Dean Richards dies

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OLVES’ impressive 4-0 victory over Blackpool yesterday paled into insignificance with the news of the death of Dean Richards.  Ex-Wolves icon Richards passed away yesterday morning after a long illness at the tender age of 36.

Born in Bradford, Richards played for his hometown club and also was a youth coach there after retiring from the game.  He also turned out for Wolves, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as five times for the England U21’s.  In total, the central defender scored 17 goals in 348 club appearances, in a career that spanned 15 years.

DEAN RICHARDS - 9 June 1974 - 26 February 2011

Richards began his career in Bradford in 1992 as an 18-year old, playing just over 80 games for the Bantams.  

He transferred to Wolves in the summer of 1995 for a then club record fee of £1.85million.  This came after a successful loan spell at Molineux.  He was quickly elevated to the role of club captain at Wolves and earnt a place in the heart of many loyal supporters for his committed performances and never-say-die attitude.  Sadly, a car accident in 1996 saw him struggle on with knee and back injuries and meant he would have many frustrating spells on the treatment table.  When on form, the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea expressed interest in Richards, seeing enough of him through the injuries.  Sadly for Dean, that dream move never came off, nor did his constant battle to stay 100% fit.

The peak of his career came on the South Coast with Southampton.  Dave Jones snapped him up on a free transfer in July 1999 when his Wolves contract expired.  Quickly, he established himself as a fans favourite again and was voted the Southampton Player of the Year by the supporters in his debut season, 1999-2000.   He came closer than ever to an England call-up, but didn’t make the final cut under either Kevin Keegan or Sven-Goran Eriksson.

However, former England manager Glenn Hoddle did see potential in Richards and having coached him at Southampton, bought him to Tottenham for a staggering £8.75million in September 2001.  He scored on his debut in the epic 3-5 defeat to Manchester United at White Hart Lane, but once again, injuries got the better of Dean.  He only played in 73 games for the North London side in four seasons and after suffering from regular dizzy spells and headaches, was forced to quit the game in March 2005 on health grounds.  When announcing his retirement, his disappointment could clearly be told; “I am obviously deeply disappointed to be giving up the sport I love, but it's the only choice."

He worked hard on his coaching qualifications are rejoined Bradford as a youth team coach in August 2007.  However, his battle against illness turned out to be his biggest fight of all and sadly, he passed away yesterday morning after a long-time battle. 

Wolves were devastated at the news of losing one of their former favourites; “Everyone at Wolves is saddened to hear of the death of Dean Richards.  "Remembered for his trademark skilful breaks out of defence as well as his ability in the air, Richards will always be fondly remembered by Wolves fans who continued to follow his career closely when he moved on to Southampton and Tottenham.  "There will be a tribute paid to the defender ahead of next Sunday's game with his former club Spurs."

All thoughts go out to Dean’s family and friends at this difficult and distressing time.

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final, 1st Leg Review - Injuries Harm The English

The final eight of the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League all put in valuable performances and gave good accounts of them.  The first legs were full of stories of anguish, style and what might have been.  For the English clubs, it was a week full of mixed emotions and though, both are still in the game, injuries to their red-hot key men could have the final ultimate say in their future participation this year in European competition.

For at least forty-eight hours, the hearts of Manchester United, England and Fabio Capello must have been racing, when Wayne Rooney hobbled off in the Allianz Area, then was spotted outside the United team hotel on crutches.  Had England’s World Cup dreams dies with this latest injury trauma?  Fortunately, scans revealed the good news, minor ligament damage which meant all Three Lions fans could breathe a huge sigh of relief.  For United though, the prognosis is not so good and a three week lay-off means we may not see Rooney in Europe until the final in Madrid, should United get there.  That’s a big ‘should,’ as Manchester United’s night in Munich turned into a nightmare.  Rooney scored a very early goal, cancelled out by a deflected Franck Ribery free-kick.  Then, Bayern got ultimate revenge for the 1999 final, by scoring a deserving injury-time winner through Croatian Ivica Olic.  Olic fully capitalized on a rare error from the consistent Patrice Evra, which pretty much summed up the evening for Sir Alex Ferguson.  They do remain favourites for the return at Old Trafford this Wednesday, but any mistakes will be punished, which could lead to a surprising exit.

For sixty-five minutes, Arsenal had been given a football lesson at the Emirates by the masters from Barcelona.  It was like men versus boys and had Manuel Almunia not produced an inspired first-half showing, the game would have been out of reach.  Less than thirty seconds into the restart though, Zlatan Ibrahimovic proved all of his doubters wrong with a delicious lob over the advancing Almunia, then powered home a second before the hour mark.  It looked like curtains for the Gunners, until an inspired move by Arsene Wenger.  Theo Walcott was thrown on and he changed the game in an instant, causing the Catalan defence some horrendous issues.  He scored straightaway from his introduction, then played a part in the debatable penalty won by Cesc Fabregas, which saw Carlos Puyol dismissed.  Fabregas smashed home the spot kick, to complete the comeback, his last action this season, after scans on Thursday confirmed a broken leg.  This is a hammer blow for the return as far as Arsenal is concerned, especially with William Gallas and Andrei Arshavin also facing long injury lay-offs.  However, they have given Barcelona enough to worry about for the rerun of the beautiful game this Tuesday.

Inter Milan and Jose Mourinho remains still on target for their ultimate aim, after trouncing CSKA Moscow at the San Siro.  However, they only managed to net one goal, through Diego Milito in the first game and with a tricky assignment in Moscow; a 1-0 advantage looks very risky indeed.  So, must morale in the Inter dressing room after Mourinho’s pre-match comments claiming he hates Italian football.  Finally, in the all-French tie, Lyon benefited from some dodgy decisions and cataclysmic Bordeaux defending to take a 3-1 lead back for the second leg.  However, like CSKA, Bordeaux will still feel they have a chance in this tie, although it is now a hard road from here.

All four ties remain in the balance then for this week’s second legs.  The question will be how well can the English cope without the loss of their key players, Rooney and Fabregas.