Where are they now?
Andy Farrell
Unable to attend that match due to domestic
commitments, I consoled myself by going to watch my 'second team', Southport, who were
playing close to home at Leigh RMI the day before. The last time I saw the Sandgrounders
in action was at Woking at the end of the 1996/97 season, when Rocket Ron Futcher's
brother Paul was their manager, John Deary was starring in midfield and Andrew Turner was
starring on the PA system. Since then, Mark Wright of Southampton, Derby, Liverpool and
England fame has taken charge and pushed them into third in the Conference. There have
also been considerable changes in playing personnel, which now includes Mick Marsh, Sean
Teale and (more familiar to us, perhaps) Dave Linighan and Andy Gouck. Unfortunately, I
missed the teams being announced, and so spent the first fifteen minutes or so trying to
work out who was actually playing for the 'Port. This meant that I gave scant attention to
the 'Railway Men', until I realised that my concentration was being interrupted by their
No. 5 and captain, who was by far the mouthiest player on the pitch, shouting an almost
continuous stream of instructions and encouragement to his team-mates in a pronounced
Essex accent: incongruity itself on an archetypal wet and gloomy Lancashire December
afternoon in Leigh. Turning to pay this character more attention, I realised that the
short-cropped blond hair, medium stature and reliable no-nonsense style of play all seemed
unexpectedly familiar. And sure enough, upon at long last consulting my programme, I was
pleasantly surprised to note that I was once again watching the only player in Burnley's
long and celebrated history to represent the club in two Wembley finals. Yes, the one and
only Mr Andy Farrell!
I've always had a special regard for Farrell as a Burnley
player, as I think he was the first to be signed after the debacle of the 1987/87 season,
and his unstinting commitment and reliability seemed somehow to mark the beginning of the
club's renaissance. However, he never struck me as a player who talked much during a game.
In fact, he always seemed to me to be something of a quiet type who was content just to
get on with his own job. It may be that at non-league level the banter is that much more
audible, but I don't think that this is the whole story. I can certainly hear Kevin Ball
and Paul Cook marshalling the troops from my seat in the Bob Lord Stand, and Farrell could
outshout these two easily on this performance. So is it the extra responsibility of
captaincy, a more relaxed attitude from playing further down the pyramid with nothing left
to prove, or perhaps a desire to put something back in the game by passing on his know-how
to younger, less experienced players. My money in Andy's case is on the latter, which
seems wholly in character with the man.
Apart from organising his team splendidly throughout and
giving his familiar 100% performance, albeit at a more measured pace than in his Turf Moor
days, I noticed that at the end he went round and shook hands with just about all the
Southport players and the officials, as well as saluting the home supporters. Long may
this model professional continue to grace the non-league scene.
I should also say that I was so mesmerised by Farrell's
presence that it was only when I got home and read the programme more fully that I
remembered that Mark Wright's managerial assistant at Southport is that other former Turf
Moor favourite, the Tin Man!
Oh, by the way, the match was a 2-2 draw.
John Trippier
January 2001
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