All you need to know on new Bangor City boss Andy Legg

On the evening of the first day of the eighth month of the year, Bangor City surprised all as they announced Andy Legg as the successor to recently departed and long term servant of the club Neville Powell.

Andy Preece seemed nailed on for the vacant job at the North Wales outfit but former Llanelli Town player and manager Andy Legg made a return to Wales’ top flight after a four year absence.

So where has he been?
Andy Legg has been doing media work recently and was scheduled to be at Birmingham City vs Cardiff City for BBC Radio Wales, he will still attend that as he spoke to BBC Radio Wales tonight confirming his appearance. He was out in France mingling with Wales supporters on their European Championship adventure. ‘Leggy’ has also been involved in charity games, the most recent being for the charity Kyle’s Goal.

Who has he played for?
The Citizens manager has played for twelve clubs in total, with most of his time spent in South Wales as he played for his exiled Welsh sides Swansea City, Cardiff City and Newport County.

Andy began his career at Briton Ferry Athletic where surprisingly the full-black was played up front after joining Middlesbrough on a trial. He then joined Manchester City on a trial as well but was unsuccessful.

Instead he found fortune at home town club Swansea City where he was handed a professional contract by Terry Yorath after playing in a reserve fixture against Cardiff City in August 1988. This was a late start for Legg who made his debut in a 2-0 defeat to Bristol City at the age of 22. Legg made 150 appearances for Swansea City, winning a Welsh Cup in the process. He also featured in Europe for the Swans against Panathinaikos and AS Monaco.

Legg was shipped out to Notts County and then to Birmingham City. The move to Birmingham City saw him earn his first Wales cap on the 24th April 1996 in a 2-0 loss to Switzerland. A loan move to Ipswich was on the cards as a contract extension failed to materialise. Legg joined Reading to link up with friend Jason Bowen. Although Tommy Burns came in and he was exempt from training with the first team.

Surprisingly the Neath born full-back made the move to South Wales rivals Cardiff City, despite starting his professional career at Swansea City. The move was met with a negative reaction where he had reported death threats. But he managed to turn the minds of Cardiff City supporters immediately, winning the club’s player of the season award for two years in a row from the 1999-2000 season on wards. A non-malignant tumour was found on his neck but he decided to continue for the remainder of the season.

His time at the club came to an end when Cardiff City asked him to take a 70% pay cut for the 2003/2004 season. His final appearance for Cardiff would be in front of 66,096 people where he played a part in Cardiff’s play-off final win over Queens Park Rangers which would see them promoted to the second tier of English football.

Legg would return to Peterborough United, a club he played at on loan for. A second lump appeared this time in his throat but again Legg postponed until the end of the season. Legg would play his final professional game on the 9th April 2005, a 1-0 victory over Blackpool for Peterborough.

Legg would continue to prolong his playing career at non league side Newport County and Hucknall Town.

Managerial Honours

Andy Legg saw his first managerial opportunity come in January 2007 when Legg replaced Kevin Wilson at Hucknall Town, Legg was still playing semi-professional football with the club and adopted the role of player-manager. In his first six months, he guided Hucknall to a 12th placed finish in the Conference North Division of England. He kept the role until September 2007 where he felt he couldn’t continue as he saw his side lose six games in a row.

Andy Legg returned to Llanelli Town where he had previously played a total of four games. This proved to be a wise decision, as in the 2007/2008 season Llanelli won the Welsh Premier League, ending The New Saints three year dominance.

In 2009, he became manager of Llanelli Town, bringing an end to his playing career. In his first season, he narrowly missed out on another league title, this time as a manager, as The New Saints finished with a two point gap over The Reds.

Llanelli would finish two places below what they did the season before, but would see qualification to the Europa League Second Qualifying Round as Leggy guided Llanelli to victory in the Welsh Cup at Parc y Scarlets, against the man he replaced and the side he manages now, Neville Powell’s Bangor City.

In the 2011/2012 season, which would be Legg’s final full season as Llanelli manager, he guided the side to a fourth placed finish again but this time there would be no Europa League play-offs for his side.

Financial troubles saw Legg depart the club as he could not continue serving the club who he had won domestic honours with.