Source: Daily_Mail
Dean Richards: Tributes for a quiet man with rare skill
For the second Friday running, Bradford Cathedral staged a troubling memorial service. Last week it was for Private Martin Bell of the Parachute Regiment. Bell was killed in Afghanistan. He was 24. [LNB]This week it was for Dean Richards. He was 36 when he died last Saturday. He leaves a wife and two young children. They are young tragedies and it is the youth of Richards that has shocked the game: he could have still been playing at a high level.[LNB] Smashing lad: Dean Richards in his Tottenham playing days[LNB]On Saturday at Molineux, football will say its farewell to Richards. Two of his former teams, Wolves and Tottenham, meet and there will be representation from Richards' two other clubs, Southampton and Bradford City, his hometown club. [LNB]On Friday, former colleagues such as Robbie Keane, James Beattie, Tony Daley and Don Goodman were among the mourners. Keane, Goodman and Matt Murray had been planning to visit Richards last weekend when news of his death became public. [LNB]Richards had been forced to retire at Spurs in 2005, aged 30, due to dizziness and a serious ear infection. He had rejoined Bradford, his first club, as a youth coach but the illness had continued. He died in a hospice in Leeds.[LNB] Final journey: Richards' coffin is carried for his funeral at Bradford Cathedral, Bradford[LNB] [LNB] Sad day: Robbie Keane - who played with Dean Richards and Wolves - and ex-Southampton team-mate James Beattie arrive at Bradford Cathedral [LNB] When players such as Neil Young or Ralph Coates died recently, there was sadness but also gratitude for a life lived. With Richards there is bewilderment. Slowly memories of the player and the man have come but it has not been the convivial outpouring that greeted Nat Lofthouse, for instance. It is too raw. But three words have been repeated over and over: 'quiet', 'unassuming', 'gentleman'.[LNB]The bare biographical facts of Richards' career were that he made his debut at 17 for Bradford in October 1991. After three years establishing himself at Valley Parade, Richards moved to Wolves and stayed there for four years. [LNB]There are always the ironies of coincidence in football and one was that in May 1999, when Bradford sealed their first promotion to the top flight in 77 years, Richards was playing for Wolves. It turned out to be his last match for the Old Gold. [LNB]Having missed out on the Premier League at Molineux, Richards moved to Southampton, for two seasons, then on to Tottenham. Glenn Hoddle signed him for Spurs where, at ?8.1million, Richards became the most expensive ever uncapped Englishman. [LNB] RIP: flowers outside Bradford Cathedral (left) and the order of service (right)[LNB] He had already been signed by another former England manager, Graham Taylor, at Wolves. It seemed a matter of time before Richards added a senior debut to his four England Under 21 caps.[LNB]But it never happened. There were injuries and a serious car crash along the way, plus Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry. Besides, Richards never shouted about himself, apparently he rarely shouted at all. [LNB]Gavin Oliver was there at the beginning at Bradford. He was heading into his thirties as the elegant teenager made his way into the first team. They were centre-half partners. [LNB]'It's just tragic,' Oliver said. 'He was a lovely lad, quiet, unassuming. I'm just reiterating what everyone else has been saying. [LNB] Strong character: Richards in action during his Wolves days[LNB]'He was 17 when he broke into the team. To break in and to do well at that age, at centre half where any mistake usually leads to a goal, that tells you about Dean's potential.[LNB]'All you could do was encourage him, and he was a quick learner. He wasquiet - one day at training the manager, Frank Stapleton, made Dean shout out everyone's name before he would allow him back into the session. But Dean wasn't fazed.' [LNB]CAREER OF A GENTLEMAN Born: June 9, 1974Birth place: BradfordCLUBSBradford 1991-95 86 gamesWolves 1995-99 112 gamesSouthampton 1999-01 67 gamesTottenham 2001-05 73 gamesCOUNTRYEngland U21 1995 4 games [LNB]Paul Jewell was at Bournemouth the night Richards made his Bradford debut. Richards scored in a 3-1 win. 'It was a scruffy goal,' Jewell said. 'But you could see the potential, the game came so easy to him, he was the best player I played with at Bradford. He was only a kid then but after he left he'd always speak to you. A gentleman.' [LNB]Goodman said that Richards was 'unlucky' to be a centre half when England had such strength in depth, and added that Richards could be 'aggressive' on the pitch as well as gentle off it. [LNB]'My abiding memory will be of him charging out of defence at pace and going on the attack. That's pretty rare.' [LNB]It is a cherished quality many Wolves fans have mentioned and Hoddle agreed that Richards could be 'quite volatile, quite visible' when playing. 'He was strong, he would give you everything. Deano was a determined character. He was a pleasure to work with, a smashing lad. [LNB]'It's so sad.'[LNB] Football pays its final respects to former Spurs star Dean RichardsJamie Redknapp: Farewell Deano, it was good to know you Tottenham and Wolves lead tributes to former defender Richards TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC
