It’s been a busy couple of weeks on the transfer front for the Robins as hot on the heels of James Westlake and Bradley Tighe’s returns to the Beacon, Mark Dalgleish has completed the signing of Andy Whittingham.
Whittingham will be a familiar face to seasoned Hassocks watchers having previously played for the club some seven years ago as a young left back.
He first arrived at the club in the summer of 2010 as a 19-year-old, one of a number of signings who made the move from Steyning Town along with Mark Dalgleish following Dalgleish’s appointment as assistant to Mickey Jewell.
Despite his young age, it didn’t take long for Whittingham to establish himself as first choice left back, taking to his first season of top-flight football like a duck to water as he made 40 appearances in his debut campaign at the Beacon, starting 39 times and appearing once from the bench.
The attacking threat offered by both Whittingham on the left and fellow new signing Rob South from the right back position were a key component of the success of Jewell’s first season at the helm in which the Robins equalled their best ever finish of sixth in the Premier Division.
Whittingham was equally solid in defence and not afraid to put the boot in, picking up a superb red card within 10 games of his debut after producing a kung-fu kick to the chest of a Blackfield & Langney player in the Robins’ 3-2 FA Vase exit down in Hampshire.
By the end of the 2010-11 season he was a firm crowd favourite but Chris Maynard’s return from a broken leg and conversion from a left winger to a full back meant that Whittingham found his first team opportunities limited at the start of the 2011-12 season.
He made just four starts with seven further appearances following from the bench before departing for Seaford Town in search of first team football.
Whittingham went onto return to the top flight of the Southern Combination League, enjoying spells with both Hailsham Town and AFC Uckfield Town.
Whittingham made the first appearance of his second spell at the Beacon in last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Eastbourne Town and was straight back into the swing of things, picking up a yellow card inside of an hour.
He followed that up with another booking in Tuesday night’s 3-0 RUR Cup Quarter Final exit to Haywards Heath Town, much to delight of Maynard and former captain Ashley Marsh who were reminiscing about Whittingham’s judo exploits of eight years ago on Twitter at the time.
His signing looks another astute piece of business from Dalgelish and boosts the Robins squad as they enter the critical Christmas and New Year period of the season.
