Tom Richards (footballer)

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

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[2]
Place of birth Guildford, England
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s) Left midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Leatherhead
Youth career
2011–2014 Fulham
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Fulham 0 (0)
2014 → AFC Wimbledon (loan) 10 (0)
2015 → Aldershot 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– Leatherhead 46 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 April 2018

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

Fulham

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]

AFC Wimbledon (loan)

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.

Aldershot Town (loan)

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

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

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]

Walton Casuals

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]

Welling United

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]

Leatherhead

On 30 July 2017, Richards joined Isthmian League Premier Division side Leatherhead after not being able to agree a deal with Welling.[16]

Personal life

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.[17]

Career statistics
As of 28 April 2018.
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Fulham 2013–14 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AFC Wimbledon (loan) 2013–14 League Two 100000000100
Aldershot Town (loan) 2014–15 Conference Premier 9000—0090
Aldershot Town 2015–16 National League 25120 —00271
Total 34 1 2 0 — 0 0 36 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[lower-alpha 1] 0 7 0
Leatherhead 2017–18 Isthmian League Premier Division 46 5 7 0 — 1[lower-alpha 2] 0 54 5
Career total 11479000411288

Note

  1. One appearance in the Kent Senior Cup.
  2. One appearance in the FA Trophy.

References
  1. "Premier League Squad Lists – January 2014" (PDF). Premier League. 4 February 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.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  5. "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. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  12. "Tom Richards". fckitz.at. FC Kitzbuhel. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  13. "Tom Richards". waltoncasuals.com. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  14. Brooker, Kane (17 February 2017). "Welling United sign Tom Richards". Walton Casuals FC. 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. "Academy Insight: Tom Richards". Fulham F.C. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
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