 Crofts withGillingham in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Andrew Lawrence Crofts[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1984-05-29)29 May 1984 (age 41)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Chatham,Kent, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Brighton & Hove Albion (assistant head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–2000 | Chelsea | ||
| 2000–2001 | Gillingham | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2009 | Gillingham | 174 | (17) |
| 2008–2009 | →Peterborough United (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2009 | →Wrexham (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| 2009–2010 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 44 | (5) |
| 2010–2012 | Norwich City | 68 | (8) |
| 2012–2016 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 71 | (5) |
| 2016 | →Gillingham (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Charlton Athletic | 46 | (1) |
| 2017 | Scunthorpe United | 4 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Newport County | 9 | (0) |
| 2019 | Yeovil Town | 0 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 447 | (37) | |
| International career | |||
| 2002–2004 | Wales U19[3] | 8 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Wales U21[3] | 10 | (1) |
| 2005–2017 | Wales | 29 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2021–2022 | Brighton & Hove Albion U21s | ||
| 2022 | Brighton & Hove Albion (caretaker) | ||
| 2024– | Wales (assistant) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Andrew Lawrence Crofts (born 29 May 1984) is a former professional footballer who made 29 appearances forWales at international level. Crofts is currently assistant head coach ofPremier League clubBrighton & Hove Albion and assistant coach to the Wales national team.
He started his career with Gillingham, for whom he made hisFootball League debut at the age of 16, and made over 190 appearances for theKent-based club. He hadloans atPeterborough United andWrexham during the2008–09 season and joinedBrighton & Hove Albion in 2009. After a successful season at Brighton he transferred toNorwich City in 2010, before moving back to the South Coast club in 2012.
A tough-tackling midfielder, Crofts represented Wales, where one of his grandparents was born, at under-19 and under-21 level and won his first seniorcap in 2005. In 2008, he won his 12th cap, breaking the record for the most international caps received by aGillingham player.
He became the head coach forBrighton U23s in June 2021 after spending a year as a player-coach of the academy. In September 2022, Crofts was made the interim head coach of the first team after the departure ofGraham Potter. After the appointment of the new head coachRoberto De Zerbi, Crofts stayed on the first team as a coach.
Crofts was born inChatham, Kent, and began playing competitive football at the age of six for a club in nearbyRainham. Between the ages of 10 and 15 he attended weekly training sessions organised byPremier League clubChelsea. He also tried out on two occasions for theEnglish Schools Football Association's national schoolboy team, but was unsuccessful.[2]
In September 2000, Crofts joinedGillingham as a trainee and was a regular in the club'syouth andreserve teams during the2000–01 season. At the end of the season, shortly before his 17th birthday, he was a surprise inclusion in thefirst team squad for a match at home toWatford,[2] and made hisFootball League debut as a latesubstitute, replacingMarlon King.[4] The following season, he suffered a broken leg during a reserve team match and missed several months of the season.[5] Although he returned to action in early 2002, his next appearance for the first team did not come until October, when he came on as a substitute in aLeague Cup match againstStockport County.[6] This was to be his only senior appearance of the2002–03 season.[7] He finally secured a regular first team place towards the end of the following season, featuring regularly during March and April 2004.[8]
Crofts was a first team regular in the2004–05 season, making 27 Football League appearances, and scoring his first senior goal for the club in a defeat toBrighton & Hove Albion on 26 December.[9] In January 2005, he signed a new contract designed to keep him at the club until 2009.[10] He was omitted from the team for most of March and April, but was recalled for the last match of the season, in which a draw withNottingham Forest led to the "Gills" beingrelegated from theFootball League Championship, the second tier of English football, toFootball League One, the third tier.[9][11] In the2005–06 season, he made the most appearances of any player in the Gillingham squad, missing only one of the team's 46 matches in League One.[12] Although the team struggled in the league, finishing in the lower half of the table, they defeatedPremier League teamPortsmouth in theLeague Cup, with Crofts scoring the winning goal.[13][14] The following season, he again made over 40 appearances and also scored eight goals, his best total for an individual season, but Gillingham again finished the season in the bottom half of the table.[15][16] He made his 100th start for the club on 18 December 2006 in a match againstAFC Bournemouth, and marked the occasion with a goal.[17] At the end of the season, he won four awards at the club's Player of the Year event and was dubbedMr Gillingham by then-managerRonnie Jepson.[18] He took over as teamcaptain in the2007–08 season,[19][20] but it was an unsuccessful season for the team, who were relegated from League One.[21] The following October he was stripped of the captaincy, which was instead given toBarry Fuller. ManagerMark Stimson stated that he felt that the captaincy might have been too much of a burden for Crofts, and had a negative effect on his form.[22] Soon afterwards, the club made Crofts available fortransfer.[23]
In November 2008, he joinedPeterborough United on loan.[24] Shortly after returning to Gillingham the following January, he went on a second loan period, this time toWrexham until the end of the season.[25] He made his debut on the same day in a 2–1 defeat toBurton Albion.[26] Upon his return to Gillingham from his loan spell, he was released from his contract.[27]
On 29 June 2009, Crofts agreed to joinLeague One clubBrighton & Hove Albion on a two-year contract.[28] He made his debut for Brighton during the 1–0 home defeat toWalsall on 8 August 2009[29] and scored his first goal for Brighton during the 2–2 draw atYeovil Town on 10 October 2009.[30] Crofts was given the role ofcaptain by new managerGus Poyet before the 3–1 away victory atSouthampton.[31] Crofts was later confirmed as permanent captain at the beginning of January 2010.[32]
On 21 May 2010,Norwich City announced the acquisition of Crofts from Brighton, for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £300,000.[33] He became the club's first signing of the summer transfer window, signing a three-year deal atCarrow Road.[34] On 6 August 2010, he scored a goal on his debut againstWatford.[35] He subsequently gained promotion to thePremier League with the "Canaries" in his first season at the club. He initially kept his place as a regular starter for Norwich in the top tier, but in the second half of the 2011–12 season he gradually fell out of favour at the club.
Crofts was transferred back to Brighton for an undisclosed fee in August 2012.[36]
On 19 March 2016, Crofts re-joinedGillingham on loan until the end of the season.[37]
On 22 July 2016, Crofts signed a one-year contract withCharlton Athletic.[38] He scored his first goal for Charlton in a 1–1 draw withSouthend United on 31 December 2016.[39] On 1 September 2017, the club announced that he had ended his contract by mutual agreement.[40]
Crofts signed for Scunthorpe United on 31 August 2017, signing a one-year contract with theNorth Lincolnshire-based club.[41] On 18 May 2018, he was not offered a new contract,[42]
On 26 June 2018 Crofts signed forNewport County on a one-year contract.[43] He made his Newport debut in a 3–0 defeat atMansfield Town on 4 August.[44] Crofts was a 90th minute substitute for Newport in theLeague Two playoff final atWembley Stadium on 25 May 2019. He was released by Newport at the end of the 2018–19 season.[45]
In June 2019 Crofts joinedYeovil Town as a player-coach.[46] On 27 July 2019, however, he left the club to rejoinBrighton & Hove Albion as a player-coach with the club'sunder-23 side.[47] He played forBrighton U21s in the 2–0 away win overAFC Wimbledon in theEFL Trophy on 3 September 2019.[48]
One of his grandparents was born in Wales so he was eligible to play in theWelsh national team, and after representing the country at under-19 and under-21 levels he won his first seniorcap, in 2005. In 2008, he won his twelfth cap, breaking the record for themost international caps received by a Gillingham player. Crofts was selected for theWelsh national U-19 team in 2002.[3][49] He made his debut team appearance in theMilk Cup tournament in Northern Ireland, but was forced to return home after suffering an ankle injury in the first match.[50] In total he made eight appearances at under-19 level,[3] including appearing in a second Milk Cup in 2003.[51]
After moving up to the under-21 level Crofts was selected for thenational U-21 team for the first time in a match againstGermany in February 2005.[52] He went on to gain 12caps at this level, scoring one goal.[3]
He made his debut in theWelsh national team againstAzerbaijan on 12 October 2005, coming on as a substitute forCarl Fletcher.[53] At the end of the2005–06 season, as part of managerJohn Toshack's policy of introducing young players to the team, Crofts gained two further caps, both as a substitute, againstParaguay andTrinidad & Tobago,[54][55] and also played in an unofficial international match against aBasque Country XI.[56]
He was included in the starting line-up for an international for the first time in August 2007 when he played the full 90 minutes of a match againstBulgaria,[57] but was back on the substitutes' bench for theUEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match againstGermany the following month.[58] He became established as a regular member of the Welsh squad during theUEFA Euro 2012 qualifying tournament.
Crofts spent the 2020–21 season as a player-coach in Brighton's academy before, on 5 June 2021, becoming the head coach of the academy and ending his playing career.[59] His first professional match as a manager came on 14 September, in a 1–0 away loss toWalsall in theEFL Trophy group stage.[60] Crofts earned his first competitive victory as a manager on 2 November, in a 2–1 away win atNorthampton Town in the EFL Trophy.[61]
On 8 September 2022, he was appointed interim head coach of the Brightonfirst team after the departure ofGraham Potter.[62] AfterRoberto De Zerbi was appointed to replace Potter as manager, Crofts was appointed to the first team coaching staff.[63] On 23 August 2024, Crofts was promoted to the position of assistant head coach, working under head coachFabian Hürzeler.[64]
In August 2024 Crofts was appointed as assistant coach toWales national team managerCraig Bellamy.[65]
Crofts is a fan ofChelsea and at one time shared a flat with the club's future captainJohn Terry.[66] During his time as captain of Gillingham, he was involved with a number of charity events, including acting as a celebrity waiter at aGillingham pub and presenting a signed shirt to a brain damaged teenage fan.[67][68] In January 2005, he dedicated a match-winning goal to his grandmother Lily, who had died several months earlier.[69]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Gillingham | 2000–01[70] | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2001–02[19] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03[7] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04[8] | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05[9] | Championship | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 2 | |
| 2005–06[12] | League One | 45 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2[a] | 0 | 51 | 3 | |
| 2006–07[15] | 43 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1[a] | 0 | 47 | 9 | ||
| 2007–08[71] | 41 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 5 | ||
| 2008–09[72] | League Two | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 174 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 191 | 19 | ||
| Peterborough United (loan) | 2008–09[72] | League One | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Wrexham (loan) | 2008–09[72] | Conference Premier | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2009–10[73] | League One | 44 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 7 |
| Norwich City | 2010–11[74] | Championship | 44 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 8 |
| 2011–12[75] | Premier League | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
| Total | 68 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 8 | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2012–13[76] | Championship | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| 2013–14[77] | 23 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 6 | ||
| 2014–15[78] | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16[79] | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Total | 71 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 6 | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion combined total | 115 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 125 | 13 | ||
| Gillingham (loan) | 2015–16[79] | League One | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Charlton Athletic | 2016–17[80] | League One | 45 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 51 | 1 |
| 2017–18[81] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 46 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 54 | 1 | ||
| Scunthorpe United | 2017–18[81] | League One | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Newport County | 2018–19[82] | League Two | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Yeovil Town | 2019–20[83] | National League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion U23 | 2019–20 | — | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21 | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Total | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Career totals | 447 | 37 | 21 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 494 | 42 | ||
| National team | Season | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wales[3][84] | 2005–06 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006–07 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2011–12 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2012–13 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017–18 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 29 | 0 |
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
| Brighton & Hove Albion U23[a] | 5 June 2021 | 22 September 2022 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 025.00 |
