FRIENDS and former team-mates are shocked at the plight of Swindon Town goal-scoring legend Andy Rowland who is suffering from what is believed to be a form of dementia.

Doctors are monitoring the condition of 58-year-old Andy, the club’s eighth highest all-time goal-scorer, who was taken to hospital six weeks ago after becoming progressively ill.

His wife Julie has been forced to close the Swindon pub they run together, The Plough in Old Town, and is moving into her parents’ home with their children Megan, 13, and Holly, 11.

Andy’s future remains uncertain as experts try to discover the precise nature of his illness.

Swindon Town, meanwhile, are looking to organise a fundraising event in aid of the popular ex-striker.

Packing up their belongings at the Devizes Road pub, Julie, 40, said: “It’s been horrendous. You just don’t expect anything like this. I think that the worst thing is not knowing what’s going to happen.

“The doctors don’t really know what is wrong with Andy. They say it could be dementia but to what extent we just don’t know. It’s something of a grey area. It’s been such a shock. But you have to be positive.”

A former England youth player, the one-time Derby and Bury centre forward played 345 times for Swindon between 1978 and 1986, scoring 98 goals – including a memorable 1979 winner against Arsenal in a League Cup quarter final replay.

Andy spent a further decade at the County Ground in various coaching and managerial roles before taking over as landlord of The Plough in 1997.

Julie, who also works at nearby Croft playschool and sports centre, said Andy began to show signs of being unwell about a year ago.

She said: “He just didn’t seem himself. He began to have memory lapses, just forgetting small things. He was a bit off colour and started to get tired quickly. You don’t think too much about these things at first.”

However, his condition increasingly deteriorated over the last six months, with more acute bouts of tiredness.

Julie, who has been with Andy for 15 years, said: “He couldn’t manage in the bar like he normally could. I had to send him upstairs to rest.

“He wasn’t behaving in the same way. A customer might come in and Andy would disappear from behind the bar to do something else. He didn’t do it deliberately – it was just part of his illness. We lost a few customers because of it.”

She felt that concerns over a down-turn in trade, which is hitting countless other pubs in the UK, may have contributed to his condition.

“He was becoming a different person altogether. It became hard communicating with him.”

The Christmas and New Year period, she said, became especially tough for the family. Julie’s father, retired British Rover manager Keith Hayward, 70, took Andy’s place behind the bar while a friend, Ron Marsh, who once ran The Globe in Old Town, looked after the cellar for them.

Andy agreed to see a doctor in the New Year and was put on medication. But Julie said things got worse. He became unsteady on his feet and fell over on a number of occasions.

“He kept losing his balance. I had to pick him up a few times,” she said. Just over six weeks ago a further fall prompted Julie to call an ambulance and Andy was taken to Great Western Hospital, where he spent four weeks.

He was then transferred for specialist medical attention to Sandalwood Court in Stratton where, said Julie, he has undergone a big improvement.

“He seems a lot better. He’s sitting up chatting, getting some exercise, reading the paper.

“Physically, he looks a lot better. His condition is being monitored but they still don’t know exactly what is wrong.

“One of the hardest things is not knowing what will happen next, or for how long he will be in hospital.

“The doctors say it will be a long road. He may need some form of care when he gets out; we just don’t know.

“We are taking it one day at a time.”

During recent weeks it became apparent both to Julie and the pub’s owners Arkell’s that they could not continue to manage The Plough which is now awaiting a new licensee.

Julie added: “People have been so kind; the football club, his old team mates like Phil King.

“And we really appreciate the loyalty and kindnesses shown by many of our regular customers at The Plough.”

Swindon Town contacted Julie when they became aware of Andy’s situation.

Marketing and hospitality executive Adam Wainwright said they intend to stage a fundraising event, probably in May. He said: “Andy was a popular player here and worked in various capacities at the club after his playing days. When he left the club he remained in Swindon.

“We were obviously very concerned when we heard about his current situation and are keen to help.”

Adam envisaged former team-mates of Andy’s, or managers he had worked for or with, attending an event, possibly a dinner, alongside fans who wished to turn-up to support him.

He added that Andy’s family would decide how to use any proceeds from the event.

A high scoring career

BORN in Derby in 1954, Andy Rowland played for Derby and then Bury before being signed by Swindon for £85,000 in 1978.

From 1978 to 1986 he made 345 appearances for Town, scoring 98 goals – making him the club’s eighth highest scorer.

In the 1979-90 season he formed a formidable striking partnership with Alan Mayes, finishing as the club’s top scorer with 20 league goals in 11 in cup runs.

After retiring he was taken onto the coaching staff and served the club for a further 10 years.
During his teens Andy won several England Youth caps and scored a hat-trick against Scotland.