Classic Arsenal Players - Part 11 - Kevin Richardson
RICHO THE QUIET MAN
THERE IS A minute to go at Anfield. Play has stopped as Arsenal midfielder Kevin Richardson is down injured. He may have to go off. The Gunners need one more goal to pip Liverpool for the title.
After receiving treatment, Richardson gets wearily to his feet and the game can restart. Immediately John Barnes runs at the Arsenal defence looking for the goal that will win it for Liverpool. He bursts menacingly into the penalty area but there is Richardson, calmly winning the ball back for his team before rolling it safely to goalkeeper, John Lukic.
Within seconds Arsenal have gone up the other end and scored the most dramatic goal in Football League history.
While Michael Thomas has rightly taken the plaudits as the hero of that dramatic night, Richardson's role in that goal, and indeed that team, should never be underestimated.
But that sums up his career as the quiet man of 1980s football.
Kevin Richardson was born on 4 December 1962 in Newcastle upon Tyne. As a junior he played for local clubs Montagu and North Fenham Boys but instead of going on to join Newcastle United like many of the lads from his area, he was instead picked up by Everton as a schoolboy in 1978.
Turning professional two years later, versatile midfielder Richardson made his first team debut during the 1981/82 season and ended that campaign with 19 appearances, scoring two goals.
Over the following two seasons, Richardson become an integral part of the Everton side which by the mid 1980s was becoming one of the best teams in the country, although he often found himself deputising for the likes of Paul Bracewell, Peter Reid and Kevin Sheedy.
Despite this Richardson made 34 appearances in 1982/83, scoring three goals, and 43 appearances in the following 1983/84 campaign scoring seven times.
Richardson played in the 1984 League Cup final defeat to Merseyside neighbours Liverpool, starting both the final and the replay, and he was in the starting XI as Everton won the FA Cup later that same year, beating Watford 2-0 at Wembley.
The following 1984/85 season was one of the best in Everton's history as they won the league title for the first time since 1970.
Although Richardson played only 15 times he did score crucial goals at Chelsea, Aston Villa and a brace at Southampton, winning Everton seven points.
Richardson was only on the bench as Everton lifted the European Cup Winners Cup, beating Rapid Vienna 3-1 in Rotterdam, and was left out of the squad altogether for the FA Cup final three days later, a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at Wembley.
Richardson bounced back from that disappointment to make a further 30 appearances during the following 1985/86 season, scoring 4 times, but after one appearance at the start of the 1986/87 season, he moved on to join Watford for £225,000.
In total he had made 147 appearances for Everton, scoring 20 goals.
Richardson had only been at Vicarage Road for a year when manager Graham Taylor moved on to Aston Villa, and his replacement, Dave Bassett, left Richardson out of the team making it clear he was not part of his long term plans.
Living in Herfordshire at the time, Richardson jumped at the chance to join George Graham's Arsenal revolution, signing at Highbury for £200,000 in October 1987. Richardson made his debut two days later in a home victory over Oxford United and spent his first season playing on the left wing in place of the injured Graham Rix.
Richardson enjoyed a golden scoring run in the autumn of 1987, scoring six goals in nine matches as Arsenal won 14 games in a row to lead the table.
Although their title challenge faded, Richardson was in the side which reached the Littlewoods Cup final in 1988. As holders of the trophy Arsenal started as favourites to beat Luton Town, but despite leading 2-1 late in the game, Arsenal lost 3-2.
Although it had been a reasonably successful season for Richardson, making 41 appearances and scoring seven goals, Graham bought Brian Marwood in April 1988 to replace him on the left wing so his days at Highbury appeared numbered.
Indeed Richardson started the 1988/89 season out of the side but a nine match suspension given to Paul Davis in September 1988 saw Richardson thrown in to the centre of midfield alongside Thomas. He made the most of that unexpected opportunity and even when Davis was available, Richardson kept his place.
In fact Richardson started 76 matches in row until losing his place at the end of the disappointing 1989/90 season. This run included that famous match at Anfield in May 1989 in which Richardson's crucial tackle on Barnes started the move which led to Thomas' last gasp title winning goal.
It meant Richardson had joined a select band of players to win the league title with two different clubs.
After falling out with Graham in 1990, Richardson moved to Spain in the summer of that year to sign for Real Sociadad for £750,000, joining fellow Brits, Dalian Atkinson and John Aldridge.
In the the end Richardson had made 122 appearances for Arsenal, scoring eight goals.
Richardson spent just one season in Spain, making just short of 40 appearances, before returning to England to sign for Ron Atkinson's Aston Villa for £350,000 in the summer of 1991.
Richardson was ever-present in his first two seasons at Villa Park and was named as Aston Villa captain.
He helped the club finish as runners up in the inaugural Premier League season in 1992/93, and the following year captained the side that won the 1994 League Cup, beating Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley, winning the man of the match award in the process.
This completed his full set of domestic honours, 10 years after he had won his first.
It was at the height of his success at Villa that Richardson won his solitary England cap, playing in a 5-0 friendly victory over Greece at Wembley on 17 May 1994.
Villa manager Atkinson was sacked in November 1994 but soon took over at Coventry City where his first job was to sign Richardson for £300,000. In the end Richardson had made 175 appearances for Villa, scoring 16 goals.
After two years at Coventry, where his only goal came in a League Cup tie against Hull City, Richardson had spells at Southampton, Barnsley and Blackpool before retiring in 2000. A successful playing career ending on a low as in his final match Blackpool was relegated to Division Three.
After retiring, Richardson became youth team coach at Sunderland before moving to Stockport County in 2001 as assistant to Carlton Palmer.
Richardson returned to Sunderland in 2004 as reserve team coach before being promoted to first team coach after the club was taken over by his former Arsenal teammate, Niall Quinn.
However after Roy Keane was appointed manager, Richardson left and took over as Academy manager at Newcastle United.
In 2009 Richardson briefly joined Darlington as assistant to Steve Staunton but returned to Newcastle as Academy manager where he now coaches the club's U17 side.
Although he was not at the club for very long, Richardson certainly left a big impression on me at Arsenal.
I was quite surprised when we bought him and even more shocked when he was playing on the left wing as I'd always seen him more as a central midfield player at Everton.
However it was once he moved inside in the early part of the 1988/89 season to replace the suspended Davis that we really saw the best of him.
A great tackler, demonstrated perfectly on Barnes at Anfield, Richardson offered protection to the defence which allowed the likes of David Rocastle and Brian Marwood to push forward. A far from glamorous role but one that was vital to the success of the team.
He did not always get the credit he deserved but Richardson was an integral part of our title success in 1989 and for that alone we should be eternally grateful.
I had the pleasure of meeting Kevin once at a charity match in Darlington in 2010.
He was lovely guy and I'll never forget the hour or so we spent chatting about his time at Arsenal, Anfield 89, and his relationship with George Graham. He was still very passionate about the club and clearly loved his time at Highbury. Cheers, Kev.
Coming up next time I look back at a classic match from that 1988/89 season and possibly Richardson's finest game for Arsenal; a 3-1 win at his former club Everton in January 1989. Now that will be worth a read.
THERE IS A minute to go at Anfield. Play has stopped as Arsenal midfielder Kevin Richardson is down injured. He may have to go off. The Gunners need one more goal to pip Liverpool for the title.
After receiving treatment, Richardson gets wearily to his feet and the game can restart. Immediately John Barnes runs at the Arsenal defence looking for the goal that will win it for Liverpool. He bursts menacingly into the penalty area but there is Richardson, calmly winning the ball back for his team before rolling it safely to goalkeeper, John Lukic.
While Michael Thomas has rightly taken the plaudits as the hero of that dramatic night, Richardson's role in that goal, and indeed that team, should never be underestimated.
But that sums up his career as the quiet man of 1980s football.
Kevin Richardson was born on 4 December 1962 in Newcastle upon Tyne. As a junior he played for local clubs Montagu and North Fenham Boys but instead of going on to join Newcastle United like many of the lads from his area, he was instead picked up by Everton as a schoolboy in 1978.
Turning professional two years later, versatile midfielder Richardson made his first team debut during the 1981/82 season and ended that campaign with 19 appearances, scoring two goals.
Over the following two seasons, Richardson become an integral part of the Everton side which by the mid 1980s was becoming one of the best teams in the country, although he often found himself deputising for the likes of Paul Bracewell, Peter Reid and Kevin Sheedy.
Despite this Richardson made 34 appearances in 1982/83, scoring three goals, and 43 appearances in the following 1983/84 campaign scoring seven times.
Richardson played in the 1984 League Cup final defeat to Merseyside neighbours Liverpool, starting both the final and the replay, and he was in the starting XI as Everton won the FA Cup later that same year, beating Watford 2-0 at Wembley.
Although Richardson played only 15 times he did score crucial goals at Chelsea, Aston Villa and a brace at Southampton, winning Everton seven points.
Richardson was only on the bench as Everton lifted the European Cup Winners Cup, beating Rapid Vienna 3-1 in Rotterdam, and was left out of the squad altogether for the FA Cup final three days later, a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at Wembley.
Richardson bounced back from that disappointment to make a further 30 appearances during the following 1985/86 season, scoring 4 times, but after one appearance at the start of the 1986/87 season, he moved on to join Watford for £225,000.
In total he had made 147 appearances for Everton, scoring 20 goals.
Richardson had only been at Vicarage Road for a year when manager Graham Taylor moved on to Aston Villa, and his replacement, Dave Bassett, left Richardson out of the team making it clear he was not part of his long term plans.
Living in Herfordshire at the time, Richardson jumped at the chance to join George Graham's Arsenal revolution, signing at Highbury for £200,000 in October 1987. Richardson made his debut two days later in a home victory over Oxford United and spent his first season playing on the left wing in place of the injured Graham Rix.
Richardson enjoyed a golden scoring run in the autumn of 1987, scoring six goals in nine matches as Arsenal won 14 games in a row to lead the table.
Although it had been a reasonably successful season for Richardson, making 41 appearances and scoring seven goals, Graham bought Brian Marwood in April 1988 to replace him on the left wing so his days at Highbury appeared numbered.
Indeed Richardson started the 1988/89 season out of the side but a nine match suspension given to Paul Davis in September 1988 saw Richardson thrown in to the centre of midfield alongside Thomas. He made the most of that unexpected opportunity and even when Davis was available, Richardson kept his place.
In fact Richardson started 76 matches in row until losing his place at the end of the disappointing 1989/90 season. This run included that famous match at Anfield in May 1989 in which Richardson's crucial tackle on Barnes started the move which led to Thomas' last gasp title winning goal.
It meant Richardson had joined a select band of players to win the league title with two different clubs.
After falling out with Graham in 1990, Richardson moved to Spain in the summer of that year to sign for Real Sociadad for £750,000, joining fellow Brits, Dalian Atkinson and John Aldridge.
In the the end Richardson had made 122 appearances for Arsenal, scoring eight goals.
Richardson spent just one season in Spain, making just short of 40 appearances, before returning to England to sign for Ron Atkinson's Aston Villa for £350,000 in the summer of 1991.
He helped the club finish as runners up in the inaugural Premier League season in 1992/93, and the following year captained the side that won the 1994 League Cup, beating Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley, winning the man of the match award in the process.
This completed his full set of domestic honours, 10 years after he had won his first.
It was at the height of his success at Villa that Richardson won his solitary England cap, playing in a 5-0 friendly victory over Greece at Wembley on 17 May 1994.
Villa manager Atkinson was sacked in November 1994 but soon took over at Coventry City where his first job was to sign Richardson for £300,000. In the end Richardson had made 175 appearances for Villa, scoring 16 goals.
After two years at Coventry, where his only goal came in a League Cup tie against Hull City, Richardson had spells at Southampton, Barnsley and Blackpool before retiring in 2000. A successful playing career ending on a low as in his final match Blackpool was relegated to Division Three.
Richardson returned to Sunderland in 2004 as reserve team coach before being promoted to first team coach after the club was taken over by his former Arsenal teammate, Niall Quinn.
However after Roy Keane was appointed manager, Richardson left and took over as Academy manager at Newcastle United.
In 2009 Richardson briefly joined Darlington as assistant to Steve Staunton but returned to Newcastle as Academy manager where he now coaches the club's U17 side.
Although he was not at the club for very long, Richardson certainly left a big impression on me at Arsenal.
I was quite surprised when we bought him and even more shocked when he was playing on the left wing as I'd always seen him more as a central midfield player at Everton.
However it was once he moved inside in the early part of the 1988/89 season to replace the suspended Davis that we really saw the best of him.
A great tackler, demonstrated perfectly on Barnes at Anfield, Richardson offered protection to the defence which allowed the likes of David Rocastle and Brian Marwood to push forward. A far from glamorous role but one that was vital to the success of the team.
He did not always get the credit he deserved but Richardson was an integral part of our title success in 1989 and for that alone we should be eternally grateful.
I had the pleasure of meeting Kevin once at a charity match in Darlington in 2010.
He was lovely guy and I'll never forget the hour or so we spent chatting about his time at Arsenal, Anfield 89, and his relationship with George Graham. He was still very passionate about the club and clearly loved his time at Highbury. Cheers, Kev.
Coming up next time I look back at a classic match from that 1988/89 season and possibly Richardson's finest game for Arsenal; a 3-1 win at his former club Everton in January 1989. Now that will be worth a read.
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