Richard Tydeman (born 26 May 1951) is an English retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played professionally for

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

and

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

but is best known for his time with Gillingham where, in two spells, he made over 370

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

appearances.

Career

Tydeman came through the ranks with Gillingham and was playing for the reserves at the age of fifteen. He broke into the first team at eighteen and was a first choice in the Gills' midfield for the next seven years, although in 1971 he briefly contemplated quitting the game to become a teacher. He was named as the Kent side's Player of the Season for 1972–73. In December 1976 Tydeman followed his former manager Andy Nelson to

for a fee of £65,000, then a record fee received by Gillingham. He stayed with the Addicks for five years before returning to Gillingham as one of new manager

Keith Peacock Keith Peacock (born 2 May 1945) is an English former footballer and manager. He was the first player to come on as a substitute in the Football League. Early life Peacock was born in Barnehurst. and educated at Erith Grammar School. Playing ...

's first signings. After two seasons at

Priestfield Stadium Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 to 2023 and again from 2024 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium i ...

he moved to

before seeing out his career with a number of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

teams. After retirement he became a taxi driver. His son Sam was a trainee with Gillingham but failed to make the grade.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tydeman, Dick 1951 births Living people Footballers from Chatham, Kent English men's footballers Gillingham F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Chatham Town F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players Bromley F.C. players Canterbury City F.C. players Men's association football midfielders English Football League players