Stearman as a Leicester City player. |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Richard James Michael Stearman | ||
| Date of birth | 19 August 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) [1] | ||
| Playing position | Centre Back, Right back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2004 | Leicester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004–2008 | Leicester City | 116 | (7) |
| 2008– | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 84 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2008–2009 | England U21 | 4 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 January 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Richard James Michael Stearman (born 19 August 1987) is an English footballer of Irish descent who plays as a defender for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. He is a versatile defender, being able to play in any defensive slot although primarily a centre half or right back.[2]
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Stearman, born in Wolverhampton and raised in Leicestershire, joined the Leicester City youth academy in 1998 having been spotted playing for his local side Harborough Town.[3] Equally adept at playing at right-back or centre-back, he signed his first professional contract in 2004, shortly after having won Leicester's Young Player of the Year award in 2003–04.
Stearman made his senior debut aged 17, on 30 October 2004 in a goalless draw at Cardiff, and finished his first season with 8 appearances. He became a first team regular in 2005–06, and attracted a bid from Sunderland, rejected by then-manager Rob Kelly, who said he was unwilling to part with one of his players he considered a hot prospect.[4] He remained with the club for two more seasons, and won both Player of the Year and Player's Player of the Year awards in 2007–08.[5]
After Leicester were relegated to League One, Stearman signed for Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers on 25 June 2008 in a four year deal.[6] He made his debut for Wolves in a 2–2 draw at Plymouth Argyle on 9 August 2008. Towards the latter end of 2008 saw Stearman partnering England under-21's team-mate Michael Mancienne in defence. After a poor run of form, Mick McCarthy dropped him to the bench to be replaced by the experienced Jody Craddock for the promotion run in. Wolves went on to concede only one goal in five games keeping Stearman on the bench. On 3 May, he scored his first goal for the club, an injury time winner against Doncaster Rovers,[7] and received a championship winners medal.
With regular right back Kevin Foley out injured, Stearman had an extended run in the starting eleven early in their Premier League return, during which he scored his first top flight goal, against Hull City.[8] He has returned to the centre back position for most of the current campaign, in the absence of the injured Jody Craddock.
He is contracted to the Molineux club until Summer 2014.[9]
Stearman has represented England at Under-17 level in the 2004 European Championships and also at the Under-18 level. He was first called up by the England under-21 squad in November 2007 for the 2009 European Championship qualifiers, however he was an unused substitute in the games. He later received a second call-up from the under-21s when he was selected for a European Championship qualifier against Portugal in September 2008.[10] However, he was again an unused substitute in the game, and again in the qualifying play-offs against Wales in October 2008.[11]
He finally made his debut in a 2–0 friendly win over the Czech Republic under-21s on 18 November 2008, and a 3–2 defeat to Ecuador on 11 February 2009. Stuart Pearce included him in the squad for the 2009 UEFA U21 championships when centre half and captain Steven Taylor withdrew due to injury.[12]
On the 12 March 2011, the Football Association of Ireland confirmed that they had contacted Stearman to play for the Republic of Ireland as he has an Irish grandparent on his mother's side of the family. Irish sources say fellow team mate Kevin Doyle initiated with the FAI, who followed that with a call to Stearman. If he did choose to play for Ireland it would take him four months to do so. He would have to obtain an Irish passport which would take a month to process, present his grandparents birth certificate to be ratified by the FAI to prove his qualification and finally he would have to change his citizenship through FIFA, which would take three months.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by N/A |
Leicester City Academy Player of the Year 2004 |
Succeeded by Alan Sheehan |
| Preceded by Patrick Kisnorbo |
Leicester City Players' Player of the Season 2008 |
Succeeded by Matty Fryatt |
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