Andy Hunt (footballer)
Andrew "Andy" Hunt ( born June 9, 1970 in Thurrock ) is a former English football player whose playing career was ended by chronic fatigue syndrome.
Club career
The early years
Hunt began his career in the youth of King's Lynn FC in the English county of Norfolk. In 1988 he moved to Kettering Town in the Conference National, for whom he debuted in the 1989/90 season in the first team.
After 6 goals in 24 games, he attracted the attention of the then Newcastle United manager Jim Smith, who took him in a row for three years under contract. The early 90s are still considered for the Newcastle fans as a particularly dark era. The Magpies languished in the lowlands of the second English League to himself, and had great trouble to avoid the impending annual descent into irrelevance. During this time, Hunt became a kind of " hope ". In the first year under Smith still a reserve player, he managed according to the coaching change to Osvaldo Ardiles in season 1991/92 the breakthrough. Due to the weakness of his offensive team, he was virtually a solo entertainer by storm and caused a stir by 9 goals this season. Since the rest of the team was able to convince in any way, they played again long against relegation, the one place in the standings with 20 could prevent only just at the end. As a result Ardiles had to go and was replaced by Newcastle legend Kevin Keegan. This changed the game system on a striker and favored in this, that previously fetched from Bristol City and coming talent Andy Cole. Hunt, who had previously also injured in the preparation for the season, saw the chance to win a regular place increasingly diminish as Newcastle was under Keegen suddenly become aufspielte and can already be found at the beginning of the season at the top.
Successful time at WBA
Then it gave Newcastle to have to start with the idea of the players to come back match practice for the second round to the third tier to West Bromwich Albion. There, Hunt hit like a bomb. Under its former Newcastle coach Osvaldo Ardiles and largest sponsors he needed no start-up time and fought his way to immediately secured a regular place. With 9 goals in 10 games he scored the previous center stand in the play-offs for Division One, in which he again rose above themselves. In the final game against Port Vale then he scored 2 of the 3 West Brom. Goals in a 3-0 victory, which secured promotion to the Division One. Due to the simultaneous rise of Newcastle in the Premier League and the concomitant obligation of star striker Peter Beardsley, was allowed to catch and keep Hunt in a row to West Bromwich. There was half a decade in the service of WBA, where he made one of the most dangerous duos of the League at the side of his congenial strike partner Bob Taylor. Together they scored 125 goals in the five years, which could keep the Baggies in the league. Hunt and Taylor were the absolute fan favorites and remained the club despite various offers of higher class clubs to the 1998/99 season faithful. 1998 WBA came into financial problems and was forced to sell his star striker. As a result, Hunt moved to the Premier League Charlton Athletic.
Premier League with Charlton Athletic
The Londoners, who had just ascended after 10 years in the second division again in the Premier League, he was next to veteran John Barnes, the only well-known commitment in the summer transfer period. In contrast to Barnes, the disappointed across the board and only trailed off at Charlton his career, Hunt was able to convince a major league higher. Despite an extremely defensive -oriented style of play him reach 7 goals in 34 season inserts, which he became the second top scorer of his team. After the Swede Martin Pringle of Benfica is committed during the winter break, he was again a striking partner with whom he harmonized well. Nevertheless, the team got down to the end of the season from the Premier League.
Again, second-rate, there was a power explosion. Hunt completed his best season so far and has won 24, often prepared by Pringle gates, top scorer in the league. At the end of Charlton celebrated the title in the First Division and its chances of promotion involved. In a later interview, calling Hunt Martin Pringle, despite its strong year on the side of Bob Taylor, as his best players.
The 2000/01 season began for Hunt, as the previous one ended. Hunt played outstanding and scored in the first 8 games of the season 4 goals. Just reached its zenith power, then chronic fatigue syndrome was diagnosed in him which forced him to immediate termination of his career.
In 2003 he tried again at Charlton a comeback. He had trained for a month with the team and completed 3 Reserve League matches. Nevertheless Charlton manager Alan Curbishley decided not to take him due to his illness under contract.
" This is a particularly difficult decision for me because Andy was instrumental in our success in recent years. Despite his long absence from professional football, he has finally found back in the team. At the present time, however, you need in professional football a very high level of fitness, which he can no longer reach. But I wish Andy every success with what he decides to do in the future -. , And he knows he will always be a welcome guest at Charlton "
For all three professional stations Hunt was considered a crowd favorite. In WBA, he is considered one of the best strikers of the club has ever had under contract.
National
Since Hunt was no consideration in the England team, he contacted through his agent before the 1998 World Cup, the OFB. Due to his Austrian grandmother naturalization would have been possible. Some media picked up the story and made his name for weeks in Austria haunt. Since the then team manager Herbert Prohaska had at that time with Ivica Vastić, Mario Haas and Toni Polster three strikers of international stature in his squad, he did not pay much attention Hunt.
In 2000 his name appeared again in the Austrian media. Hunt, meanwhile, Premier League player and current top scorer in the First Division, had aroused the interest of the newly appointed team leader Otto Barić that due to some back trodden offensive forces had an acute striker problem. Barić left him several times in London watch and strengthened himself for naturalization. Due to the sudden retirement of Hunt in the spring of 2001, a possible naturalization, however, was prematurely again shelved.
Despite his above-average goal tally over a period of 10 years, Hunt came of his career to no match for England or Austria.
After the active career
After end of his career Hunt emigrated with his wife Simone Angel, a former MTV presenter and singer, and his two sons Lucas and Aiden to South America in the Caribbean country of Belize. There, the family runs an agency for adventure travel and a hotel.