Andy Lynch (born 3 March 1951) is a Scottish

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 ...

player and coach who played as a left winger or

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He played for Heart of Midlothian and Celtic, and later in the North American Soccer League for

Philadelphia Fury The Philadelphia Fury was an American soccer team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that last competed in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). The club formerly competed in the American Soccer League and is currently owned ...

and

Montreal Manic The Montreal Manic or the Manic de Montréal were a professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that played in the North American Soccer League. The Montreal Manic were brought back in 2020 by Canadian businessman Gary Gaul as an ...

. He also coached Montreal and, later, Australian club

Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast may refer to: * Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia **Sunshine Coast Region, a local government area of Queensland named after the region **Sunshine Coast Stadium * Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), geographic subregion of the Br ...

Playing career

Lynch moved to Queens Park from Renfrew Juniors in his teens, and played for their reserve side before returning briefly to the Junior ranks with

Kirkintilloch Rob Roy Kirkintilloch Rob Roy Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire. Nicknamed ''The Rabs'' or ''The Roy'', they were formed in 1878. They wear red and black strips and currently compete in t ...

. Lynch was quickly identified as being one of the most promising Junior players in Scotland, and soon attracted interest from Blackpool, Coventry City, Dunfermline Athletic and Hearts. He earned a second chance in senior football when he joined Heart of Midlothian, signing for the ''Maroons'' in 1969. In 4 seasons at Tynecastle, Lynch scored 21 goals in just over 100 appearances from the

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

position. He was capped at under-23 level for Scotland under Tommy Docherty. In February 1973, Jock Stein paid £35,000 to sign Lynch for Celtic and, although Lynch was initially ineffective as a winger at Parkhead due to a chronic pelvic injury, Stein successfully converted him into a

. While with Celtic he won three Scottish league titles and the Scottish Cup twice. He scored the only goal in the 1977 Scottish Cup final against Rangers. The following season, Lynch became club captain at Celtic Park. After Jock Stein's departure from Celtic Park in 1978, Lynch continued at left-back (and as captain in the absence of Danny McGrain) during Billy McNeill's first season in charge of the club. The memorable 1978-79 campaign culminated in a League Championship win over ancient rivals Rangers. The title was won in a winner-takes-all encounter, which is simply referred to as 'The 4-2 Game'. Lynch moved to North America in 1980, where he continued his playing career in the North American Soccer League with the

and the

before moving into coaching.

Coaching career

In 1983, he coached the

.''CHICAGO GAME SUSPENDED'' Miami Herald, The (FL) - Monday, 29 August 1983 He also spent time as the assistant coach to the Canadian national team in the same year, and was lined up to be Canada's Head Coach before returning to Scotland. Lynch went on to run public houses, 'Andy Lynch's Bar', Argyle Street, Finnieston, Glasgow, and the 'Riverside Tavern' in the Gorbals. He was briefly assistant manager at Albion Rovers F.C. (Scotland), Albion Rovers in 1993. In 2008, Andy was initially the coach for Sunshine Coast F.C in the new Queensland State League (association football). (George Cowie replaced him after Round 5 of the competition.)

Personal life

His son Simon Lynch (footballer), Simon is also a former professional footballer. in 2010, Lynch headed a Middle East consortium's unsuccessful £400 million bid to purchase Liverpool Football Club. In 2016, his autobiography, 'Hoops, Stars & Stripes' was co-written by Paul John Dykes, and released by CQN Books.

Sources

* *

References

External links

Profile
at londonhearts.com *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Andy 1951 births Living people Celtic F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Queen's Park F.C. players Montreal Manic players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) coaches North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Philadelphia Fury (1978–1980) players Scottish footballers Kirkintilloch Rob Roy F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in Canada Expatriate soccer players in the United States Renfrew F.C. players Association football defenders Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Canada Scottish football managers