Andrew Carl Ford (born 4 May 1954,

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...

) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager and former professional player.

Playing career

Ford played for Southend United, Swindon Town and Gillingham between 1972 and 1982. He also played for non-league

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

Managerial career

Ford's first management job was at Gravesend and Northfleet (now known as Ebbsfleet United). He guided the team to the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

title in 2001-02 and several Kent Senior Cup successes, and then kept the side in the Conference Premier for several seasons before his resignation in 2005. He is the club's most successful manager. Shortly after leaving Gravesend, Ford became assistant manager of Stevenage Borough, spending a year at the club before leaving in 2006. In January 2008 he was appointed manager of

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

, a position he kept until his resignation in October 2009. A year later in October 2010 Ford took over at Isthmian League Premier Division basement side

Maidstone United Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system. The current club filled the void left by the ol ...

. However, he could not lift the Stones from the foot of the table and he resigned on 15 March 2011 with his side bottom of the league and 8 points adrift from safety.

References

External links

* 1954 births Living people People from Minehead English footballers Association football defenders Gillingham F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Southend United F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Dartford F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Welling United F.C. managers Maidstone United F.C. managers {{england-footy-defender-1950s-stub