Kieran Richardson
Encyclopedia
Kieran Edward Richardson (born 21 October 1984) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 footballer currently playing for Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

. He is naturally a left winger, but has proven to a extremely versatile; having also played as a left back, right winger, central midfielder and recently as a support striker. He is the cousin of Big Brother
Big Brother (TV series)
Big Brother is a television show in which a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash...

contestant Charley Uchea.

Early career

Richardson was schooled at the private and non-selective Riverston Independent Day School in Lee, London
Lee, London
Lee is a district of south London, England, located mostly in the London Borough of Lewisham and partly in the London Borough of Greenwich. The district lies to the east of Lewisham, one mile west of Eltham, and one mile south of Blackheath village...

. He began playing football at Parkwood Primary School and his talent was very apparent at this young age, he was made captain of his school team and was invited to train with Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

.

He then moved to West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

 where he would begin training professionally. However, before he made his debut for the Londoners, he was signed by Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 in 2001.

Manchester United

During his first season at Manchester United, Richardson established his place as a regular on United's reserve team
Manchester United F.C. Reserves and Academy
Manchester United Football Club Reserves are the reserve team of Manchester United F.C. They play in the North section of the Premier Reserve League. They have been champions four times since the league's inauguration in 1999; in 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2010...

. He was given squad number 42 for the first team, but he failed to make his debut with them.

During summer 2002, Richardson was fully involved with the first team during their pre-season. Subsequently he made his first appearance for Manchester United on 23 October 2002 when coming on as a late substitute in a match against Olympiacos in the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

. He then scored his first goal for United in the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 on 5 November 2002 against Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...

, although he had yet to make his Premiership debut for the club at that time. Richardson enjoyed his first breakthrough during the 2002–03 season appearing nine times and scoring a goal for the first team. He also played a role in Manchester United's youth team's win of the 2003 FA Youth Cup
FA Youth Cup
The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under–18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part...

.

At the start of 2003–04 season, he was given squad number 23. This suggested that he may be more involved with the first team than during the previous season. However, during this season he failed to stake his claim for the first team. He only appeared three times, all of them in League Cup and FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

.

During the 2004–05 season, he started to become more involved with the first team. He had already made nine appearances and scored one goal during the first half of the season. However during the January transfer window
Transfer window
The transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other countries into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA...

, Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

 decided to loan him out in order for him to gain more first team experience.

Richardson was linked with a loan move to Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...

, but Ferguson said there was no chance as other players had gone on loan. However, when former Manchester United captain Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...

, manager of West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...

, enquired about loaning Richardson, the deal was done straight away. Under Robson, Richardson made an instant impact on West Brom's quest to escape relegation. He was a regular in West Brom's first eleven, playing in central midfield. He scored three goals from 12 appearances as West Bromwich successfully avoided relegation, despite starting the final day of the season on the bottom of the table. Despite this his confrontational demeanor won him no respect with opposing fans, particularly at Norwich, where he was jeered for taunting them.

At the start of 2005–06 season, Richardson declined a further loan spell at West Brom in an attempt to win a regular place at Old Trafford. He made his break in Manchester United's first eleven in September 2005, when he appeared as an emergency left back, in place of the injured Gabriel Heinze
Gabriel Heinze
Gabriel Iván Heinze is an Argentine footballer who plays for A.S. Roma in Italy. Mainly a left back, he can also operate as a central defender....

. He soon returned to midfield however, where he made several good performances. In October, Richardson celebrated his 21st birthday by signing a new four-year contract with United. He went on to appear 36 times and score six goals that season.

The following season Richardson's chances to establish himself in the first team were limited, mainly playing in the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 and the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

. However, Richardson felt Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

's wrath as the youngster shouldered some of the blame for United's below-par performance against Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...

 in the League Cup. Ferguson publicly declared that Richardson and others would benefit from spending some time in United's reserve team. He scored one of United's goals in the 4–1 FA Cup semi-final win over Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...

, that put them in the final at the new Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...

. Richardson was disliked by many United fans on and off the field for his attitude and was nicknamed 'Lord Snooty' by United fanzine Red Issue
Red Issue
Red Issue is a fanzine aimed at Manchester United supporters. The fanzine has been published monthly during the domestic football season since February 1989. The content of the fanzine is satirical - featuring jokes at the expense of Manchester United's own players in addition to their rival...

.

Sunderland

On 16 July 2007, Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 paid Manchester United an undisclosed fee, reported to be in the region of £3.5 million. Richardson signed a four-year deal with the Black Cats, under the management of his former United captain Roy Keane.

After an indifferent start, it was discovered that he had a stress fracture
Stress fracture
A stress fracture is one type of incomplete fracture in bones. It is caused by "unusual or repeated stress" and also heavy continuous weight on the ankle or leg...

 of the spine. This led to him being out of action for almost four months. He scored his first goal for Sunderland on 29 December 2007 against Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

. Richardson scored two goals in the 2–0 win against Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

 at the Stadium of Light
Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light has the fifth-largest capacity of any English football stadium. The stadium primarily hosts Sunderland A.F.C. matches...

 on 13 January 2008, also striking the bar to miss out on his hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...

. Since then he suffered a hamstring injury in training then this injury recurred in Sunderland's 3–0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.

On 23 August 2008, Richardson scored against Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

 in the 56th minute, in a 2–1 win at White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Tottenham, London, England. Built in 1899, it is the home of Tottenham Hotspur and, after numerous renovations, the stadium has a capacity of 36,230....

. Richardson took a free kick that hit the post three times at Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

 on 18 October, and later had another free kick disallowed as Pascal Chimbonda
Pascal Chimbonda
Pascal Chimbonda is a French footballer who currently plays for Doncaster Rovers, having been released early from a short term deal by Queens Park Rangers...

 was adjudged to be pushing in the wall. On 25 October 2008, Richardson scored the winning goal in the Tyne–Wear derby, with a free kick. Richardson attracted interest from Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

 in the 2009 January transfer window, but manager Ricky Sbragia
Ricky Sbragia
Richard "Ricky" Sbragia is a Scottish former footballer and manager. As a coach, he spent time at Manchester United and Bolton, before joining Roy Keane's backroom staff at Sunderland. Sbragia became manager of Sunderland following Keane's departure, although he himself resigned in 2009 after...

 insisted that he was not for sale.

Richardson scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season with an equaliser against West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

, which ended 2–2. Richardson was used in several positions throughout the season, whilst predominantly featuring in central midfield he also played at left-back – his performances there led to many touting him as a surprise World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 inclusion.

In the build up to the 2010-11 season, Richardson committed his future to the club by signing a new three-year contract at the Stadium of Light. He soonafter became first choice left back at the club citing Brazilian full back Maicon as inspiration for taking up his new position, saying "I watched the World Cup and saw the way guys like Maicon were bombing forward - and I thought "I can do that". He opened his scoring account for the season on 22 January away to Blackpool scoring two goals in the first half. After deploying him in an attacking role, Sunderland manager Steve Bruce hailed Richardson's versatility saying "I must have asked him to play in five or six positions this season and certainly in that position he enjoys it, it’s something he revels in". He then added "He was the outstanding player on the pitch. In the first half he was brilliant, his pace was superb." Richardson scored directly from a free kick in Sunderland's next game, a 4-2 home defeat to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

. Richardson made his 100th Premier League appearance for Sunderland at home to Tottenham Hotspur on February 12, assisting Asamoah Gyan
Asamoah Gyan
Asamoah Gyan is a Ghanaian professional footballer, who plays as a striker for Emirati club Al Ain in the UAE Pro-League , and the Ghana national team....

's opener in a 2-1 defeat.

International career

During his stay at West Brom, he won his first cap for the England U21
England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....

 team on 8 February 2005 in a friendly match against Netherlands U21
Netherlands national under-21 football team
The Netherlands national under-21 football team is the national under-21 team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association. The team competes in the European Under-21 Championship, held every two years....

 team. After a series of convincing performances for West Brom, he won a late call-up for England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

's trip to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 at the end of the 2004–05 season. He started the match against the USA
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...

 and scored twice on his England debut, including one directly from a free kick. He earned praise from England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....

, who described Richardson's debut as "fantastic". He also appeared as a substitute on England's second match in the United States against Colombia
Colombia national football team
The Colombian national football team represents Colombia in international football competitions and is controlled by the Colombian Football Federation. It is a member of the CONMEBOL...

.

After earning senior caps, Richardson also returned to the Under-21 squad, playing in both legs of the England U21s' European Championship
2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification
The qualifying groups for the UEFA U-21 Championship 2006, where possible, matched the 7- and 6-team World Cup 2006 qualifying groups of the senior European teams. The exceptions were where Andorra, Faroe Islands, Liechtenstein, and Northern Ireland were involved; none of whom entered an under-21...

 qualification play-off against France U21
France national under-21 football team
The France national under-21 football team , known in France as Les Espoirs , is the national under-21 football team of France and is controlled by the French Football Federation. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...

s, which they lost 3–2 on aggregate. The decisive goal came in the 85th minute of the second leg, when Richardson brought down Lassana Diarra
Lassana Diarra
Lassana "Lass" Diarra is a French footballer who currently plays for Real Madrid. His predominant position is defensive midfielder but he can also play in a more advanced role and has played at right back, which he occasionally did for former clubs Chelsea, as well as France.-Early career:Diarra...

 in the box and the resulting penalty was converted.

He then made two further substitute appearances during England's World Cup qualification
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
A total of 197 teams entered the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. Germany, as the host, qualified automatically, leaving 31 spots open for competition...

 against Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...

 in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

 and Austria
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....

 in Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...

. The latter was his home England debut. However, he was not selected by Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....

 in England's 2006 World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

 squad.

In 2006–07, he continued to be selected by newly appointed England manager Steve McClaren
Steve McClaren
Stephen "Steve" McClaren is an English football manager and former player.McClaren was previously manager of VfL Wolfsburg in Germany between May 2010 and February 2011, having left his post at Dutch side FC Twente, with whom he won the club's first Eredivisie championship in the 2009–10 season...

 and made several substitute appearances. He went on to make further appearances for the England U21 squad, for whom he was eligible to play until the end of the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The UEFA U-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 June 2007 to 23 June 2007. It is the 16th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Football Championship....

, where he made three appearances. However, he has neither started nor scored for the England senior team since his debut.

International goals

Career statistics

Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Other1 Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

2002–03 2 0 1 0 1 1 5 0 0 0 9 1
2003–04 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
2004–05 2 0 1 0 3 1 2 0 1 0 9 1
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...

 (loan)
2004–05 12 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 3
Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

2005–06 22 1 4 3 5 1 5 1 0 0 36 6
2006–07 15 1 3 1 2 0 4 1 0 0 24 3
Total 412104133162108111
Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

2007–08 17 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 18 3
2008–09 32 4 1 0 2 0 0 0 35 4
2009–10 29 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 32 1
2010–11
2010–11 Premier League
The 2010–11 Premier League was the 19th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The 2010–11 fixtures were released on 17 June 2010 at 09:00 BST. The season began on 14 August 2010, and ended on 22 May 2011...

26 4 1 0 2 0 0 0 29 4
2011–12
2011–12 Premier League
The 2011–12 Premier League is the twentieth season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The 2011–12 fixtures were announced on 17 June 2011 at 9:00 BST. The season began on 13 August 2011 and is due to end on 13 May 2012...

12 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 13 1
Total 116134070Total 169181442031621022027
Statistics accurate as 5 February 2011

Club

Manchester United
  • Premier League (1): 2006–07
  • Football League Cup
    Football League Cup
    The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

     (1): 2005–06
  • FA Community Shield
    FA Community Shield
    The Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...

     (1): 2003
    2003 FA Community Shield
    The 2003 FA Community Shield was the 81st FA Community Shield, a football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions...


External links

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