MK Dons Football Club have been saddened to hear of Chief Scout Andy King’s sudden passing at the age of 58.
Born in Luton, King began his football career with his hometown side, the Hatters, before joining Everton for a reported fee of £35,000 in April 1976.
He made 248 appearances for the Toffees and scored 67 goals, including a stunning winner in the Merseyside derby against Liverpool in October 1978 – a strike which ended the Goodison Park outfit’s seven-year wait for a win over their rivals.
In 1980, King signed for Queens Park Rangers where he became the first professional footballer to score on a synthetic surface. He spent just one season in London before moving to West Bromwich Albion and then re-joining Everton in 1982.
After leaving Merseyside two seasons later, King would go on to feature for a number of clubs across Europe, including Dutch side Cambuur Leeuwarden and Swedish outfit Orebro SK. He ended his playing career at Southport.
In 1993, King was appointed manager of Mansfield Town and he led them to the Third Division play-offs in his second season before taking up the assistant manager’s job at Swindon Town.
King then took over as manager at the County Ground and guided the Robins to the play-offs in 2004. He later took charge of Grays Athletic and Northampton Town – the latter on a caretaker basis.
He moved to the Dons in February 2014 to help with recruiting players for Karl Robinson – playing his role in the side’s promotion-winning campaign.
Andy was a much loved and respected figure throughout football, a magnificent individual and friend to so many at the Club. His contribution to MK Dons will never be forgotten and he will be greatly missed.
The thoughts of everyone at MK Dons are with Andy’s wife Barbara, his family and his friends at this sad and difficult time.
He made 248 appearances for the Toffees and scored 67 goals, including a stunning winner in the Merseyside derby against Liverpool in October 1978 – a strike which ended the Goodison Park outfit’s seven-year wait for a win over their rivals.
In 1980, King signed for Queens Park Rangers where he became the first professional footballer to score on a synthetic surface. He spent just one season in London before moving to West Bromwich Albion and then re-joining Everton in 1982.
After leaving Merseyside two seasons later, King would go on to feature for a number of clubs across Europe, including Dutch side Cambuur Leeuwarden and Swedish outfit Orebro SK. He ended his playing career at Southport.
In 1993, King was appointed manager of Mansfield Town and he led them to the Third Division play-offs in his second season before taking up the assistant manager’s job at Swindon Town.
King then took over as manager at the County Ground and guided the Robins to the play-offs in 2004. He later took charge of Grays Athletic and Northampton Town – the latter on a caretaker basis.
He moved to the Dons in February 2014 to help with recruiting players for Karl Robinson – playing his role in the side’s promotion-winning campaign.
Andy was a much loved and respected figure throughout football, a magnificent individual and friend to so many at the Club. His contribution to MK Dons will never be forgotten and he will be greatly missed.
The thoughts of everyone at MK Dons are with Andy’s wife Barbara, his family and his friends at this sad and difficult time.
