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Matt Richards (footballer, born 1984)

Matthew Lee Richards (born 26 December 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder or left back.

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 (loans)

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] He scored his first goal for Brighton in a 4-0 Football League Cup win over Barnet on 12 August 2008.[6] In the following round he scored the winning penalty as Brighton knocked out Premier League side Manchester City in a shootout.[7]

Return to Ipswich

Richards made his Ipswich return in 2009 under new manager Roy Keane starting against Cardiff in a 3–0 win at Ninian Park.[8] This would turn out to be his last game for the club as he was released on 14 May 2009.[9]

Walsall

Richards had a trial spell with Burton Albion[10] 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.[11]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.[12] 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.[13]

Richards was released by Shrewsbury at the end of the 2012–13 season and joined Cheltenham Town on 5 July 2013.[14]

Cheltenham Town

Richard joined League Two side Cheltenham Town on 5 July 2013.[14] He scored his first goal for Cheltenham in a 3–1 defeat to Plymouth Argyle on 17 August 2013.[15]

In August 2015, he signed for League Two side Dagenham & Redbridge on a one-year deal after impressing whilst on trial during pre-season.[16] In May 2016 as his contract expired, he was released along with eleven players as Dagenham were relegated to the National League.[17]

Later years

In November 2017, after a year out of the game, Richards joined Bath City of the National League South.[18] On 23 March 2019, he joined Banbury United in the Southern Football League Premier Division.[19] He left the club in late May, at the end of the season.[20]

Career statistics

Richards playing for Cheltenham Town in 2014
As of match played 27 January 2018
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in First Division play-offs
  3. ^ Appearances in Championship play-offs
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  5. ^ a b Appearance(s) in FA Trophy

Honours

Shrewsbury Town

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c 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 Archived 19 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine, itfc.co.uk, 21 July 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008
  6. ^ "Brighton 4-0 Barnet". bbc.co.uk. 12 August 2008.
  7. ^ "Brighton 2-2 Man City (5-3 pens)". bbc.co.uk. 24 September 2008.
  8. ^ "TWTD.co.uk - Keane: No Mass Invasion - Ipswich Town". www.clubfanzine.com. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009.
  9. ^ "TWTD.co.uk - Town Release Richards - Ipswich Town". www.clubfanzine.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2009.
  10. ^ Burton Albion 2 Ilkeston Town 3 Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Clough The Magic Dragon, 14 July 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2010
  11. ^ Walsall Sign Defender Richards, BBC Football, 4 August 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2009
  12. ^ "Midfielder signs". Shrewsbury Town F C official website. 28 July 2011. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  13. ^ "Matt Richards big winner at fans' awards night « Shropshire Star". www.shropshirestar.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012.
  14. ^ a b "Matt Richards: Cheltenham Town sign former Shrewsbury captain". BBC Sport. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  15. ^ "Cheltenham 1–3 Plymouth". BBC Sport. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  16. ^ "Daggers Sign Midfielder". Dagenham & Redbridge. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  17. ^ "Dagenham & Redbridge goalkeeper Liam O'Brien one of 11 players released by club following relegation from the Football League". Barking & Dagenham Post. 15 May 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  18. ^ "Former Robins midfielder helps Jerry Gill claim first league win". 12 November 2017.
  19. ^ "Midfielder Matt Richards joins the Puritans". Banbury United F.C. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Banbury United retain nine players and sign Brackley Town Saints duo". Oxford Mail. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  22. ^ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  23. ^ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  24. ^ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  25. ^ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  26. ^ a b "Games played by Matt Richards in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  27. ^ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  28. ^ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  29. ^ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  30. ^ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  31. ^ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  32. ^ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  33. ^ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  34. ^ "Games played by Matt Richards in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  35. ^ "Bath City 2017/18". Bath City F.C. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  36. ^ "Matt Richards Career Statistics". Aylesbury United FC. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  37. ^ a b "Matt Richards completes awards double". Shropshire Star. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2020.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matt Richards (footballer born 1984).