Andrew John Myers (born 3 November 1973) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who was most recently assistant head coach of EFL Championship club Millwall.

Andy Myers
Myers warming up with Brentford in 2004
Personal information
Full name Andrew John Myers[1]
Date of birth (1973-11-03) 3 November 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth Hounslow, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
0000–1991 Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1999 Chelsea 85 (2)
1999–2003 Bradford City 89 (3)
2000Portsmouth (loan) 8 (0)
2003–2004 Colchester United 21 (0)
2004–2005 Brentford 10 (0)
Total 213 (5)
International career
1992–1993 England U20 5 (0)
1995 England U21 4 (1)
Managerial career
2018–2019 Chelsea U18
2019–2022 Chelsea Development Squad
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

As a player, he was a defender notably in the Premier League with Chelsea and Bradford City. He also played in the Football League for Colchester United, Brentford and Portsmouth. Myers was capped by England at youth level.

Since retirement, Myers has worked as a coach and returned to Chelsea in 2015 as a youth coach. He later had a spell as assistant manager of Eredivise club Vitesse before returning in 2017 to work in various roles at Chelsea.

Club career

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Chelsea

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A product of the Chelsea Centre of Excellence,[2] Myers made his bow in senior football with three first team appearances late in the 1990–91 First Division season and he was voted the club's Young Player of the Year.[3][4] Myers signed his first professional contract in July 1991 and despite injury trouble and never featuring regularly,[2] he would play for a further eight seasons as a professional for Chelsea and was a member of the 1996–97 FA Cup and 1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup-winning teams.[5][6] After being made available for transfer,[7] Myers departed Stamford Bridge in July 1999 and made 106 appearances and scored two goals for the club.[8]

Bradford City

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On 16 July 1999, Myers joined Premier League club Bradford City on a four-year contract for an £800,000 fee.[9] He missed most of the 1999–00 pre-season with a thigh strain and finally made his debut as a 66th-minute substitute for Wayne Jacobs in a 1–1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 12 September 1999.[10][11] He then became the starting left back,[11] but lost his place in the team to Lee Sharpe in October, due to suspension and illness.[10] Myers returned to the team in November 1999 and featured regularly until mid-January 2000,[11] when he suffered a groin injury.[12] After returning to fitness, he joined First Division strugglers Portsmouth on loan until the end of the season.[13] He made eight appearances and helped Pompey finish clear of the relegation places.[11][14]

Myers began the 2000–01 season as a regular, making four appearances in Bradford's Intertoto Cup campaign and three Premier League appearances,[15] before missing 2+12 months of the season with successive injuries.[16][17] He returned to the struggling team in late November 2000 and thereafter managed to remain fit.[15] Myers scored his first goal for the club with a crucial early header versus Everton on 28 April 2001, but two missed penalties deflated the Bantams and the team succumbed to a 2–1 defeat, which sealed the club's relegation to the First Division.[15][18] In the penultimate game of the season and with Bradford 5–1 down in the West Yorkshire derby to Leeds United, Myers exchanged blows with captain Stuart McCall on the stroke of half time.[19] Both players remained on the pitch and were fined two weeks' wages.[20] Myers finished the 2000–01 season with 24 appearances and one goal.[15]

Myers had his best season with Bradford in 2001–02, making 32 appearances and scoring two goals before suffering a hamstring injury in March 2002.[21][22] He returned for two further appearances in April and was named the Bantams' Player of the Year.[21][23] The club entered administration in May 2002 and Myers was one of 19 players made redundant,[24] but he would remain at Valley Parade for the 2002–03 season.[25] He made 25 appearances during a season in which Bradford narrowly avoided relegation. He was released in May 2003.[25][26] In three seasons with the Bantams, Myers made 99 appearances and scored three goals.[8]

Colchester United

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After attention from First Division club Rotherham United,[27] Myers signed a one-year contract with Second Division Colchester United on a free transfer.[28] He made 26 appearances before his season was ended by a back injury in December 2003.[29][30] Despite being invited back for the 2004–05 pre-season,[30] Myers elected to leave the club in June 2004.[31]

Brentford

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On 11 June 2004, Myers turned down an approach from Oxford United to sign a two-year contract with League One club Brentford on a free transfer.[31] He made just 13 appearances during the 2004–05 season and was given a free transfer in May 2005.[32][33] Myers retired at age 32, due to a recurring back injury that affected him throughout his career.[34]

International career

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Myers was capped by England at U20 and U21 level.[35] He was a member of the England U20 squad at the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship.[35][36]

Coaching career

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Myers coached Old Isleworthians Youth in 2008.[37] In 2011, he returned to Chelsea as U15 head coach and became assistant to U21 and U19 head coach Dermot Drummy in 2012.[38] He spent the 2016–17 season as an assistant first team coach at Vitesse,[39] before returning to Chelsea to take up the role as Development Squad head coach Joe Edwards' assistant.[40] On 6 July 2018, it was announced that Myers had been appointed Chelsea U18 manager and one year later,[41] he was promoted into the role of Development Squad head coach.[42] During the curtailed 2019–20 season, which ended with the final standings being determined by points per game, Myers managed the team to the Premier League 2 First Division title.[42] He moved into the role of loan player technical coach in May 2022.[43] He remained in the role until 6 November 2023, when he was appointed as assistant to head coach Joe Edwards at Millwall.[44] Myers departed the club after Edwards' sacking on 21 February 2024.[45]

Career statistics

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Appearances and goals by club, season, and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Chelsea 1990–91[3] First Division 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
1991–92[3] First Division 11 1 2 0 1 0 14 1
1992–93[3] Premier League 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
1993–94[3] Premier League 6 0 4 0 0 0 10 0
1994–95[3] Premier League 10 0 0 0 0 0 2[a] 0 0 0 12 0
1995–96[3] Premier League 20 0 3 0 0 0 23 0
1996–97[5] Premier League 18 1 0 0 0 0 18 1
1997–98[6] Premier League 12 0 1 0 1 0 3[a] 0 0 0 17 0
1998–99[46] Premier League 1 0 2 0 0 0 1[a] 0 4 0
Total 85 2 12 0 3 0 6 0 0 0 106 2
Bradford City 1999–00[11] Premier League 13 0 1 0 2 0 16 0
2000–01[15] Premier League 20 1 0 0 0 0 4[b] 0 24 1
2001–02[21] First Division 32 2 0 0 2 0 34 2
2002–03[25] First Division 24 0 0 0 1 0 25 0
Total 89 3 1 0 5 0 4 0 99 3
Portsmouth (loan) 1999–00[11] First Division 8 0 8 0
Colchester United 2003–04[29] Second Division 21 0 2 0 1 0 2[c] 0 26 0
Brentford 2004–05[32] League One 10 0 1 0 1 0 1[c] 0 13 0
Career total 213 5 16 0 10 0 10 0 3 0 252 5
  1. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup
  3. ^ a b Appearances in Football League Trophy

Honours

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Chelsea

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Andy Myers". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b "My Blue Days: Andy Myers". Official Site | Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Andy Myers". 11v11.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Annual awards". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "Games played by Andy Myers in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  6. ^ a b c "Games played by Andy Myers in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Petrescu heads clear-out". This Is Local London. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  8. ^ a b Andy Myers at Soccerbase  
  9. ^ "Football: Chelsea add Hogh to defence". The Independent. 9 July 1999. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Myers gives warning to team-mates". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  11. ^ a b c d e f "Games played by Andy Myers in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  12. ^ "City 'need six wins'". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Big signing Myers sails to Pompey for rest of season". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  14. ^ "Portsmouth results for the 1999–2000 season". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  15. ^ a b c d e "Games played by Andy Myers in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  16. ^ "Six-week absence for injured ace Myers". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  17. ^ "Unlucky Myers hit by new injury blow". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  18. ^ "Bradford pay penalty against Everton". 28 April 2001. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  19. ^ "Bradford dust-up goes unpunished". 13 May 2001. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  20. ^ Lawton, Matt (13 May 2001). "Slap in the face for Bradford". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  21. ^ a b c "Games played by Andy Myers in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  22. ^ "New blow as Myers could be out for season". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  23. ^ a b "Colchester want Myers". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  24. ^ "Mass exodus at Bradford". 23 May 2002. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  25. ^ a b c "Games played by Andy Myers in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  26. ^ "Six leave Bradford". 1 May 2003. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  27. ^ "Moore on Myers' trail". 27 June 2002. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  28. ^ "Colchester sign Myers". 11 July 2003. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  29. ^ a b "Games played by Andy Myers in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  30. ^ a b "Myers must prove fitness". 7 June 2004. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  31. ^ a b "Bees seal triple deal". 11 June 2004. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  32. ^ a b "Games played by Andy Myers in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  33. ^ "Bees exit for Salako and Burton". 23 May 2005. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  34. ^ Johnson, Simon; Twomey, Liam. "Next Big Thing: Andy Myers – the humble coach playing a 'massive' role in nurturing Chelsea's academy talent". The Athletic. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  35. ^ a b "Andrew Myers". The Football Association. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  36. ^ "England's 1993 U20 squad: Where are they?". ESPN.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  37. ^ "Old Isleworthians look to the future". GetWestLondon. 21 October 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  38. ^ "The Young Generation". Official Site | Chelsea Football Club. 6 September 2012. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  39. ^ "Coach Myers takes development opportunity". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  40. ^ "Chelsea could loan youngsters out earlier". ESPN.com. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  41. ^ "Andy Myers Announced As New U18s Manager". ChelseaFC. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  42. ^ a b "Andy Myers". Official Site | Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  43. ^ "Myers moves into new coaching role". Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  44. ^ "Myers departs Chelsea for Millwall". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  45. ^ "Millwall part company with Joe Edwards". Millwall FC. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  46. ^ "Games played by Andy Myers in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
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