Gareth Risbridger (born 16 April 1982) is an English
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
manager and former semi-professional player, who was most recently the assistant manager to Danny Gordon at
Aylesbury
Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...
after the pair were appointed in May 2016. They departed the club in January 2017.
He started his career as a youth player at
Marlow, before joining
Yeovil Town in 1998. Risbridger then signed for
Third Division club
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...
following his former Yeovil manager
David Webb, however he only made one appearance and was sent on
loan
In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money.
The document evidencing the deb ...
to
Conference National
The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...
club
Dover Athletic. He was released from Southend in January 2002, and dropped back into
non-League football
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 ...
spending a month at
Salisbury City before joining
Aylesbury United. In December 2003, he joined former Aylesbury manager, Steve Cordery at
Staines Town. After a number of injuries that kept him sidelined for two and a half years, Risbridger joined
Bracknell Town on a short loan spell, regaining his fitness. He went on to join Boreham Wood in November 2010. After a period out of the game due to injury, he joined Slough Town in March 2014.
Playing career
Risbridger started his career as a youth player at
Marlow, playing the
1997–98 season in their under-18 team.
In summer 1998, he joined
Conference National
The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...
side
Yeovil Town, where he made six appearances.
He signed for
Third Division team
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...
in May 2001, after former Yeovil Town manager
David Webb took charge at Southend.
Risbridger was the first of three players who Webb signed from his former club,
Barrington Belgrave and
Ben Smith joined later.
Risbridger commented on playing under Webb saying, "I worked with him at Yeovil and he gave me my chance there last year. Now I'm looking forward to playing under him again and establishing myself with Southend."
During the
2001–02 season, he made one appearance for Southend.
On 11 August, Risbridger made his debut for Southend in their 1–0 home win over
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
, replacing
Mark Rawle
Mark Rawle (born 27 April 1979) is a former professional footballer. His last club was Southern League Premier Division side Brackley Town after being released from Conference North side Tamworth. He played in the Football League for Southend ...
as a
substitute in the 89th minute, who had previously replaced
Dean Holness.
He joined
Dover Athletic on
loan
In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money.
The document evidencing the deb ...
in October, where he made three appearances in the Conference National.
Risbridger was not allowed to play in Dover Athletic's
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
fourth qualifying round match against
Hereford United
Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...
, as Southend did not want him to become cup-tied.
He was released from Southend in January 2002, by new manager
Rob Newman along with
Shane Wardley and Ed Chibogu.
Following his release from Southend United, Risbridger dropped back into
non-League football
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 ...
and signed for
Southern Football League Premier Division
The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and ...
club,
Salisbury City in February.
A month later, he joined
Aylesbury United,
for who he went on to make 44 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal.
In December 2003, Risbridger signed for
Isthmian League Division One South
The Isthmian League () is a regional football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs.
Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 88 teams in fo ...
side
Staines Town, joining former Aylesbury manager Steve Cordery.
He made his debut against
Horsham
Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
in their 0–0 on 6 December.
Between January 2004 and July 2006, Risbridger suffered a series of
injuries
Injury is physiological damage to the living tissue of any organism, whether in humans, in other animals, or in plants.
Injuries can be caused in many ways, including mechanically with penetration by sharp objects such as teeth or with b ...
, that put him out of the game for two and a half years.
He had a spell with
Bracknell Town on loan in October 2006, to help regain his fitness.
At the end of the
2006–07 season he was awarded the "Clubman of the Year" award.
Risbridger played in Staines
2007–08 FA Cup first round
giant-killing match, when they defeated
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...
over two legs, eventually winning in a
penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
.
Staines were defeated in the following round 5–0 at home to
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 ...
, on 1 December, in which Risbridger played.
He went on to join
Conference South
The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...
club
Boreham Wood in November 2010.
Coaching and refereeing career
Risbridger holds a
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
'B'
Pro Licence coaching badge and is also a qualified
referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
.
In December 2014, Risbridger was appointed joint-manager, alongside Danny Gordon, at
Burnham as the replacements for Gary Meakin. However the pair departed the club in May 2015 after proving unsuccessful in their bid to prevent Burnham's relegation from the Premier Division.
Risbridger returned to football as the assistant manager to Danny Gordon at
Aylesbury
Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...
in May 2016. The pair resigned from their positions in January 2017.
Personal life
Born in
High Wycombe
High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...
, Buckinghamshire, Risbridger lives in
Marlow.
He works as a
greenkeeper
A greenskeeper is a person responsible for the upkeep of a golf course. Their duties include all horticultural practices, as well as the setting of flag-sticks and marking of hazards. Other responsibilities typically include raking bunkers, water ...
at Wycombe Heights Golf Club.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Risbridger, Gareth
1982 births
Living people
Footballers from High Wycombe
English men's footballers
English football referees
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Southern Football League players
Marlow F.C. players
Yeovil Town F.C. players
Southend United F.C. players
Dover Athletic F.C. players
Salisbury City F.C. players
Aylesbury United F.C. players
Staines Town F.C. players
Bracknell Town F.C. players
Boreham Wood F.C. players
Slough Town F.C. players
English football managers
Burnham F.C. managers
Aylesbury Vale Dynamos F.C. managers
Men's association football midfielders
21st-century English sportsmen