Andy Webster

Football player infobox
playername = Andy Webster


fullname = Andrew Neil Webster
height = height|ft=6|in=1
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1982|4|23
cityofbirth = Dundee
countryofbirth = Scotland
currentclub = Bristol City
(on loan from Rangers)
clubnumber = 16
position = Centre back
years = 1999–2001
2001–2006
2006–2008
2007–2008
2008–
2008–
clubs = Arbroath
Hearts
Wigan Athletic
→ Rangers (loan)
Rangers
→ Bristol City (loan)
caps(goals) = 017 (1)
149 (6)
004 (0)
001 (1)
000 (0)
003 (0)
nationalyears = 2003–2006
nationalteam = Scotland
nationalcaps(goals) = 022 (1)
pcupdate = September 26, 2008
ntupdate =

Andrew Neil Webster (born April 23 1982 in Dundee) is a Scottish professional footballer currently playing for Bristol City in the English Championship, on loan from Rangers. He has also been capped by the Scottish national side.

Club career

Arbroath

Webster began his career at Arbroath in the Scottish Second Division. He made his debut aged 17, against Stirling Albion in the League Cup on 24 August 1999. He went on to make 24 appearances in total over nearly two seasons. His first and only goal for the club came on 17 March 2001 during a league match against Queen's Park which Arbroath won 2-0.

Little over a week later, Scottish Premier League side Dundee United confirmed they had had a "five-figure bid accepted", with the bid to be completed at the end of the season. [cite web|url=http://www.dundeeunitedfc.co.uk/index.asp?tm=3&nID=398&cd=2001&cd1=3|title=WEBSTER BID PROGRESSES|date=2001-03-26|publisher=Dundee United FC|accessdate=2008-10-01] Two days later, Webster phoned manager Alex Smith to inform he had turned down the chance to move to Tannadice. [cite web|url=http://www.dundeeunitedfc.co.uk/index.asp?tm=3&nID=402&cd=2001&cd1=3|title=WEBSTER 'NO' TO UNITED MOVE|date=2001-03-28|publisher=Dundee United FC|accessdate=2008-10-01]

Hearts

Shortly afterwards he was signed to Hearts by then manager Craig Levein on 30 March for £75,000. He was a regular for the side and made 184 appearances for the Jambos but in 2006 he was left out of the match against Dundee United because of a disagreement over contracts, with chairman Vladimir Romanov, who later suggested to many that Webster would leave soon.

Webster made football transfer history when he was the first to invoke a loophole in Article 17 of a FIFA-adopted EU law, enabling him to cancel his contract with Hearts in the third year of a four-year deal, with the proviso that he join a club in a foreign country and that sufficient notice be given to his former employers. Webster's transfer to Wigan Athletic was ratified by FIFA on September 4 2006, seemingly creating a legal precedent for the conduction of international football transfers.

Wigan Athletic

He made his debut in a league match against Manchester City as a second half substitute for Fitz Hall in a 4-0 win on 21 October 2006. [ [http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=498570 Wigan 4-0 Man City] Soccerbase (21 October 2006)] He went on to start the next three matches but found the switch to the English Premiership difficult.

Rangers

On January 4 2007, the day Paul Le Guen left Rangers, the BBC reported that Webster would sign for the Glasgow club on a loan deal, which was confirmed the following day.cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/6236095.stm|publisher=BBC Sport website|title=Webster checks in as loan Ranger|date=2007-01-04] Soon after, Hearts issued a formal complaint to FIFA and the SFA regarding Webster's registration. The Edinburgh club contended that Webster was unable to play for another Scottish team within 12 months of leaving Tynecastle.cite news|url=http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=57092007|publisher=Scotsman.com Sport|title=Romanov in fight to block Webster move to Rangers|date=2007-01-11] However, FIFA decided that Webster's move to Rangers was in order and this ruling was followed by the SFA.

Webster missed the rest of the 2006-07 season due to an injury suffered during his first training session with Rangers. He made his debut in a post-season friendly match in May 2007, against LA Galaxy at the Home Depot Center, coming on as a substitute for Karl Svensson.

On June 29, 2007, Webster's loan deal at Rangers was extended to last until January 2008.cite news
title = Webster extends Ibrox loan deal
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/6255574.stm
publisher = BBC Sport website
date = 2007-06-29] He made his first official appearance for Rangers in September that year, scoring in a win 4-0 home win against newly promoted Gretna.cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/6970400.stm|publisher=BBC Sport website|title=Rangers 4-0 Gretna|date=2007-09-01] Shortly after this match he was sidelined with an ankle injury and then it was revealed that he would be out until the new year after further surgery on his previously injured knee.cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/7066262.stm|publisher=BBC Sport website|title=Webster injury jinx strikes again |date=2007-10-28] On June 9, 2008, Webster's loan deal from Wigan Athletic was made permanent for an undisclosed fee.cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/7443909.stm|publisher=BBC Sport website|title=Webster completes Rangers switch|date=2008-06-09]

Bristol City

Webster signed a six month loan deal with English Championship side Bristol City on 18 August 2008. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bristol_city/7568074.stm "Bristol City land Webster on loan"] BBC Sport Website, 18 August 2008] He made his debut against Coventry City.

International career

Webster has won 22 Scotland caps during his career. His last cap came against Switzerland in March 2006. He made his debut in a friendly match during the Berti Vogts era, the match ended in a 2-0 defeat to Austria. His first an only goal came in a friendly verse the United States during a 1-1 draw at Hampden Park on 12 November 2005.

International goals

:"Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first."

Transfer saga

In May 2007, FIFA ruled that Webster had canceled the contract "without just cause" and without the required full 15-day notice. FIFA suspended him for the first two matches of the 2007-08 season. They also ordered him to pay £625,000 to Hearts. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/h/heart_of_midlothian/6526119.stm "Webster must pay Hearts £625,000",] BBC Sport website 4 March, 2007]

On 30 January 2008, Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Heart of Midlothian Football Club were to be awarded £150,000 for Webster's breach of contract. This amount was to be paid by Webster to the club. The arbitration board reduced the compensation from previous amount of £625,000 that Hearts appealed against. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/6462949.stm "Hearts demanding £5m for Webster",] BBC Sport website 31 March, 2007] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/scot_prem/7218114.stm "Hearts get £150,000 for Webster",] BBC Sport website 30 January, 2008]

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=17432|name=Andy Webster
*SFA Profile|id=24461|name=Andy Webster