Dean Richards a big loss to the football world

Yesterday we had the sad news of former-Tottenham defender Dean Richards passing away at the age of just 36 years of age.

It came as a complete shock to a lot of people in football and Dean will be a big loss to the football world.

Illness

Richards had fought a long battle against serious illness and unfortunately finally lost it yesterday.

A statement on the Bradford City website read: “The football club are truly devastated to hear of the death of former Bradford City fans’ favourite Dean Richards.”

Popular

He was a popular character and is acknowledged as a nice guy within the game. From reading the tributes on fans forums and websites he wasn’t just popular with the fans of clubs he played for either.

It speaks volumes for the man that fans of the likes of Chelsea, Fulham and even Arsenal have left tributes for the defender on various websites.

Career

Dean Richards started his career at boyhood team Bradford City. He moved to Wolves for £1.85million in 1995 and four years later he moved to Southampton. And two years later he made the biggest move of his career to Tottenham for £8.1million.

His Tottenham career ended prematurely as he was forced to retire at the age of just 30 after he suffered from headaches and dizzy spells. Richards however did return to his home-town club Bradford in 2007 as a part-time youth coach. I’m sure a role he would have been well suited to.

Talented

People considered him to be a rough and tough defender but he was much underrated and was probably unfortunate never to win an international cap. He gave his all for every club he played for and loved the game.

Unfortunately he never really fulfilled his potential during his career because of persistent injury problems. It was a shame but he still enjoyed a good career within the game. He is fondly remembered by everybody who had the pleasure to watch him play.

United

It’s times like these that show just how the football world can pull together as one. Club allegiances are put to one side as everybody unites to salute a popular professional footballer, who was taken before his time.

He was always a player who I liked watching and even though he never played for my team I still appreciated his talent as a player.

Condolences

I would just like to say from everybody at Soccernews our thoughts are with Dean’s friends and family at this difficult time. Dean will be sorely missed and never forgotten. Football has lost a great player and a nice guy, Rest in Peace Dean.