Andy Hill (footballer)

Hill was born in Maltby, Yorkshire. Upon leaving school in 1981, he began an apprenticeship at Manchester United. He played in the youth side that finished as FA Youth Cup runners-up to Watford in 1982, his teammates included Clayton Blackmore, Mark Hughes and Norman Whiteside. He also gained England Youth Honours, however fell out with manager Ron Atkinson after Atkinson asked Hill to withdraw from England duty as he disagreed with Graham Taylor's coaching methods.[3] He later signed as a professional but never got a first team game at Old Trafford and signed for Fourth Division club Bury in July 1984.

The "Shakers" secured the fourth and final automatic promotion place in 1984–85, and Hill was voted the club's Player of the Year. Hill was then appointed as captain by manager Martin Dobson, at the age of 19. Bury finished three points above the Third Division drop zone in 1985–86. They then finished comfortably in mid-table in 1986–87, 1987–88, and 1988–89. Sam Ellis then took over as manager, and led the club to the play-offs with a fifth-place finish in 1989–90 – they were then beaten by Tranmere Rovers at the semi-final stage. Under new boss Mike Walsh, Bury finished in the play-off places again in 1990–91, but this time lost to Bolton Wanderers at the semi-final stage. Hill played a total of 317 matches and scored 12 goals for the Gigg Lane club.

Following a successful loan spell, he signed for Manchester City in a £200,000 deal in March 1991, who were flying high in the First Division under Peter Reid's stewardship. The "Sky Blues" finished fifth in 1991–92, with Hill scoring a career high of four goals in his 41 appearances. He started 23 Premier League games in 1992–93, as the Maine Road club posted a ninth-place finish. The club slipped down the table under new boss Brian Horton in 1993–94 and 1994–95. Hill tore both of his groin muscles towards the end of the 1994–95 season, but was handed a new contract by Horton as a reward for playing out of position in midfield in a 2–1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on 11 April; however Hill rejected chairman Francis Lee's offer of a new two-year deal as it was on a reduced wage.[4] He told manager Alan Ball that he would not attend the club's pre-season tour of Ireland and Lee leaked this information to the Manchester Evening News.[4]

In August 1995, Hill joined John Rudge's First Division Port Vale for a £150,000 fee.[1] Hill agreed to a lower basic wage than at Manchester City, supplemented by six-monthly signing on fees and a free car from club chairman and garage owner Bill Bell.[4] He made his debut in a 1–0 win over Potteries derby rivals Stoke City at the Victoria Ground on 27 August; he had not met any of his new teammates until the morning of the match.[4] He later featured in the FA Cup fourth round giantkilling over Everton, though nearly missed the game after getting stuck in traffic.[4] At the end of the 1995–96 season he played in the 1996 Anglo-Italian Cup final, as Vale lost 5–2 to Genoa. He made 43 appearances in 1996–97, as the "Valiants" made their highest post-war finish. He played 31 games at Vale Park in the 1997–98 season, before announcing his retirement in May 1998.[4]