Andrew Hessenthaler (born 17 August 1965) is an English
football manager and former player who is head of recruitment at club
Gillingham.
He began his career in
non-league football and did not turn professional until he joined
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
at the age of 26. In 1996, Hessenthaler joined
Gillingham and spent the next ten years at the club as player and later player-manager, managing the club to its highest ever finish in the
English football league system and becoming regarded as a legend of the Kent club. After leaving Gillingham, he had a short spell at
Barnet, before joining
Dover Athletic in 2007. In his two seasons in charge he led the club to successive championships, of
Isthmian League Division One South
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 ...
and the
Isthmian League Premier Division
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 teams ...
. After three years at Dover, he became manager at Gillingham for the second time, but his contract was terminated at the end of the
2011–12 season. He returned to the club as assistant manager in 2014, before taking on a similar role at
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
the following year. In 2016, he was appointed manager of the club, but was sacked later the same year. In November he was appointed manager of
Eastleigh
Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census.
The town lies on the River Itchen, ...
, but the following year left to return to Dover, where he stayed until January 2023.
Career
Non-league career
Hessenthaler was born in
Dartford, Kent. As a teenager, Hessenthaler played for the youth team of his local club
Dartford.
He later joined
Fawkham-based amateur team
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
, but
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 ...
took him on in 1983 on a non-contract trial basis.
He failed to secure a contract with the club, however, and returned to playing on a part-time basis while working as a
builder.
In 1986, he was spotted by
Dartford manager
Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to:
Arts
* Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing
Politi ...
while playing in a
Kent Senior Cup
The Kent Senior Cup is an English football competition played between senior clubs in the county of Kent. It is administered by the Kent County Football Association.
History
The Kent Badge preceded the Kent Senior Cup, and was won in its three ...
match. Hessenthaler signed for his hometown club on a wage of £40 per week, the first regular income he had ever received for playing.
Hessenthaler spent four years at the club, during which time Dartford reached the semi-finals of the
FA Trophy on two occasions and finished twice as runners-up in the
Southern League. In 1990, he was called up to the
England National Game XI, the national team for semi-professional players. Later that year, he moved on to
Redbridge Forest, where he spent one season and helped the team win the
Isthmian League championship.
Watford
On the recommendation of Peter Taylor, who was by now assistant manager of
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
, Hessenthaler was signed by the
Hertfordshire club for a
transfer fee
Transfer may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović
* ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film
* ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies
...
of £65,000 at the beginning of the
1991–92 season.
He opted to make the move even though becoming a full-time professional player would mean taking a drop in earnings compared to what he was making combining semi-professional football with building work.
His professional debut was against
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
at
Ewood Park on 17 September 1991,
and, despite having made a move of four divisions up the
English football league system, he immediately established himself as a regular at
Vicarage Road
Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of championship club Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200.
History
It has been the home of Watford since 1922, when the club moved from Cas ...
, making 35
Football League appearances in his first season. In five seasons with the Hornets, he made 217 appearances in total, scoring 14 goals, and also served as the team's
captain. Watford fans voted Hessenthaler as runner-up for the club's
Player of the Season award in four consecutive seasons between 1992 and 1995, and fondly remember him for his workrate and all-round ability. He was one of the club veterans selected to represent Watford in the 2006 London
Masters football
Masters Football was a six-a-side indoor football competition in the United Kingdom, where players over the age of 35 were chosen by the Masters Football Selection Committee to represent a senior club for which they played. Regional heats were he ...
event, where he was named "Player of the Tournament".
Gillingham
At the end of the
1995–96 season, shortly after Watford's
relegation
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
from the
First Division, Hessenthaler signed for
Gillingham for £235,000, a record fee at the time for the club.
He quickly became a key player at
Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has ...
.
In the
1998–99 season, he returned to his best form,
and he played in the Gills' first ever match at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
. This match was the final of the
play-offs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
against
Manchester City, which Gillingham lost after a
penalty shoot-out
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
. Shortly afterwards, Gillingham manager
Tony Pulis
Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday.
Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him on ...
, who had signed Hessenthaler, was dismissed from his post. He was replaced by Peter Taylor, who appointed Hessenthaler as
player-coach
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
. In his first season in this new role, he was once again a regular in the Gillingham team, making a total of 47 appearances as the club recorded its highest position to date in the
English football league system and best ever run 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 competi ...
.
Although the cup run came to an end with a 5–0 defeat at the hands of
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
of 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 ...
, Hessenthaler's high-energy performance prompted Chelsea chairman
Ken Bates
Kenneth William Bates (born 4 December 1931) is a British businessman, football executive and hotelier. He was involved in the development of Wembley Stadium and is the former owner and chairman of football clubs Chelsea and Leeds United.
Bate ...
to joke that he had been keen to sign the player until he discovered to his surprise that he was 35 years old (although Hessenthaler was in fact only 34 at the time). Gillingham once again qualified for the play-off final, with Hessenthaler making his second appearance at Wembley as the Gills beat
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
3–2 after extra time to secure
promotion
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
to the
Football League First Division for the first time in the club's history.
Player-management
Immediately after guiding Gillingham to promotion, Peter Taylor left to manage
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, 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 lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
, and Hessenthaler was appointed
player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...
. In his first season in charge, he guided the club to a thirteenth-place finish while continuing to play regularly. A serious leg injury sustained in an
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 competi ...
match against
AFC Bournemouth in January 2001 kept him out for the remainder of the season but did not prevent him being selected for the Football League's Team of the Season.
Despite many of the club's rivals having greater budgets available with which to sign and pay players,
the team finished the
2001–02 season in twelfth place and the following season in eleventh place in the First Division, Gillingham's best ever finish in over seventy seasons 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 ...
.
During the
2003–04 season, however, the Gills' fortunes declined, and the team only avoided relegation on
goal difference after holding
Stoke City to a draw in the last match of the season. As the team continued to struggle at the start of the following season, club owner
Paul Scally
Paul Damien Phillip Scally (born ) is a London-born businessman who served as the chairman of Gillingham Football Club between 1995 and 2022.
Career
Scally had become wealthy through the sale of his Metronote photocopier business in South Lon ...
reiterated his confidence in Hessenthaler but brought in former
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
and
Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...
manager
John Gorman to assist him. The following month, with no significant improvement in the team's fortunes, Hessenthaler tendered his resignation.
He remained at the club as a player but was rarely selected for the team,
and in January 2005, he went on loan to
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
, where he was reunited once again with Peter Taylor. He made ten appearances for Hull, who gained promotion to the
Football League Championship (the new name for what had previously been called the First Division), while Gillingham were relegated from the same division.
He returned to the Gillingham team at the start of the
2005–06 season and made a further 17 appearances, the final one in a 3–0 home win against
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...
on 10 December 2005. At forty years and four months of age, he was the oldest player ever to represent the club.
He rounded out his Gillingham career by returning to
Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has ...
for a testimonial match in July 2006. He is widely regarded as a club legend by Gillingham fans, who in 2005 voted him the team's best ever player in a local radio poll,
and he was also named Gillingham's greatest ever player by the
Professional Footballers' Association
The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sport trade union, and has over 5,000 members.
The aims of ...
in November 2007.
Barnet
On 19 January 2006, Hessenthaler signed for
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
strugglers
Barnet on a short-term contract until the end of the season. Although he considered retiring at the end of the season, he was persuaded by manager
Paul Fairclough to sign a new contract for a further year. In October 2006, he was named in the League Two team of the week, but at the end of the
2006–07 season, Barnet announced that his contract would not be renewed.
Managerial career
Shortly after his departure from Barnet, Hessenthaler was appointed manager of
Dover Athletic of the
Isthmian League First Division South. In his first season in charge, he played regularly, making over 30 appearances as he led the team to the championship of the division and promotion to the
Isthmian League Premier Division
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 teams ...
.
The following season, he led the team to a second consecutive championship as Dover won the Isthmian League Premier Division title to gain promotion to
Conference South.
In the
2009–10 season, Dover reached the play-offs for promotion to the
Conference National, but lost at the semi-final stage to
Woking. Hessenthaler, at the age of 44, announced his retirement as a player after the match.
On 20 May 2010, Hessenthaler resigned as Dover manager, and the following day, he became the manager of Gillingham, who had just been relegated to
Football League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
, for the second time. His contract was terminated at the end of the
2011–12 season after the Gills narrowly missed out on the play-offs for promotion to League One, although he was offered a seat on the board of directors and a "football development role". He left the position of director of football at Gillingham in 2013 with a view to returning to management. In July 2014 he returned to Gillingham as assistant manager under manager
Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to:
Arts
* Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing
Politi ...
, and was appointed joint caretaker manager, along with
Darren Hare,
Steve Lovell and
Mark Patterson, following the sacking of Taylor on 31 December 2014. At the end of the
2014–15 season, Hessenthaler left the club to become assistant manager at
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
. In April 2016, he was promoted to the position of manager when player-manager
Kevin Nolan
Kevin Anthony Jance Nolan (born 24 June 1982) is an English former professional footballer and current first team coach for Premier League club West Ham United. He has represented England at under-21 level.
After growing up in Toxteth, Live ...
was stripped of his managerial responsibilities, however Hessenthaler was sacked in September of the same year. In April 2017 Hessenthaler was appointed as assistant 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 ...
club
Eastleigh
Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census.
The town lies on the River Itchen, ...
, and in November of the same year stepped up to the role of manager.
In October 2018 he returned to Dover as manager following the sacking of Chris Kinnear. During the
2020–21 season, Dover chairman Jim Parmenter confirmed in February that all staff had been furloughed and they would be playing no additional fixtures, leading to the club starting the
2021–22 season on minus-12 points. After a switch back to operating as a part-time club and retaining just four players, a disastrous season followed and after picking up just eight points in 33 matches, a 2–0 defeat to
Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to:
* Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset
* Yeovil Town L.F.C.
Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...
on 19 March left the club thirty five points from safety with just eleven matches left to be played, seeing the club relegated to the National League South. His contract with the club was cancelled by mutual consent on 5 January 2023, and on the same day he returned to Gillingham as Head of Recruitment.
Personal life
Hessenthaler's mother died in 1991, shortly before his first professional match. His father was an aspiring footballer and was at one time on the books of
Arsenal, but never played professionally. He is married to Nikki and has a daughter, Jasmine, and a son,
Jake
Jake may refer to:
Name
* Jake (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name
* Katrin Jäke (born c. 1975), German swimmer
* Jake (gamer), American ''Overwatch'' player and coach
Animals
* Jake (rescue dog), a ...
, who is a professional footballer with
Crawley Town
Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team com ...
and made his debut for Gillingham in December 2013. His brother-in-law,
Darren Hare, has served as the youth team manager at Gillingham, while his nephew,
Josh Hare, came through the youth set-up at Gillingham and went on to play professionally.
Managerial statistics
Hessenthaler's third spell in management at Gillingham was as part of a team of four joint caretaker managers, along with
Steve Lovell,
Darren Hare, and
Mark Patterson.
Honours
As a player
Gillingham
* Football League Second Division play-offs:
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
Hull City
* Football League One runner up:
2004–05
Individual
* Gillingham Player of the Season: 1996–97, 1999–2000
* Named Gillingham's "Greatest Ever Player" in a 2005 fan poll and by the Professional Footballer's Association in 2007
As a manager
Dover Athletic
* Isthmian League Division One South:
2007–08
* Isthmian League Premier Division:
2008–09
Individual
*
EFL League Two Manager of the Month
The EFL League Two Manager of the Month is a monthly association football award to recognise the outstanding team manager in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the League's sponsor, ...
: December 2010
* National League Manager of the Month: April 2019
References
External links
*
44Two club websiteDover Athletic profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hessenthaler, Andy
1965 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Dartford
Footballers from Kent
English footballers
Association football executives
England semi-pro international footballers
Association football midfielders
Corinthian F.C. players
Dartford F.C. players
Watford F.C. players
Hull City A.F.C. players
Barnet F.C. players
Gillingham F.C. players
Dover Athletic F.C. players
English Football League players
Southern Football League players
Gillingham F.C. managers
Dover Athletic F.C. managers
Leyton Orient F.C. managers
Eastleigh F.C. managers
English Football League managers
National League (English football) managers
Redbridge Forest F.C. players
Burnley F.C. non-playing staff
Corinthian F.C. (Kent) players
Charlton Athletic F.C. players
English football managers
Association football player-managers
Gillingham F.C. non-playing staff