Paul Richardson (footballer)

Paul Richardson (born 25 October 1949) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Blackpool, Chester, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Swansea City, Swindon Town and Stoke City.[1]

Paul Richardson

Personal information
Full name	Paul Richardson[1]
Date of birth	25 October 1949[1]
Place of birth	Selston, England[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1969–1976	Nottingham Forest	223	(18)
1976–1977	Chester	28	(2)
1977–1981	Stoke City	127	(10)
1981–1983	Sheffield United	36	(2)
1982–1983	→ Blackpool (loan)	4	(0)
1983–1984	Swindon Town	7	(0)
1984–1985	Swansea City	12	(0)
	Witney Town
Total		437	(32)
Teams managed
	Fairford Town
1985	Gloucester City
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Richardson was born in Selston and began his career with Nottingham Forest where he quickly established himself as a ball playing midfielder. He became a regular member Forest's squad until Brian Clough took over as manager in January 1975. With Clough wanting to bring in his own players Richardson was sold to Third Division Chester having made 249 appearances scoring 21 goals for Forest.[1]

He spent just one season at Chester, helping them reach the FA Cup fifth round for the first time, before George Eastham signed him for Stoke City in the summer of 1977.[1] He became a key player for Stoke in the Second Division playing 34 times in 1977–78.[1] Under new manager Alan Durban Richardson played 46 games in 1978–79 scoring seven goals including the goal which clinched promotion. Stoke needed to beat Notts County on the final day of the season to confirm promotion but with 88 minutes gone the score was still 0–0, until Richardson headed Stoke to a 1–0 victory and a dramatic promotion.[1] He played 40 matches in 1979–80 and 22 in 1980–81 before leaving for Sheffield United in August 1981.[1] He helped the Blades win the Fourth Division title in 1981–82. He later enjoyed short spells at Blackpool, Swindon Town and Swansea City. He later worked for the BT Group and also managed non-league side Fairford Town.

Career statistics

Source:[2]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Nottingham Forest	1967–68	First Division	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	1968–69	First Division	17	1	1	0	1	0	19	1
	1969–70	First Division	29	1	2	0	1	0	32	1
	1970–71	First Division	29	1	2	0	1	0	32	1
	1971–72	First Division	34	5	1	1	1	0	36	6
	1972–73	Second Division	22	3	0	0	0	0	22	3
	1973–74	Second Division	25	2	4	0	0	0	29	2
	1974–75	Second Division	38	4	5	0	2	0	45	4
	1975–76	Second Division	24	1	1	0	4	2	29	3
	1976–77	Second Division	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	Total		223	18	16	1	10	2	249	21
Chester	1976–77	Third Division	28	2	5	0	0	0	33	2
Stoke City	1977–78	Second Division	33	2	0	0	1	0	34	2
	1978–79	Second Division	40	6	1	0	5	1	46	7
	1979–80	First Division	36	2	1	0	3	0	40	2
	1980–81	First Division	18	0	2	0	2	0	22	0
	Total		127	10	4	0	11	1	142	11
Sheffield United	1981–82	Fourth Division	20	1	2	0	4	0	26	1
	1982–83	Third Division	16	1	2	0	2	1	20	2
	Total		36	2	4	0	6	1	46	3
Blackpool (loan)	1982–83	Fourth Division	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Swindon Town	1983–84	Fourth Division	7	0	0	0	1	0	8	0
Swansea City	1984–85	Third Division	12	0	0	0	0	0	12	0
Career Total			437	32	29	1	28	4	461	37

References

1. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
2. Paul Richardson at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

External links

• Paul Richardson at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database