Michael Richardson (born 17 March 1992) is an English

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 plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Newcastle Blue Star Richardson began his career at

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

. Whilst at the

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as published i ...

club, he had spells on loan at Leyton Orient, Gillingham and Accrington Stanley.

Career

Newcastle United

Richardson started his career at non-League club Walker Central, and was working for Newcastle City Council as an electrician before signing for Newcastle United in July 2010. Richardson left school when he was sixteen. He appeared on the bench for Newcastle United for the first time against

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 ...

on 1 February 2011 but was not used as a substitute. Although he returned to the bench for matches against

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 ...

, Everton, and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, he failed to make a substitute appearance that season. He impressed while playing for the Magpies' U-18 side and the reserves, and subsequently signed on a month's loan for League One side Leyton Orient on 5 August 2011. Two months before going out on loan, Richardson signed a contract extension with the club. Then, Richardson signed further extension for the next two years. Richardson was released by the club on 23 May 2014.

Loan Spells

He made his professional league debut on 6 August 2011, the opening day of the season, in Orient's 1–0 defeat at

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute. In his first start for the club, the League Cup first round match at Southend United on 9 August, Richardson scored the opening goal, and later missed a penalty in the penalty shoot-out, which Orient won 4–3. After making four appearances in the League and League Cup, he returned to Newcastle on 5 September. On 14 February 2013, he joined

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

promotion-chasing Gillingham on loan. He made his Gillingham debut on 9 March as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 win over

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

. After making two appearances for the club, the club was keen to extend Richardson loan further; instead, he returns to Newcastle United. Richardson signed for League Two club Accrington Stanley on loan ahead of the 2013–14 season. He played six matches during the initial month, and the loan was extended until 2 January 2014. He wore the number 8 shirt. He returned to parent club

on 2 January 2014, having made 18 appearances.

Blyth Spartans

After being released by Newcastle United, Richardson went on trial with Hibernian after featured in a friendly match against Dundee United. After failing to earn a contract with Hibernian, announced on 20 November 2014, it was confirmed that Richardson had signed for Northern Premier League side Blyth Spartans.

South Shields

On 30 November 2016, it was announced that

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

had signed Richardson for an undisclosed fee. That season South Shields completed an historic "quadruple", winning the Durham Challenge Cup, The Northern League Challenge Cup, the Northern League Division One title and the FA Vase, with Richardson making a 70th-minute substitute appearance in the final at Wembley Stadium.

Hebburn Town

Richardson was signed by South Tyneside neighbours, Hebburn Town, in 2018. He finished as the club's top scorer in the 2018–19 season, helping The Hornets to a second-place finish in the Northern League Division One. He competed in his second FA Vase final in May 2021 for the delayed 2020 competition. He scored Hebburn's second of the afternoon in a 3–2 victory over

Consett Consett is a town in County Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in 2019. History Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. Its' name originates in the ...

and claimed the Man of the Match award.

Return to Blyth Spartans

In June 2022, Richardson returned to National League North club Blyth Spartans. He played a vital part in the Spartans FA Cup run, scoring a goal in each of Blyths matches vs Wrexham A.F.C, in the F.A Cup Fourth Round. Firstly a last-gasp free-kick 88th-minute equaliser to help draw 1–1 in front of 2787 fans at Croft Park, followed by a 57th-minute goal in a narrow 3–2 loss at the

Racecourse Ground The Racecourse Ground ( cy, Y Cae Ras) is a football stadium in Wrexham, Wales. It is the home of Wrexham A.F.C. It is the world's oldest international football stadium that still hosts international matches, having hosted Wales' first home i ...

in the return fixture.

Career statistics

Honours

South Shields *

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

: 2016–17 *

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footbal ...

: 2016–17 * Durham Challenge Cup: 2016–17 * Northern League, League Cup: 2016–17 Hebburn Town *FA Vase: 2019–20

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Michael 1992 births Living people Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Newcastle United F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players English Football League players Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players South Shields F.C. players Hebburn Town F.C. players Northern Premier League players Northern Football League players