Saturday 26 February 2011

Dean Richards - 1974 - 2011

Dean Richards

Former Tottenham and Wolves defender Dean Richards died on Saturday aged 36 after losing his battle with a long-term illness.

Richards, who also played for Bradford and Southampton, was forced to retire from the game in March 2005 after suffering from dizzy spells and headaches during his time at White Hart Lane.

A statement on the Wolves website read: "Everyone at Wolves was saddened to hear of the death of Dean Richards, who passed away this morning at the age of 36 after a long-term battle with serious illness."

The Premier League club, with whom Richards moved to in 1995 and made 145 appearances in a four-year spell, plan a tribute to the former England Under-21 international ahead of next Sunday's match against another of his former clubs, Tottenham, at Molineux.

Bradford-born Richards started his career with his hometown club, making over 80 appearances for the club, and the Bantams paid tribute to their former player, saying: "The club are truly devastated to hear of the death of former Bradford City fans' favourite Dean Richards."

Richards, who cost Spurs a whopping £8.1million (Dh48m) when they saigned him from Southampton in 2001, made almost 350 appearances in a career spanning 13 years before his retirement and returned to the game in August 2007 as a youth team coach with Bradford.


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