Andrew Garner (born 8 March 1966) is an English 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, rugby ...

who played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

and

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 ...

. He is a first-team coach at

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and y ...

Playing career

Born in

Stonebroom Stonebroom is a village in the district of North East Derbyshire in Derbyshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Shirland and Higham. Stonebroom lies to the east of the A61 between Alfreton and Clay Cross. It has a primary, nursery, pre-s ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

, Garner began his career as an apprentice with

in 1983. He scored some vital goals in the Rams'

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

promotion season of 1985–86. In August 1988, Garner joined Sam Ellis's

for £75,000. He made his debut on opening day, 27 August, in a 1–1 draw at Chester City. Jimmy Mullen took over the manager's seat for 1989–90 and moved Garner into a central-midfield position, where he went on to enjoy more success in a partnership with Paul Groves, although he couldn't help ''the Seasiders'' avoid relegation to the

's basement division. Under

Billy Ayre William Ayre (7 May 1952 – 16 April 2002) was an English footballer who played for three clubs in a sixteen-year professional career, making over three hundred League appearances in the process. After retiring from the playing side of the game ...

, and after Blackpool's failure in the Fourth Division playoff final of 1990–91, Garner was the subject of intense transfer speculation, and it seemed almost certain that he would leave for pastures new. However, the proposed move fell through and he remained at the club for another season, which saw another

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

playoff final, this time ending in success for Blackpool. Garner managed to make only seven appearances during the

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...

season before joining Gresley Rovers.

Blackpool F.C. Hall of Fame

Garner was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Bloomfield Road, when it was officially opened by former Blackpool player

Jimmy Armfield James Christopher Armfield, (21 September 1935 – 22 January 2018) was an English professional football player and manager who latterly worked as a football pundit for BBC Radio Five Live. He played the whole of his Football League career at ...

in April 2006. Organised by the Blackpool Supporters Association, Blackpool fans around the world voted on their all-time heroes. Five players from each decade are inducted; Garner is in the 1980s.

Post-retirement

Garner is now a football coach. He has been the first-team coach at his first club, Derby County. In 2013 Garner followed

Nigel Clough Nigel Howard Clough (born 19 March 1966) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Mansfield Town. Playing predominantly as a forward, but later in his career used as a midfielder, Clough wa ...

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...

. After mixed results at Sheffield United, Garner followed Nigel Clough and returned to previous club Burton Albion in 2015 in a coaching role."Burton confirm return of Nigel Clough as manager after seven years away"
- The Guardian, 7 December 2015 Subsequently, Burton Albion have achieved promotion to the Championship for the first time in their history.

Honours

Derby County *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

promotion: 1985–86 *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

champions: 1986–87 Blackpool *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name i ...

play-off winner: 1991–92 Gresley Rovers *

Southern Football League Premier Division The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foo ...

champions: 1996–97

References

External links