Richard O'Donnell (footballer)

Richard O'Donnell

O'Donnell in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Richard Mark O'Donnell [1]
Date of birth	(1988-09-12) 12 September 1988 (age 36) [2]
Place of birth	Sheffield, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [3]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Blackpool
Number	1
Youth career
0000–2005	Sheffield United
0000–2006	Sheffield Wednesday
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2012	Sheffield Wednesday	15	(0)
2007	→ York City (loan)	0	(0)
2007–2008	→ Buxton (loan)	2	(0)
2008	→ Rotherham United (loan)	0	(0)
2008	→ Oldham Athletic (loan)	4	(0)
2010	→ Grimsby Town (loan)	10	(0)
2011	→ Alfreton Town (loan)	0	(0)
2012	→ Macclesfield Town (loan)	11	(0)
2012–2013	Chesterfield	14	(0)
2013	→ Stockport County (loan)	20	(0)
2013–2015	Walsall	90	(0)
2015–2016	Wigan Athletic	10	(0)
2016	→ Bristol City (loan)	4	(0)
2016–2017	Bristol City	25	(0)
2017–2018	Rotherham United	22	(0)
2018	Northampton Town	19	(0)
2018–2022	Bradford City	122	(0)
2022–2023	Rochdale	40	(0)
2023–	Blackpool	7	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:00, 24 November 2024 (UTC)

Richard Mark O'Donnell (born 12 September 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL League One club Blackpool.

Having started his career with Sheffield Wednesday's youth system, O'Donnell progressed to the first team, for which he was largely used as an understudy goalkeeper. He played 20 times for Wednesday between 2006 and 2012, earning a significant amount of first-team appearances elsewhere as he spent time on loan with York City, Buxton, Rotherham United, Oldham Athletic, Grimsby Town, Alfreton Town and Macclesfield Town. He was released in the summer of 2012 and joined Chesterfield. In 2013, following limited first-team appearances, he signed a one-year contract at Walsall.

Career

Sheffield Wednesday

O'Donnell training with Sheffield Wednesday in 2007

Born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, O'Donnell started his career with Sheffield Wednesday's youth system. ^[4] He was called up to first team at the start of the 2006–07 season and was an unused substitute for the League Cup match against Wrexham as back-up for Chris Adamson. ^[5] O'Donnell joined Conference National club York City on 2 March 2007 on a work-experience arrangement. ^[6] He was recalled by Wednesday later that month, to provide cover for injuries. ^[7]

O'Donnell signed his first professional contract with Wednesday in June 2007. ^[8] He joined Buxton of the Northern Premier League Premier Division in December 2007 on a one-month loan, ^[9] where he made two appearances. ^[10] He joined League Two club Rotherham United on 8 January 2008 on a three-month loan, as back-up for Andy Warrington, ^[11] but was recalled before the end of the deal as back-up to Wednesday's two first-choice goalkeepers. ^[12] O'Donnell was then loaned to League One club Oldham Athletic on 14 March 2008 on an emergency seven-day loan. ^[13] He made his Football League debut the following day at the age of 19 in a match against Luton Town. ^[14]

He joined Conference Premier club Grimsby Town on 31 August 2010 on a one-month loan. ^[15] He made his debut on 4 September 2010 against Luton, Grimsby winning 2–0 at home. ^[16] On 4 February 2011, he joined Alfreton Town on a one-month loan. ^[17]

He made his debut for Wednesday in a 2–0 defeat away to Southampton on 19 March 2011. ^[18] On 15 May 2012, O'Donnell was amongst the six first-team players to be released by the club. ^[19]

Chesterfield

The day following his release, O'Donnell signed for Chesterfield on a one-year contract. ^[20] After appearing as an unused substitute in the first five matches, he made his debut on 4 September 2012 as an 89th-minute substitute for Tommy Lee in a 2–1 home win over Oldham Athletic. ^[21] O'Donnell made his first start four days later, in a 2–2 away draw against York City on 8 September 2012. ^[22] He appeared in the following 14 matches, mainly due to the absence of first-choice goalkeeper Tommy Lee, who was out for eight weeks. After Lee recovered and returned to the first team, O'Donnell was once again the club's back-up goalkeeper.

On 14 January 2013, O'Donnell joined Conference Premier club Stockport County on a one-month loan. ^[23] O'Donnell had his loan spell extended with the club until 16 April 2013. ^[24] While at Stockport, he made 20 appearances and established himself as first-choice goalkeeper, but the club was relegated to the Conference North. ^[25] In the last match of the season, O'Donnell made his first Chesterfield appearance in over six months, a 4–0 home victory over Exeter City. ^[22]

He was released at the end of that one-year contract, in April 2013, following limited first-team opportunities. ^[26]

Walsall

Following his release from Chesterfield, O'Donnell signed a one-year contract with League One club Walsall on 18 July 2013. ^[27] He was voted as their Player of the Year in 2014–15. ^[28]

Wigan Athletic

On 22 May 2015, O'Donnell signed a three-year contract with League One club Wigan Athletic. ^[29]

Bristol City

After losing his place to Jussi Jääskeläinen in the Wigan team, he joined Championship club Bristol City on 12 January 2016 on loan until the end of 2015–16 as cover for the injured Frank Fielding. ^[30] He went straight into the team against Preston North End on the same day, in a 2–1 home defeat. ^[31] He signed permanently on 1 February 2016, for an undisclosed fee, on a two-and-a-half-year contract. ^[32]

Rotherham United

He re-signed for Championship club Rotherham United on 19 January 2017, on a two-and-a-half-year contract, for an undisclosed fee. ^[33]

Northampton Town

O'Donnell signed for League One club Northampton Town on 8 January 2018, on a two-and-a-half-year contract, a for an undisclosed fee. ^[34]

Bradford City

O'Donnell signed for League One club Bradford City on 27 June 2018 on a two-year contract, having been able to leave Northampton on a free transfer because of a relegation clause in his contract. ^[35] He was offered a new contract by Bradford City in July 2020, following the expiry of his existing contract, ^[36] signing a new two-year contract later that month. ^[37]

He was appointed as Bradford City captain on 4 September 2020. ^[38]

O'Donnell was released by the club at the end of the 2021–22 season, ^[39] having not featured for the club since 30 November 2021. ^[40]

Rochdale

On 18 May 2022, O'Donnell signed a two-year contract with Rochdale which came into effect on 1 July after his contract expired at Bradford City. ^[41] At the end of the 2022–23 season, O'Donnell was awarded with the Supporters' Player of the Year trophy. ^[42]

Blackpool

O'Donnell joined Blackpool on 27 June 2023. ^[43]

Career statistics

As of match played 18 February 2023

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sheffield Wednesday	2006–07 [44]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2007–08 [14]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2008–09 [45]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2009–10 [46]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2010–11 [18]	League One	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
	2011–12 [47]	League One	6	0	2	0	2	0	1 [a]	0	11	0
	Total		15	0	2	0	2	0	1	0	20	0
York City (loan)	2006–07 [48]	Conference National	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
Buxton (loan)	2007–08 [10]	Northern Premier League Premier Division	2	0	—		—		—		2	0
Rotherham United (loan)	2007–08 [14]	League Two	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
Oldham Athletic (loan)	2007–08 [14]	League One	4	0	—		—		—		4	0
Grimsby Town (loan)	2010–11 [49]	Conference Premier	10	0	—		—		—		10	0
Alfreton Town (loan)	2010–11 [50]	Conference North	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
Macclesfield Town (loan)	2011–12 [47]	League Two	11	0	—		—		—		11	0
Chesterfield	2012–13 [22]	League Two	14	0	1	0	0	0	2 [a]	0	17	0
Stockport County (loan)	2012–13 [51]	Conference Premier	20	0	—		—		—		20	0
Walsall	2013–14 [52]	League One	46	0	2	0	2	0	1 [a]	0	51	0
	2014–15 [53]	League One	44	0	2	0	2	0	6 [a]	0	54	0
	Total		90	0	4	0	4	0	7	0	105	0
Wigan Athletic	2015–16 [54]	League One	10	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	12	0
Bristol City (loan)	2015–16 [54]	Championship	4	0	—		—		—		4	0
Bristol City	2015–16 [54]	Championship	17	0	—		—		—		17	0
	2016–17 [55]	Championship	8	0	1	0	2	0	—		11	0
	Total		29	0	1	0	2	0	—		32	0
Rotherham United	2016–17 [55]	Championship	12	0	—		—		—		12	0
	2017–18 [56]	League One	10	0	1	0	2	0	2 [b]	0	15	0
	Total		22	0	1	0	2	0	2	0	27	0
Northampton Town	2017–18 [56]	League One	19	0	—		—		—		19	0
Bradford City	2018–19 [57]	League One	42	0	3	0	0	0	3 [b]	0	48	0
	2019–20 [58]	League Two	33	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	35	0
	2020–21 [59]	League Two	28	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	32	0
	2021–22 [40]	League Two	19	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	22	0
	Total		122	0	9	0	3	0	3	0	137	0
Rochdale	2022–23 [60]	League Two	28	0	1	0	1	0	2 [b]	0	32	0
Career total			396	0	20	0	15	0	17	0	448	0

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
2. Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours

Walsall

• Football League Trophy runner-up: 2014–15 ^[61]

Individual

• Walsall Player of the Year: 2014–15 ^[28]
• Rochdale Supporters' Player of the Year: 2022–23 ^[42]

References

1. "EFL: Club retained and released lists published". English Football League. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
2. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2008). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 318. ISBN   978-1-84596-324-8.
3. "Richard O'Donnell". Bradford City A.F.C. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
4. "Richard O'Donnell". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
5. "Sheff Wed: Results/matches: 2006/07". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
6. Flett, Dave (2 March 2007). "Giant Hungarian joins City on loan". The Press. York. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
7. Flett, Dave (27 March 2007). "Forest 'keeper joins City's play-off push". The Press. York. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
8. "Laws keeps up the hunt". The Star. Sheffield. 19 June 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
9. "Owls keeper out on loan". Sheffield Wednesday F.C. 11 December 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2011.^{[ dead link ‍]}
10. "Richard O'Donnell". Buxton F.C. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011.
11. "Rotherham sign keeper O'Donnell". BBC Sport. 8 January 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
12. "O'Donnell returns as back-up". Sheffield Wednesday F.C. 7 March 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2011.^{[ dead link ‍]}
13. "Lactics sign keeper O'Donnell". Oldham Athletic A.F.C. 14 March 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2011.^{[ dead link ‍]}
14. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
15. "Grimsby Town agree Richard O'Donnell loan deal". BBC Sport. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
16. "Grimsby Town pass live television audition with victory over Luton". Grimsby Telegraph. 6 September 2010. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017.
17. "Reds keeper set to make debut against Stags". Nottingham Post. 4 February 2011. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017.
18. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
19. "Owls release six". Sheffield Wednesday F.C. 15 May 2012. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012.
20. "Chesterfield sign goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell". BBC Sport. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
21. "Chesterfield: Results/matches: 2012/13". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
22. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
23. "Stockport sign Chesterfield keeper Richard O'Donnell on loan". BBC Sport. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
24. "Chesterfield keeper O'Donnell's loan at Stockport County extended". Chesterfield Post. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
25. "Stockport County 2012–2013: Table: Final table". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
26. "Farewell to seven players". Chesterfield F.C. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
27. Poole, Andrew (18 July 2013). "Saddlers secure 'keeper". Walsall F.C. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
28. "O'Donnell is Walsall's Player of the Season". Express & Star. Wolverhampton. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
29. "Richard O'Donnell: Wigan Athletic sign Walsall goalkeeper". BBC Sport. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
30. "Richard O'Donnell: Bristol City sign Wigan Athletic keeper on loan". BBC Sport. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
31. "Report: Bristol City 1–2 Preston North End". Bristol Sport. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 5 January 2017.
32. "Richard O'Donnell: Bristol City sign Wigan Athletic goalkeeper". BBC Sport. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
33. "Richard O'Donnell: Rotherham sign Bristol City goalkeeper for undisclosed fee". BBC Sport. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
34. "Northampton sign keeper Richard O'Donnell while Matt Ingram returns to QPR". BBC Sport. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
35. Parker, Simon (27 June 2018). "Bradford City: Northampton keeper replaces Doyle". Telegraph & Argus. Bradford. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
36. "Bradford City bid to keep O'Donnell and Mottley-Henry". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 9 July 2020.
37. "Keeper O'Donnell signs new deal with Bradford City". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 20 July 2020.
38. "Bradford City name O'Donnell as captain". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 4 September 2020.
39. "SIX BANTAMS TO DEPART". www.bradfordcityafc.com. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
40. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
41. "Dale Sign Goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell". Rochdale AFC.
42. "O'Donnell Named Supporters' Player Of The Season". Rochdale AFC. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
43. FC, Blackpool (27 June 2023). "O'Donnell Becomes Third Summer Signing". Blackpool FC. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
44. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
45. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
46. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
47. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
48. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2007). Non-League Club Directory 2008. Kingsbridge: Tony Williams Publications. pp. 176–177. ISBN   978-1-869833-57-2.
49. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2011). Non-League Club Directory 2012. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 88–89. ISBN   978-1-869833-70-1.
50. Williams; Williams (eds.). Non-League Club Directory 2012. pp. 28–29.
51. "R. O'Donnell: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
52. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
53. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
54. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
55. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
56. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
57. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
58. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
59. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
60. "Games played by Richard O'Donnell in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
61. Chapman, Caroline (22 March 2015). "Bristol City 2–0 Walsall". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 March 2024.

External links

• Profile at the Bradford City A.F.C. website