Richard John Wilkins (born 28 May 1965) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

former professional footballer who played 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 ...

Career

Born in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Wilkins began his career at non-League club Haverhill Rovers in 1985. On 20 November 1986 he signed for

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

. After 150 appearances, he was signed by

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

in July 1990 for £60,000. In 1994, he moved to

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

on a free transfer, before being re-signed by Colchester in 1996 for a fee of £30,000. He retired from professional football in 2000 before becoming manager of non-League club Bury Town. He led the club to two promotions, in 2005-06 from the

Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suff ...

, and in 2009-10 from the

Southern Football League Division One Midlands The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the Englis ...

. Wilkins stepped down from the role at the end of the 2013–14 season. In July 2014, Wilkins joined fellow Suffolk side

Leiston Leiston ( ) is an English town in the East Suffolk non-metropolitan district of Suffolk, near Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, about from the North Sea coast, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London. The town had a population of 5,508 at the ...

as Steve Ball's assistant. He then took over as manager shortly after and led the side to the top half of the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

Premier Division in his first season. In his second season the side were challenging for promotion. He then left the club by mutual consent before joining

Needham Market Needham Market is a town in Suffolk, England. The town of Needham, Massachusetts, was named after Needham Market. History It initially grew around the wool combing industry, until the onset of the plague, which swept the town from 1663 to 1665. ...

as the assistant manager. He became manager of Needham Market at the end of the 2016–17 season, remaining at the club until February 2020.

Honours

Club

;

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

Runner-up (1): 1996–97 *

Football League Division Three 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 ...

Playoff Winner (1): 1997–98

Individual

* Colchester United Player of the Year (1): 1998

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Richard 1965 births Living people Footballers from Lambeth English footballers Haverhill Rovers F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Isthmian League managers Bury Town F.C. managers Leiston F.C. managers Needham Market F.C. managers Association football midfielders