Andy Edwards’ Memories

Andy spent two and a half years with Margate in the late 1970’s and was a popular player who made over 100 appearances and won the club’s ‘Player of the Year’ award for 1979/80

Andy Edwards Team photo

What is your full name and date and place of birth ?
Andrew Edwards – 4th September 1957 – London.

What is your marital Status?
Single.

Do you have children ?
No.

Did / do any of your family play football ?
My dad was a full time professional at Chelsea. My brother Paul played in excess of 650 games for Dulwich and Bromley.

Where do you live now ?
Beckenham, Kent.

What is your occupation now ?
Insurance Broker.

What was your occupation during your time with Margate ?
Insurance Broker.

How did you come to join Margate ?
Dennis Hunt saw me playing for Crawley Town. Dennis called me before the start of the 78/79 season and asked me to join Margate.

What do you remember about your Margate debut ?
It was away against Dartford in the Southern League Cup. From memory we lost on penalties.

What were the highlights of your Margate career ?
Winning the ‘Player of the Year’ award for 79/80 – I joined as a centre forward before Jack Smith asked me to play in unchartered territory at centre half against Telford. I did well and played regularly at the back for the rest of the season.

What were the highlights of your entire career ?
They have to be being Margate’s ‘Player of the Year’ for 79/80 and being made captain for the day when Margate beat Dulwich 1-0 in the FA Cup at Hartsdown Park when my brother Paul was captain of Dulwich.

Who was the best player you played with at Margate ?
Vic Pain.

Who was the best player you played against whilst with Margate ?
There were many famous ex-pros that I played against – Jimmy Greaves (Barnet), Terry Paine (Cheltenham), Martin Chivers (Dorchester) to name a few. There was also a young emerging Graham Roberts (later of Spurs and England) who played for Dorchester in my first season at Margate.

Who was the best player you played with during your whole career ?
Ossie Bayram who I played with at Dulwich and Tooting could always turn a game. Carlton Fairweather and Bryan Gayle were my team mates at Tooting and both went on to play First Division football at Wimbledon.

Who was the best player you played against during your whole career ?
Stuart Pearce who at the time was playing for Wealdstone against Dulwich in the FA Trophy. It was no surprise to see him turn professional.

Who was / were your best friend(s) during your time with Margate ?
I travelled everywhere with Vic Pain, Steve Pateman and Andy Coghill. In my early days I spent a lot of time with Steve Bowtell who I later joined up with at Dulwich.

Do you still keep in contact with any of your old Margate team-mates ?
Unfortunately no.

What was the best stadium you played in during your entire career ?
Charlton Athletic.

What ground(s) did you most enjoy playing at during your time at Margate ?
Weymouth, Kettering and Telford .

And which ground(s) did you least like ?
Not many but Bridgend springs to mind.

Who was the best manager you played under (and at which club) ?
Jack Smith must get a mention at Margate but also Alan Smith at Dulwich.

Who was the biggest influence on your football career ?
My family were all into football.

What was your favourite / best Margate goal?
My best goal for Margate was actually for the reserves at home against Dover. For the first team I scored a few but nothing too spectacular.

What was the best goal you saw another Margate player score ?
Nothing sticks out in my mind.

Do you keep an eye on Margate’s progress / results and if so what do you think ?
Yes I do and I was delighted when they played in the Conference but a little sad about the club’s position today.

Did you have a nickname during your career / time at Margate?
Not among the players I don’t think. Terry Morris might know !

What honours did you win during your career ?
Kent Senior Cup winners medal playing for Bromley against Gravesend.

Do you ever watch Margate now or if not, when was the last time you saw them ?
I have not seen Margate play for years. Only the other day I saw the result against Bromley (2-2) the morning after the match – if I’d known about the game I would have gone as Bromley is very close to me.

Who were the real characters at Margate during your time with the club ?
David Crush, Steve Bowtell, John O’Mara, Ricky Fusco, Andy Coghill and Alan Fagan.

Can you recall any funny moments from your time at Margate ?
Many fun moments but I cannot recall anything specific.

Do you have any regrets about your football career ?
No.

What do you think about being featured on a website or the fact that a Margate History site exists ?!
I was surprised to see my picture and profile on the web-site but equally delighted that I am part of Margate’s history.