Richard Wright (footballer)

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Richard Wright
Personal information
Full name Richard Ian Wright
Date of birth 5 November 1977 (1977-11-05) (age 30)
Place of birth    Ipswich, England
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club West Ham United
Number 21
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1994–2001
2001–2002
2002–2007
2007–
2008		 Ipswich Town
Arsenal
Everton
West Ham United
→ Southampton (loan)		 240 (0)
012 (0)
060 (0)
000 (0)
007 (0)   
National team2
2000–2001 England 002 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 22:43, 27 May 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of September 3, 2006.
* Appearances (Goals)
For other persons named Richard Wright, see Richard Wright (disambiguation).

Richard Ian Wright (born 5 November 1977) is an English goalkeeper, playing for West Ham United. He signed after being released by Everton, after enjoying stints with Ipswich Town and Arsenal. He has been a member of the England squad, and has two caps.

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] Ipswich Town

Wright was born in Ipswich, England and joined Ipswich Town as a trainee in January 1995, making his debut in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in August 1996.[1] He played a major role in Ipswich's 1999-2000 season when the club were promoted from the Football League First Division to the Premier League via the play-offs, defeating Barnsley, and Wright saved an all-important penalty kick. He made a total of 290 league and cup appearances for Ipswich.[1]

[edit] Arsenal

Wright joined Arsenal in July 2001 in a £6 million transfer.[2] He signed a five-year contract and would battle for a first-team place with David Seaman and Alex Manninger.[2] He made his debut against Derby County on September 29, 2001, but despite an injury to Seaman which gave him an extended run in the team, his season soon fell apart. He punched the ball into his own net in a 4-2 defeat to Charlton Athletic and then limped off with injury in a UEFA Champions League match against Deportivo La Coruna. Wright slipped to third-choice behind youth goalkeeper Stuart Taylor and only played FA Cup matches for the remainder of the season, although Seaman replaced him for the final, which Arsenal won 2-0 against Chelsea. Although he made enough appearances to qualify for a Premiership winners' medal that season, Wright moved to Everton in the 2002 close season in search of first-team football, having made 22 appearances for Arsenal in total.

[edit] Everton

Although initially first-team keeper at Everton, a number of injuries, including a serious knee injury and a damaged shoulder (after Wright fell out of his loft in a freak accident), have blighted the past few years of Wright's career. He lost his place at Everton and had to be content with being understudy to veteran Nigel Martyn. During 2005-06 Martyn had a spell out with injury, but Wright promptly injured his ankle whilst warming up in a match against Chelsea and was out for the rest of the season (Tv footage showed that Wright had fallen over a sign placed in the goalmouth whilst warming up). Although Martyn retired in the 2006 close season, American Tim Howard was brought in from Manchester United to replace him, meaning Wright was still to be second in the pecking order for the 2006-07 season.

[edit] West Ham United

Wright was released by Everton at the end of the 2006-07 season[3] and signed for West Ham United in July 2007.[4]

On 20 March 2008 he joined Southampton on a month's loan as their first three goalkeepers were all unavailable through injury.[5] He made his debut for Southampton in a 0-0 home draw with Coventry City on 22 March 2008.[6] On 18 April the loan was extended to the end of the 2007-08 season.[7]

[edit] International career

Wright has been included in 28 squads and capped twice for England, making his debut against Malta in a friendly in 2000; he conceded a penalty kick early on but saved a second penalty in the 88th minute as England won 2-1. He was a member of the England Euro 2000 squad, where he was third-choice behind David Seaman and Nigel Martyn, and won his second cap as a substitute in a friendly against the Netherlands in 2001. However, he has not been called up to the England squad since 2003.[1]

[edit] Honours

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Soccerbase: Richard Wright, Racing Post. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Arsenal complete Wright signing", BBC Sport, 5 July 2001. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
  3. ^ "Everton release Pistone & Wright", BBC Sport, 2007-05-14. Retrieved on 2007-05-14. 
  4. ^ "Wright signs on free transfer", West Ham United Official Site, 4 July 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2007.
  5. ^ "Saints sign Wright", www.saintsfc.co.uk, 2008-03-20. Retrieved on 2008-03-20. 
  6. ^ "Southampton 0-0 Coventry", BBC Sport, 2008-03-22. Retrieved on 2008-03-13. 
  7. ^ "Wright loan extended", www.saintsfc.co.uk, 2008-04-18. Retrieved on 2008-04-19. 

[edit] External links

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England squad - UEFA Euro 2000
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