Leam Richardson

Leam Richardson

Personal information
Full name	Leam Nathan Richardson
Date of birth	(1979-11-19) 19 November 1979 (age 44)
Place of birth	Leeds, England
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Right back
Youth career
0000–1997	Blackburn Rovers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–2000	Blackburn Rovers	0	(0)
2000–2003	Bolton Wanderers	13	(0)
2001–2002	→ Notts County (loan)	17	(0)
2002–2003	→ Blackpool (loan)	20	(0)
2003–2005	Blackpool	51	(0)
2005–2013	Accrington Stanley	133	(2)
Total		234	(2)
Managerial career
2012	Accrington Stanley (caretaker)
2012–2013	Accrington Stanley
2020	Wigan Athletic (caretaker)
2020–2022	Wigan Athletic
2023–2024	Rotherham United
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Leam Nathan Richardson (born 19 November 1979) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of Rotherham United.

As a player, Richardson played for Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Notts County, Blackpool and Accrington Stanley, whilst he has held coaching roles previously at Accrington Stanley, and Chesterfield.

Playing career

Blackburn Rovers

Born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, Richardson started his career at Blackburn Rovers. He made his debut in a 1–0 loss against his boyhood side Leeds United in the Football League Cup on 13 October 1999.

Bolton Wanderers and loan moves

On 13 July 2000, Richardson moved to Bolton Wanderers for a fee of £50,000. He made his debut in a 1–1 draw against Burnley in the Football League First Division on 12 August 2000, and was part of the team which earned a return to the Premier League via the play-offs, when they defeated Preston North End in the final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

In the 2001–02 season, he made his Premier League debut, playing the final eight minutes of Bolton's 0–0 draw at Leeds; later, he moved on loan to Notts County, ^[1] where he made seventeen league appearances in the Second Division.

In 2002, Richardson was loaned out again, this time to Blackpool. He made his debut in a 3–0 win against Peterborough United in the Football League Second Division on 21 December 2002. While at Blackpool, he received the first red card of his career, being sent off against Huddersfield Town on 1 January 2003.

Blackpool

On 23 June 2003, Richardson made a permanent move to Blackpool, joining on a free transfer. He made his debut in a 5–0 loss against Queens Park Rangers on 9 August 2003, and scored his first goal for the club against Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup on 6 December 2003. ^[2] On 21 March 2004, he appeared as a 90th-minute substitute in the 2004 Football League Trophy final, in which Blackpool defeated Southend United 2–0. ^[3]

On 10 May 2005, he was released from the club along with Robert Clare. ^[4]

Accrington Stanley

After three months without a club, Richardson joined Accrington Stanley on a free transfer on non-contract terms. ^[5] He made his debut against Canvey Island in the Football Conference on 13 August 2005, and was a regular fixture in the team which won promotion to the Football League in the 2005–06 season. In League Two, he continued to be an important player at Accrington, playing 43 times in all competitions during the 2006-07 season and 40 times the following campaign; he scored his first goal for the club against Brentford on 26 February 2008. ^[6]

During the 2008-09 season, Richardson found his playing time limited, making fourteen appearances in all competitions, and in the following season he played only twice in the league and once in the Football League Trophy. He scored his second career league goal in a 2–1 win over Cheltenham Town on 15 January 2011, in a season in which he made thirteen league appearances, but the 2–1 victory at Morecambe on 26 December 2011 - where he appeared as a 79th-minute substitute - would be his last appearance for the club.

Managerial career

Accrington Stanley and assistant manager roles

In January 2012, Richardson became the caretaker manager of Accrington Stanley, after John Coleman departed to join Rochdale. ^[7] Richardson's first match as manager was at home to Gillingham, which Accrington Stanley won 4–3. ^[8] Accrington appointed Paul Cook as their new permanent manager the following month, ^[9] before Richardson was re-appointed as manager after Cook left to become manager of Chesterfield in October. ^[10] Originally employed as caretaker manager for a second spell, he was appointed as the manager of the club on a permanent basis from 1 November, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal. ^[11]

On 30 April 2013, it was announced that Richardson had left Accrington in order to re-unite with Paul Cook, becoming his new assistant manager at Chesterfield. ^[12] The two later moved to manage Portsmouth in 2015, winning promotion to League One in 2017. ^{[13] [14]}

Wigan Athletic

On 31 May 2017, Richardson once again followed Cook to Wigan Athletic, once again acting as his assistant manager. ^[15] He and Cook oversaw Wigan's promotion to the Championship in their first season in charge, and kept them there for two seasons. ^[16]

Following a takeover in mid-2020, Wigan collapsed into administration and were relegated after being punished with a 12 point deduction. Cook resigned as manager on 4 August 2020 and Richardson was appointed to take charge of training duties until further notice. ^[17] John Sheridan was appointed as the club's new permanent manager, but he left after just 15 games to join Swindon Town, and Richardson was named caretaker manager. ^[18] Following Wigan's takeover in March 2021, the new owners stated that Richardson would continue in his caretaker manager role until the end of the season. ^[19]

Despite this, Richardson was appointed as the permanent manager of the club on 21 April 2021 with three games still remaining. Richardson confirmed that Cook, who had recently been appointed manager of Ipswich Town, had asked him to join him in Suffolk as his assistant again, but he declined so he could remain at Wigan. He insisted however that there was no ill-will on either side and that they remain on good terms. ^{[20] [21]} He was able to keep Wigan up, avoiding relegation to League Two. ^[22]

In November 2021 Wigan striker Charlie Wyke collapsed during training after suffering a cardiac arrest. Following his discharge from hospital Wyke praised Richardson's swift initiation of CPR saying: "...my life has been saved by the actions of the gaffer [Leam Richardson] and the club doctor Jonathan Tobin..." ^[23]

On 24 April 2022, Richardson was named the 2021–22 EFL League One Manager of the Season at the league's annual award ceremony. ^[24] Later that month Richardson led Wigan to promotion into the Championship as they finished the season as League One champions. ^[25]

On 10 November 2022, Richardson was sacked as Wigan manager after a run of six losses in seven matches that saw the club fall into the Championship relegation zone. ^[26] The sacking came just sixteen days after Richardson had signed a new three-year contract with the club. ^[27]

Rotherham United

On 11 December 2023, Richardson was appointed head coach of Championship bottom club Rotherham United on a three-and-a-half year deal. ^[28]

On 17 April 2024, two weeks on from relegation having been confirmed, Richardson was sacked having won just two of his twenty-four matches in charge. ^[29]

Career statistics

Source: ^[30]

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Blackburn Rovers	1997–98	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Blackburn Rovers	1998–99	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Blackburn Rovers	1999–2000	Division One	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Total			0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Bolton Wanderers	2000–01	Division One	12	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	15	0
Bolton Wanderers	2001–02	Premier League	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	0
Bolton Wanderers	2002–03	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total			13	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	18	0
→ Notts County (loan)	2001–02	Division Two	17	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	18	0
Total			17	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	18	0
→ Blackpool (loan)	2002–03	Division Two	20	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	21	0
Total			20	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	21	0
Blackpool	2003–04	Division Two	28	0	1	1	1	0	6 [lower-alpha 1]	0	36	1
Blackpool	2004–05	League One	23	0	0	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	27	0
Total			51	0	1	1	2	0	9	0	63	1
Accrington Stanley	2005–06	Conference Premier	33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	33	0
Accrington Stanley	2006–07	League Two	38	0	1	0	2	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	43	0
Accrington Stanley	2007–08	League Two	37	1	1	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	40	1
Accrington Stanley	2008–09	League Two	11	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	14	0
Accrington Stanley	2009–10	League Two	2	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	3	0
Accrington Stanley	2010–11	League Two	11	1	1	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	13	1
Accrington Stanley	2011–12	League Two	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Accrington Stanley	2012–13	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total			133	2	5	0	4	0	5	0	147	2
Career total			234	2	9	1	11	0	14	0	268	3

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy

Managerial statistics

As of 13 April 2024

Team	Nat	From	To
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Accrington Stanley (caretaker)		23 January 2012	13 February 2012	1	1	0	0	100.00
Accrington Stanley		25 October 2012	30 April 2013	36	10	11	15	027.78
Wigan Athletic (caretaker)		4 August 2020	11 September 2020	1	0	0	1	000.00
Wigan Athletic		13 November 2020	10 November 2022	117	49	30	38	041.88
Rotherham United		11 December 2023	17 April 2024	24	2	4	18	008.33
Total				177	62	45	70	035.03

Honours

As a player

Blackpool

• Football League Trophy: 2003–04 ^[31]

As a manager

Wigan Athletic

• EFL League One: 2021–22 ^[25]

Individual

• EFL League One Manager of the Season: 2021–22 ^[24]

References

1. "Richardson joins County". BBC Sport. 12 November 2001.
2. "Oldham 2–5 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 6 December 2003. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
3. "Blackpool 2–0 Southend". BBC. 21 March 2004. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
4. "Blackpool release defensive duo". BBC Sport. 10 May 2005.
5. "Stanley complete double signing". BBC Sport. 13 August 2005.
6. "Accrington 1–0 Brentford". BBC Sport. 26 February 2008.
7. "Rochdale appoint Accrington Stanley's John Coleman as boss". BBC Sport. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
8. "BBC Sport - Accrington 4-3 Gillingham". 28 January 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
9. "Cook leaves Rovers for Accrington". RTÉ Sport. 13 February 2012. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
10. "Chesterfield appoint Accrington boss Paul Cook". BBC Sport. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
11. "Accrington Stanley: Leam Richardson named new manager". BBC Sport. 1 November 2012.
12. "Leam Richardson: Accrington boss becomes Chesterfield assistant". BBC Sport. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
13. "Cook appointed Portsmouth manager". BBC Sport.
14. "Notts County 1-3 Portsmouth". BBC Sport.
15. "Paul Cook: Wigan Athletic appoint Portsmouth boss as new manager". BBC Sport. 31 May 2017.
16. "Wigan Athletic: League One promotion caps 'perfect year' says chairman David Sharpe". BBC Sport. 22 April 2018.
17. "Leam Richardson: Wigan Athletic assistant manager to take charge for training return". BBC Sport. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
18. "Sheridan appointed Swindon manager". BBC Sport. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
19. "Wigan Athletic CEO opens up on new contracts". www.wigantoday.net. 4 April 2021.
20. "Leam Richardson appointed Wigan Athletic manager". Wigan Athletic FC. 21 April 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
21. "'It's no secret he did want me down there... But I wish him well' - Richardson on Town boss Cook". 23 April 2021.
22. "Hull win League One title as Wigan survive". BBC Sport. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
23. "Wigan Athletic FC - Update | Charlie Wyke". Wigan Athletic FC. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
24. "Football Manager EFL Team of the Season line-ups announced". EFL.com. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
25. "How Richardson transformed Wigan into champions". BBC Sport. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
26. "Wigan Athletic sack manager Richardson". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
27. "Leam Richardson: Wigan Athletic manager signs new three-year deal". BBC Sport. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
28. "READ | LEAM RICHARDSON APPOINTED AS HEAD COACH". www.themillers.co.uk. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
29. "READ | CLUB STATEMENT – LEAM RICHARDSON AND ROB KELLY". www.themillers.co.uk. 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
30. "Leam Richardson | Football Stats | No Club | Age 44 | 1999-2013 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com.
31. "Blackpool 2–0 Southend". BBC Sport. 21 March 2004. Retrieved 17 March 2024.

External links

• Leam Richardson at Soccerbase