- Matt Richards (footballer)
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Matt Richards 
Personal information Full name Matthew Lee Richards[1] Date of birth 26 December 1984 Place of birth Harlow, England Height 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Playing position Left-Back, Left Midfielder Club information Current club Shrewsbury Town Number 14 Youth career 2000–2002 Ipswich Town Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2002–2009 Ipswich Town 138 (8) 2007 → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 14 (0) 2008 → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 14 (0) 2008–2009 → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 23 (1) 2009–2011 Walsall 86 (12) 2011– Shrewsbury Town 9 (1) National team‡ 2004–2005 England U16 5 (0) 2005–2006 England U17 5 (0) 2006 England U18 1 (0) 2004 England U21 1 (0) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:48, 10 October 2011 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:02, 7 July 2010 (UTC)Matthew Lee "Matt" Richards (born 26 December 1984 in Harlow, Essex) is an English footballer who currently plays for Shrewsbury Town in the English League Two.
Contents
Career
Ipswich Town
Matt is a graduate of the Ipswich Town academy, and made his debut in the UEFA Cup against Avenir Beggen aged just 17. He received his only England under-21 cap for appearing in the England U21 victory over Ukraine U21 in August 2004. He played a prominent role in Joe Royle's Play-Off semi-finalist making teams in 2003/04 and 2004/05. When Club Captain Jim Magilton was made manager in 2006–07 Richards found himself out of favour.Originally regarded as a left-back, he is now much more comfortable as a midfielder, either playing on the left or in the centre.
Brighton & Hove Albion
On 18 September 2007, Richards joined League One side Brighton & Hove Albion on a provisional one-month loan deal, although the Seagulls had allegedly been tracking the player all through the summer of 2007.
Richards' loan deal at Brighton was extended by a further two months, running up until 18 December 2007[2] .[3] He played 14 League games in total during his three-month loan at the Withdean and ex-Brighton manager Dean Wilkins expressed his interest on loaning the player until the end of the 2007/08 season. On 17 January 2008, it was revealed that Richards had agreed to join Brighton on loan for the remainder of the 2007–08 season.[4]
Richards once again rejoined Brighton on loan until the end of December 2008 on 21 July 2008.[5]
Return to Ipswich and release
Richards made his Ipswich return in 2009 under new manager Roy Keane starting against Cardiff in a 3–0 win at Ninian Park.[6] This would turn out to be his last game for the club as he was released on 14 May 2009.[7]
Walsall
Richards had a trial spell with Burton Albion [8] scoring in a friendly against Ilkeston Town, however following a successful trial at League One side Walsall, Richards penned a two-year contract with the Saddlers.[9] Richards left the Saddlers after failing to meet the deadline on signing a new deal. He contacted the club 2 days too late and the offer had been withdrawn by manager Dean Smith. Richards stated his desire to sign on at Walsall on Twitter, however, this was not possible.
Shrewsbury Town
Richards impressed during a trial period with Shrewsbury Town and underwent a medical at the Greenhous Meadow on the 27th July 2011, with the deal expected to be completed in the following days. He signed a two-year deal with the Shropshire outfit on 28 July 2011.[10]
References
- ^ "Search 1984 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. http://www.findmypast.co.uk/birth-indexes-search-start.action. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
- ^ Richards to Extend Brighton loan, BBC Football, 18 October 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2008
- ^ Richards Extends Loan at Brighton, BBC Football, 17 November 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2008
- ^ Brighton bag Ipswich's Richards, BBC Football, 17 January 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008
- ^ Matt Returns to Brighton, itfc.co.uk, 21 July 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008
- ^ http://www.clubfanzine.com/ipswich_town/v2.showNews.php?id=19375
- ^ http://www.clubfanzine.com/ipswich_town/v2.showNews.php?id=19623
- ^ Burton Albion 2 Ilkeston Town 3 Clough The Magic Dragon, 14 July 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2010
- ^ Walsall Sign Defender Richards, BBC Football, 4 August 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2009
- ^ "Midfielder signs". Shrewsbury Town F C official website. 28 July 2011. http://www.shrewsburytown.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10443~2403937,00.html. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
External links
Shrewsbury Town F.C. – current squad 1 Neal · 2 Grandison · 3 Jacobson · 4 McAllister · 5 Sharps · 6 Sherriff · 7 Wright · 8 Wroe · 9 Collins · 10 Morgan · 11 Leslie · 12 Hazell · 14 Richards · 15 Regan · 16 Ainsworth · 17 Bradshaw · 18 Goldson · 19 Wallace · 20 Wildig · 21 Male · 22 Woods · 23 Taylor · 24 Gornell · 25 Smith · Manager: Turner
Categories:- 1984 births
- England under-21 international footballers
- English footballers
- Ipswich Town F.C. players
- Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players
- Walsall F.C. players
- Shrewsbury Town F.C. players
- Living people
- People from Harlow
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