| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Richard Kell | ||
| Date of birth | 15 September 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Bishop Auckland, England | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder. | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Jet2 United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998–2001 | Middlesbrough | 0 | (0) |
| 2001 | → Torquay (loan) | 4 | (1) |
| 2001 | Torquay | 11 | (2) |
| 2001–2005 | Scunthorpe United | 83 | (8) |
| 2005–2006 | Barnsley | 2 | (0) |
| 2006 | → Scarborough | 2 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Lincoln City | 1 | (0) |
| – | Total | 103 | (11 ) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Richard Kell (born September 15, 1979 in Bishop Auckland) is an English footballer playing as a midfielder. He has broken his leg twice in his career.
Kell began his career as a junior with Middlesbrough, turning professional in July 1998 and soon becoming a regular in the reserve side at the Riverside Stadium. After failing to break into the first team, he joined Torquay United, initially on loan on February 7, 2001, making his league debut 3 days later, scoring in the 2-1 win against Lincoln City at Sincil Bank. The move was made permanent with a free transfer on the 9th of March, Kell signing a contract until the end of the season. For the remainder of the 2000-01 season, his qualities greatly enhanced a midfield which had particularly missed the injured Brian Healy since the start of the season, and he played a major role in Torquay avoiding relegation to the Conference. It later emerged that he had played for much of this time with a hip injury which required surgery during the summer. His recovery was further delayed by illness, but on July 31, 2001, he re-joined the Torquay squad in training on a trial basis under the new manager Roy McFarland. However, 5 days later Kell decided that his future lay elsewhere and left Torquay. It later emerged that he would have stayed at Torquay had Colin Lee remained as manager.
The following month he joined Scunthorpe United on trial, signing a monthly deal on the 13th of September. He made his Scunthorpe debut 2 days later in the 2-2 draw with Rochdale at Spotland and impressed Scunthorpe manager Brian Laws enough over the following two months to earn a contract until the end of the season with an option for a further twelve months. Two months later that sason he broke his leg badly against Hull City.
He joined Barnsley from Scunthorpe in June 2005 along with team-mate Paul Hayes, despite having another broken leg. He had a loan spell with Scarborough in February 2006 in which he played two games.
He was released by Barnsley at the end of the 2005-06 season and after a few months without a club joined Lincoln City in December 2006. His move to Sincil Bank was unproductive.
Kell has now retired from football through injury, although he is starting to get back into football in a coaching capacity at Doncaster Rovers under 16's, Winterton Rangers and Goxhill JFC [1]. He is also pursuing a career in aviation with a view to become a commercial airline pilot.