The Perth Glory has unveiled former Blackburn captain Andy Todd after he signed a one-year contract with the club over the weekend.
Thirty-four-year-old central defender Todd has been in Perth for the last week completing a medical and organising to move from the United Kingdom, where he has most recently played for Derby County in the Coca Cola Championship.
Todd’s contract at the Rams expired at the end of last season, manager Nigel Cough opting to let him go as he attempts to rebuild the side after it struggled to finish 18th in the Championship following its relegation from the Premier League in 2007-08.
“I’m delighted to come,” declared Todd on Monday.
“Obviously it is a big move, three young children and the wife to keep happy but I’ve been over for a week now and we just want to get things sorted and get back over here.”
After stints at Middlesbrough, Bolton and Charlton, Todd came to public attention when he transferred to Blackburn in 2002.
Although he initially struggled to break into the first-team side, Todd was re-drafted in after a successful loan spell at Burnley and his ‘never-say-die’ approach helped Rovers to a respectable position on the Premiership table after a lean start to the 2002-03 campaign.
Todd also earned Blackburn’s player of the year award for that season before being handed the captaincy for 2004-05, winning the club’s highest honour once again and leading Rovers to European qualification.
By the end of 2006-07, however, Todd was struggling for a consistent run in the first team and he eventually transferred to Derby for the Rams’ disastrous 2007-08 Premiership campaign, which saw them automatically sent back to the Championship.
Loaned out to League One outfit Northampton until January this year, Todd said he’d been contacted by Perth in a bid to have him loaned to the Western Australian club, but Championship regulations prevented this occurring.
“It wasn’t for lack of trying (that we didn’t get Todd on loan),” said Glory coach Dave Mitchell.
“We’d been talking to Andy for a few months now and it’s great that he came over here and he fell in love with the city and he can see what we’re trying to do with the club.”
“To have someone of his calibre join, we wanted to being quality into the team and that’s an example of what we’re doing.”
Mitchell said that quality extended to new striker Branko Jelic, the Glory also announcing the Serbian forward had signed a three-year contract with the club after leaving German Bundesliga side Energie Cottbus.
“He’s very clever on the ball and can sniff a goal out in the penalty box, so he’s a real threat in there,” Mitchell said.
“He’s had a good career when he played at Red Star Belgrade, he scored quite a few goals before going over to Asia and in particular China, where he won the golden boot there.”
“In the Bundesliga, he had a bit of an indifferent season this year, been in and out of the side, but he’s a quality player and a goal scorer so that’s what we’re looking for from him.”
