Andrew Terry Awford (born 14 July 1972) 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 ca ...
coach and former footballer who was most recently the Youth Academy and Development Manager at
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1 ...
. Prior to this, he was the manager of
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dense ...
, a club where he spent the vast majority of his playing and coaching career. Awford was selected by the FA in 2012 to participate on their new level 5 qualification, The FA Professional / Elite Award, which he successfully completed and graduated in June 2013 at St Georges Park.
Playing career
Awford began his career at his home-town club
Worcester City
Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane.
Worcester City's ...
where he became the youngest player ever to appear 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 competit ...
, aged just 15 years 88 days, when he came on as substitute in a tie at
Boreham Wood.
He went on to sign professional terms with
Second Division side
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dense ...
in 1989 at the age of 16, making almost 400 first-team appearances in an 11-year career. Awford was part of the "Pompey" side that reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1992, losing to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
in a
penalty shootout
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 pen ...
. In his time at the club, he also played ten times for the
England under-21s.
In 1994, Awford suffered a succession of injuries, including a broken leg, which kept him from playing for 14 months. He went on to play in subsequent campaigns, but further injuries throughout the
2000–01 season led him to retire from professional football at the age of 28. His last competitive appearance for "Pompey" came against
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Roa ...
on 4 November 2000.
Coaching career
After retiring, Awford took up the position of chief scout and later reserve team manager at
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dense ...
. In April 2006, he was appointed the first team coach at
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 th ...
under his former Portsmouth manager
Jim Smith and in June 2008 became assistant manager of
Bognor Regis Town. Awford resigned along with manager Mick Jenkins in January 2009.
He obtained a
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...
'A' Licence and worked as a PE Teacher in
Petersfield
Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth ...
before returning to Portsmouth as the club's Academy Manager in February 2011.
Following
Michael Appleton
Michael Antony Appleton (born 4 December 1975) is an English professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of Blackpool.
As a player, he operated as a midfielder, in a nine-year career that began in 1994 and ...
's move to
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...
in November 2012,
Guy Whittingham was made caretaker manager of Portsmouth with Awford appointed as his assistant. Despite being given only temporary roles, the pair remained in charge for the rest of the
2012–13 season. In June 2013 Awford successfully graduated from The FA Professional / Elite level 5 accreditation. In November 2013, Whittingham, who had been named as permanent manager, was sacked and Awford named as caretaker manager. On 9 December,
Richie Barker was named as permanent manager with Awford returning to work with the club's academy.
On 27 March 2014, Barker left on mutual terms and Awford was named caretaker manager until the end of the
2013–14 season. Awford won his first five matches in charge to ensure Portsmouth would avoid relegation from
The Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
. Awford subsequently won April's
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 ...
Manager of the Month.
On 1 May 2014, it was announced that Awford would be appointed as Portsmouth manager on a permanent basis on a one-year rolling contract. Awford won the
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 ...
Manager of the Month award for February during the
2014–15 season following an unbeaten month, guiding the club to four wins and two draws. However, a poor run of form in the next ten games led to Awford leaving Portsmouth by mutual consent on 13 April 2015, with the club sitting in 14th position in the table.
On 26 June 2015, Awford joined
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1 ...
as Youth Academy and Development Manager. Awford took over as caretaker manager following
John Still's sacking in December 2015, leading the club to one win, a draw and two losses. Awford returned to his academy role following the appointment of
Nathan Jones as permanent Luton manager in January 2016.
Awford left Luton in April 2022.
Managerial statistics
Honours
;Individual
*
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 ...
Manager of the Month (2): April 2014, February 2015
Personal life
Awford has a son,
Nick
Nick may refer to:
* Nick (given name)
* A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat
* British slang for being arrested
* British slang for a police station
* British slang for stealing
* Short for nickname
Places ...
, who progressed through the
Portsmouth Academy and currently plays for
Farnborough.
References
External links
*
SportingHeroes.net player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Awford, Andy
1972 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Worcester, England
English footballers
England under-21 international footballers
Portsmouth F.C. players
Worcester City F.C. players
English Football League players
English football managers
English Football League managers
Portsmouth F.C. managers
Association football defenders
Portsmouth F.C. non-playing staff
Luton Town F.C. non-playing staff