Len Andrews
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leonard Thomas Alford Andrews | ||
| Date of birth | 9 December 1888 | ||
| Place of birth | Reading, Berkshire, England | ||
| Date of death | 21 January 1969 (aged 80) | ||
| Place of death | Southampton, England | ||
| Playing position | Inside forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| University of Reading | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1909–1912 | Reading | ||
| 1912–1915 | Southampton | 105 | (32) |
| 1919–1921 | Reading | 33 | (5) |
| 1921–1924 | Southampton | 59 | (3) |
| 1924–1925 | Watford | 38 | (6) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Leonard Thomas Alford Andrews (9 December 1888 – 21 January 1969) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward. During his career he had two spells with both Southampton and Reading, as well as playing for Watford.
Andrews was born in Reading and attended the University of Reading where he trained as a teacher. He joined Reading F.C. in October 1909 and was relegated from the Southern League First Division at the end his first season. However they were promoted as champions Second Division in 1911.
In the summer of 1912 he moved to the south coast to join Southampton, who had just appointed a new trainer in Jimmy McIntyre. Due to the lack of funds following George Swift's spending spree in the previous season, McIntyre was only able to sign three new players; the only successful recruit was Andrews, whose signing from Reading was "one of the best moves of McIntyre's managerial career", as Andrews went on to become the "Saints" most consistent forward in the three seasons leading up to the First World War, as well as being an expert penalty taker.
He started off well scoring eight goals in the first 17 games, before the goals dried up after Christmas 1912 and he finished the season with nine goals, one behind leading scorer Percy Prince. He was more consistent the following season, where he was now playing alongside Arthur Dominy; he scored twelve goals and missed only one league game. In the final pre-war season he contributed eleven goals of which eight were from penalties.
Described by Holley & Chalk in "The Alphabet of the Saints" as a "clever and able forward who could play in all the front positions" he was a noted penalty taker converting all but two of the 22 penalty kicks he took, gaining a reputation as "a man who could hit the ball harder, and more accurately, with his left foot than any other player in the game".
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