Andy Welsh

For other people of the same name, see Andrew Welsh (disambiguation).

Andy Welsh

Personal information
Full name	Andrew Peter David Welsh
Date of birth	24 November 1983 (1983-11-24)
Place of birth	Manchester, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Carlisle United
Number	7
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2001-2004	Stockport County	85	(3)
2002	→ Macclesfield Town (loan)	6	(2)
2004-2007	Sunderland	25	(2)
2006	→ Leicester City (loan)	10	(1)
2006-2007	→ Leicester City (loan)	7	(0)
2007	Toronto FC	20	(1)
2007-2008	Blackpool	24	(0)
2008-2011	Yeovil Town	113	(6)
2011-	Carlisle United	11	(0)
National team
	Scotland U19
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 07:50, 24 February 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

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.

Career

Stockport County

After getting a trial by writing to the club and asking for one, left-footed Welsh made his professional debut for Stockport County 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.

Sunderland

After impressing in a three day trial with Sunderland 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.

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 Soccer (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.

Blackpool FC

On 30 August 2007, it was reported that Welsh would be leaving Toronto for Blackpool, 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.

Yeovil Town

In August 2008 Welsh went on trial at Football League One 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.

Carlisle United

On 1 June 2011, Welsh became Greg Abbott's first signing of the summer when he joined Carlisle United on a two-year deal.

Personal life

Welsh is a keen Manchester United 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.

External links

• Welsh's profile at Yeovil Town F.C.
• Andy Welsh career stats at Soccerbase