Richard Wright (footballer)

For other people named Richard Wright, see Richard Wright (disambiguation).

Richard Wright

Wright with Ipswich Town in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Richard Ian Wright [1]
Date of birth	(1977-11-05) 5 November 1977 (age 47) [1]
Place of birth	Ipswich, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [1]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Manchester City (goalkeeping coach)
Youth career
0000–1995	Ipswich Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1995–2001	Ipswich Town	240	(0)
2001–2002	Arsenal	12	(0)
2002–2007	Everton	60	(0)
2007–2008	West Ham United	0	(0)
2008	→ Southampton (loan)	7	(0)
2008–2010	Ipswich Town	58	(0)
2010–2011	Sheffield United	2	(0)
2011–2012	Ipswich Town	1	(0)
2012	Preston North End	0	(0)
2012–2016	Manchester City	0	(0)
Total		379	(0)
International career
1996	England U18	1	(0)
1997–2000	England U21	15	(0)
2000–2001	England	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Richard Ian Wright (born 5 November 1977) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is a goalkeeping coach for Premier League club Manchester City.

As a player he was a goalkeeper. He joined Ipswich Town as a trainee, going on to play for the club 298 times between 1995 and 2001. He then moved to Premier League club Arsenal, before being signed by Everton in 2002, where he spent five years. A brief spell on loan from West Ham United with Southampton was followed by a transfer back to Ipswich Town. After a short spell at Sheffield United, a third stint at Ipswich and a brief time at Preston North End, he joined Premier League champions Manchester City on a free transfer in 2012. After four years at City, during which he did not play at all, he announced his retirement in May 2016. ^[2] He remained with City as a coach under new manager Pep Guardiola. ^[3]

He was a member of the England squad, earning two caps, and was included in Kevin Keegan's 23 man squad for UEFA Euro 2000 but did not see the field.

Club career

Ipswich Town

Wright was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and signed a professional contract with Ipswich Town on 2 January 1995 after serving his apprenticeship ^[1] and made his debut as a 17-year-old in a 2–0 victory at home to Coventry City in May that year. ^[4] The season ended with Ipswich's relegation from the Premier League, and for the following four, Ipswich lost in the promotion play-offs from the Football League First Division. ^[5]

He played a major role in Ipswich's 1999–2000 season when the club were promoted via the play-offs at the fifth attempt. On 29 May 2000, in the play-off final against Barnsley, Ipswich won 4–2, with Wright's long goal kick being flicked on by Marcus Stewart for Richard Naylor to put them 2–1 up. Wright scored an unfortunate own goal when a shot rebounded off the bar and hit him, and then gave away a penalty kick by fouling Craig Hignett, but saved it from Darren Barnard. ^[5] In Ipswich's first season back in the top flight, he inspired them to 5th place and qualification to the UEFA Cup. ^[6]

Arsenal

Wright joined Arsenal on 5 July 2001 for £2 million. ^[7] He signed a five-year contract. Manager Arsène Wenger envisaged him as a long-term successor to David Seaman and also as a more experienced competitor for the previous second-choice goalkeeper Alex Manninger, who soon left the club. ^[6]

Wright made his debut against Derby County on 29 September, keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 win at Pride Park which put his team on the summit of the table. ^[8] On his UEFA Champions League debut against Panathinaikos he saved an Angelos Basinas penalty to help his side win 2–1. ^[9] Despite an injury to Seaman which gave him an extended run in the team, he did not capitalise on the opportunity, punching the ball into his own net in a 4–2 home defeat to Charlton Athletic on 4 November when trying to clear from Paul Konchesky, ^[10] and then two weeks later he was at fault for Gus Poyet's injury time equaliser in the North London Derby against Tottenham Hotspur. ^[11] Four days later, he was substituted at half time with injury in a UEFA Champions League match away to Deportivo de La Coruña, being replaced by youth goalkeeper Stuart Taylor in the 2–0 defeat. ^[12] He slipped to third choice behind Taylor and played mostly FA Cup matches for the remainder of the season, up to and including the semi-final against Middlesbrough, ^[13] although Seaman replaced him for the final, which Arsenal won 2–0 against Chelsea. He made his last Arsenal appearance on the final day of the 2001–02 season, a 4–3 victory over Everton. Arsene Wenger deliberately started him for the match, so that he ended the season with 10 league appearances, qualifying him for a winners' medal; he was substituted for Stuart Taylor late in the game, so that Taylor also had 10 appearances and earned a medal. ^[14] Wright made 22 appearances for Arsenal in total. ^[15]

Everton

After Seaman was given a one-year contract extension, Wright sought first-team action elsewhere, and on 24 July 2002 he moved to Everton for an initial £3.5 million, potentially rising by another million if a set number of appearances were reached. ^[15]

On his Goodison Park debut on 17 August, he made an error and gifted a goal to Les Ferdinand in a 2–2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur, ^[16] but a week later he saved a penalty from Kevin Phillips in a 1–0 win at Sunderland. ^[17] After the season had ended, on 13 June 2003 (Friday the 13th), he had a freak accident when he fell from his loft, injuring his shoulder. ^[18]

In August 2003, Everton brought in veteran Nigel Martyn. On 13 September, Wright went off injured 26 minutes into an eventual 2–2 draw against Newcastle United. ^[19] He faced knee surgery and missed the remainder of the season. ^[20]

During the 2005–06 season, Martyn had a spell out with injury, but Wright injured himself soon after while warming up for a match against Chelsea on 8 February 2006; a large sign instructed players to use temporary goals for their warm-up but he ignored the warning and fell on the sign, injuring his ankle. ^[21] Despite Martyn's retirement, Wright remained second in the pecking order for the 2006–07 season behind new arrival Tim Howard. He played 71 games in total for Everton, but only two in his last campaign. ^[22]

West Ham United

Wright was released by Everton at the end of the 2006–07 season, ^[23] and signed for West Ham United on 4 July 2007. ^[22] Second-choice to Robert Green, he made his Hammers debut on 28 August in a 2–1 win at Bristol Rovers in the second round of the League Cup. ^[24]

On 20 March 2008, having only played two further League Cup games for West Ham he joined Southampton of the Championship on a month's loan as their first three goalkeepers were all unavailable through injury. ^[25] Two days later, he made his debut in a goalless home draw with Coventry City. ^[26] On 18 April, the loan was extended to the end of the 2007–08 season, ^[27] he totalled seven appearances for the Saints.

Return to Ipswich Town

Wright rejoined Ipswich on 21 July 2008 for an undisclosed fee on a two-year contract with the option of a third year. ^[28] He then made his 300th club appearance for Ipswich in a 4–1 loss against Wigan Athletic on 23 September in the third round of the League Cup. His fine performances for his hometown club earned him the Players and supporters' player of the season awards for the 2008–2009 season. On 1 December 2009 Wright was ruled out for up to four months following a knee injury suffered during a 2–1 win against Cardiff City. ^[29] Wright was released by Ipswich at the end of the 2009–10 season.

Sheffield United

After a brief trial spell, Wright joined Sheffield United on a free transfer on a four-month short-term deal in September 2010, having been extended until the end of the season. ^[30] Despite this Wright spent most of his time at Bramall Lane injured and made only two starts, both times being withdrawn midway through the game due to further injuries. His contract was terminated with Sheffield United by mutual consent at the start of April 2011. ^[31]

Third spell at Ipswich Town

Wright returned to Ipswich in the summer of 2011 to train with the club. Having been on trial at other clubs he had impressed enough while training with Ipswich to earn a call up to the reserves, ^[32] in which he featured in a game against Colchester United.

Wright re-signed for the club for his third spell on 23 November 2011. Earlier in the week he had stated he wanted to return to the club: "I love Ipswich Town Football Club, I don't hide that. I think everyone knows that, but at the moment there's nothing there for me – simple as that, you just get on with it and look elsewhere. If anything changed and something came up (at Ipswich) then I'd be a liar to say I wouldn't consider it because I would." ^[33] In his third debut for the club, Wright conceded three times in a 3–2 home defeat to Reading. ^[34]

Preston North End

On 1 July 2012, Wright signed for Preston North End; however, he left the club only one week into pre-season training as he was suffering from homesickness, having made no appearances for the club. ^[35]

Manchester City

Following a trial with Colchester United, Wright signed for Manchester City on 30 August 2012, ^[36] completing a free transfer and agreeing a one-year contract. On 10 July 2013, Wright signed a one-year extension with City. ^[37] Despite not making a competitive appearance for the club in either season, he was awarded a new contract for the 2014–15 season, at the expense of second-choice Costel Pantilimon. ^[38] The contract was extended by one year for the fourth consecutive season, during summer 2015. ^[39] Wright remained on the books of Manchester City for four years in total, but never made a first-team appearance before announcing his retirement on 17 May 2016. ^[2] He remained as a coach under new manager Pep Guardiola. ^[40]

International career

Wright was capped twice for England, making his debut against Malta in a friendly on 3 June 2000; he gave away two penalty kicks, conceding the first as David Carabott's shot rebounded into the net off his head after hitting the post, and saving the second, again from Carabott, in the 88th minute as England won 2–1. ^[41] He was a member of the England UEFA Euro 2000 squad, where he was third choice behind David Seaman and Nigel Martyn. ^[42]

On 15 August 2001, he earned his second and final cap, replacing the injured David James, who himself had replaced Martyn at half-time in a 2–0 friendly defeat against the Netherlands at White Hart Lane. Wright kept a clean sheet, as England were already 2–0 down when he came on. ^{[43] [44]}

Coaching career

Following his retirement at the end of the 2015–16 season, Wright remained with Manchester City and became a goalkeeping coach on Pep Guardiola's coaching staff. ^[45]

Personal life

In November 1998, Wright and his girlfriend Kelly Hammond had a son, Harry. In May 2000, two days after Ipswich had beaten Bolton Wanderers in the play-off semi-final to reach Wembley, he and Kelly married. ^[46] Wright's father-in-law, Geoff Hammond, a former full-back, scored two goals in 69 Ipswich appearances between 1970 and 1973. Harry, who also plays as a goalkeeper, signed a professional deal for Ipswich on his 17th birthday. ^[47]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition ^[48]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ipswich Town	1994–95	Premier League	3	0	0	0	1	0	—		4	0
	1995–96	First Division	23	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	27	0
	1996–97 [49]	First Division	40	0	1	0	5	0	2 [a]	0	48	0
	1997–98 [50]	First Division	46	0	4	0	6	0	2 [a]	0	58	0
	1998–99 [51]	First Division	46	0	2	0	4	0	2 [a]	0	54	0
	1999–2000 [52]	First Division	46	0	1	0	4	0	3 [a]	0	54	0
	2000–01 [53]	Premier League	36	0	2	0	6	0	—		44	0
	Total		240	0	13	0	27	0	9	0	289	0
Arsenal	2001–02 [54]	Premier League	12	0	5	0	1	0	4 [b]	0	22	0
Everton	2002–03 [55]	Premier League	33	0	1	0	3	0	—		37	0
	2003–04 [56]	Premier League	4	0	0	0	0	0	—		4	0
	2004–05 [57]	Premier League	7	0	2	0	3	0	—		12	0
	2005–06 [58]	Premier League	15	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	16	0
	2006–07 [59]	Premier League	1	0	0	0	1	0	—		2	0
	Total		60	0	4	0	7	0	0	0	71	0
West Ham United	2007–08 [60]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	3	0	—		3	0
Southampton (loan)	2007–08 [60]	Championship	7	0	0	0	0	0	—		7	0
Ipswich Town	2008–09 [61]	Championship	46	0	2	0	2	0	—		50	0
	2009–10 [62]	Championship	12	0	0	0	1	0	—		13	0
	Total		58	0	2	0	3	0	0	0	63	0
Sheffield United	2010–11 [63]	Championship	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		2	0
Ipswich Town	2011–12 [64]	Championship	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
Manchester City	2012–13	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2013–14	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2014–15	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2015–16	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career total			380	0	24	0	41	0	13	0	458	0

1. Appearances in First Division play-offs
2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year ^[65]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
England	2000	1	0
	2001	1	0
Total		2	0

Honours

Ipswich Town

• Football League First Division play-offs: 2000 ^[66]

Arsenal

• Premier League: 2001–02 ^[67]
• FA Cup: 2001–02 ^[1]

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year: 1998–99 First Division, 1999–2000 First Division ^[68]
• Ipswich Town Player of the Year: 2008–09 ^[68]
• Ipswich Town Players' Player of the Year: 2008–09 ^[69]

References

1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 445. ISBN   978-1-84596-601-0.
2. Harris, Jay (17 May 2016). "Manchester City Bench-Warmer Richard Wright Finally Retires". uk.sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
3. Brennan, Stuart (18 May 2016). "Man City keeper Richard Wright could stay on after Guardiola's arrival". Manchester Evening News . Retrieved 16 April 2018.
4. Brown, Geoff (7 May 1995). "Sky falls in on Coventry". The Independent. London. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
5. "Ipswich triumph at last". BBC Sport. 29 May 2000. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
6. "Arsenal complete Wright signing". BBC Sport. 5 July 2001. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
7. Howson, Nick (20 March 2014). "Eboue, Frimpong and Reyes: Arsene Wenger's Worst Arsenal XI". International Business Times. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
8. "Henry fires Gunners top". BBC Sport. 29 September 2001. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
9. "Henry sees off Greeks". BBC Sport. 16 October 2001. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
10. "Charlton stun wasteful Arsenal". BBC Sport. 4 November 2001. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
11. "Sol suffers in derby draw". BBC Sport. 17 November 2001. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
12. "Deportivo pile on misery for Arsenal". UEFA. 21 November 2001. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
13. "Arsenal break brave Boro". BBC Sport. 14 April 2002. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
14. "Games played by Richard Wright in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
15. "Wright agrees Everton move". BBC Sport. 24 July 2002. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
16. "Radzinski rescues Everton". BBC Sport. 17 August 2002. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
17. "Everton edge out Black Cats". BBC Sport. 24 August 2002. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
18. "Wright positive after freak injury". BBC Sport. 17 June 2003. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
19. "Ferguson haunts Newcastle". BBC Sport. 13 September 2003. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
20. Stevens, Richard (18 September 2003). "Injuries threaten the Everton goal". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
21. Brodkin, Jon (9 February 2006). "Robben keeps his feet as Everton fall". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
22. "West Ham sign goalkeeper Wright". BBC Sport. 4 July 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
23. "Everton release Pistone & Wright". BBC Sport. 14 May 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2007.
24. "Bristol Rovers 1-2 West Ham". BBC Sport. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
25. "Saints sign Wright". saintsfc.co.uk. Southampton FC. 20 March 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
26. "Southampton 0–0 Coventry". BBC Sport. 22 March 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2008.
27. "Wright loan extended". saintsfc.co.uk. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
28. "Ipswich re-sign goalkeeper Wright". BBC Sport. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
29. "Ipswich Town keeper Richard Wright out for four months". BBC Sport. 1 December 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
30. "United secure Wright deal". Sheffield United FC. 21 September 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
31. "Sheffield United show trio exit". eurosport.com. 7 April 2011. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
32. "Wright Back in Blue as Reserves Draw". Independent Ipswich Town. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
33. "No Ipswich Town return for Richard Wright". Green Un 24. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
34. "Ipswich 2–3 Reading". BBC Sport. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
35. "Richard Wright leaves Preston citing homesickness". BBC Sport. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
36. Luckhurst, Samuel (30 August 2012). "Manchester City Sign Veteran Goalkeeper Richard Wright". Huffington Post. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
37. "Richard Wright agrees one-year extension". Manchester City F.C. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
38. Lynch, David (23 May 2014). "City release Pantilimon, Boyata and Wright offered new deals". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
39. Jolly, Richard (1 July 2015). "Richard Wright signs new Manchester City contract". ESPN. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
40. Doyle, Ian (4 March 2018). "Everton 'ready to battle Arsenal to make Mikel Arteta manager this summer'". Liverpool Echo . Retrieved 16 April 2018. Richard Wright, the former Everton goalkeeper, moved on to the coaching staff having retired with little fanfare in 2016.
41. "Malta v England: Clockwatch". BBC. 3 June 2000. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
42. "Keegan names Euro 2000 squad". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 1 June 2000. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
43. "Holland outclass England". BBC Sport. 15 August 2001. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
44. "England 0 Netherlands 2". englandfootballonline.com. 15 August 2001. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
45. "Zack Steffen: I'm proud to be part of City's goalkeeping union".
46. "Richard does the right thing and ties the knot". East Anglian Daily Times . 20 May 2000.
47. "Richard Wright's goalkeeper son signs professional deal with Ipswich Town". East Anglian Daily Times . 4 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
48. "Richard Wright Career Stats". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 4 May 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
49. "Games played by Richard Wright in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
50. "Games played by Richard Wright in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
51. "Games played by Richard Wright in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
52. "Games played by Richard Wright in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
53. "Games played by Richard Wright in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
54. "Games played by Richard Wright in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
55. "Games played by Richard Wright in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
56. "Games played by Richard Wright in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
57. "Games played by Richard Wright in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
58. "Games played by Richard Wright in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
59. "Games played by Richard Wright in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
60. "Games played by Richard Wright in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
61. "Games played by Richard Wright in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
62. "Games played by Richard Wright in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
63. "Games played by Richard Wright in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
64. "Games played by Richard Wright in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
65. Richard Wright at National-Football-Teams.com
66. "Ipswich triumph at last". BBC News. 29 May 2000. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
67. "Richard Wright: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
68. "Richard Wright". England Football Online. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
69. "Wright the Players' Player of the Year". TWTD. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2020.

External links

• Richard Wright at Soccerbase
• Richard Wright at Soccerway
• Richard Wright at National-Football-Teams.com