Richard Huxford
Encyclopedia
Richard John Huxford is an English former professional footballer who made more than 200 appearances in the Football League
and the Scottish Football League
. His regular playing position was at right back
, but he also played as a central defender or in midfield
.
, Lincolnshire
. As a youngster he joined Scunthorpe United
as an apprentice, but was released without being offered a full professional contract. He played non-league football
for several years, for clubs including Matlock Town
, Burton Albion
– whose manager met Gresley Rovers
' interest in Huxford with a demand for a transfer fee, despite suggesting the player would "have to improve a great deal" to find his way into Burton's long-term plans – Gainsborough Trinity
, and Kettering Town
, for whom he played 103 games in all competitions.
He moved into the Football League
with Barnet
in August 1992 in an exchange deal involving Dave Tomlinson. After 33 league games in the 1992–93 season as Barnet won the Division Three
title, Huxford joined Division One
(second tier) club Millwall
on a free transfer. He played 36 games in all competitions in his first season, helping the club reach the play-offs, in which they lost to Derby County
in the semifinal. During that season he also spent a month on loan at Birmingham City
as cover for the injured Scott Hiley
.
The following season, his Millwall career consisted of one three-minute substitute appearance before he went out on another month's loan, this time to Bradford City
of Division Two
. The loan was extended for a further two months, then in January 1995 Huxford signed for Bradford City on a permanent basis for a fee of £50,000. He contributed to the club's promotion to Division One via the play-offs
, and was involved in the build-up to both goals in the play-off final
against Notts County
. His chances at Bradford were limited at the higher level, and after a brief spell on loan to Peterborough United
, the club released him from his contract in January 1997 and he joined Burnley
, initially on a short-term deal until the end of the season. His contract was extended, and new manager Chris Waddle
put him in the starting eleven, but he soon fell out of favour, and was allowed to try his luck in the Scottish League
, joining Dunfermline Athletic
on loan.
Huxford made his Scottish Premier League
debut on 15 February 1998 away at Celtic
: Dunfermline lost 5–1. The move was made permanent at the end of the season, and he played fairly regularly in his first permanent season with the club, but in September 1999 cruciate ligament damage put an end to his Dunfermline career. Released at the end of the 1999–2000 season, Huxford signed a one-year contract with part-timers Alloa Athletic
, newly-promoted to the Scottish First Division
. His season with Alloa was disrupted by injury, and he was one of numerous players released as the club were relegated. Partick Thistle
offered a three-month deal at the start of the 2000–01 season, but when the club decided to go full-time, he made the switch to Berwick Rangers
in order to continue his studies. Albeit as a late substitute, he was part of the team which held Rangers
to a goalless draw in the Scottish Cup
, a match which The Sun
labelled "The Heroes v The Hopeless".
During the 2002–03 season, Huxford played for Cambridge City
's reserve team
on trial, and turned out for Ely City
in the Eastern Counties League
, while attending courses at a Christian
college in Hertfordshire
. Huxford made a return to league football in 2006 with Elgin City
of the Scottish Third Division
, initially as fitness coach, later making one appearance as a player.
from the University of Edinburgh
. In 2005, he was appointed as a Sports Science Officer for the Scottish Institute of Sport
. Huxford has also coached the youth teams of Manchester United
and Crewe Alexandra
, and the senior squad of American side Carolina RailHawks
.
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
and the Scottish Football League
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
. His regular playing position was at right back
Defender (association football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
, but he also played as a central defender or in midfield
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
.
Playing career
Huxford was born in ScunthorpeScunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. As a youngster he joined Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....
as an apprentice, but was released without being offered a full professional contract. He played non-league football
Non-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
for several years, for clubs including Matlock Town
Matlock Town F.C.
Matlock Town F.C. is an English football club based at Causeway Lane in Matlock, Derbyshire.-History:The club was established in the late 1870s and have competed in the Central Alliance and the Midland Counties League before reaching the Northern Premier League.In the 1974–75 season the club won...
, Burton Albion
Burton Albion F.C.
Burton Albion Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005...
– whose manager met Gresley Rovers
Gresley Rovers F.C.
Gresley Football Club are an English football club from Church Gresley, near Swadlincote, Derbyshire. Gresley are currently in the Midland Football Alliance, playing their home games at The Moat Ground...
' interest in Huxford with a demand for a transfer fee, despite suggesting the player would "have to improve a great deal" to find his way into Burton's long-term plans – Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity F.C.
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club are an English football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.Between 1896 and 1912 they were members of the Football League. They are currently in the Conference North, and play their home matches at The Northolme, which has a capacity of 4,304...
, and Kettering Town
Kettering Town F.C.
Kettering Town Football Club are a football club originating in Kettering, Northamptonshire but currently based in the nearby village of Irthlingborough. The club play in the Conference National after winning the Conference North in 2007–08...
, for whom he played 103 games in all competitions.
He moved into the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
with Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....
in August 1992 in an exchange deal involving Dave Tomlinson. After 33 league games in the 1992–93 season as Barnet won the Division Three
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
title, Huxford joined Division One
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
(second tier) club Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
on a free transfer. He played 36 games in all competitions in his first season, helping the club reach the play-offs, in which they lost to Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
in the semifinal. During that season he also spent a month on loan at Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
as cover for the injured Scott Hiley
Scott Hiley
Scott Patrick Hiley is an English former footballer.-Football career:A defender, mainly at right-back, Hiley first came through the Exeter City youth system in 1986...
.
The following season, his Millwall career consisted of one three-minute substitute appearance before he went out on another month's loan, this time to Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
of Division Two
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
. The loan was extended for a further two months, then in January 1995 Huxford signed for Bradford City on a permanent basis for a fee of £50,000. He contributed to the club's promotion to Division One via the play-offs
Football League One play-offs
The Football League One Playoffs are a series of playoff matches, contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the NPower Football League One table to determine the third spot for promotion to the second tier of English football, the Championship....
, and was involved in the build-up to both goals in the play-off final
1996 Football League Second Division play-off Final
The 1996 Football League Second Division play-off Final was a football match played at Wembley Stadium on 26 May 1996, at the end of the 1995–96 English league season to determine the final promoted side from the Second Division. Bradford City beat Notts County 2–0 to join Swindon Town and Oxford...
against Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
. His chances at Bradford were limited at the higher level, and after a brief spell on loan to Peterborough United
Peterborough United F.C.
Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...
, the club released him from his contract in January 1997 and he joined Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
, initially on a short-term deal until the end of the season. His contract was extended, and new manager Chris Waddle
Chris Waddle
Christopher Roland "Chris" Waddle is a former footballer from England. He played for a number of clubs in the 1980s and 90s, including Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield Wednesday in England, and Olympique de Marseille in France...
put him in the starting eleven, but he soon fell out of favour, and was allowed to try his luck in the Scottish League
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
, joining Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic F.C.
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife, commonly known as just Dunfermline. They currently compete in the Scottish Premier League....
on loan.
Huxford made his Scottish Premier League
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
debut on 15 February 1998 away at Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
: Dunfermline lost 5–1. The move was made permanent at the end of the season, and he played fairly regularly in his first permanent season with the club, but in September 1999 cruciate ligament damage put an end to his Dunfermline career. Released at the end of the 1999–2000 season, Huxford signed a one-year contract with part-timers Alloa Athletic
Alloa Athletic F.C.
Alloa Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Alloa, Clackmannanshire. They are members of the Scottish Football League and currently play in the Third Division....
, newly-promoted to the Scottish First Division
Scottish Football League First Division
The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
. His season with Alloa was disrupted by injury, and he was one of numerous players released as the club were relegated. Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle F.C.
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football club from Glasgow. Despite their name, the club are based in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908...
offered a three-month deal at the start of the 2000–01 season, but when the club decided to go full-time, he made the switch to Berwick Rangers
Berwick Rangers F.C.
Berwick Rangers Football Club are a football team based in the English Border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, although they play in the Scottish Football League Third Division...
in order to continue his studies. Albeit as a late substitute, he was part of the team which held Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
to a goalless draw in the Scottish Cup
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
, a match which The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
labelled "The Heroes v The Hopeless".
During the 2002–03 season, Huxford played for Cambridge City
Cambridge City F.C.
Cambridge City Football Club is an English football club currently playing in the Southern League Premier Division.-History:The club was founded in 1908 Cambridge Town F.C., as Cambridge had not been granted city status at that point, and were committed to amateur sport...
's reserve team
Reserve team
Large professional sports clubs often have far more players under contract than could possibly play in a match. As a result, many of these clubs create second teams composed of players who need playing time, but have little hope of playing on the first team. The players on this second team are...
on trial, and turned out for Ely City
Ely City F.C.
Ely City F.C. is an English football club based in Ely, Cambridgeshire. The club are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Premier Division and play at the Unwin Sports Ground.-History:...
in the Eastern Counties League
Eastern Counties Football League
The Eastern Counties Football League is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffolk, northern Essex and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is a feeder to the regional divisions of the Isthmian League and Southern...
, while attending courses at a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
college in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. Huxford made a return to league football in 2006 with Elgin City
Elgin City F.C.
Elgin City Football Club are a semi-professional football team based in Elgin, Moray. They currently compete in the Scottish Third Division....
of the Scottish Third Division
Scottish Football League Third Division
The Scottish Football League Third Division is the lowest division of the Scottish Football League and the fourth overall in the Scottish football league system....
, initially as fitness coach, later making one appearance as a player.
After football
While playing as a semi-professional in Scotland, Huxford earned a degree in sports scienceSports science
Sport science is a discipline that studies the application of scientific principles and techniques with the aim of improving sporting performance...
from the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
. In 2005, he was appointed as a Sports Science Officer for the Scottish Institute of Sport
Scottish Institute of Sport
The Scottish Institute of Sport is the national sports development body in Scotland. It is part of sportscotland, a publicly owned company which is partly funded by the UK's National Lottery.The SIS was established in 1998...
. Huxford has also coached the youth teams of Manchester United
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...
and 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...
, and the senior squad of American side Carolina RailHawks
Carolina RailHawks FC
Carolina RailHawks FC is an American professional soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in the North American Soccer League , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....
.
External links
- Profile and league stats at Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database (Elgin City)
- Profile at Up The Posh!