Josh Andrews (footballer)

Josh Andrews

Personal information
Full name	Joshua Matthew Andrews [1]
Date of birth	(2001-10-16) 16 October 2001 (age 23) [2]
Place of birth	Solihull, England
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) [3]
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Gillingham
Number	9
Youth career
	Wychall Wanderers
2009–2020	Birmingham City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2020–2024	Birmingham City	0	(0)
2021	→ Harrogate Town (loan)	3	(0)
2021–2022	→ Rochdale (loan)	17	(3)
2022–2023	→ Doncaster Rovers (loan)	4	(0)
2023–2024	→ Accrington Stanley (loan)	20	(5)
2024–	Gillingham	15	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:50, 15 December 2024 (UTC)

Joshua Matthew Andrews (born 16 October 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL League Two club Gillingham. Andrews began his career with Birmingham City, but never played for their first team. He made his Football League debut while on loan to Harrogate Town of League Two in 2021, and made three more loans to League Two clubs, Rochdale in 2021–22, Doncaster Rovers in the first half of 2022–23, and Accrington Stanley in the first half of 2023–24, before joining Gillingham in February 2024.

Early and personal life

Andrews was born in Solihull, ^[2] where he attended Greswolde Primary School ^[4] and Langley School, ^[2] and played football for Wychall Wanderers. ^[4] He was a childhood fan of Birmingham City. ^[2]

Career

Birmingham City

Andrews joined Birmingham City's academy in 2009, ^[2] and took up a scholarship with the club in July 2018. ^[5] According to his club profile at under-23 level, he "cites his finishing, hold-up play and runs in behind as his main attributes and is looking to make improvements in his heading." ^[2]

Birmingham City made him an offer of professional terms in April 2020, and in July he signed a two-year contract with an option for a third year. ^{[6] [7]} In November, coach Steve Spooner highlighted his having "grown into his body", so that the 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) youth had become a large man with increasing ability to use his physicality, as well as "finding and working space for himself inside the box". ^[8] He scored seven goals in four matches for Birmingham's under-23 team in October and November, including all four in a 5–4 loss to Ipswich Town U23 and winners against Swansea City U23 and Colchester United U23, ^[8] and by the end of January 2021 had nine goals and four assists from eleven appearances. ^{[9] [10]}

Andrews signed for League Two club Harrogate Town on 1 February 2021 on loan for the remainder of the season. ^[10] According to Harrogate manager Simon Weaver, "It's his first loan which means it's not about starting every game but adapting to the culture and learning. When Birmingham told me he's the type of lad that's willing to learn, it became a no-brainer for us." ^[9] His Birmingham U23 team-mate Mitchell Roberts had made the same move a few weeks earlier. ^[11] Andrews made his club and Football League debut on 6 February, as a very late substitute in a 3–1 win away to Crawley Town. ^[12] He made an similarly brief appearance in the next match, ^[13] returned to Birmingham for treatment to an injury, ^[14] and was not used again until the final fixture of the season. ^[13] He returned to help Birmingham's U23s win the overall Professional Development League title. According to the Birmingham Mail , his introduction at half-time was "a big reason for Blues' improved second half showing" in the semi-final against Bristol City U23, ^[15] and he played the last quarter-hour of the final, in which Birmingham beat Sheffield United U23 2–0. ^[16]

Andrews joined another League Two club, Rochdale, on 10 August 2021 on loan for the 2021–22 season. ^[17] He made his debut a week later, replacing the injured Jake Beesley after 24 minutes of a 2–1 defeat at home to Forest Green Rovers. ^[18] Andrews started the next match, away to previously unbeaten Northampton Town; after 73 minutes, he beat the offside trap to score his first senior goal and help his side secure their first win of the season. ^[19] Injury again interrupted his progress: a hamstring problem kept him out for several weeks, ^[20] but he returned to form, with four goals from twelve matches. According to Rochdale manager Robbie Stockdale, he was getting into good positions but needed to take his chances: "I think he himself would say he probably should be on five or six now – which would be a good return for the games he has been available for." ^[21] After turning his ankle in January 2022, ^[22] he returned to Birmingham for treatment. Having demonstrated his fitness with a "thunderbolt goal" for Birmingham's U23s, ^[23] he made five brief substitute appearances for Rochdale over the last six weeks of the season to take his totals to five goals from 22 matches in all competitions. ^[24]

In April 2022, Birmingham took up their option to extend Andrews' contract for a further year. ^[25] In July, he joined another League Two club, Doncaster Rovers, on loan until January 2023. ^{[3] [26]} After five appearances without scoring, Andrews returned to Birmingham for treatment to tendonitis in his knee, ^[27] and did not play for Doncaster again. ^[28]

Another League Two club, Accrington Stanley, signed Andrews on 22 July 2023 on loan for the coming season. ^{[29] [30]} He played the whole of the opening fixture, a 3–0 win at home to Newport County, and in the EFL Cup against Bradford City, he tied the scores with a powerful header shortly after coming on as a second-half substitute, but Stanley lost the match on penalties. ^{[31] [32]} Andrew scored six goals from 22 appearances in all competitions before being recalled by Birmingham on 1 February 2024, transfer deadline day. ^[33]

Gillingham

Andrews joined League Two club Gillingham on 1 February 2024 for an undisclosed fee. ^{[34] [35]} Injuries prevented Andrews from making his debut for the Kent side until 23 March, when he appeared as a 79th-minute substitute in a 3–2 away win over Morecambe. ^{[36] [37]} He made his first start on 13 April in a 3–0 win against Barrow; in first-half stoppage-time, he took Remeao Hutton's through ball round the goalkeeper to open the scoring, and in the second half, he won the corner from which a Barrow player scored an own goal. ^[38] He finished the season with seven appearances and one goal. ^[31]

Career statistics

As of match played 14 December 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Birmingham City	2020–21 [13]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2021–22 [39]	Championship	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	2022–23 [40]	Championship	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	2023–24 [31]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Harrogate Town (loan)	2020–21 [13]	League Two	3	0	—		—		—		3	0
Rochdale (loan)	2021–22 [39]	League Two	17	3	2	1	2	0	1 [a]	1	22	5
Doncaster Rovers (loan)	2022–23 [40]	League Two	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
Accrington Stanley (loan)	2023–24 [31]	League Two	20	5	1	0	1	1	0	0	22	6
Gillingham	2023–24 [31]	League Two	7	1	—		—		—		7	1
	2024–25 [41]	League Two	8	0	1	0	0	0	2 [a]	1	11	1
	Total		15	1	1	0	0	0	2	1	18	2
Career total			59	9	4	1	4	1	3	2	71	13

1. Appearances in EFL Trophy

References

1. "Club list of registered players" (PDF). English Football League. 23 June 2020. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
2. "Josh Andrews". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
3. "Rovers sign Birmingham striker Josh Andrews on loan". Doncaster Rovers F.C. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
4. "Brummie Kickboxing legend Kash 'the Flash' Gill's son signs for Birmingham City". Birmingham Mail. 24 March 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
5. "List of Players Registered as Scholars in Accordance with Rule C.3 Between 01/07/2018 and 31/07/2018". The Football Association. p. 49. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 August 2019.
6. "Blues offer first professional deals to five". Birmingham City F.C. 29 April 2020. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
7. "Andrews pens professional deal". Birmingham City F.C. 2 July 2020. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
8. Dick, Brian (12 November 2020). "Seven in four – The teenage striker on fire for Birmingham City's Under 23s". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
9. Howell, Rhys (1 February 2021). "Opportunity to take young Birmingham City hot-shot on loan too tempting for Harrogate Town to turn down". Harrogate Advertiser. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
10. "Josh Andrews: Harrogate sign Blues striker Andrews". BBC Sport. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
11. Howell, Rhys (8 January 2021). "Mitchell Roberts 'buzzing' to join Harrogate Town on loan from Birmingham City". Harrogate Advertiser. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
12. "Crawley 1–3 Town – It's another win on the road!". Harrogate Town A.F.C. 6 February 2021. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
13. "Games played by Josh Andrews in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
14. Rayner, Stuart (26 March 2021). "Josh Andrews and Mitch Roberts back but Harrogate Town will not rush them onto the pitch". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
15. Dick, Brian (14 May 2021). "Birmingham City Under 23s player ratings vs Bristol City: Redmond strikes late to send Blues through". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
16. Dick, Brian (24 May 2021). "Blues U23s vs Sheff Utd U23s player ratings: Man City trainee sparkles as George blunts Blades". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
17. "Josh Andrews: Birmingham City loan forward to Rochdale for the season". BBC Sport. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
18. "Report: Rochdale 1–2 Forest Green Rovers". Rochdale A.F.C. 15 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
19. Heneghan, James (21 August 2021). "Dale deliver at Sixfields as Cobblers suffer first defeat of the season". Northampton Chronicle. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
20. Ramsdale, Ben (7 October 2021). "Birmingham City provide injury update on loan pair; Josh Andrews & Ryan Stirk". Birmingham World. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
21. Dick, Brian (3 December 2021). "League Two boss sets target for Birmingham City's 'Baby Zigic' in contract year". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
22. "Josh Andrews sidelined for at least six weeks". Rochdale A.F.C. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
23. Dick, Brian (22 March 2022). "'Looking after himself better' – Glowing verdict as Birmingham City starlet returns with stunner". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
24. "J. Andrews". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
25. Dick, Brian (11 April 2022). "Confirmed: Birmingham City make big contract decisions over three academy starlets". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
26. "Doncaster sign Birmingham's Andrews on loan". BBC Sport. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
27. Jones, Steve (28 August 2022). "Doncaster Rovers miss out on two strikers as Birmingham City loanee returns to parent club". Doncaster Free Press. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
28. "Blues' Josh Andrews returns from loan". Birmingham City F.C. 8 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
29. "Signing: Josh joins on loan". Accrington Stanley F.C. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
30. "Accrington sign Andrews, Shipley and Mellor". BBC Sport. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
31. "Games played by Josh Andrews in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
32. Parker, Simon (8 August 2023). "Bantams beat Accrington on penalties in Carabao Cup". Telegraph & Argus. Bradford. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
33. Pearson, Luke (1 February 2024). "Departure: Andrews returns to Birmingham City". Accrington Stanley F.C. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
34. "Gills complete permanent signing of Josh Andrews". Gillingham F.C. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
35. "Jorge Cabezas Hurtado: Gillingham sign Watford striker & Birmingham's Josh Andrews". BBC Sport. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
36. Cawdell, Luke (7 March 2024). "Gillingham injury latest on striker Josh Andrews and midfielder George Lapslie ahead of Tranmere Rovers game on Saturday – Remeao Hutton and Conor Masterson issue dealt with added coach Robbie Stockdale". Kent Online. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
37. Cawdell, Luke (27 March 2024). "Josh Andrews made his Gillingham debut at Morecambe after joining from Birmingham City on February 1". Kent Online. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
38. "Gillingham 3–0 Barrow". BBC Sport. 13 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
39. "Games played by Josh Andrews in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
40. "Games played by Josh Andrews in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
41. "Games played by Josh Andrews in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2024.