Yorkshire born forward Andy Booth was David Pleat's big summer signing of 1996 having splashed out £2.8 million to Huddersfield Town for his services. Pleat was looking to the future in signing then 24 year old Booth with Owls legend David Hirst coming to the end of his Hillsborough days and fellow forward Mark Bright, who also enjoyed an illustrious career with Wednesday, to depart later in the season.
Booth made an immediate impact scoring twice in his first four games to help the Owls to top the Premier League table by the end of the first month. Booth went on to top the scoring charts at the club with 12 goals in league & cup competitions, as Wednesday finished a respectable 7th in the table.
The following season proved to be less successful for Booth, scoring just seven times, as the Italian duo of Benito Carbone and Paulo Di Canio stole the show. By this stage the 6"0 striker had established himself as a favourite on the terraces with his down to earth nature and 110% commitment on the pitch.
Booth scoring rates in the following two seasons of a goal every six games did not help Wednesday's cause as they began to struggle under the guidance of Danny Wilson. After being relegated in 1999/00 Booth was with the club for another six months before making a move back to his hometown club Huddersfield for a fraction of the fee spent on him five years previous.
Booth ended up scoring 34 times for the Owls in 154 appearances over five seasons - and while that scoring record of a goal every four games might not be anything to write home about, if only more of Wednesday's so called stars during that era had mirrored the grit and determination of Booth the Owls might not have endured the six year slump that followed. |
