From the Premier League to Championship club rejection- where did it all go wrong for Keith Andrews?
Keith Andrews was signed for Bolton by Owen Coyle in the Summer of 2012, following relegation to the Championship. Andrews had just been released by Premier League outfit West Brom.
This signing didn`t seem to inspire many Bolton fans. Maybe it`s because he always looked a little out of his depth in the Premier League after being catapulted from League 2 football. Or perhaps it was because of his stupid sending off for the Republic of Ireland at the Euros.
Anyway, having been signed by Coyle he featured regularly alongside Jay Spearing in the centre of midfield. After Coyle was sacked he played a little under Dougie Freedman and chipped in with some useful penalties but started to find first team opportunities limited following the arrival of Medo Kamara. Dougie also brought in Jan Gregus who, although didn`t feature, showed that Andrews didn`t play a huge role in his first team plans. He ended up playing 25 league matches for Bolton- which was less than Tyrone Mears.
After starting the first game of the subsequent season he was shipped out to Brighton on a season long loan. It is said that Dougie wanted him to be part of a squad rotation, however Andrews wanted regular first team football. Under Oscar Garcia`s management, Andrews did well and seemed better suited to their style of passing football. He played regularly at Brighton, before returning to the newly-renamed Macron Stadium after playing 35 times in all competitions down South.
Upon returning to Bolton, Dougie offered Andrews a similar proposition, however with Spearing, Kamara and now Liam Trotter and Josh Vela to compete with Andrews chose to go out on loan again. Brighton didn`t decide to come back for him as Garcia had resigned so Andrews joined Watford and has already made an appearance this season. He is in the last year of his contract and will almost certainly not get a new deal.
So, why did Andrews never seem to be able to hold down first team spot at Bolton? There are several players to compete with but he definitely seems to have the ability- he thrived at Brighton who very nearly achieved Premier League promotion. He`s now at Watford who are also expected to challenge for a spot in the top six. Granted, he`s not very quick but his passing is at the very least comparable with that of Spearing, Medo and Trotter. In his sole season of featuring for the club he managed to keep a cool head when taking penalties.
I just don`t think Andrews ever looked to be a Bolton player. He wasn`t a very good signing by Coyle, but is by no means a bad player at this level. I think coming to Bolton was just the wrong move for him and as I always say in these articles- I do have a feeling that he could come back to haunt us in the future.