Andy Neil

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For the Scottish racing driver, see Andy Neil (racing driver).

Andy Neil
Personal information
Full name Andrew Neil[1]
Date of birth (1892-11-18)18 November 1892[1]
Place of birth Crosshouse, Scotland
Date of death 14 August 1941(1941-08-14) (aged 48)[2]
Place of death Kilmarnock, Scotland
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2]
Position(s) Inside forward, wing half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
19??–1912 Ardeer Thistle
1912–1919 Kilmarnock 75 (32)
1912–1913 → Galston (loan)
1916 → Galston (loan)
1916–1917 → Stevenston United (loan)
1919–1920 Stevenston United
1920–1924 Brighton & Hove Albion 129 (22)
1924–1926 Arsenal 54 (10)
1926–1927 Brighton & Hove Albion 38 (6)
1927–1930 Queens Park Rangers 106 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Andrew Neil (18 November 1892 – 14 August 1941) was a Scottish professional footballer who made 75 appearances in Division One for Kilmarnock and 327 appearances in the English Football League for Brighton & Hove Albion (two spells), Arsenal and Queens Park Rangers. He played as an inside forward or wing half.[1]

Life and career[]

Neil was born in Crosshouse, near Kilmarnock in Ayrshire.[2] He joined Kilmarnock of Division One from junior club Ardeer Thistle,[3] and made his debut on 12 April 1913 away to Motherwell.[4] He played regularly in his second season, and in 1914–15, his 20 goals placed him sixth in the division's scoring charts.[4][5]

Neil came south in 1920 to sign for Brighton & Hove Albion of the newly formed Football League Third Division. He was a regular at inside right, technically skilful and creative, and impressed to the extent that First Division club Arsenal paid a £3,000 fee – an Albion club record – for his services in March 1924.[2] He was never a regular at Arsenal, but despite a lack of pace, was brought into the team at the insistence of captain Charlie Buchan to play a roving inside-forward role in front of a purely defensive centre half; the tactical change contributed to a runners-up finish in 1925–26.[6] Although he had played 27 matches that season,[7] Neil returned to Brighton in March 1926. He stayed until the 1927 close season, and then moved on to another third-tier club, Queens Park Rangers, where he played as a wing half until retiring in 1930 at the age of 37.[2]

He then went back to Scotland and his original trade, as a baker. He died of a heart attack in Kilmarnock in 1941.[2]

Career statistics[]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Kilmarnock [4] Division One 2 0 0 0 2 0
[4] Division One 32 12 2 1 34 13
[4] Division One 33 20 — 33 20
[4] Division One 5 0 — 5 0
[8] Division One 3 0 — 3 0
Total 75 32 2 1 77 33
Brighton & Hove Albion [2] Third Division 18 2 3 0 21 2
[2] Third Division South 40 3 3 0 43 3
[2] Third Division South 42 10 5 1 47 11
[2] Third Division South 29 7 4 1 33 8
Total 129 22 15 2 144 24
Arsenal 1923–24[7] First Division 11 2 0 0 11 2
1924–25[7] First Division 16 2 0 0 16 2
1925–25[7] First Division 27 6 3 0 30 6
Total 54 10 3 0 57 10
Brighton & Hove Albion [2] Third Division South 12 2 0 0 12 2
[2] Third Division South 26 4 3 0 29 4
Total 38 6 3 0 41 6
Queens Park Rangers [9] Third Division South 41 1 1 0 42 1
[9] Third Division South 29 0 1 0 30 0
[9] Third Division South 36 0 4 0 40 0
Total 106 1 6 0 112 1
Career total 402 71 29 3 431 74
  1. ^ Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Carder, Tim; Harris, Roger (1997). Albion A–Z: A Who's Who of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Hove: Goldstone Books. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-9521337-1-1.
  3. ^ John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Kilmarnock: Andrew Neil". Fitbastats. Bobby Sinnet & Thomas Jamieson. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  5. ^ Brown, Alan (22 March 2002). "Scotland 1914/15". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  6. ^ Murray, Scott (2017). The Title: the Story of the First Division. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4729-3662-2.
  7. ^ a b c d "Arsenal first team line-ups". The Arsenal History. Andy Kelly. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Kilmarnock: ? Neil". Fitbastats. Bobby Sinnet & Thomas Jamieson. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Westenberg, Kenneth. "1927/28". Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018, "1928/29". Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018 and "1929/30". QPRnet. Ron Norris. Archived from the original (XLS) on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
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