Armadale have pulled off one of the coups of the season by signing former Blackburn Rovers captain Andy Todd. A veteran with in excess of 400 games experience in England and Australia, 38-year old Todd put pen to paper during the week and could line-up for his new club in Saturday’s opening round Premier Division clash with Balcatta at Alfred Skeet Oval. “It is a huge coup for the club and the league, and obviously lifts the profile of our club,” Armadale coach Lee Bamber said. “Andy brings a wealth of experience, which we felt we lacked last year as we have a very young squad. He’s also a player that understands what is needed at certain times in the game.”

The opportunity for Todd to join Armadale for the 2013 State League season came about through the defender’s friendship with Bamber. “We’d kept in touch following our time at Perth Glory and he’d expressed his desire to move back to Perth and to get involved in coaching,” explained Bamber, who was goalkeeper coach at Glory when Todd played for the club between 2009 and 2011. “We had a position within the club that we felt would suit him and if he was fit he might be able to enhance our playing squad. It also makes a statement of our intent to be more proactive in moving the club forward and dismissing some of the stigma perceived by others who are not associated with the club.”

Todd started out as a trainee with Middlesbrough, where he earned a first team debut at the age of 18. He joined Bolton Wanderers in mid-1995 and across four and a half seasons made over 100 appearances, helping the club to the 1996/97 Division One championship. A switch to Charlton Athletic saw Todd collect a second Division One champions medal, this one in 1999/2000, and made a further 51 appearances. By mid-2002 he was on the move again, this to Blackburn where over the course of five seasons he played 113 times. Along the way Todd was twice voted the clubs’ player of the year and between 2004 and 2006 wore the captain’s armband, including in European competition.

The next port of call for Todd was Derby County, however, not all went according to plan and after making only scattered appearances across two campaigns he was released. In search of a fresh challenge, he signed on with Glory for the 2009/10 summer. Todd was an instant success in Perth, winning the Most Glorious Player and Player's Player of the Year awards at the end of his first season and gaining a total of 41 outings. On returning to England he turned out for Oldham Athletic and Hereford United before hanging up his playing boots. In total Todd played 404 games in a 19-year professional career, the majority of which was spent in the top two tiers of English football.