 Friday, 22nd Jun 2012 11:37 How many Saints fans under the age of 40 have heard the name Emmanuel Franciszek Andruszewski ? Sadly not many as he was a player who gave great service to the club. Manny Andruszewski as he was more commonly known was born in Eastleigh on 04/10/1955 to Polish parents who arrived in the country after the second world war, if younger readers think the recent influx of poles is a new thing, think again back in the 1950's outhampton was the centre of a thriving Polish community centred around Portswood and Eastleigh both of which had their own social clubs and indeed local football teams. Manny was raised in Chandlers Ford and attended St Georges School joining Saints schoolboy ranks in 1970 and then becoming an apprentice at the Dell in 1972. What best could be described as an uncompromising defender, he was one of those players who suffered from being able to play in a variety of position and thus never seemed to be able to get a prolonged run in the team in one . t heart though he was a central defender and it was in this position he made his debut for the club in a 3-0 away win at West Brom in February 1975 still aged only 19as an inconsistent Saints struggled to cope with their first year back in the second division, he would be an ever present for the remainder of the season and Saints supporters talked of him as a future Dell star. But if he hoped that 75/76 would be the year he established himself he would be wrong, the initial central defensive partnership was Paul Bennett and Mel Blyth and then Jim Steele replacing Bennett and Manny could not seem to find any consistency playing 32 reserve games in several positions but only 6 in the first team. Perhaps with the FA Cup win of 1976 there were many who saw Saints ambitions as higher than Manny and that his days at the Dell would be numbered, but the prediction of his demise was premature and he would still have a big part to play, 76/77 saw him play another dozen games in the first XI, even scoring twice to show there was life in him yet. Undoubtably his best season was 1977/78, the season of Saints promotion back to the top flight, Chris Nicholl and Mike Pickering were first choice centre halves, playing 39 and 41 of the 42 game campaign respectively, but Manny found himself a key figure in Lawrie Mcmenemy's plans, often he would fill in at Full back, indeed most of his games including the last dozen of the season where in the right back spot, but sometimes Mcmenemy would use him either as a sweeper or a man marker as the tactics dictated, playing 27 games that season, Manny could truly say he had played a big part in the club's promotion. But 78/79 would be an anti climax for Manny, Malcolm Waldron who in many respects was a similar sort of player to him made the central defensive position vacated by Pickering his own and Manny would play only ten league games, however perhaps his best ever game for the club came not in the league, but in the League Cup. Saints travelled to Birmingham City for their first game of the season in that competition on the back of a dodgy start to life in the top flight again, although they did have the weekends home win agaianst Middlesbrough to improve morale, Birmingham were not a great team, however they did have perhaps the countries most wanted player at the time, Trevor Francis in their rank, to cut a long story short Manny was given the job of man marking Francis which he did so with great effect as Saints stormed to a 5-2 victory, the nations golden boy escaping his shackles only once to score the final goal of the game in the 78th minute, but by then it was too late. Manny would only make one more contribution to the league Cup campaign in a 2-0 cup replay against Reading and would sadly not make the Wembley team. 1979/80 would be his last season for the club, or at least the last one he would play a game in, he played 11(1) times and even scored a goal, but with the announcement of the arrival of Kevin Keegan and the signing of current England international Dave Watson, at 25 Manny was no longer one for the future and Saints sights were at this time perhaps set a bit higher, as where manny's, his final game coming in a 2-0 defeat at Everton in April 1980. In the summer of that year he signed for USA side Tampa Bay Rowdies for the not inconsiderable fee of £150,000, but he never settled in the States and illness forced a return to England, he had a trial for Luton Town in October 1981 who were a top flight club back then, but it was to the Dell he would return in January 1982 as McMenemy looked for some short term defensive cover, but he would not play a first team game and left for the second and final time in the summer. Strangely he then became one of those players who after a solid career in the top half of the football league seem to drop out of it prematurely, when he joined Aldershot in August 1982, he was still only 26, yet his League career was almost at an end, he did play in the league for the Shots but the following summer was released, he had trials at a number of clubs, but something seemed to be missing, he did have a spell back in the States playing for Houston Dynamos in an indoor league, but the start of 1984/85 saw him still only 28 and turning out for Netwly Central Sports in the Hampshire league with is career effectively over. The last known information on him was in 2003, he was still living in the Southampton area and working for furniture store Peter Green, older Saints fans will remember Manny Andruszewski with affection, he was a decent whole hearted player who could certainly play a bit, perhaps he was one of those players that just dont get the right breaks, if he had of done he certainly had it in him to have a longer career than he actually did. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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