Andrew Preece (born 27 March 1967) is an English
football manager
''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game bega ...
and former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...
who is currently the manager of
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came ...
.
[Andy Preece]
- Chorley F.C. After serving as Chorley's director of football, he became the club's manager in May 2022.
As a player, he was a
forward[ who played over 500 games as a professional. He notably played in the ]Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
for Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
, and in the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
for Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
, Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
, Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
, Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...
and Bury. From 1999 onwards, Preece combined his playing duties with various coaching and management positions. He became player-manager of Bury in 1999, also going on to manage Worcester City, Northwich Victoria
{{Infobox UK place
, static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg
, static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church
, official_name = Northwich
, country ...
, Airbus UK
Airbus UK is a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus which produces wings for Airbus aircraft. When Airbus was incorporated as a joint-stock company in 2001, BAE Systems transferred its UK Airbus facilities in return for a 20% share of the new comp ...
and Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
.[
]
Playing career
Worcester City
Born in Evesham
Evesham () is a market town and parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. It lies within the Vale of Eves ...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
, Preece began his career as a junior with Worcester City, making his debut as a substitute against Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...
in the Conference
A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic.
Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...
aged 16.["Andy Preece Talks Tangerine"]
– ''Deidcated 2 U'' podcast, episode 21, 12 November, 2020 "It went backwards from there," he said in 2020. "I got glandular fever
In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland).
Structure
De ...
; they released me, and I had to work my way back. I'd half given up on football. I played a lot of cricket, including going out to play in Australia for six months."[
]
Evesham United and Northampton Town
He subsequently played briefly for Evesham United, then planned to return to Australia; however, someone at the club knew Graham Carr
William Graham Carr (born 25 October 1944) is an English former professional footballer, manager and scout. He is currently an associate director for Northampton Town.
Club career
Carr, a half-back, joined his first professional club, North ...
, manager at Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
. The wheels were put in motion, and Preece joined ''the Cobblers'' in August 1988 on a non-contract basis.[ He made just one appearance, as a substitute, before being released at the end of the following season.][Focus On.....Andy Preece]
– Southern Football League, 16 March 2021
Worcester City and Wrexham
In July 1989, he rejoined Worcester City briefly, and in March 1990 signed for Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
, for whom he scored his first known goals. In 51 league appearances, he scored seven times.[
]
Stockport County
In December 1991, Preece joined Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
for a fee of £10,000, with Preece later saying he was unsure what County manager Danny Bergara
Daniel Alberto Bergara de Medina (24 July 1942 – 25 July 2007) was a Uruguayan footballer and manager.
Playing career
Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Bergara began his playing career at the age of 16, playing for Racing Club in the Uruguayan F ...
had seen in him at Wrexham.[ At ]Edgeley Park
Edgeley Park is a football stadium in Edgeley, Stockport, England. Built for rugby league club Stockport RFC in 1891, by 1903, the rugby club was defunct and Stockport County Football Club moved in.
Edgeley Park is an all-seater stadium hold ...
, however, Preece enjoyed the most prolific period of his career, scoring 42 league goals in 97 league games, and forming a partnership with Kevin Francis. He impressed enough (including scoring the winning goal in a giant-killing feat against Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
in the FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
) that he signed for Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
in June 1994, as strike partner to Chris Armstrong, for a fee of £350,000.[ Preece credits Ray Wilkins, who joined QPR just prior to Preece's arrival, with Alan Smith's signing of the striker. Of his spell in the capital, Preece said: "It was the high point of my career. I scored four oalsin a week. I scored the winner against Everton, two against ]Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
and the winner against Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
, but ultimately I don't think I was good enough for that level."[
]
Blackpool
Preece struggled to establish himself at Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international fo ...
, in what was a struggling team (they were relegated at the end of the season),[ and returned to the North West to join ]Sam Allardyce
Samuel Allardyce (; born 19 October 1954), colloquially referred to as Big Sam, is an English football manager and former professional player.
Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football Lea ...
's Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...
, for a fee of £200,000, in July 1995. He turned down Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...
— having been sold on Owen Oyston's ambitious plans for Blackpool, which ultimately did not materialise — and also missed a call from Barry Fry
Barry Francis Fry (born 7 April 1945) is an English former football player and manager. A winger, Fry was an apprentice at Manchester United in his youth, and had brief spells with Bolton Wanderers, Luton Town and Leyton Orient, before he reti ...
at Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
while he was doing the paperwork on the Fylde coast
The Fylde () is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills to ...
.[
Preece played in the forward line with the likes of Andy Watson, briefly, then ]Tony Ellis
Anthony Joseph Ellis (born 20 October 1964) is an English former professional footballer who commanded combined transfer fees of nearly £750,000 and scored 185 league goals in 518 league games during a sixteen-year Football League career.
Pla ...
and James Quinn,[ and under Nigel Worthington in 1997–98 he was made captain for a period.][
]
Bury
In July 1998, Preece joined Bury on a free transfer and went on to become player-manager.
Carlisle United
After leaving Bury in December 2003,["Bury show Preece door"]
– ''The Guardian'', 16 December 2003 Preece returned to playing with Carlisle United
Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Park s ...
. Although Carlisle were eventually relegated to the Conference, Preece chose to remain with the Cumbrians for the following season.[
]
Worcester City and Northwich Victoria
He returned to Worcester City, as player-manager, in 2005, where he remained for five years, before finishing his playing career with Northwich Victoria
{{Infobox UK place
, static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg
, static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church
, official_name = Northwich
, country ...
in 2012. He became the club's manager in 2009, remaining in the role for three years.[
]
Coaching and management career
Bury
In 1999, Preece was appointed join player-manager (with Steve Redmond)[ of Bury. David Nugent was signed by Preece after unsuccessful trials with ]Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
and Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
, and went on to net Bury close to £1 million. Preece kept the team in League 1 for two seasons until the collapse of ITV Digital
ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network. Its main shareholders were Carlton Communications plc and Granada plc, owners ...
forced the sale of several players and administration for the club in 2001, resulting in their relegation to League Two. Preece's Bury reached the League Two play-offs in the 2002–03 season. Preece was released in December 2003 as Bury again tried to cut costs. Bury director Roger Barlow said that Preece's departure was for financial reasons and nothing to do with results on the pitch.[
]
Worcester City
In February 2005, Preece joined Worcester City as player-manager and led the side to three consecutive top ten finishes in the Conference North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...
then, in 2006, to the second round of the FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
. He left the club in October 2007.
Northwich Victoria
Preece became caretaker manager
In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a care ...
of Northwich Victoria
{{Infobox UK place
, static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg
, static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church
, official_name = Northwich
, country ...
on 25 February 2009.
In the 2009–10 season, he led Northwich to the second round of the FA Cup, a considerable achievement, and saw his side defeat former Premier League side Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
in the process. Preece won manager of the month for April for his achievement of six successive wins. In the same season, he saw his side finish 12th in the Conference North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...
in his first season in charge; however, financial issues saw his side relegated to the Northern Premier League Premier Division. In spite of relegation and financial uncertainty, he stayed at the club along with his assistant Andy Morrison
Andrew Charles Morrison (born 30 July 1970) is a Scottish football manager and former footballer who is currently head coach of the Sri Lanka national team.
As a player he was a central defender who played in the Premier League with Blackburn R ...
.
On 21 August 2010, at the age of 43, he returned to football action for the first time in three years by coming off the substitutes' bench in the 90th minute, in a game which Northwich won 1–0 against Retford United
Retford United Football Club (also known as the Badgers) are an England, English association football, football club based at Cannon Park in Retford, Nottinghamshire. They currently play in the .
History
The club was founded in 1987 by Retfor ...
on the opening day of the 2010–11 Northern Premier League Premier Division
The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...
season. On 17 February 2011, he scored a seven-minute hat-trick as Northwich defeated Barnton in the Mid-Cheshire Senior Cup.
He resigned from the club on 16 January 2012, along with the rest of his management team, with the club reporting that he was expected to be appointed Director of Football at Welsh Premier League
The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 20 ...
side Airbus UK Broughton the next day.
Airbus UK Broughton
As expected, on 17 January 2012, Preece was appointed to the Airbus UK role.
He led the part-time side to runners-up in the Welsh Premier League in his first full season qualifying for the Europa League . This was the first time Airbus had finished in the top half of the table and the first time that a black English manager had led a team into Europe.["Europa League: Andy Preece makes history in breaking colour bar and targets the top"]
– ''The Independent'', 4 July 2013 In Europe, Airbus were only eliminated on away goals by Latvian side Venspils. The following season Airbus finished runners up again to full timers TNS. They qualified for the Europa league losing 3–2 on aggregate to Norwegian side FK Haugesund
Fotballklubben Haugesund (English: ''Football Club Haugesund''), usually referred to as FK Haugesund or FKH, is a professional Norwegian football club from the city of Haugesund, Rogaland, Norway. The club currently plays in the Norwegian Elites ...
. Preece became the first Black English coach to lead a team into Europe in two successive seasons.[
Preece left Airbus in August 2016 by mutual consent.
]
Southport
On 8 February 2017, he returned to the North West to become the new manager of National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
side Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
, replacing Steve Burr
Steve Burr (born 12 January 1960) is a Scottish former footballer who was most recently manager of Hednesford Town.
Playing career
Steve Burr began his football career as a player with Stafford Rangers but it was with a summer 1984 move to Ma ...
, until the end of the season.
Chorley
After a spell coaching in Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
, Preece moved into his current role of Director of Football at Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came ...
, combining first-team coaching with leading the club's education programme.[ Preece was appointed manager of ]Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came ...
on 28 May 2022 following the departure of Jamie Vermiglio.
Personal life
Preece's wife and daughter were only a couple of rows behind Crystal Palace supporter Matthew Simmons when the Eric Cantona kung-fu kick incident occurred at Selhurst Park in January 1995.[ After this incident, in 2020 Preece explained that he once jumped into a small group of fans during a Blackpool reserves game with Leicester City (who had a young Emile Heskey in their team) after one fan had racially abused him for the entire match. "After the game, I've run over and jumped in and confronted him, and then thought, 'Whoa, what am I doing?' I was pulled away, but it was too late — the FA got hold of it. It was front page of the '']Daily Sport
The ''Daily Sport'' was a tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom by Daily Sport Ltd., which specialised in celebrity news and softcore pornographic stories and images. The daily paper was launched in 1991 by David Sullivan, followin ...
''. You know: ''Million-pound star does a Cantona''." About forty Blackpool fans wrote to the FA in defence of Preece, saying the racial abuse he received was horrendous. The FA gave him a slap on the wrist. "I will always be grateful to those people who wrote in and supported me at that time," Preece added.[
In 2021, Preece named the best XI he had played with. They were: ]Nigel Martyn
Antony Nigel Martyn (born 11 August 1966) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
He notably played in the Premier League for Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Everton, having initially playe ...
(Crystal Palace), Lee Todd (Stockport County), Chris Coleman (Crystal Palace), Andy Morrison
Andrew Charles Morrison (born 30 July 1970) is a Scottish football manager and former footballer who is currently head coach of the Sri Lanka national team.
As a player he was a central defender who played in the Premier League with Blackburn R ...
(Blackpool), Gareth Southgate
Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder. He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016.
Southgate won the League Cu ...
(Crystal Palace), David Frain
David Frain (born 11 October 1962) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, making over 250 career appearances.
Career
Born in Sheffield, Frain played for Norton Woodseats, Sheffield United, Rochdale, Stockport ...
(Stockport County), Micky Mellon
Michael Joseph Mellon (born 18 March 1972) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Tranmere Rovers. As a player, he was a midfielder for clubs including Bristol City, West Bromwich Albion, Blackpool, Tran ...
(Blackpool), Dean Gordon (Blackpool), Terry Dunfield
Terence Dunfield (born February 20, 1982) is a Canadian former soccer player, coach and pundit who is head coach of Toronto FC's under-17s team, as well as soccer analyst for TSN and colour commentator for OneSoccer.
As a player he was a midf ...
(Bury), Chris Armstrong (Crystal Palace) and Tony Ellis (Blackpool).[ As for the best player he has played against, he chose ]Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
's Gary Pallister. "He was quick, he was strong, he was good in the air, he was good technically. You're just searching for a weakness. There was nothing you could do to get an edge on him."[
Preece's best friend is Andy Morrison, who was his teammate at Blackpool and with whom he has worked in coaching and managerial roles thereafter.][
He is a regular guest on the ''Preview Show'', Blackpool's weekly in-house Tangerine TV production, alongside Ged Mills.
]
Honours
Individual
* PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premi ...
: 1993–94 Second Division
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preece, Andy
1967 births
Living people
People from Evesham
English footballers
Association football forwards
Northwich Victoria F.C. players
Evesham United F.C. players
Worcester City F.C. players
Northampton Town F.C. players
Wrexham A.F.C. players
Stockport County F.C. players
Crystal Palace F.C. players
Blackpool F.C. players
Bury F.C. players
Carlisle United F.C. players
Premier League players
English Football League players
English football managers
Bury F.C. managers
Worcester City F.C. managers
Northwich Victoria F.C. managers
Airbus UK Broughton F.C. managers
Southport F.C. managers
Chorley F.C. managers
Cymru Premier managers
Blackpool F.C. non-playing staff
Chorley F.C. non-playing staff
Sportspeople from Worcestershire
Association football player-managers