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“Super Marv” and his marvellous memories

There was much excitement at our Kirkcaldy club last week as Marvin Andrews had agreed to come along and share his memories with members. Now Marvin is a living footballing legend and Kirkcaldy was where his Scottish career started and he is fondly remembered by fans of Raith Rovers, his first professional signing. 

Marvin was born and raised in the sunny climes of Trinidad and Tobago and enjoyed a good youth career with two of the local teams. Dreams of being a fireman were soon consigned to the dustbin as his prowess on the field became apparent. His abilities had attracted the attention of the general manager, Tim Nafziger at Carib Brewery who arranged for Marvin to travel to the UK.  

Below Marvin is some of what Marvin recalled about his time at Raith to members of the Kirkcaldy club. 

In Marvin’s words 

“When I was told I was going to Scotland I had no idea where it was. When I found out it snowed in Scotland it was a real shock for a 21-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago. 

“When I arrived at Heathrow, I was amazed that everyone owned a trolley to put their baggage on! I carried two heavy duffel bags from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 not realising that the trolleys were for anyone’s use! 

“When I had my trial for Raith Rovers, I was told one day that the training was going to be indoors because the pitch was solid. I didn’t believe them and had to go out and bang the pitch for myself. The worst of it was I didn’t have any proper indoor sports shoes. In Trinidad and Tobago everyone has basketball shoes so I ended up, much to my teammates amusement, doing the training session in basketball shoes. 

“My first actual trial game for Raith Rovers was against Dundee United and there was a light dusting of snow on the pitch so I assumed the game would be off only to be told no. So, I went out to warm up in tracksuit, gloves, hat only to be shocked to see the others warming up in shots and tee-shirts. I never managed to warm up for the whole game, my playing was awful and the worst was I couldn’t get away with how sore my hands were when I ran them in warm water after the game!” 

Thank you Marvin 

Marvin went on to play at Livingston FC with 119 appearances before moving onto Rangers FC and as his playing career wound down he played for a range of Scottish clubs including a return spell at Raith Rovers. 

But no matter where he went, the fans loved him as well as his fellow teammates. Just one of life’s likeable good guys and a great footballer to boot. Our Kirkcaldy Club loved him too!