Andy Welsh

After impressing in a three-day trial with Sunderland in November 2004, Welsh signed with the club for £15,000, and could have included a compensation for amount of time on the field stipulation to £35,000. Upon signing for Sunderland he was assigned the vacant number 11 shirt, and made his club debut on 1 January 2005 in a 3–2 defeat to Preston North End , replacing Marcus Stewart in the 68th minute. He scored two goals in eight appearances during the 2004–05 season for Sunderland. [ 6 ] Welsh made his first start for Sunderland a week later on 8 January 2005, scoring a free kick in a 2–1 victory against Crystal Palace . Welsh went on to make eight appearances that season, scoring again, against QPR at Loftus Road on 2 April. After Sunderland's promotion to the Premier League , Welsh retained the number 11 shirt, starting the season in place of injured defender George McCartney . However, Welsh was controversially sent off in only the second game of the season against Liverpool at Anfield on 20 August 2005, although the decision was later overturned on appeal. Welsh found himself out of the Sunderland team after Christmas, and many thought he had played his last game for the club after he was loaned to Championship club Leicester on 1 March 2006. Welsh went on to make ten appearances for Leicester, scoring one goal, helping to stave off relegation for the Foxes. Four days after playing his last game for Leicester, Welsh was back at Sunderland, playing in the club's last two games, against Fulham and Aston Villa , under new caretaker manager Kevin Ball . Following the transfer of popular midfielder Julio Arca to Middlesbrough in the summer, Welsh was expected to start the season as first choice winger, however injury hit early on in pre-season. Welsh picked up an injury during a pre-season win against League of Ireland club, Shelbourne , prompting Quinn and new manager Roy Keane to sign Swedish winger Tobias Hysen and Celtic midfielder Ross Wallace to fill the left- — Wikipedia