Dean Richards (footballer)
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| Dean Richards | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dean Ivor Richards | |
| Date of birth | June 9, 1974 | |
| Place of birth | Bradford, England | |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | |
| Playing position | Defender | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1990–1992 | Bradford City | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1992–1995 1995–1999 1999–2001 2001–2005 |
Bradford City Wolverhampton Wanderers Southampton Tottenham Hotspur Total |
86 (4) 122 (7) 67 (3) 73 (4) 348 (17) |
| National team | ||
| 1995 | England U21 | 4 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Dean Richards (born June 9, 1974 in Bradford) is a former English footballer. He is youth team coach at Bradford City.
Contents |
[edit] Career
A powerful central-defender, he started his career at his home town club Bradford City.
He moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers for a fee of £1,850,000 in March 1995 to further his career, although ironically Bradford reached the Premiership before Wolves.
In July 1999, he reached the Premiership when he was signed for Southampton by Dave Jones on a free transfer. He settled quickly into the Southampton side despite replacing the popular Ken Monkou. He was able to get the better of most Premiership strikers and was voted the fans' Player of the Year at the end of his first season.
He impressed new manager Glenn Hoddle so much that, when Hoddle moved to Tottenham Hotspur in March 2001, he tried to take Richards with him. This led to a drawn-out battle of words between Rupert Lowe and the Tottenham board, which ended when Spurs paid £8.1 million to persuade Lowe to release Richards from his contract which he had only signed a few months earlier.
Richards never realised his full potential at Tottenham due to persistent injury problems, and never fulfilled his ambition to play for his country. His transfer fee to Tottenham is the highest amount ever paid by a club for a player who failed to play intenationally.[1]
In March 2005, he announced his retirement from the game due to illness after receiving "evidence that it would be harmful to his health to continue". He said: "I am obviously deeply disappointed to be giving up the sport I love, but it's the only choice." He was suffering from frequent dizzy spells and headaches owing to an inner-ear infection.
It was rumoured that, having gained his coaching qualifications, Richards would be returning to Bradford City as a youth team coach,[2] and whilst this was denied on 24 May 2006 by the directors, it became reality on 3 August 2007, when it was confirmed that he was taking the part-time role.[3] Peter Horne, head of Bradford's youth development, first intended for Richards to work with the Under-16s, but, after speaking to Bradford's manager, Stuart McCall, it was decided for Richards to work with the first-year pros and second-year apprentices.
[edit] Trivia
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As noted by the footballing blooper video, Eat My Goal; Richards has played in 3 matches where his team led 3-0, only for the opposing side to come back and win the match. These matches were for Southampton against Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup 5th round, and for Tottenham against Manchester United and Manchester City in the FA Cup 4th round.
[edit] References
- ^ Paul Doyle and Tom Rostance (8 December 2004). Who is the most expensive uncapped player?. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ Richards back at City. boyfrombrazil.co.uk (2007-08-05). Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
- ^ Dean Richards back in coaching capacity. Bradford City FC website (2007-08-05). Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
[edit] External links
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Beattie |
Southampton F.C. player of the season 1999-00 |
Succeeded by Wayne Bridge |
