22 Facts About Andy Townsend

1.

Andrew David Townsend was born on 23 July 1963 and is a former professional footballer and sports co-commentator for Premier League Productions and CBS Sports.

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2.

Andy Townsend played in the Football League for Southampton, Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion.

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3.

Andy Townsend has commentated for BT Sport, Talksport and BBC Radio 5 Live.

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4.

Andy Townsend was born in Maidstone, Kent, but grew up in Bexley, where he attended Upton Primary School in Bexleyheath, followed by Bexleyheath School.

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5.

Andy Townsend began his playing career in August 1980 with Welling United in the Athenian League, while working as a computer operator for Greenwich Borough Council in south-east London.

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6.

Andy Townsend was a hard-tackling, hard-working midfielder with an eye for goal.

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7.

Andy Townsend retained his place in the Norwich midfield and ended the season with 36 league appearances with five goals.

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8.

Andy Townsend made six FA Cup appearances with two goals against Port Vale in the Third Round on 7 January 1989.

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9.

At the season's end, Andy Townsend was shortlisted for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, which was won by Mark Hughes.

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10.

Andy Townsend made 37 appearances in his first season on Teesside, scoring twice as Boro' won promotion to the Premier League.

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11.

Andy Townsend played in the next year's World Cup, in Italy, where he played in all five of Ireland's matches.

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12.

Andy Townsend was captain of the Ireland squad for the 1994 World Cup.

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13.

Andy Townsend took over from Ron Atkinson as the channel's lead co-commentator, forming a long-running partnership with main commentator Clive Tyldesley, as well as appearing as a studio pundit.

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14.

Andy Townsend co-hosted Talksport's Weekend Sports Breakfast on Sundays with Mike Parry, and hosted the station's drive-time show on Fridays.

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15.

Andy Townsend hosted the mid morning discussion on talkSPORT from 10am to 1pm from Monday to Friday, having replaced Jon Gaunt, who was sacked for calling a guest a Nazi.

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16.

Andy Townsend left the station because he no longer wanted to commute from his Midlands home to the London studio.

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17.

Andy Townsend was part of ITV's coverage of the Premier League after they won the rights from the BBC to show top flight football on Saturday evening.

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18.

Andy Townsend made his co-commentating debut on 15 February 2015, co-commentating on Arsenal vs Middlesbrough in the FA Cup fifth round alongside Ian Darke.

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19.

Andy Townsend has presented BBC Radio 5 Live and written columns for the Daily Mail.

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20.

Andy Townsend is the son of former Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace defender Don Townsend.

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21.

Andy Townsend was a consultant for Harlequin Property, where he helps set up football schools at their Caribbean resorts.

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22.

Andy Townsend ran in the Great North Run in 2007, finishing in a time of 2 hours and 20 minutes.

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