Richard Martyn Foster (born 31 July 1985) is a Scottish

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 ...

. He previously played for

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

, Ross County,

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

, and Detroit City. Foster primarily plays as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, although he is a versatile player;

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

is the only position in which he has never played. In May 2018, Foster married Scottish singer

Amy Macdonald Amy Elizabeth Macdonald (born 25 August 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. In 2007, she released her debut studio album, ''This Is the Life (Amy Macdonald album), This Is the Life'', which respectively produced the singles "Mr. Rock & Roll ...

Early life

Foster was born in

Elgin, Moray Elgin (; sco, Ailgin; gd, Eilginn, ) is a town (former cathedral city) and formerly a Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher gr ...

to Martyn and Carol Foster (née Cruickshank). He was a

fan as a boy.

Club career

Aberdeen

Foster made his debut for

aged 17 on 10 May 2003 in a

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...

match against

, coming on as a substitute for

Darren Mackie Darren Graham Mackie (born 5 January 1982) is a Scottish former footballer who, most recently, played for Inverurie Loco Works as a player/coach. Mackie was born in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland and previously played as a striker for Abe ...

. He scored his first goal for the club almost exactly a year later during a 2–1 league defeat to

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

on 15 May 2004. Foster became a first team regular under

Jimmy Calderwood James Calderwood (born 28 February 1955) is a Scottish former football player and manager. Calderwood played for Birmingham City and Dutch clubs Sparta Rotterdam, Willem II Tilburg, Roda JC and Heracles Almelo. After retiring as a player, Calder ...

and signed a two-year contract extension on 31 July 2007. Although naturally a right winger, Foster made significant progress playing in the left back position during the 2007–08 season, impressing with his man-marking performances when Aberdeen's first-choice left back Richie Byrne was injured. On 20 September 2007, he made his European debut in the first leg of Aberdeen's

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

first round First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

tie against

Dnipro Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute for

Jackie McNamara Jackie McNamara (born 24 October 1973) is a Scottish professional football agent, and former player, manager and executive. He won 33 international caps playing for Scotland, and filled a variety of defensive roles in his career. McNamara beg ...

as the game ended 0–0. Foster started at left back in the return match in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

on 4 October and provided the assist for Darren Mackie's opening goal, sending in the cross for the striker to head home from close range. Despite Dnipro salvaging a 1–1 draw, Aberdeen progressed to the group stages of the tournament on away goals. On 20 December, Foster scored the first European goal of his career in Aberdeen's 4–0 UEFA Cup group stage win over

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. The result put ''the Dons'' through to the last 32, where they lost 7–3 on aggregate to

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

(drawing the first leg 2–2 at Pittodrie and losing 5–1 in the second leg at the Allianz Arena). In February 2009, Foster was involved in a training ground bust up with Calderwood which led to him being omitted from the Aberdeen squad to face Dundee United on 21 February, after he called the then ''Dons'' manager "stupid". Despite criticism from some supporters, upon Foster's return to Aberdeen he was appointed as Paul Hartley's successor as Aberdeen captain for the 2011–12 season.

Rangers (loan)

On 31 August 2010, Foster moved on a season-long loan to SPL champions

, with ''Gers'' striker

Andrius Velička Andrius Velička (born 5 April 1979) is a Lithuanian retired professional association footballer who played as a striker for clubs in Russia, Kazakhstan, Scotland, England, Norway and Azerbaijan in addition to his homeland. He also played for t ...

moving in the opposite direction. He was given the number 12 shirt and made his Rangers debut on 11 September, coming on as a substitute for

Kirk Broadfoot Kirk John Broadfoot (born 8 August 1984) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a defender for Lowland League club Open Goal Broomhill. Broadfoot started his senior career with St Mirren and he helped the club gain promotion to the Scottish Pr ...

in a 2–1 victory over

Hamilton Accies Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scottis ...

. Foster made his first Rangers start on 20 October in a Champions League group stage match against

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

at Ibrox, where he was selected as

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

despite missing an open goal. Many of Foster's Rangers appearances came in the Champions League and

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

. He played at right back in a 2–2 draw with

Sporting Clube de Portugal Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional fo ...

in the second leg of the Europa League last 32, as Rangers won with the away goal rule coming into play. He was involved in a Glasgow derby match against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

on 2 March 2011, where the 1–0 defeat was overshadowed by scenes at the conclusion of the match. Foster's European run continued in the last 16 first leg against

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...

on 10 March, which ended 0–0. He finished the SPL season with a winner's medal, having made enough appearances to contribute to Rangers' title success. However he was cup-tied for their victorious

2010–11 Scottish League Cup The 2010–11 Scottish League Cup is the 65th season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition, the Scottish League Cup, also known as the Co-operative Insurance Cup for sponsorship reasons. The competition started in Ju ...

campaign after being an unused substitute for Aberdeen against

Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a ...

earlier in the season.

Bristol City

On 6 January 2012 he signed for Championship side

on a two and a half-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

Rangers

Foster signed for Rangers on a two-year contract in June 2013.

Ross County

After being released by Rangers, Foster signed a two-year contract with

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

club Ross County in June 2015. He picked up a winners' medal in the

2015–16 Scottish League Cup The 2015–16 Scottish League Cup was the 70th season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition. It is also known as The Scottish League Cup presented by Utilita for sponsorship reasons. Ross County defeated Hibernia ...

as Ross County beat Hibernian 2–1.

St Johnstone

On 19 August 2016, Foster signed for

, agreeing a contract until the end of the 2016–17 season. He scored his first goal for St Johnstone against

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...

on 27 August 2016. In April 2017, Foster brought St Johnstone in to disrepute after becoming involved in an on-pitch brawl with teammate Danny Swanson. Both players were suspended by the club and were subsequently fined four weeks' wages. In February 2019, Foster signed an extension to his contract with St Johnstone, which was due to run until the summer of 2020. In August 2019 Foster was involved in an incident with manager Tommy Wright on the training pitch and was dropped from the first-team.

Return to Ross County

Foster left St Johnstone in August 2019 and returned to Ross County on a one-year contract. On 25 May 2020, Foster was released from his contract criticising the chairman for not taking advantage of the government's furlough scheme, calling it "morally shocking".

Partick Thistle

After leaving Ross County, Foster signed a one year deal with then

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League One was e ...

side

. After winning the League One title with Thistle, Foster signed a one year contract extension with the club.

Detroit City

In August 2022, Foster signed as a player-coach with USL Championship side Detroit City FC. On 4 February 2023, Detroit City announced that Foster would not be returning to the club for the 2023 season.

International career

Foster was selected by the Scotland national under-21 football team. He was selected for the full

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

squad in February 2012, but he did not play in the friendly with

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. Foster said in November 2018 that he was disappointed that he had not been recalled, given the lack of options in his preferred position.

Personal life

Foster began dating Scottish singer

in 2015 and the couple were engaged on New Year's Eve that year. They got married in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

on 4 June 2018. Foster did a

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

degree at the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

and has also written a crime novel.

Career statistics

Honours

;Rangers *

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

: 2013–14 ;Ross County *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

: 2015–16 ;Partick Thistle *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

References

External links

*
Scotland stats
at Scottish FA {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Richard 1985 births Footballers from Aberdeen Living people Men's association football utility players Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Aberdeen F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Ross County F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Scottish Premier League players English Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players Men's association football fullbacks Partick Thistle F.C. players Detroit City FC players USL Championship coaches Scottish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States