I was embarrassed and felt like a burden at Everton – so I’m extremely grateful for what supporters did
Andros Townsend felt embarrassed when injury left him unable to play for the Blues for more than a year. He said the response he received by Blues upon his return on Saturday was ‘incredible’, and one he was grateful for
Townsend’s Blues career was marred by the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered during his first season at the club. It meant he did not play a single match last season and, while he moved towards a return to fitness under Sean Dyche, he only got as far as the Under-21s before his contract expired.
Reflecting on the impact his horror injury, suffered in the FA Cup against Crystal Palace in the spring of 2022, had on his time with Everton, Townsend spoke of being “embarrassed” at the thought of being a “burden” on the club.
With that in mind, the applause he received from the home fans before the match and when he was substituted off was particularly significant to him.
Speaking after his new side, Luton Town, grabbed a last minute winner to move through to the fifth round of the FA Cup, he said: “It’s always nice to come back, I spent two years here. I spent 14 months out and the fans were amazing, so it was nice to come back and see the fans and get a good reception like that… It [the response] was amazing.
“When you’re out for that long you can feel embarrassed, you feel like a burden. You’re letting the fans and the club down, so to come back here and get that reception was incredible. I’m extremely grateful to them for that and I wish them all the best for the rest of the season.”
Ahead of the reunion with Townsend, Dyche explained the decision not to offer him a new deal. He said there was little choice at a time when he had to bring down the wage bill, but spoke highly of the player and his attitude and work behind the scenes. He said: “He was just caught in the mix of everything really, not truly fit, not truly available to us, hadn’t truly put the minutes in on the pitch through no fault of his, obviously it was a very serious injury. “And yet he was a great lad, a great pro, he was excellent with me. We had a great chat on a number of times about what he felt about the group, what he felt was needed, very honest, very forthright beyond his own situation and I admire him for that.”
For Townsend, the summer was tough. But it ended happily and he is playing a pivotal role in Luton’s Premier League survival bid – one that will see his new club compete with his old one over the coming months. Reflecting on his search for a new opportunity for this campaign, he said: “Listen, that’s football. I’ve had an amazing career. I’ve been very fortunate in the moves that I’ve got. It was a summer of things not going my way, but that’s football, I didn’t give up. I kept believing in my ability to still play in the Premier League. Thankfully Luton gave me that chance and hopefully I can repay that faith, not only between now and the end of the season, but for years to come.”
And he said the significance of a morale-boosting win over the team one place above Luton in the league would last beyond the weekend, adding: “We’ve come to a tough place in Goodison Park and to put that marker down, to get the win to go into the next round and let these clubs in and around us know that we’re here fighting, we’re good enough to be here and we’re good enough to survive.”
