Published: Thursday, 26th April, 2007 12:00
The boy fae Kelty who became a Pars hero
By Ally McRoberts
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Pic by: Dunfermline Press
HE teamed up with an Italian hitman, scored a famed overhead kick, ended up in a gang of car thieves and smelled of rotten bananas for a period in the 1990s.
It probably doesn’t fit most fans’ image of Andy Tod but there’s more to his career than the old description of an honest trier who gives total commitment.
His reward for playing for the team he loves more than 350 times is a testimonial on Wednesday with old boys such as Istvan Kozma and Jackie McNamara paying tribute.
John Watson, Ross Jack, Stevie Morrison, Craig Brewster, Lee Bullen, Derek Stillie, David Bingham, Billy Dodds, Gordon Durie and Gerry Britton are also making it a night to remember for Tod.
“It’s every boy’s dream to play football professionally and even better to play for the team you’ve supported all your life,” Tod told Press Sport.
“I’ve loved every minute of it and I can’t wait for Wednesday as it’ll be great to meet up with so many old friends.”
The modest Par played down his skills – he laughingly described himself as “your typical worker/clogger” – but paid tribute to the fans.
“I always got on well with the fans and can’t thank them enough as they’ve always been superb with me,” he said.
Tod wandered down the Pars memory lane and recalled the mishaps with bananas, great goals and games, transfer moves and the managers who rated and rejected him.
Signed in 1993 by Bert Paton for “something like £2000” from Kelty Hearts, he quickly moved from maintenance man with a Kinross woollen mill to the Pars front line.
“My strike partner when I first came was Hamish (French) but we must have a combined age of about 90 now!”
It was probably Toddy’s favourite time and he said, “Playing under Bert and Dick was brilliant.
“The squad of boys all clicked and, although it’s an old cliche, we were one big happy family down to the backroom staff and the cleaners. We finished fifth in the Premier League, which was no mean feat given the shoestring budget Bert and Dick had.”
And it was a fun time off the pitch too. “I remember Ivo (den Bieman) used to drive this old Citroen ‘dolly’, it was like a can of baked beans on wheels, so one day we stole it from the car park and put it in the centre circle,” Tod laughed.
“It was all just banter and I got my share too. Westie actually put rotten banana under the insoles of my trainers and it wasn’t until the smell got terrible that I realised what was up.”
Tod was quickly converted to a centre half under the watchful eye of club legend Norrie McCathie, who died in 1996.
“To play with someone like that, you just learn,” he said.
“Norrie was everyone’s pal, full of mischief and banter and he was definitely missed.
“In a way it made us even more desperate to get promotion that season and it was a big relief when we finally made it, even if we did it the hard way.”
He still remembers two of the matches that season with particular relish – the 1-0 win at Tannadice and the 4-3 home win over Clydebank with Craig Robertson’s late screamer.
Also stuck in the memory bank are his first Pars goal, against Hamilton, an overhead kick at Dens Park, a late header at the old Broomfield and, bizarrely, a goal at Parkhead “in a 5-1 doing”.
Tod wasn’t part of Jimmy Calderwood’s plans and he went on trial with Preston and on loan to Stockport before signing for Jim Jeffries at Bradford in 2001.
He scored six goals in six games as a frontman again and smiled, “It was the classic big man, wee man partnership as I played up front with ‘Benny’ Carbone.
“It was a bit unorthodox, a boy fae Kelty and a boy from Italy, but it worked.”
Bradford wanted to keep Tod but would have owed the Pars money they didn’t have if he played one more game and, via Hearts and Dundee United, he was back in 2003.
“A team needs all kinds, workers and players, and he maybe realised I had something to offer,” Tod said of Calderwood’s decision to buy him back.
Pars boss Davie Hay didn’t plan to use Tod either but he worked his way into the team and finished up top scorer before being in and out again under Jim Leishman.
New boss Stephen Kenny has told the 35-year-old he’s not in his plans but the big man said, “Football is all about opinions but the manager is the top of the tree and you have to respect his decision. I’m not sure about the next step but we’ll see what happens.”
The match kicks off at 7.30pm and, for hospitality, you can call the Pars on 745901/910.
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