Jump to content

Andy Hessenthaler

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Hessenthaler)

Andy Hessenthaler
Hessenthaler with Dover Athletic in July 2009
Personal information
Full name Andrew Hessenthaler
Date of birth (1965-08-17) 17 August 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth Dartford, England
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Gillingham
(head of recruitment)
Youth career
Dartford
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
000?–1983 Corinthian
1983–1984 Charlton Athletic 0 (0)
1984–1986 Corinthian
1986–1990 Dartford
1990–1991 Redbridge Forest
1991–1996 Watford 195 (11)
1996–2006 Gillingham 303 (20)
2005 → Hull City (loan) 10 (0)
2006–2007 Barnet 40 (2)
2007–2010 Dover Athletic 36 (4)
Total 584 (37)
International career
1990 England National Game XI 1 (0)
Managerial career
2000–2004 Gillingham (player/manager)
2007–2010 Dover Athletic (player/manager)
2010–2012 Gillingham
2014–2015 Gillingham (co-caretaker)[1]
2016 Leyton Orient
2017–2018 Eastleigh
2018–2023 Dover Athletic
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Andrew Hessenthaler (born 17 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player who is head of recruitment at EFL League Two club Gillingham. He began his career in non-league football and did not turn professional until he joined Watford at the age of 26. In 1996, Hessenthaler joined Gillingham and spent the next ten years at the club as player and later player-manager, managing the club to its highest ever finish in the English football league system and becoming regarded as a legend of the Kent club. After leaving Gillingham, he had a short spell at Barnet, before joining Dover Athletic in 2007. In his two seasons in charge he led the club to successive championships, of Isthmian League Division One South and the Isthmian League Premier Division. After three years at Dover, he became manager at Gillingham for the second time, but his contract was terminated at the end of the 2011–12 season. He returned to the club as assistant manager in 2014, before taking on a similar role at Leyton Orient the following year. In 2016, he was appointed manager of the club, but was sacked later the same year. In November he was appointed manager of Eastleigh, but the following year left to return to Dover, where he stayed until January 2023.

Career

[edit]

Non-League career

[edit]

As a teenager, Hessenthaler played for the youth team of his local club Dartford.[2] He later joined Fawkham-based amateur team Corinthian, but Charlton Athletic took him on in 1983 on a non-contract trial basis.[3][4] He failed to secure a contract with the club, however, and returned to playing on a part-time basis while working as a builder.[5] In 1986, he was spotted by Dartford manager Peter Taylor while playing in a Kent Senior Cup match. Hessenthaler signed for his hometown club on a wage of £40 per week, the first regular income he had ever received for playing.[3]

Hessenthaler spent four years at the club, during which time Dartford reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy on two occasions and finished twice as runners-up in the Southern League.[6] In 1990, he was called up to the England National Game XI, the national team for semi-professional players.[7] Later that year, he moved on to Redbridge Forest, where he spent one season and helped the team win the Isthmian League championship.[8]

Watford

[edit]

On the recommendation of Peter Taylor, who was by now assistant manager of Watford, Hessenthaler was signed by the Hertfordshire club for a transfer fee of £65,000 at the beginning of the 1991–92 season.[2] He opted to make the move even though becoming a full-time professional player would mean taking a drop in earnings compared to what he was making combining semi-professional football with building work.[3] His professional debut was against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on 17 September 1991,[9] and, despite having made a move of four divisions up the English football league system, he immediately established himself as a regular at Vicarage Road, making 35 Football League appearances in his first season.[10] In five seasons with the Hornets, he made 217 appearances in total, scoring 14 goals,[11] and also served as the team's captain.[12] Watford fans voted Hessenthaler as runner-up for the club's Player of the Season award in four consecutive seasons between 1992 and 1995,[13] and fondly remember him for his workrate and all-round ability.[14] He was one of the club veterans selected to represent Watford in the 2006 London Masters football event, where he was named "Player of the Tournament".[15]

Gillingham

[edit]

At the end of the 1995–96 season, shortly after Watford's relegation from the First Division,[16] Hessenthaler signed for Gillingham for £235,000, a record fee at the time for the club.[4] He quickly became a key player at Priestfield Stadium.[17] In the 1998–99 season, he returned to his best form,[17] and he played in the Gills' first ever match at Wembley Stadium. This match was the final of the play-offs against Manchester City, which Gillingham lost after a penalty shoot-out.[18] Shortly afterwards, Gillingham manager Tony Pulis, who had signed Hessenthaler, was dismissed from his post.[19] He was replaced by Peter Taylor, who appointed Hessenthaler as player-coach.[20] In his first season in this new role, he was once again a regular in the Gillingham team,[21] making a total of 47 appearances as the club recorded its highest position to date in the English football league system and best ever run in the FA Cup.[22] Although the cup run came to an end with a 5–0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea of the Premier League, Hessenthaler's high-energy performance prompted Chelsea chairman Ken Bates to joke that he had been keen to sign the player until he discovered to his surprise that he was 35 years old (although Hessenthaler was in fact only 34 at the time).[23] Gillingham once again qualified for the play-off final, with Hessenthaler making his second appearance at Wembley as the Gills beat Wigan Athletic 3–2 after extra time to secure promotion to the Football League First Division for the first time in the club's history.[24]

Immediately after guiding Gillingham to promotion, Peter Taylor left to manage Leicester City,[25] and Hessenthaler was appointed player-manager.[26] In his first season in charge, he guided the club to a thirteenth-place finish while continuing to play regularly.[27] A serious leg injury sustained in an FA Cup match against AFC Bournemouth in January 2001 kept him out for the remainder of the season but did not prevent him being selected for the Football League's Team of the Season.[2] Despite many of the club's rivals having greater budgets available with which to sign and pay players,[17] the team finished the 2001–02 season in twelfth place and the following season in eleventh place in the First Division, Gillingham's best ever finish in over seventy seasons in the Football League.[22] During the 2003–04 season, however, the Gills' fortunes declined, and the team only avoided relegation on goal difference after holding Stoke City to a draw in the last match of the season.[28] As the team continued to struggle at the start of the following season, club owner Paul Scally reiterated his confidence in Hessenthaler but brought in former Swindon Town and Wycombe Wanderers manager John Gorman to assist him.[29] The following month, with no significant improvement in the team's fortunes, Hessenthaler tendered his resignation.[30]

He remained at the club as a player but was rarely selected for the team,[31] and in January 2005, he went on loan to Hull City, where he was reunited once again with Peter Taylor.[32] He made ten appearances for Hull, who gained promotion to the Football League Championship (the new name for what had previously been called the First Division), while Gillingham were relegated from the same division.[33][34] He returned to the Gillingham team at the start of the 2005–06 season and made a further 17 appearances, the final one in a 3–0 home win against Port Vale on 10 December 2005.[35] At forty years and four months of age, he set a new record as the oldest player ever to represent the club.[17] He rounded out his Gillingham career by returning to Priestfield Stadium for a testimonial match in July 2006.[36] He is widely regarded as a club legend by Gillingham fans, who in 2005 voted him the team's best ever player in a local radio poll,[37] and he was also named Gillingham's greatest ever player by the Professional Footballers' Association in November 2007.[38]

Barnet

[edit]

On 19 January 2006, Hessenthaler signed for League Two strugglers Barnet on a short-term contract until the end of the season.[39] Although he considered retiring at the end of the season, he was persuaded by manager Paul Fairclough to sign a new contract for a further year.[40] In October 2006, he was named in the League Two team of the week,[41] but at the end of the 2006–07 season, Barnet announced that his contract would not be renewed.[42]

Managerial career

[edit]

Shortly after his departure from Barnet, Hessenthaler was appointed manager of Dover Athletic of the Isthmian League First Division South.[43] In his first season in charge, he played regularly, making over 30 appearances as he led the team to the championship of the division and promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division.[44][45] The following season, he led the team to a second consecutive championship as Dover won the Isthmian League Premier Division title to gain promotion to Conference South.[46] In the 2009–10 season, Dover reached the play-offs for promotion to the Conference National, but lost at the semi-final stage to Woking.[47] Hessenthaler, at the age of 44, announced his retirement as a player after the match.[48]

On 20 May 2010, Hessenthaler resigned as Dover manager,[49] and the following day, he became the manager of Gillingham, who had just been relegated to Football League Two, for the second time.[50] His contract was terminated at the end of the 2011–12 season after the Gills narrowly missed out on the play-offs for promotion to League One, although he was offered a seat on the board of directors and a "football development role".[51] He left the position of director of football at Gillingham in 2013 with a view to returning to management.[52] In July 2014 he returned to Gillingham as assistant manager under manager Peter Taylor,[53] and was appointed joint caretaker manager, along with Darren Hare, Steve Lovell and Mark Patterson, following the sacking of Taylor on 31 December 2014.[54] At the end of the 2014–15 season, Hessenthaler left the club to become assistant manager at Leyton Orient.[55] In April 2016, he was promoted to the position of manager when player-manager Kevin Nolan was stripped of his managerial responsibilities,[56] however Hessenthaler was sacked in September of the same year.[57] In April 2017 Hessenthaler was appointed as assistant manager of National League club Eastleigh,[58] and in November of the same year stepped up to the role of manager.[59]

In October 2018 he returned to Dover as manager following the sacking of Chris Kinnear.[60] During the 2020–21 season, Dover chairman Jim Parmenter confirmed in February that all staff had been furloughed and they would be playing no additional fixtures,[61] leading to the club starting the 2021–22 season on minus-12 points.[62] After a switch back to operating as a part-time club and retaining just four players,[63] a disastrous season followed and after picking up just eight points in 33 matches, a 2–0 defeat to Yeovil Town on 19 March left the club thirty five points from safety with just eleven matches left to be played, seeing the club relegated to the National League South.[64] His contract with the club was cancelled by mutual consent on 5 January 2023,[65] and on the same day he returned to Gillingham as Head of Recruitment.[66]

Personal life

[edit]

Hessenthaler's mother died in 1991, shortly before his first professional match. His father was an aspiring footballer and was at one time on the books of Arsenal, but never played professionally.[67] He is married to Nikki and has a daughter, Jasmine, and a son, Jake, who also became a professional footballer, making his debut for Gillingham in December 2013.[68][69] His brother-in-law, Darren Hare, has served as the youth team manager at Gillingham, while his nephew, Josh Hare, came through the youth set-up at Gillingham and went on to play professionally.[70][71]

Managerial statistics

[edit]
As of match played 1 January 2023[72][73][74][75]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Gillingham 29 June 2000 23 November 2004 228 77 54 97 033.8
Dover Athletic 29 May 2007 20 May 2010 157 101 25 31 064.3
Gillingham 21 May 2010 10 May 2012 101 39 29 33 038.6
Gillingham (joint caretaker*) 31 December 2014 7 February 2015 8 3 2 3 037.5
Leyton Orient 12 April 2016 26 September 2016 16 7 2 7 043.8
Eastleigh 18 December 2017 8 October 2018 37 15 8 14 040.5
Dover Athletic 8 October 2018 5 January 2023 167 46 37 84 027.5
Total 714 288 157 269 040.34

Hessenthaler's third spell in management at Gillingham was as part of a team of four joint caretaker managers, along with Steve Lovell, Darren Hare, and Mark Patterson.

Honours

[edit]

As a player

[edit]

Gillingham

  • Football League Second Division play-offs: 2000[24]

Hull City

Individual

  • Gillingham Player of the Season: 1996–97,[76] 1999–2000[77]
  • Named Gillingham's "Greatest Ever Player" in a 2005 fan poll and by the Professional Footballer's Association in 2007[37][38]

As a manager

[edit]

Dover Athletic

Individual

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Cawdell, Luke (5 January 2015). "Gillingham are being led by a team of coaches, consisting of Steve Lovell, Andy Hessenthaler, Darren Hare and Mark Patterson". Kent Online. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Roger Triggs (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing Ltd. p. 156. ISBN 0-7524-2243-X.
  3. ^ a b c Jamie Jackson (28 January 2007). "Last lap for Barnet's running man". The Observer. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  4. ^ a b John Ley (22 January 2001). "FA Cup: Hessenthaler building big future with Gillingham". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 April 2008.[dead link‍]
  5. ^ Nick Townsend (21 January 2001). "Football: Chelsea warned: Welcome to the discomfort zone". The Independent. Retrieved 29 April 2008.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Dartford". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 20 April 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  7. ^ Williams, Mike; Tony Williams (2007). Non-League Club Directory 2007. Tony Williams Publications Ltd. p. 858. ISBN 978-1-869833-55-8.
  8. ^ "Redbridge Forest". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  9. ^ "1991/92" (PDF). Watford FC Archive. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  10. ^ Bateson, Bill; Albert Sewell (1992). News of the World Football Annual 1992–93. Harper Collins. p. 339. ISBN 0-85543-188-1.
  11. ^ "Andy Hessenthaler". Soccerbase. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  12. ^ Adam Scally (21 April 2002). "Watford vs Gillingham". Gillingham F.C. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  13. ^ Phillips, Ollie (2001). The Golden Boys: A study of Watford's cult heroes. Alpine Press Ltd. p. 230. ISBN 0-9528631-6-2.
  14. ^ "Gone But Not Forgotten: Andy Hessenthaler". BSAD. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
  15. ^ "London Masters 2006". Masters Football. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
  16. ^ "Watford". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 27 April 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
  17. ^ a b c d "Andy's Colourful Career". Dover Athletic F.C. 28 May 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
  18. ^ "League One Play-off Final". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
  19. ^ Haydn Parry (30 April 2001). "End of ills for Gills". BBC. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
  20. ^ "Hessenthaler steps down at Gills". BBC. 23 November 2004. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
  21. ^ "Games played by Andy Hessenthaler in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  22. ^ a b "Gillingham". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  23. ^ Parry, Haydn (2000). Never Look Back — The Official Account of The Gills 1999/2000 Promotion Season. Gillingham Football Club plc. p. 81.
  24. ^ a b "Second time lucky for Gills". BBC. 28 May 2000. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  25. ^ "The Peter principle". BBC. 12 June 2000. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  26. ^ "Gills clinch promotion at last". BBC. 29 June 2000. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  27. ^ "Games played by Andy Hessenthaler in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  28. ^ "Stoke 0–0 Gillingham". BBC. 9 May 2004. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  29. ^ "Gorman to join Gillingham". BBC. 5 October 2004. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  30. ^ "Hessenthaler steps down at Gills". BBC. 23 November 2004. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  31. ^ "Games played by Andy Hessenthaler in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  32. ^ "Hessenthaler joins Hull on loan". BBC. 27 January 2005. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  33. ^ a b "Final 2004/2005 Football League One Table". Archived from the original on 21 May 2006. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  34. ^ "Final 2004/2005 Football League Championship Table". Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  35. ^ "Games played by Andy Hessenthaler in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  36. ^ Luke Cawdell (31 July 2006). "Gills legend's rapturous send off". Kent Online. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  37. ^ a b "Hessenthaler shock at BBC honour". BBC. 17 January 2005. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  38. ^ a b Luke Cawdell (29 November 2007). "Hess named greatest Gills player". Kent Online. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  39. ^ "Barnet sign veteran Hessenthaler". BBC. 19 January 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
  40. ^ "Hessenthaler pens new Barnet deal". BBC. 17 May 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
  41. ^ "Coca-Cola League 2 Team of the Week (30/10/2006)" (PDF). The Football League. Retrieved 2 May 2008.[permanent dead link‍]
  42. ^ "Veteran pair released by Barnet". BBC. 2 May 2007. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  43. ^ "Hessenthaler named Dover manager". BBC. 29 May 2007. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  44. ^ a b "Parmenter reveals Dover ambition". BBC. 7 April 2008. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  45. ^ "Player Statistics for Season 2007–2008". Dover Athletic F.C. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  46. ^ a b Howard, Tom (28 March 2009). "Dover Athletic crowned Ryman Premier champions". Eastern Daily Press. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  47. ^ Slavin, Chris (1 May 2010). "Woking book play-off final spot at Dover". Surrey Herald. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  48. ^ "Dover lose to Woking in play-offs". BBC Kent Sports. 1 May 2010. Archived from the original on 5 May 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  49. ^ "Hess Moves On". Dover Athletic F.C. 20 May 2010. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  50. ^ "Andy Hessenthaler named new Gillingham boss". BBC Sport. 21 May 2010. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  51. ^ "Andy Hessenthaler pays for failing to take Gillingham to play-offs". The Guardian. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  52. ^ "Gillingham: Andy Hessenthaler leaves director of football post". BBC Sport. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  53. ^ "Andy Hessenthaler appointed Gillingham assistant manager". BBC. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  54. ^ "Peter Taylor: Gillingham sack manager". BBC. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  55. ^ "Gillingham's Andy Hessenthaler appointed Leyton Orient assistant". BBC. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  56. ^ "Andy Hessenthaler handed manager role at Leyton Orient after Kevin Nolan removed from coaching duties". Kent Online. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  57. ^ "Andy Hessenthaler: Leyton Orient part company with manager". BBC. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  58. ^ "Former Gillingham manager Andy Hessenthaler appointed assistant manager at Eastleigh". Kent Online. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  59. ^ "Eastleigh: Andy Hessenthaler replaces Richard Hill as manager". BBC. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  60. ^ "Andy Hessenthaler: Dover Athletic reappoint Eastleigh manager as boss". BBC. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  61. ^ "Dover Athletic: National League club places entire staff on furlough as season continues". BBC Sport. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  62. ^ "Dover Athletic: National League club hit with fine, points deduction and results expunged". BBC Sport. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  63. ^ "Champions League final: Dover Athletic face ruin in 'dog eat dog' football world". BBC News. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  64. ^ "Dover relegated after Yeovil defeat". BBC Sport. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  65. ^ "Hess Leaves Crabble". Dover Athletic F.C. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  66. ^ "Hessenthaler and Jackett join Gills". Gillingham Football Club. 5 January 2023.
  67. ^ Hessenthaler, Andy (interviewee) (2008). 60 Minutes with....Andy Hessenthaler (compact disc). Executive Solutions.
  68. ^ "Andy Hessenthaler". Watford Legends. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  69. ^ "Jake Hessenthaler". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  70. ^ "Darren Hare". margatefchistory.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  71. ^ Cawdell, Luke (17 July 2012). "Gillingham youth boss Darren Hare believes third year scholars Jake Hessenthaler and Josh Hare have it all to prove". Kent Online. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  72. ^ "Andy Hessenthaler's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 20 October 2004. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  73. ^ "Fixtures & Results: 2007–2008". Dover Athletic F.C. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
  74. ^ "Fixtures & Results: 2008/2009". Dover Athletic F.C. Archived from the original on 1 April 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
  75. ^ "Fixtures & Results: 2009/2010". Dover Athletic F.C. Archived from the original on 11 April 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  76. ^ "Start of the Season". Official Matchday Magazine of Gillingham Football Club. Gillingham vs. Preston North End: 28. 9 August 1997.
  77. ^ "Hessenthaler quits as Gills boss". Kent Online. 23 November 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  78. ^ "League Managers Association - Manager of the Month". www.leaguemanagers.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  79. ^ "Dover boss Andy Hessenthaler named National League Manager of the Month". Kent Online. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Andy Hessenthaler.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andy_Hessenthaler&oldid=1252456136"