

He has however found first team opportunities hard to come by during the latter stages of the 2006-2007 season, after talks with Todd, Mark Hughes has also let it be known that he is available for transfer, with Derby County F.C., Sunderland A.F.C., Birmingham City F.C., Wigan Athletic F.C. and Portsmouth F.C. all expressing an interest.

Derby County

Todd joined Derby County F.C., for an undisclosed fee believed to be around the £750,000 mark on July 7 2007