Some signings make perfect sense, while others – erm – don’t. It’s one of those aspects of being a football gaffer that draw the attention. If they work out, you’re a genius. Cloughie, GW, and Steve Evans all have form for making astute purchases. On the flip side, you have Wayne Turner’s catalogue of misfits that nearly flushed us out of the Conference. And then you have the outright bizarre signings – like defender Andy Iro in 2012. Like, why?
Andy Iro: Who Is He?
Even now, we can’t tell you why we brought in Iro; the defender snapped up by Gary Smith during the early part of the 2012-3 League One season. We can make an educated guess on the basis of his career up until he arrived at the Lamex, to be fair. But, first, let’s take some time to tell you more about the man. It’s one of the less conventional career paths that we come across in the Football League. And it starts across the Pond in Muricaaaa.
Born and raised in Liverpool, Iro was running a grocery store at the tender age of 17-years-old. A couple of years later, however, he found himself Stateside on a scholarship with the University of California, Santa Barbara. It set in motion a chain of events that’d lead to him pursuing a career in football; first turning out for UC Santa Barbara Gauchos as a “student-athlete”. Anyway, let’s not dwell on weird terms. Let’s focus on what this meant for him.
He caught the attention of Columbus Crew; drafted sixth ahead of the 2008 campaign. This was the start of a three-year stay at the team, which delivered two Supporters Shields and the MLS Cup. There was even game time in the CONCACAF Champions League to write home about. In 2011, however, his contract was coming to an end and – for some reason – it made the Crew decide to trade him. Iro would then find himself on the books at Toronto FC.
When did he sign and who from?
Iro’s time with Toronto was brief. He was on a contract that took him to the end of the 2011 season. But there’d be no extension as neither party could agree terms in January 2012. So, what happened next was the defender found himself available on a free. Not too long after, Gary Smith arrived at the Boro’ as our new boss; stepping into the big shoes left by Graham Westley. And that’s a minor, yet fundamental, part of this equation.
Smith had to deal with a pretty big changing of the guard at the Lamex during summer 2012. In came a raft of new faces to replace a fair few outgoing ones. But it wasn’t until September – after the summer window had closed – that Iro came in. Of course, there was no fee to pay as the defender was available on a free. Our confusion stems from what question Smith had asked at that point in time to which the answer brought about the arrival of Iro.
Did he play often?
We think our confusion is fairly well placed too. The reason? Iro didn’t play a single, rootin’ tootin’ game for us. He made the bench on 14 occasions without stepping onto the pitch to advance the Boro’ cause. Now, you could argue that he needed time to get up to speed and find his fitness after several months (apparently) out of senior action. You can also argue – on the flip side – that it was a signature lacking any real vision or justification.
Where is Andy Iro now?
Two months into his time with us, Iro did get a taste of first team football. It wasn’t with us, however. We shunted him out on loan to Barnet, then playing in League Two and not a non-league basket case as they since became. And to their credit they did give him some action to speak of; nine appearances his return for the Bees. He even got himself a goal while with them. But it didn’t prove to be any sort of catalyst for him to establish himself here.
Any hopes of breaking through into the Boro’ first team were all but ended when Smith got the sack in March 2013. Graham Westley came back to the club and we all know the type of player that he tended to go in for. Call it gut instinct but it never felt as if Iro would be that type. Lo and behold, the defender left the club during the summer; his one-year deal at an end. And, from what we can tell, that was the end of his professional football career.
To be fair, he found gainful employment in another walk of life. In late 2013, he was helping tech start-up Uber (heard of them?) get started in Santa Barbara. Of course, soccer was still part of his life in his capacity as coach and operator of the Next Step Academy.
