Matt Richards (footballer, born 1984)

Matt Richards

Richards pictured in 2011
Personal information
Full name Matthew Lee Richards[1]
Date of birth (1984-12-26) 26 December 1984[1]
Place of birth Harlow, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Dagenham & Redbridge
Number 14
Youth career
2000–2002 Ipswich Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2002–2009 Ipswich Town 148 (8)
2007 → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 14 (0)
2008 → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 14 (0)
2008–2009 → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 23 (1)
2009–2011 Walsall 86 (12)
2011–2013 Shrewsbury Town 85 (12)
2013–2015 Cheltenham Town 91 (8)
2015– Dagenham & Redbridge 3 (0)
National team‡
2004–2005 England U16 5 (0)
2005–2006 England U17 5 (0)
2006 England U18 1 (0)
2004 England U21 1 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:09, 7 September 2015 (UTC).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:02, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

Matthew Lee "Matt" Richards (born 26 December 1984) is an English footballer who plays for Dagenham & Redbridge.

Career

Ipswich Town

Matt is a graduate of the Ipswich Town academy, and made his debut in the UEFA Cup against Avenir Beggen aged just 17. He received his only England under-21 cap for appearing in the England U21 victory over Ukraine U21 in August 2004. He played a prominent role in Joe Royle's Play-off semi-finalist making teams in 2003/04 and 2004/05. When Club Captain Jim Magilton was made manager in 2006–07 Richards found himself out of favour.Originally regarded as a left-back, he is now much more comfortable as a midfielder, either playing on the left or in the centre.

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 18 September 2007, Richards joined League One side Brighton & Hove Albion on a provisional one-month loan deal, although the Seagulls had allegedly been tracking the player all through the summer of 2007.

Richards' loan deal at Brighton was extended by a further two months, running up until 18 December 2007[2] .[3] He played 14 League games in total during his three-month loan at the Withdean and ex-Brighton manager Dean Wilkins expressed his interest on loaning the player until the end of the 2007/08 season. On 17 January 2008, it was revealed that Richards had agreed to join Brighton on loan for the remainder of the 2007–08 season.[4]

Richards once again rejoined Brighton on loan until the end of December 2008 on 21 July 2008.[5]

Return to Ipswich and release

Richards made his Ipswich return in 2009 under new manager Roy Keane starting against Cardiff in a 3–0 win at Ninian Park.[6] This would turn out to be his last game for the club as he was released on 14 May 2009.[7]

Walsall

Richards had a trial spell with Burton Albion[8] scoring in a friendly against Ilkeston Town, however following a successful trial at League One side Walsall, Richards penned a two-year contract with the Saddlers.[9] Richards stated his desire to sign on at Walsall on Twitter, however, this was not possible.

Shrewsbury Town

Richards impressed during a trial period with Shrewsbury Town and underwent a medical at the Greenhous Meadow on 27 July 2011, with the deal expected to be completed in the following days. He signed a two-year deal with the Shropshire outfit on 28 July 2011, and scored his first goal in Shrewsbury colours on 8 October in a 3–2 home win over Barnet.[10] The season finished with Shrewsbury earning promotion to League One with Richards playing in excess of 30 games and earning players, and fans player of the year awards.[11]

Richards was released by Shrewsbury at the end of the 2012–13 season and joined Cheltenham Town on 5 July 2013.[12]

Cheltenham Town

Richard joined League Two side Cheltenham Town on 5 July 2013.[12] He scored his first goal for Cheltenham in a 3–1 defeat to Plymouth Argyle on 17 August 2013.[13]

Dagenham & Redbridge

In August 2015, he signed for League Two side Dagenham & Redbridge on a one-year deal after impressing whilst on trial during pre-season.[14]

Career statistics

Richard playing for Cheltenham Town in 2014
As of match played 5 September 2015.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ipswich Town 2002–03[15] First Division 13010102[lower-alpha 1]0—170
2003–04[16] First Division 4412020—2[lower-alpha 2]0501
2004–05[17] Championship 2411010—2[lower-alpha 3]0281
2005–06[18] Championship 3841010——404
2006–07[19] Championship 2823110——323
2008–09[20] Championship 10————10
Total 1488816020401689
Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 2007–08[21] League One 28030——2[lower-alpha 4]0330
2008–09[20] League One 2312031—4[lower-alpha 4]0322
Total 5115031—60652
Walsall 2009–10[22] League One 4042010—1[lower-alpha 4]0444
2010–11[23] League One 4683110—1[lower-alpha 4]0519
Total 86125120—209513
Shrewsbury Town 2011–12[24] League Two 4253020—1[lower-alpha 4]0485
2012–13[25] League One 4370010—1[lower-alpha 4]0457
Total 85123030—209312
Cheltenham Town 2013–14[26] League Two 4661022—00498
2014–15[27] League Two 4522110—2[lower-alpha 4]0503
Total 9183132—209911
Dagenham & Redbridge 2015–16[28] League Two 300000—1[lower-alpha 4]040
Career total 464412431732017052447
  1. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Cup
  2. ↑ Appearances in First Division play-offs
  3. ↑ Appearances in Championship play-offs
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Appearances in Football League Trophy

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
  2. ↑ Richards to Extend Brighton loan, BBC Football, 18 October 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2008
  3. ↑ Richards Extends Loan at Brighton, BBC Football, 17 November 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2008
  4. ↑ Brighton bag Ipswich's Richards, BBC Football, 17 January 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008
  5. ↑ Matt Returns to Brighton, itfc.co.uk, 21 July 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008
  6. ↑ http://www.clubfanzine.com/ipswich_town/v2.showNews.php?id=19375
  7. ↑ http://www.clubfanzine.com/ipswich_town/v2.showNews.php?id=19623
  8. ↑ Burton Albion 2 Ilkeston Town 3 Clough The Magic Dragon, 14 July 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2010
  9. ↑ Walsall Sign Defender Richards, BBC Football, 4 August 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2009
  10. ↑ "Midfielder signs". Shrewsbury Town F C official website. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  11. ↑ http://www.shropshirestar.com/sport/shrewsbury-town-fc/2012/05/01/matt-richards-big-winner-at-fans%E2%80%99-awards-night/
  12. 1 2 "Matt Richards: Cheltenham Town sign former Shrewsbury captain". BBC Sport. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  13. ↑ "Cheltenham 1–3 Plymouth". BBC Sport. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  14. ↑ "Daggers Sign Midfielder". Dagenham & Redbridge. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  15. ↑ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  17. ↑ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  18. ↑ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  19. ↑ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  20. 1 2 "Games played by Matt Richards in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  21. ↑ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  22. ↑ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  23. ↑ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  24. ↑ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  25. ↑ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  26. ↑ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  27. ↑ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  28. ↑ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 August 2015.

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