Andrew John Whing (born 20 September 1984) is an English
football manager
''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game bega ...
and former professional
player
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...
who played as a
right 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 is the manager of club
Banbury United
Banbury United Football Club is a football club based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Spencer Stadium.
History
The club was established in 1931 as Spencer Sports Club, a works team of the Sp ...
.
Playing career
Coventry City
Whing was born in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
West Midlands. He grew up supporting
Aston Villa and had trials at
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
and
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
before joining
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
at the age of thirteen. While progressing at the club's academy, Whing was released and then re-signed.
Whing eventually came through the ranks at Coventry and was appointed captain at the club's academy.
Whing made his first-team debut at Highfield Road in a Division One game against
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
in February 2003.
Following a string of first-team appearances, Whing signed his first professional contract, keeping him until 2005.
Ahead of the
2003–04 season, Whing changed shirt from 40 to 2. His first goal for Coventry came in a 3–1 home defeat against
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
in August 2003.
During the season, he made more first-team appearances, rewarded by a four-year contract and praise from manager
Eric Black
John Eric Black (born 1 October 1963) is a Scottish former professional football player and coach. Black played as a striker for Aberdeen and Metz, winning major trophies with both clubs, and earned two international caps for the Scotland nat ...
. Whing established himself in the first-team squad during the
2003–04 season, in which he made a total of 31 appearances in all competitions.
However, he made fewer starts the following season after a hernia operation and losing his right-back position to new signing
Louis Carey. He did, however, provide a moment that will never be forgotten by Coventry fans in scoring the last ever goal for
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
at
Highfield Road
Highfield Road was a football stadium in the city of Coventry, England. It was the home ground for Coventry City F.C. for 106 years.
History
It was built in 1899 in the Hillfields district, close to the city centre, and staged its final game ...
in the 6–2 win over
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
in the
2004–05 season.
He was the recipient of the goal of the season award and a special award for the historic goal. His running high-five celebration became the moment that almost all Coventry fans remember him for. This helped the full-back's return to the regular first-team selection during the first season at the
Ricoh Arena
The Coventry Building Society Arena (often shortened to the CBS Arena or just simply Coventry Arena, and formerly known as the Ricoh Arena) is a complex in Coventry, England. It includes a 32,609-seater stadium which is currently home to footb ...
, in which he played 36 times in all competitions.
The
2005–06 season proved to be the high-water mark of Whing's Coventry career. Some poor performances
the following season saw him loaned and then sold to Brighton & Hove Albion, who were managed by his former manager
Micky Adams
Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional footballer and football manager. As a player, he was a full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a nineteen-year professional career in the English ...
. After being recalled by Coventry in late December, Whing made his first appearance in a 1–1 draw against
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...
, but was rarely selected for the first team and played in the reserves throughout the season. At the end of the season, he was among four players to be released by Coventry. After the announcement of his release, Whing was given a farewell lap of honour after the final home match of the season, having made over 100 appearances for the club.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Whing initially joined
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
on loan on 8 October 2006, initially for one month. He made his Brighton & Hove Albion debut, as a right-back, in a 3–0 loss against
Blackpool. Club and fans alike were impressed by what they saw of Whing and the club extended his spell at the
Withdean
Withdean is a former village, now part of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex.
Overview
The area was originally named in the 12th century, when it was called Wictedene. The area was historically farm land but has been developed, mainly in the 1920s ...
twice more. Despite his wishes to extend his loan deal at Brighton, Whing was recalled by Coventry on 27 December, as the team looked to reinvigorate themselves following a run of three straight defeats. Brighton then tried unsuccessfully to sign Whing on a permanent basis during the January transfer window.
Whing eventually joined Brighton permanently during the summer of 2007 after his contract ended at Coventry. On signing, Whing said joining the club was an easy decision. His first game after signing for the club on a permanent basis came in the opening game of the season, a 2–1 defeat to
Crewe. He was sent off two weeks later after a second bookable offence, in a 2–0 loss against
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
. He remained in the first team throughout the 2007–08 season, making 42 appearances.
Whing retained his starting position at right-back at the start of the 2008–09 season, until he was dropped from the first team for one game in late November following a blunder that resulted a winning goal, in a 1–0 loss against
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
. After making his return against
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
, Whing hoped his good performance would keep him in the first team. Whing went on to make forty appearances for the club and, after helping them avoid relegation, was overwhelmingly voted Brighton's player of the year for the
2008–09 season, receiving 77% of the vote.
With his contract expiring at the end of the 2008–09 season, Whing attracted interest from
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield.
Walsall is th ...
and
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
, around the same time he was offered a new contract. After his move to Leeds United stalled, Whing signed a new two-year contract with Brighton.
In the first half of the 2009–10 season, Whing remained in the right-back position for the first seven matches until he suffered a dead leg and was substituted, in a 1–0 defeat to
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 ...
. After being sidelined for two months, he made his return from injury for the club's reserves on 11 November 2009 against
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...
's reserves and returned to the first team four days later, in a 3–1 win over
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
.
However, under new manager
Gus Poyet
Gustavo Augusto Poyet Domínguez (; born 15 November 1967) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former footballer. He is currently the head coach of the Greece national football team.
Poyet played as a midfielder and began his car ...
, Whing found first-team opportunities at Brighton very limited; therefore, on 5 March 2010, he was allowed to join
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 ...
side
Chesterfield on loan until the end of the season.
He made his Chesterfield debut four days later, coming on as a substitute for
Dan Gray in a 1–0 loss against
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
. Whing went on to make eleven appearances for the club.
Leyton Orient
On 28 October 2010, Whing signed for
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 ...
on a two-month loan deal. He made his Leyton Orient debut five days later, on 2 November 2010, in a 3–2 loss against
Colchester United
Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
.
After impressing Os boss
Russell Slade
Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English professional football manager, who was most recently managerial consultant of League Two club Stevenage.
Having had an extended career at reserve team level, Slade entered professional ...
with five appearances, Whing signed for Orient until the end of the season, and his Brighton contract was cancelled by mutual consent. On 12 February 2011, he scored his first goal in several years in Orient's 4–1 victory over
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...
. Three weeks later on 5 March 2011, he scored his second goal, in a 2–0 win over Notts County. After making 19 appearances and scoring twice, Whing was offered a one-year contract extension.
Oxford United
Instead, Whing signed a two-year deal with
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
when his contract with Leyton Orient expired in the summer of 2011. He said of Oxford: "This is a fantastic club with a lovely stadium and it gets great attendances that are worthy of a Championship side and it shows the potential here."
Whing made his Oxford United debut in the opening game of the
2011–12 season, a 1–0 loss against
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
, on 6 August 2011. Apart from a minor illness, he remained in the first team throughout the season. After initial criticism, he won the Supporters Player of the Year Award at the end of the season.
In the
2012–13 season Whing retained his number 16 shirt. However, he suffered a groin injury that kept him out of the team for the first part of the season. By early October, he had returned to training and returned to the first team on 15 October 2012, coming on as a substitute in the 82nd minute for
Tom Craddock
Thomas Craddock (born 14 October 1986) is a retired English professional footballer who played for multiple clubs including Spennymoor Town, Middlesbrough, and Portsmouth as a striker.
Career
Middlesbrough
Born in Darlington, County Durham, ...
, in a 3–0 loss 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 ...
. He scored his first goal for Oxford in a 2–2 draw at
Barnet on 20 November 2012. He subsequently suffered an injury to his knee and ankle during a FA Cup match against
Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...
on 1 December 2012. After making a recovery in early February, he returned to the first team, coming on as a substitute for
Adam Chapman in the final minutes of a 3–0 loss against
Plymouth Argyle on 16 February 2013. His second Oxford goal was an uncharacteristic scissor-kick against Rochdale that left keeper
Josh Lillis stunned.
Despite being restricted by injury to 22 appearances, Whing signed a contract with the club keeping him until 2016. At the end of the season, Whing was awarded Goal of the Season for his goal against Rochdale.
At the start of the
2013–14 season, Whing regained his right-back position. In the absence of captain
Jake Wright
Jake Maxwell Wright (born 11 March 1986) is an English footballer who last played as a defender for Boston United.
Wright started his career with Bradford City, but played only one senior game for them, before he joined Halifax Town where he ...
, he was made captain for the match against
Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...
on 14 September 2013, which ended 2–2. After the match, Whing described the award of the captain's armband as a "privilege". In the next game, a 1–0 defeat to Chesterfield, Whing was sent off in the 67th minute for a professional foul on
Eoin Doyle. After serving a suspension and making his return, Whing suffered an ankle injury during a match against
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
, which led to his being sidelined until January. An operation further extended his period out of the team, and he remained on the sidelines until 21 March 2014, when he made his return to the starting eleven in a 1–0 win over
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded i ...
. Whing went on to make eighteen appearances for the club in 2013–14.
Shortly after the end of the 2013–14 season, Whing had an operation on his hip, resulting in him missing the start of the
2014–15 season. After playing his first match of the season in the reserve side, Whing made his first appearance of the 2014–15 season, coming on as a substitute for
Brian Howard in the 57th minute of a televised 5–1 defeat to
Cambridge United
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...
on 11 October 2014. He expressed "delight" on making his return, and remained in midfield in the first team, before suffering a hip injury during a reserve match against Southend United. He made three more appearances towards the end of the season, in which he made 21 appearances in total.
At the end of the season, Whing announced that he would not be signing a new playing contract with Oxford, although he was in talks over a new role at the club. He had previously hinted about his retirement from professional football, citing his injury, and had already started a UEFA B Licence course. In late November, Whing was appointed jointly with Leon Blackmore-Such as the club's under-18 coach. In September 2017 he left, after six years as a player and coach with the club, to become head coach of the under-23 side at
Kidderminster Harriers.
During his time at Oxford United, Whing became something of a cult hero on the Oxford terraces.
Coaching and managerial career
On 18 September 2017, Whing was announced as the new head coach of
Kidderminster Harriers' under-23 team.
In September 2019, Whing joined
National League North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...
club
Hereford and was re-united with former manager
Russell Slade
Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English professional football manager, who was most recently managerial consultant of League Two club Stevenage.
Having had an extended career at reserve team level, Slade entered professional ...
.
Whing was appointed as manager of
Southern League Premier Division Central club
Banbury United
Banbury United Football Club is a football club based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Spencer Stadium.
History
The club was established in 1931 as Spencer Sports Club, a works team of the Sp ...
on 12 May 2020, with his former Oxford United teammate
James Constable
James Ashley Constable (born 4 October 1984) is an English semi-professional football coach and player who plays as a striker. He plays for and is the assistant manager at club Banbury United. He has played in the Football League for Walsall ...
as his assistant. Whing led Banbury to the Southern League Premier Division Central Title during the
2021–22 season, promotion being secured on 2 April 2022 with four matches remaining, the club earning promotion to the
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 ...
for the first time in their history, to be playing in either the North or South division.
Personal life
From August 2008 to April 2009, Whing was a columnist for the ''Worthing Herald'' newspaper.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whing, Andy
1984 births
Living people
Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands
English footballers
Association football defenders
Coventry City F.C. players
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players
Chesterfield F.C. players
Leyton Orient F.C. players
Oxford United F.C. players
English Football League players
Association football coaches
Oxford United F.C. non-playing staff
English football managers
Banbury United F.C. managers