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Date and Place of Birth 7th October 1965 - Colchester
Transfers to and from Burnley from Colchester United - 1st August 1987 (£5,000) to Wigan Athletic - 22nd September 1994 (£20,000)
First and Last Burnley Games Colchester United (h) - 15th August 1987
Stockport County (Wembley) - 29th May 1994 sub: replaced John Francis
Other Clubs Colchester United ---------------------------------------- Wigan Athletic, Rochdale |
Burnley Career Stats
| Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Others | Total | |||||
| apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | |
| 1987/88 | 45 | 3 | 1 | - | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 58 | 5 |
| 1988/89 | 35(1) | 4 | 1 | - | 4 | - | 3 | - | 43(1) | 4 |
| 1989/90 | 36 | 2 | 6 | - | 2 | - | 2 | - | 46 | 2 |
| 1990/91 | 30(7) | 2 | 0(2) | - | 3(1) | - | 6 | 1 | 39(10) | 3 |
| 1991/92 | 38(1) | 3 | 5 | - | 0(2) | - | 8(1) | - | 51(4) | 3 |
| 1992/93 | 40(2) | 3 | 5 | - | 2 | - | 1(1) | 1 | 48(3) | 4 |
| 1993/94 | 13(9) | 2 | 1 | - | 2(1) | - | 0(2) | - | 16(12) | 2 |
| Total | 237(20) | 19 | 19(2) | - | 17(4) | 1 | 28(4) | 3 | 301(30) | 23 |
Profile by Tony Scholes
Burnley had just escaped from the clutches of the Conference with a 2-1 win against Orient on the last day of the 1986/87 season and Brian Miller set about strengthening the squad to ensure we would never be in that position again.
One of the many signings that summer was a 21-year-old Essex boy playing for his local club Colchester United. Andy Farrell had played over 100 games for his home town club by the time he made the move to Lancashire in a £5,000 deal.
Now sometimes it turns out that players aren't worth their fee and then there are players who give your club so much they are worth every penny spent on them and more. Andy certainly fits into the latter category and over 22 years after his move north he's still working hard and well for Burnley Football Club.
When he lined up for his debut, on the opening day of the 1987/88 season, it was against his former club Colchester and I bet he wondered just what he'd done as they came to Burnley and went home with all three points with a 3-0 win.
He was one of eight debutants that day playing in the midfield, but in seven years at Burnley he played just about everywhere, including goal, although I don't ever recall him playing up front.
Andy had trials with Ipswich Town before signing for Colchester as an apprentice. He made his debut for the Us in September 1983 whilst still a month short of his 18th birthday.
As Burnley struggled towards the end of that 1986/87 season he was in a side that reached the play offs only to lose out to Wolves so the move to Turf Moor was certainly seen at the time as a step down.
That first season, in which he missed just one league game, saw him step out at Wembley as part of the third Burnley side ever to play at the stadium. Just like the other two visits we were on the losing side.
The midfielder then found himself a couple of new roles in the team. He played at left back for the injured Ray Deakin and then, when there was a central defensive crisis, he played in the middle of the defence for a long period of his second Burnley season. Incredibly his first game there was an FA Cup replay at Stockport where he partnered Joe Jakub at the back.
His spell in goal came when he replaced Chris Pearce during a game, but once that 1989/90 season was over he was mainly utilised as a midfield player, forming a formidable partnership with John Deary.
He continued as a regular in the side as we reached the play offs in 1991 and then finally won promotion out of the old fourth division in 1992. In the 1990/91 season he came on as a substitute in the home game against Carlisle and scored twice becoming the first ever Burnley sub to net two goals in a game. He was a vital member of the team in the promotion season and although not a regular goalscorer he did chip in with some important goals.
After promotion he continued in the team for a year but in the 1993/94 season he lost his regular place in the team with the signing of Warren Joyce in the summer of 1993. Even so Andy was to play a very important part in what proved to be his last full season as a Burnley player.
He was involved in just under half of the league games that season and in the very last game of the season he was named as one of the two outfield substitutes for the Division Two Play Off Final against Stockport County at Wembley.
He came on during the first half for the injured John Francis and thus became the first, and to date only, Burnley player to play twice for the club at the national stadium. This time too it was to be a victorious day as we won 2-1 to win promotion.
Sadly for Andy that day saw his last appearance for Burnley in a competitive game. Like a number of players he was so readily discarded by manager Jimmy Mullen and there was bad feeling between them by the time he was sold to Wigan for £20,000 in the September.
Andy's playing career at Burnley was over. He'd played 329 games for the club and scored 23 goals over a seven year period.
He became captain at Wigan and by coincidence it was the same time as the Wigan rugby league captain was Andrew Farrell. He was there for two years before he moved again and ended his playing career with Rochdale. The Essex boy didn't go home when his career was over. When he left Burnley for Wigan he said he was leaving Burnley as a player but would remain a fan of the club.
So he stayed in the area and a fan he's remained. To add to that he's been back for a while now coaching within the youth department where in the last two years he's been assistant coach of the under-18 youth team working with Terry Pashley.
He has a strange accent for a Burnley fan I have to say and his ability at sarcasm knows no limits as I've found to my cost on more than one occasion. However, Andy's a top bloke and it is certainly very good news for Burnley Football Club that he's still with us in that coaching capacity.
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