The Players

Andy Smith

Position : Centre Forward
Born : 1969
SIgned : 1996, Airdrie, �100K

Notes

Big Luggy initially wasn't the most popular of Bert Paton's signings - in fact, a friend of mine actually phoned me up at work to bemusedly exclaim Smith had been signed. The reason for this was that, as an Airdrie player, Andy had been thought guilty of "diving" for penalties against the Pars (especially against Jackie Macnamara), and so might not be the most popular figure around East End Park.

Worse was to come for Smith when he broke his leg in a pre-season friendly and was out for a few months before he'd even made his competitive debut!

When he did make his appearance, he sometimes played in midfield or on the wing (!), but it was clear his best position was going to be up front, as a good, old-fashioned target man.

During the second half of that season, Smith contributed some goals, but it was in the following season that his worth would become clear, as he finished top Scottish goalscorer, was awarded a Scotland "B" cap, and almost single-handedly kept the Pars in the Premier Division.

After much wrangling, he signed an extension to his contract in the summer of 98 and was awarded the club captaincy following the departure of Craig Robertson, but his performances in 98-99 were poor in comparison to previous seasons, and although he still finished as the club's top scorer, he (but mostly the management for playing him) was criticised by fans throughout the season for seeming slow and unfit.

On his day, he's still the Man Most Likely for the Pars, and we all hope he'll bang in a few against First Division defences this season.

AM