Players Who Will Be Remembered For The Wrong Reasons - Part 1
Andy Gray started his career with local Scottish club Dundee United in 1973; he scored a total of 46 goals in the 62 appearances he made for the club.
Two years later, in 1975 Gray transferred to English side Aston Villa where he had a very successful spell. He won the golden boot in the 1976-1977 season with 25 league goals and the following season earned the PFA Young Player of the Year and the PFA Players’
Player of the Year awards. This feat was only repeated once after in the 2006-2007 season by Cristiano Ronaldo when he was a Manchester United player.
When he won the Players’ Player of the Year award, Gray was the youngest ever player to have achieved this and was also the first player to win more than one of the three player of the year awards given out in the same year. He was a valuable player for
the club, his pace, stamina and skill with the ball was unmatched. The management wanted him to remain at the club longer but the player parted ways in the 1979 season.
He moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 1979 for a record transfer fee of £1.5m. He seemed to fit in nicely with the Wolves; he was an important part of their League Cup campaign in 1980 and in the final, scored the winning goal. He remained
at the club until 1982, witnessing their relegation and then staying and helping them fight to earn promotion the next season. He was crucial to their success in the second division and the promotion the top flight was largely due to his efforts.
In the 1983 season he moved to Everton for a transfer fee of £250,000 where he enjoyed two seasons, winning the FA Cup in the 1984, where he was one of the goal scorers in the final against Watford. He also won the League Championship and European Cup Winners’
Cup in his second season, where he scored the winning goal once again. He was having a successful spell with the club having established himself in the first team, but was soon replaced when Gary Lineker was brought in.
He returned to Aston Villa in 1985 and remained with them until they were relegated two years later in 1987. He was bought for a fee of £150,000 and scored only 5 goals in the 54 games that he featured in. This was a far cry from the striker who had earned
the golden boot only a few years earlier and his time at Villa was termed as a failure for both the club and the player.
After that, he was at West Bromwich Albion for a season and then joined Scottish side, Rangers, who he has supported all his life. He won the championship with his dream club before moving to Cheltenham Town, which was a non league football club. He spent
his last playing days at the Ibrox and then finally retired in 1990.
Despite having a colorful career with many different clubs, it is not what Andy Gray will be remembered for. After his retirement Gray became a co-commentator and pundit for Sky Sports’ football coverage, mostly of the Premier League. He has reported and
commentated for the Euro 2004 and 2008, and the 2002 World Cup. He is known for his passionate outburst and his very apparent personal likes and dislikes. His style of commentary is appreciated by football fans, so much so that Gray has provided commentary
for EA Sports’ FIFA video games series.
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