John Pattinson Richardson (born 5 February 1949) 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 in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Millwall,

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

and

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

Playing career

Millwall

Richardson began his career in the youth system at

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

club Millwall and made two appearances during the 1965–66 season.

Brentford

Richardson moved to

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

club

in May 1966 and went into the

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

and reserve teams. He made his senior debut at age 17 in a 3–1 defeat to Lincoln City on 7 September 1966. Richardson came to prominence amongst the Brentford supporters in a match versus Tranmere Rovers on 10 February 1967. An injury to

Peter Gelson Peter William John Gelson (18 October 1941 – 26 April 2021) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Brentford as a centre back and wing half. A cult hero amongst the club's supporters, he is third on the ...

saw Richardson included in the starting lineup and his performance led to a write-up in the ''

Middlesex Chronicle ''The Hounslow Chronicle'' is a local weekly tabloid newspaper distributed in west London, England. It mainly covers stories from the London Borough of Hounslow The London Borough of Hounslow () is a London borough in West London, England, for ...

''. Richardson finished the 1966–67 season with 24 appearances to his name and played in the victorious 1967

London Challenge Cup The London Challenge Cup was a football tournament formerly organised by the London FA. It was first contested in 1908, and other than during the World Wars, was contested every season until 1974, when the tournament was disbanded. After a 16-ye ...

-winning team. He was a virtual ever-present during the 1967–68 season, making 45 appearances. Richardson made four appearances during the 1969–70 season before departing the club, having made 96 appearances for the Bees.

Fulham

Richardson joined Brentford's West London rivals

in August 1969 for a £12,500 fee. He made 71 appearances and scored six goals for the club in a four-year spell and helped the club to promotion to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in the 1970–71 season.

Dallas Tornado (loan)

Richardson had a

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

spell at

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

club

Dallas Tornado The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in Dallas, Texas that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the U.S. in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons. ...

during the 1972 season and he scored once in 9 appearances.

Aldershot

Richardson dropped into the Third Division to sign for

in July 1973. He made 121 appearances and scored six goals for the club before departing in 1977.

Hillingdon Borough

After departing Aldershot, Richardson dropped into

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

and signed for Southern League Premier Division club Hillingdon Borough.

Personal life

Richardson's uncle was Billy Gray, who managed Richardson at Millwall and Brentford.

Honours

Brentford *

: 1966–67 Fulham *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

second-place promotion: 1970–71

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, John 1949 births English men's footballers Millwall F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Aldershot F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Men's association football defenders Hillingdon Borough F.C. players Southern Football League players Dallas Tornado players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Living people Footballers from Northumberland Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States People from Stannington, Northumberland English Football League players