Dean Ivor Richards (9 June 1974 – 26 February 2011) was an English professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
defender. He began his career at hometown club
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
before a four-year stay with
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
. He left to play
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
football with
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
and finally
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
. He also made four appearances for
England under-21s.
Richards retired from playing in 2005 due to health concerns, but later returned to the game as a coach at Bradford. He died six years later at the age of 36.
Personal life
Richards was born in
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
on 9 June 1974. He attended Allerton Middle School and
Rhodesway School
Dixons Allerton Academy (formerly Rhodesway Academy) is a coeducational all-through school and sixth form located in Allerton area of the City of Bradford, in the English county of West Yorkshire.
Previously a community school administered ...
in Bradford.
Playing career
Bradford City
As a central-defender, Richards started his career at his hometown club
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
as a youth trainee. He signed as a full-time professional in 1992 and made his debut aged 17 in October of the same year in a 3–1 victory over
AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...
in a game in which he scored.
He played 86 league games for the Bantams, scoring four goals, and playing 102 games in all competitions.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Richards moved on loan to promotion-chasing
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
in March 1995, making his debut on 1 April in a 1–0 win at
Southend
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
. A permanent deal was quickly arranged for a fee which was initially £1.3 million but eventually rose to £1.8m once various clauses took effect.
Richards made four
England under-21 appearances at the
Toulon Tournament
The Toulon Tournament (officially the Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a football (training match) tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams composed of youth players from U-17 to U-23 level. ...
in 1995, making his debut as captain against Brazil. England reached the semi-final of the competition but lost to hosts France.
During the 1995–96 season he was elevated to the role of club captain but, in January 1996, he was in a car crash that initially seemed to only leave him with a bruised ankle but later revealed an injured knee and back issues. He subsequently missed much of the following two seasons due to persistent injuries. On the field, his performances earned the attention of the likes of
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
and
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
.
He remained with the club until his contract expired at the end of the 1998–99 season; ironically his final game saw his former club Bradford win promotion to the Premier League at
Molineux while Wolves missed out on a play-off place.
Southampton
In July 1999, Richards reached the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
when he was signed for
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
by
Dave Jones on a free transfer.
He settled quickly into the Southampton side despite replacing the popular
Ken Monkou
Kenneth John Monkou (born 29 November 1964) is a Dutch former professional Association football, footballer and pundit.
As a player, he was as a centre-back who notably played in the Premier League for both Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and Southampton ...
. He was voted the fans' Player of the Year at the end of his first season.
In the three seasons Richards was at the Saints, he made 79 appearances in all competitions and found the net seven times, before joining
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
in September 2001.
Tottenham Hotspur
Richards impressed new manager
Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle (born 27 October 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He currently works as a television pundit and commentator for ITV Sport and BT Sport.
He played as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco, Chelsea and Swi ...
so much that, when Hoddle moved to
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
in March 2001, he tried to take Richards with him. This led to a drawn-out battle of words between chairman
Rupert Lowe
Rupert James Graham Lowe (born 31 October 1957) is a British politician, farmer and businessman, who served as a the Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in the West Midlands constituency from 2019 to 2020.
Lowe was chairman ...
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.
He scored on his debut in a 5–3 home defeat to
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
.
Richards never realised his full potential at Tottenham due to persistent injury problems, and never fulfilled his ambition to play for his country. At the time, his transfer fee to Tottenham was the highest amount ever paid by a club for a player who had not played internationally.
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".
[ A specialist told him that if he continued playing he could suffer from a brain haemorrhage.] Richards 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 that were initially thought to be an inner-ear infection.
]
Coach
Having gained his coaching qualifications, Richards returned to Bradford City on 3 August 2007, when it was confirmed that he was taking a part-time role as youth coach. He also worked with a company in Spain.
Death
Richards died at the age of 36 on the morning of 26 February 2011 at St. Gemma's Hospice, Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
after a long-term illness.
On 6 March 2011, two of his former clubs, Wolves and Tottenham, met in the Premier League. This fixture was designated as a tribute game, and as such featured several official and media tributes to Richards' career and life. Joining the teams in the centre circle at Molineux Stadium
Molineux Stadium ( ) in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, has been the home ground of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers since 1889. The first stadium built for use by a Football League club, it was one of the first British grounds ...
for a minute's applause
A moment of silence (also referred to as a minute's silence or a one-minute silence) is a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture of r ...
before kick-off
Kickoff or kick-off may refer to
* Kick-off (association football)
* Kickoff (gridiron football)
* ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games
* ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club
* ''Kick Off'' (magaz ...
were his widow Samantha and his two sons Rio and Jaden as well as representatives from his four former clubs (Ledley King
Ledley Brenton King (born 12 October 1980) is a former player who was a one-club man, spending his entire career at Tottenham Hotspur and playing 323 competitive matches for the club from 1999 to 2012. He is currently a club ambassador for Tot ...
for Tottenham, Claus Lundekvam
Claus Lundekvam (born 22 February 1973) is a Norwegian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre-back.
Lundekvam began his career with SK Brann, Brann before moving to English side Southampton F.C., Southampton ...
for Southampton, Matt Murray for Wolves, and Mark Lawn for Bradford City), two of his former managers Graham Taylor
Graham Taylor (15 September 1944 – 12 January 2017) was an English football player, manager, pundit and chairman of Watford Football Club. He was the manager of the England national football team from 1990 to 1993, and also managed Lincoln C ...
and Dave Jones, and two former teammates, Don Goodman
Donald Ralph Goodman (born 9 May 1966) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker.
His professional career spanned for nearly 20 years, during which he played nearly 600 Football League games and scored 162 goals.
Car ...
and James Beattie.
Career statistics
Notes
Honours
Individual
*PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...
: 1994–95 Second Division, 1995–96 First Division, 1996–97 First Division
References
;Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Dean
1974 births
2011 deaths
English footballers
England under-21 international footballers
Association football defenders
Bradford City A.F.C. players
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
Southampton F.C. players
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
Premier League players
English Football League players
Bradford City A.F.C. non-playing staff
Footballers from Bradford