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Tom Richards (footballer)

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Tom Richards
Richards playing for Fulham U21s in 2014
Personal information
Full name Tom Oliver Richards[1]
Date of birth (1994-10-16) 16 October 1994 (age 30)[2]
Place of birth Guildford, England
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7+12 in)
Position(s) Left midfielder
Team information
Current team
Horsham
Youth career
2011–2014 Fulham
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Fulham 0 (0)
2014AFC Wimbledon (loan) 10 (0)
2015Aldershot Town (loan) 9 (0)
2015–2016 Aldershot Town 25 (1)
2016 FC Kitzbühel 14 (1)
2017 Walton Casuals 4 (0)
2017 Welling United 6 (0)
2017–2018 Leatherhead 46 (5)
2018–2020 Dorking Wanderers 64 (14)
2020–2021 Kingstonian 9 (0)
2021– Horsham 79 (8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:00, 10 November 2023 (UTC)

Tom Oliver Richards (born 16 October 1994) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a left midfielder for Horsham.

Richards spent his youth career at Fulham and made his senior debut on loan at AFC Wimbledon in 2014. He also spent time on loan at Aldershot Town before a permanent move in 2015. Richards spent five months in Austria with fourth division side FC Kitzbühel before joining Walton Casuals in 2017. He joined Welling United in February 2017.

Club career

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Fulham

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Richards joined Fulham after a successful six-week trial in 2011, having been spotted playing Sunday league football.[3] Adapting from a midfield role to full-back in his first season with the club, he lifted the Under-18s national title in 2012 before retaining the title alongside the Dallas Cup in 2013.

On 10 July 2013, Richards signed a one-year deal with an option to extend for a further season.[4] He joined the Under-21 squad ahead of the 2013–14 season, and after sixteen appearances for the youth side was rewarded with a loan spell in the Football League.[5]

On 28 February 2014, Richards joined AFC Wimbledon on loan for the remainder of the season.[5] He made his professional debut in a 0–0 draw at Fleetwood Town on 1 March.[6] Richards made ten appearances for the League Two club before his return to Craven Cottage in May.

On 21 February 2015, he joined Conference Premier club Aldershot Town on loan for the remainder of the season.[7] Richards made his debut in a 3–1 victory over Dover Athletic on 3 March.[8] He made nine appearances for the club during his loan spell.

Aldershot Town

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On 6 June 2015, Richards joined Aldershot Town on a permanent basis following his impressive loan spell.[9] Signing a one-year deal at the club, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 victory against Guiseley.[10]

With 27 appearances to his name during the 2015–16 campaign, Richards was released after the expiry of his contract and the arrival of new manager Gary Waddock.[11]

FC Kitzbühel

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In July 2016, Richards joined FC Kitzbühel, an Austrian fourth-tier club. He scored two goals in 17 appearances prior to the winter break. In December 2016, he agreed to a contract termination allowing him to return to England.[12]

Later career

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On 26 January 2017, Richards joined Isthmian Division One South side Walton Casuals. On 28 January, he made his debut in a 3–2 victory against Sittingbourne. He went on to make four appearances for the club before his departure. Richards played his final game in a 3–7 defeat to East Grinstead Town on 11 February.[13]

On 17 February, Richards signed for National League South club Welling United.[14] He made his debut the following day in a 2–2 draw at Weston Super Mare.[15] On 30 July 2017, Richards joined Isthmian League Premier Division side Leatherhead after not being able to agree a deal with Welling.[16] He transferred to Dorking Wanderers in summer 2018[17] and later Kingstonian in July 2020.[18] He signed for Horsham in summer 2021.[17]

Personal life

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Richards is a Chelsea supporter, but would often watch Fulham as a child due to his father and youth coach. As a child, Richards was nicknamed 'Duffer' due to a similarity in appearance to Damien Duff.[19]

Career statistics

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As of end of 2022–23 season
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Fulham 2013–14 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014–15 Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AFC Wimbledon (loan) 2013–14 League Two 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
Aldershot Town (loan) 2014–15 Conference Premier 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Aldershot Town 2015–16 National League 25 1 2 0 0 0 27 1
FC Kitzbühel 2016–17 Tiroler Liga 14 1 0 0 3 1 17 2
Walton Casuals 2016–17 Isthmian League Division One South 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Welling United 2016–17 National League South 6 0 0 0 1[a] 0 7 0
Leatherhead 2017–18 Isthmian League Premier Division 46 5 7 0 1[b] 0 54 5
Dorking Wanderers 2018–19[20] Isthmian League Premier Division 35 9 4 1 3[c] 0 42 10
2019–20[21] National League South 29 5 1 0 7[d] 3 37 8
Total 64 14 5 1 10 3 79 18
Kingstonian 2020–21[22] Isthmian League Premier Division 9 0 2 0 1[b] 0 12 0
Horsham 2021–22[23] Isthmian League Premier Division 38 2 7 0 7[e] 0 52 2
2022–23[24] Isthmian League Premier Division 33 5 1 0 4[f] 0 38 5
Total 71 7 8 0 11 0 90 7
Career total 258 28 24 1 27 4 309 33
  1. ^ Appearances in Kent Senior Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearances in FA Trophy
  3. ^ Two appearances in FA Trophy; one appearance in Surrey Senior Cup
  4. ^ Three appearances one goal in FA Trophy; two appearances two goals in Surrey Senior Cup; two appearances in National League South play-offs
  5. ^ One appearance in FA Trophy; one appearance in Sussex Senior Cup; five appearances in Alan Turvey Trophy
  6. ^ Two appearances in FA Trophy; one appearance in Sussex Senior Cup; one appearance in Alan Turvey Trophy

Honours

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Dorking Wanderers

Horsham

References

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  1. ^ "Premier League Squad Lists – January 2014" (PDF). Premier League. 4 February 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Tom Richards profile". Fulham F.C. 1 March 2014. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Through The Ranks: Tom Richards". Fulham F.C. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  4. ^ "New Deals For Young Whites". Fulham F.C. 10 July 2013. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ a b "Richards Joins Wimbledon". Fulham F.C. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Fleetwood Town 0–0 AFC Wimbledon". BBC. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Tom Richards: Fulham left-back signs for Aldershot on loan". BBC. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  8. ^ "Aldershot Town 3–1 Dover Athletic". BBC. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  9. ^ Gibbs, Steve (6 June 2015). "Richards Returns to the Shots". theshots.co.uk. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Aldershot Town 1–0 Guiseley". BBC. 19 December 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  11. ^ Gibbs, Steve (11 May 2016). "Gary Releases Two". theshots.co.uk. Aldershot Town F.C. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  12. ^ "Tom Richards". fckitz.at. FC Kitzbuhel. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  13. ^ "Tom Richards". waltoncasuals.com. Walton Casuals F.C. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  14. ^ Brooker, Kane (17 February 2017). "Welling United sign Tom Richards". waltoncasuals.com. Welling United F.C. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  15. ^ "Weston Super Mare vs Welling United". wellingunited.com. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  16. ^ "Former Fulham, AFC Wimbledon, Aldershot Town and Welling United defender joins Leatherhead". Get Surrey. 30 July 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  17. ^ a b "Former Fulham and AFC Wimbledon winger snapped up by Horsham". www.wscountytimes.co.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Three new signings and a return to training!". kingstonian.com. Kingstonian F.C. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  19. ^ "Academy Insight: Tom Richards". Fulham F.C. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  20. ^ "Dorking Wanderers | Appearances | Tom Richards | 2018–2019". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  21. ^ "Tom Richards | Player Profile". www.aylesburyunitedarchive.com. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  22. ^ "Kingstonian | Appearances | Tom Richards | 2020–2021". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  23. ^ "Horsham | Appearances | Tom Richards | 2021–2022". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  24. ^ "Horsham | Appearances | Tom Richards | 2022–2023". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  25. ^ "England - T. Richards - Profile with news, career statistics and history". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
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