Richard John Poole (born 3 July 1957) is an English retired

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

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

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

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 ...

and

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

and in France for Sporting Toulon Var.

Playing career

Brentford

Along with

Kevin Harding Kevin Harding (born 19 March 1957) is an English retired footballer who played in the Football League for Brentford as a defender. Playing career Brentford Harding was one of the first players recruited when the Brentford youth team was ...

, Poole was one of the first players recruited when the Brentford youth team was relaunched in 1972, after joining the club at the age of 12. Poole made his professional debut in a

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 ...

match versus Lincoln City in February 1974, while still an apprentice. At 16 years, 7 months and 20 days old, Poole's league debut was at the time the club's second-youngest. In the final home game of the 1973–74 season, Poole scored one and made another in a 2–0 win against

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 ...

on 20 April, a result which saved the Bees from having to apply for re-election. Poole still stands as Brentford's youngest league goalscorer. He signed a professional contract during the 1975 off-season and made seven further appearances for the club, before leaving in July 1976.

Watford

Poole joined fellow Fourth Division club

in July 1976 and made 9 appearances and scored one goal during the 1976–77 season.

Sporting Toulon Var

In 1977, Poole emigrated to France and joined Division 2 Group A club Sporting Toulon Var. He made 8 appearances and scored two goals during the 1977–78 season, before a knee ligament injury brought his career to an end in April 1978. He was a teammate of future

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

internationals

Jean Tigana Amadou Jean Tigana (born 23 June 1955) is a French former footballer and coach. He has played in midfield and managed professional football extensively throughout France, including 52 appearances and one goal for the France national football team ...

and Jean-Désiré Sikely respectively.

Career statistics

References

1957 births Living people People from Heston Footballers from the London Borough of Hounslow People from Hounslow English men's footballers Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Watford F.C. players SC Toulon players Ligue 2 players Men's association football forwards English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in France {{England-footy-forward-1950s-stub