Richard Carpenter (born 30 September 1972) 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 ...
, born in
Sheerness, 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 ...
for
Gillingham,
Fulham,
Cardiff City and
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
. He made more than 500 appearances in
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
over a 15-year professional career.
Career
Carpenter began his football career with
Gillingham, and was part of the team
promoted to
Division Two in the
1995–96 season.
He went on to make more than 250 appearances for
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
, and
captained the side. In 2004, Carpenter was required to pay undisclosed damages to
Chris Casper
Christopher Martin Casper (born 28 April 1975) is an English football manager and former player who is now the director of football at League Two side Salford City.
As a player he was a defender who played in the Premier League for Manches ...
following a tackle in a league match on Boxing Day 1999, during his time playing for
Cardiff City, that left Casper with a double fracture to his leg that subsequently saw him retire from professional football.
In February 2007 his contract was terminated by mutual consent, and he signed for
Conference South club
Welling United
Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football.
History
Welling United Foot ...
, where he became club captain and briefly
caretaker manager, before leaving the club at the end of the 2007–08 season.
[
In February 2010, Carpenter played a one-off game for ]Whitehawk
Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was original ...
in a sixth round FA Vase tie at Gresley Rovers to solve an injury crisis, as a favour for the Hawks' manager Darren Freeman. He then came out of retirement to play for Whitehawk
Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was original ...
during their first season in Isthmian League Division One South
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 ...
.
Personal life
In 2012, Carpenter was sentenced to 200 hours of community service after pleading guilty to an assault charge following a brawl in The Red Lion pub in Hernhill
Hernhill is a village and civil parish between Faversham and Canterbury in southeast England. The parish includes the hamlets of Crockham, Dargate, The Fostall, Lamberhurst, Oakwell, Staple Street, Thread, Waterham and Wey Street.
Churches
Duri ...
.
References
External links
*
1972 births
Living people
People from Sheerness
English men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Gillingham F.C. players
Fulham F.C. players
Cardiff City F.C. players
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players
Welling United F.C. players
English Football League players
Welling United F.C. managers
Whitehawk F.C. players
English football managers
English Romani people
{{England-footy-midfielder-1970s-stub