Richard Martyn Foster (born 31 July 1985) is a Scottish football coach and former

Player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

. He played for

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

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 ...

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...

, Ross County,

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

, and

Detroit City Detroit ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 census, making it the 26th-most populous city ...

. Foster primarily played as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, although he is a versatile player;

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

is the only position in which he never played. He played ove
600 games
before moving into coaching in 2022. He is now plying his trade as a first team coach at Motherwell FC in the Scottish top flight. He is also the head of academ
coaching.
In May 2018, Foster married Scottish singer

Amy Macdonald Amy Elizabeth Macdonald (born 25 August 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. In 2007, she released her debut studio album, ''This Is the Life (Amy Macdonald album), This Is the Life'', which produced the singles "Mr. Rock & Roll" and "This ...

Early life

Foster was born in

Elgin, Moray Elgin ( ; ; ) is a historic town (former cathedral city) and formerly a royal burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above th ...

to Martyn and Carol Foster (née Cruickshank). He was a

fan as a boy.

Club career

Aberdeen

Foster made his debut for

aged 17 on 10 May 2003 in a

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

match against

, coming on as a substitute for Darren Mackie. He scored his first goal for the club almost exactly a year later during a 2–1 league defeat to

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

on 15 May 2004. Foster became a first team regular under

Jimmy Calderwood James Calderwood (28 February 1955 – 19 January 2025) was a Scottish football player and manager. Calderwood played for Birmingham City and Dutch clubs Sparta Rotterdam, Willem II Tilburg, Roda JC and Heracles Almelo. After retiring as a pl ...

and signed a two-year contract extension on 31 July 2007. Although naturally a right winger, Foster made significant progress playing in the left back position during the 2007–08 season, impressing with his man-marking performances when Aberdeen's first-choice left back Richie Byrne was injured. On 20 September 2007, he made his European debut in the first leg of Aberdeen's

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

first round First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

tie against

Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute for

Jackie McNamara Jackie McNamara (born 24 October 1973) is a Scottish professional Association football, football Sports agent, agent, and former football player, player, Manager (association football), manager and executive. He won 33 international caps playin ...

as the game ended 0–0. Foster started at left back in the return match in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

on 4 October and provided the assist for Darren Mackie's opening goal, sending in the cross for the striker to head home from close range. Despite Dnipro salvaging a 1–1 draw, Aberdeen progressed to the group stages of the tournament on

away goals The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

. On 20 December, Foster scored the first European goal of his career in Aberdeen's 4–0 UEFA Cup group stage win over

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. The result put ''the Dons'' through to the last 32, where they lost 7–3 on aggregate to

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

(drawing the first leg 2–2 at Pittodrie and losing 5–1 in the second leg at the

Allianz Arena Allianz Arena (; known as Munich Football Arena for UEFA competitions) is a Association football, football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely kno ...

). In February 2009, Foster was involved in a training ground bust up with Calderwood which led to him being omitted from the Aberdeen squad to face

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

on 21 February, after he called the then ''Dons'' manager "stupid". Despite criticism from some supporters, upon Foster's return to Aberdeen he was appointed as

Paul Hartley Paul Hartley (born 19 October 1976) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of Scottish League One side Cove Rangers. As a player, Hartley won trophies with both Hearts and C ...

's successor as Aberdeen captain for the 2011–12 season.

Rangers (loan)

On 31 August 2010, Foster moved on a season-long loan to SPL champions

, with ''Gers'' striker

Andrius Velička Andrius Velička (born 5 April 1979) is a Lithuanian retired professional association footballer who played as a striker for clubs in Russia, Kazakhstan, Scotland, England, Norway and Azerbaijan in addition to his homeland. He also played for t ...

moving in the opposite direction. He was given the number 12 shirt and made his Rangers debut on 11 September, coming on as a substitute for

Kirk Broadfoot Kirk John Broadfoot (born 8 August 1984) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a defender for Scottish League One club Kelty Hearts. Broadfoot started his senior career with St Mirren and he helped the club gain promotion to the Scottish Prem ...

in a 2–1 victory over Hamilton Accies. Foster made his first Rangers start on 20 October in a Champions League group stage match against

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

at Ibrox, where he was selected as

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

despite missing an open goal. Many of Foster's Rangers appearances came in the Champions League and

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. He played at right back in a 2–2 draw with

Sporting Clube de Portugal Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

in the second leg of the Europa League last 32, as Rangers won with the away goal rule coming into play. He was involved in an Old Firm match against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

on 2 March 2011, where the 1–0 defeat was overshadowed by scenes at the conclusion of the match. Foster's European run continued in the last 16 first leg against

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

on 10 March, which ended 0–0. He finished the SPL season with a winner's medal, having made enough appearances to contribute to Rangers' title success. However he was cup-tied for their victorious

2010–11 Scottish League Cup The 2010–11 Scottish League Cup is the 65th season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition, the Scottish League Cup, also known as the Co-operative Insurance Cup for sponsorship reasons. The competition started in Ju ...

campaign after being an unused substitute for Aberdeen against

Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. They compete in as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. According to the official club hist ...

earlier in the season.

Bristol City

On 6 January 2012 he signed for

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 ...

side

on a two-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

Rangers

Foster signed for Rangers on a two-year contract in June 2013.

Ross County

After being released by Rangers, Foster signed a two-year contract with

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

club Ross County in June 2015. He picked up a winners' medal in the

2015–16 Scottish League Cup The 2015–16 Scottish League Cup was the 70th season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition. It is also known as The Scottish League Cup presented by Utilita for sponsorship reasons. Ross County defeated Hiberni ...

as Ross County beat Hibernian 2–1.

St Johnstone

On 19 August 2016, Foster signed for

, agreeing a contract until the end of the 2016–17 season. He scored his first goal for St Johnstone against

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, Inverness CT or just Inverness, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team competes in , the third tier of the Scottish Professional Footba ...

on 27 August 2016. In April 2017, Foster brought St Johnstone in to disrepute after becoming involved in an on-pitch brawl with teammate Danny Swanson. Both players were suspended by the club and were subsequently fined four weeks' wages. In February 2019, Foster signed an extension to his contract with St Johnstone, which was due to run until the summer of 2020. In August 2019 Foster was involved in an incident with manager Tommy Wright on the training pitch and was dropped from the first-team.

Return to Ross County

Foster left St Johnstone in August 2019 and returned to Ross County on a one-year contract. On 25 May 2020, Foster was released from his contract criticising the chairman for not taking advantage of the government's furlough scheme, calling it "morally shocking".

Partick Thistle

After leaving Ross County, Foster signed a one-year deal with then

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foot ...

side

. After winning the League One title with Thistle, Foster signed a one-year contract extension with the club.

Detroit City

In August 2022, Foster signed as a player-coach with

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

side

Detroit City FC Detroit City FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Detroit, Michigan, that competes in the USL Championship. The club played in the National Premier Soccer League from 2012 to 2019 and the National Independen ...

. On 4 February 2023, Detroit City announced that Foster would not be returning to the club for the 2023 season.

International career

Foster was selected by the

Scotland national under-21 football team The Scotland national under-21 football team, controlled by the Scottish Football Association, is Scotland's national under 21 football team and is considered to be a feeder team for the Scotland national football team. As a European under-21 t ...

. He was selected for the full

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

squad in February 2012, but he did not play in the friendly with

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. Foster said in November 2018 that he was disappointed that he had not been recalled, given the lack of options in his preferred position.

Personal life

Foster began dating Scottish singer

in 2015 and the couple were engaged on New Year's Eve that year. They got married in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

on 4 June 2018. Foster did a

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

degree at the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

and has also written a crime novel.

Career statistics

Honours

;Rangers *

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

: 2013–14 ;Ross County *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

: 2015–16 ;Partick Thistle *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Richard 1985 births Footballers from Aberdeen Living people Men's association football utility players Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Aberdeen F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Ross County F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Scottish Premier League players English Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players Men's association football fullbacks Partick Thistle F.C. players Detroit City FC players USL Championship coaches Scottish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States 21st-century Scottish sportsmen