IN the South Wales Echo’s ‘looking back’ features page beside the picture of rugby fans celebrating Llanelli beating the All Blacks there is a small football story of note.
On this day (1972), Cardiff City paid a then record transfer fee believed to be between £45,000 and £50,000 for striker Andrew (Andy) McCulloch from Queens Park Rangers. That was a lot of money them days for a player who was not a first team regular. The two years he was with the London club, he played 41 games with ten goals to his name.
Manager Jimmy Scoular said,“McCulloch is just the type of player I have been looking for. He’s big and brave and I think he can score goals.”
Scoular was hoping to recreate a JohnToshack/Brain Clark, Clark/Alan Warboys partnership bring in McCulloch and was looking to Bob Woodruff to make duo.
Both previous duos had brought in the goals, but Cardiff were in decline. At the start of the 72/73 Cardiff and Sheffield United entered a swap deal that saw Warboys head to Sheffield and Gil Reece and Dave Powell move the other way to Ninian Park. Not long after that it was Clark turn to leave along with Ian Gibson to Bournemouth for a combined fee of £100,000.The newly enquired 22-year-old striker was thrown straight into the action against Preston scoring on his debut. He was subbed during the game with Woodruff coming on and scoring two with the game ending 3-0 to the Bluebirds. Have joined Cardiff at the end of Oct and by the end of the season this top score with 14 league goals and 5 goals in all other competitions.
The following season the Bluebirds were struggling again he only managed 10 league goals in 32 appearances and another 4-cup goals. At summer, Cardiff expected a £70,000 offer from Oxford United for the player giving the Welshman a profit on the deal that brought him to Ninian Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment