Garry Richards (born 11 June 1986) is an English retired professional

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 made over 100 appearances as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

in the

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 ...

for Gillingham. He also played for

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

, Southend United and

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

Career

Colchester United

A product of the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

, Richards won his maiden call into the first team squad for a League One match versus

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

on 30 August 2004. He remained an unused substitute during the 2–1 defeat and had to wait until 3 September 2005 to make his debut, which came with a start in a 0–0 draw with

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

. He made 19 appearances during the 2005–06 season and helped the Us to automatic promotion to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

. Despite scoring his first goal for the club with the only goal of the game versus Preston North End on 30 January 2007, Richards was largely out of favour during the 2006–07 season and spent two months away on loan. Richards departed

Layer Road Layer Road was a Football League stadium in Colchester, England. It was the home of Colchester United Football Club from its inception in 1937, up until the club relocated to Colchester Community Stadium in 2008, resulting in its closure. The ...

in August 2007, after making 24 appearances and scoring one goal for the club.

Gravesend & Northfleet (loan)

On 29 January 2005, Richards joined

Conference Premier 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 Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...

club Gravesend & Northfleet on a one-month

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 ...

. He failed to make an appearance before his loan expired.

Brentford (loan)

On 9 February 2007, Richards joined League One strugglers

on a one-month loan, which was later extended until the end of the 2006–07 season. He made 10 appearances and scored one goal, which came with the opener in a 2–2 draw with

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

on 25 March, before his spell came to an end due to a

pelvic The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an anatomical trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis or pelvic skeleton). ...

injury suffered during a match versus

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

on 7 April.

Southend United

Richards joined League One club Southend United on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee on 4 August 2007. After making just 14 appearances during the first half of the 2007–08 season, Richards departed

Roots Hall Roots Hall is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium located in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. The stadium is the home ground of the National League (English football), National League team Southend United F.C., Southend United. With a ...

on 25 January 2008.

Gillingham

On 25 January 2008, Richards joined League One strugglers Gillingham on a -year contract for an undisclosed fee. At the end of the 2008–09 season, he was part of the team which secured promotion back to League One with victory in the 2009 League Two play-off final. Despite suffering ankle ligament damage and a broken toe in April 2010, Richards signed a new two-year contract in July 2010, but his Gillingham career was ultimately ended by a fractured

fibula The fibula (: fibulae or fibulas) or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. ...

suffered during a 3–1 victory over Barnet on 6 March 2012. Richards was released in May 2012 and made 122 appearances and scored six goals during seasons at Priestfield.

Luton Town

On 25 June 2012, Richards dropped 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 ...

to join Conference Premier club

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

on a two-year contract. Richards' time at

Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road, known affectionately as The Kenny, is a association football, football stadium in the area of Bury Park, Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The sta ...

was beset by injury and despite multiple operations and extensive periods of rehabilitation on an injured ankle, he failed to win a call into a squad before his contract was mutually terminated on 14 October 2013. Richards' departure signalled his retirement from football.

Honours

Colchester United *

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

second-place promotion: 2005–06 Gillingham * Football League Two play-offs:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Garry 1986 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Havering People from Romford English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Colchester United F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players English Football League players 21st-century English sportsmen