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Andy Kennedy

Name: Andrew Lynd Kennedy
Born: 1 September 1895, Belfast
Died: 21 December 1963
Position: Left-Back

Representative Honours: Ireland: 2 Full Caps (1923-1924).
Club Honours: (with Glentoran) Gold Cup Runner-Up 1919/20; (with Arsenal) FA Cup Runner-Up 1926/27.

Club Career:
Teams
Seasons
Signed
Fee
League
FA.Cup
Other
Belfast Celtic
-
-
Youth
0/0
-
-
Glentoran
18/19-19/20
1915
-
*36/0
-
-
Crystal Palace
20/21-21/22
Sep-20
-
4/0
1/0
-
Arsenal
22/23-28/29
Aug-22
-
122/0
7/0
-
Everton
28/29-29/30
Jan-28
£2,000
1/0
-
-
Tranmere.Rovers
30/31
Jun-30
-
36/0
-
-
TOTALS
-
£-
199/0
-
-
* all games.

Biography:
After starting out with Belfast Celtic’s youth set-up, Andy Kennedy signed with Glentoran in 1915. He played two seasons in the Glens’ first eleven after making his debut during the 1918/19 campaign, before signing for Crystal Palace in September 1920. 1920/21 saw the Football League debuts of both Palace and Kennedy, Palace claiming the Division Three (South) title with Kennedy making just a single appearance. Three more games followed the following season, before he transferred to Arsenal in August 1922.

He was primarily viewed as a reserve player at Highbury, though after stepping into the first eleven for his debut against Birmingham City on 2nd December 1922 he stayed in the team for the all but one game through the remainder of the season. By the end of that campaign Kennedy had also been honoured by his country, standing in for Jack Curran at left-back, in a 3-0 win over Wales. The following season was fairly disastrous for Kennedy, he missed the start of the campaign through injury, and on his return he struggled with form and was dropped.

Kennedy was back in the Arsenal team for the 1924/25 season, also returning to the Irish side before falling behind Rangers’ Billy McCandless in the left-back reckoning. Although he missed just one League game all season, Arsenal finished just above the relegation places, and Herbert Chapman replaced Leslie Knighton as manager. The club were about to embark on their first great period, but Chapman didn't see Kennedy as playing a major part. It was only thanks to an injury to his replacement, Horace Cope, that Kennedy made the 1927 FA Cup Final team – famously the match ended in a 1-0 defeat to Cardiff City.

After two and a half years as a bit-part player at Highbury, Kennedy was transferred to Everton in January 1928. If he had hoped for regular matches at Goodison he was to be sadly disappointed. He had to wait until mid-way through the 1929/30 season to make his only first-team appearance as a Toffee, against Burnley. In June 1930 he dropped down to Division Three (North) with Tranmere Rovers. A regular in his first campaign at Prenton Park as the club finished just short of promotion, he dropped out of the first-team picture the following season, leaving the club in August 1932.

Kennedy remained in Merseyside after his playing days were over, working for South Liverpool Schools up to the Second World War. He also acted as Arsenal's scout in the north-west of England.

Palace Fans
Arsenal.com

Ireland Cap Details:
14-04-1923 Wales... A W 3-0 BC
22-10-1924 England. A L 1-3 BC

Summary: 2/0. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 1.

Comments

Unknown said…
Hello there....I have a 1921 autograph of Andy Kennedy when he played for Crystal Palace.....Is there anyone out there interested in this?...TIA