Damien Richardson
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| Damien Richardson | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Damien John Richardson | |
| Date of birth | 2 August 1947 | |
| Place of birth | Dublin, Republic of Ireland | |
| Nickname | Richard Damienson | |
| Playing position | Striker | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Cork City (manager) | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1966-1972 1972-1981 |
Shamrock Rovers Gillingham |
(?) (41) 323 (94) |
| National team | ||
| 1971 - 1979 | Republic of Ireland | 3 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Damien John Richardson (born 2 August 1947, Dublin) is an Irish football manager and former player. He is currently in his second spell as manager of Cork City and formerly managed Gillingham in England and Cobh Ramblers, Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers in Ireland.
Contents |
[edit] Player
As a player Richardson's career was divided between Shamrock Rovers and Gillingham. While at Rovers he twice won the FAI Cup in 1968 and 1969 (scoring in the final replay) as well as getting an Inter League cap and represented the club in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup. He received the first of three international caps for the Irish national team while at Shamrock Rovers, making his debut against Austria in Linz in October 1971. He scored in his final appearance for Rovers on the 22nd of October 1972 at Milltown before moving to the English Fourth Division side Gillingham at the age of 25. He played for the Priestfield Stadium side for the next nine years before being released in 1981. During his time there he scored 100 goals.
[edit] Manager
Richardson's managerial career began in 1989 where he managed Gillingham, having previously served as the club's youth team manager. A rather lacklustre career there ended in 1992 where he returned to Ireland in 1993 to manage Cork City He proved an instant success bringing the club within striking distance of retaining the league title. However, after 18 months he left the club after a dispute with then chairman Pat O'Donovan.
Following Cork City, he moved on another Cork side Cobh Ramblers before taking up the management position at Shelbourne. To date his time at Shelbourne has been the most successful of his management career with two Cup successes (1996/97 and 1997/98), one League Cup (1995/96) and a runner up position in the League (1997/98) in three seasons. His inability to win the league ultimately cost him his job.
Not finding himself short of suitors for his management ability, he moved across Dublin to his old club Shamrock Rovers. His tenure there proved to be frustrating as his three seasons at the helm were trophyless. Ultimately, Richardson and club chairman Joe Colwell disagreed on the direction of the club, and parted ways. Cowell wanted to focus on building a new stadium for the club, while Richardson wanted to focus on a full-time panel of players.
In 2002, Richardson left football management to become a TV soccer pundit with TV3 in Ireland.
Dramatically in 2005 Richardson returned to League of Ireland management when Cork City's manager Pat Dolan was surprisingly sacked before the start of pre-season friendlies. Cork City Chairman Brian Lennox signed the 57 year old Richardson to a two year contract at Turners Cross 15 days before the first competitive match of the season. Richardson commented that the Cork City job was the only one that could have brought him back to League of Ireland management. "Even before I went to Cork in 1993 I always thought there was enormous potential at the club." [1] In his first season in charge Cork City were crowned Eircom League Champions for the second time in the club's history. Cork City also got to the final of the FAI Cup but were defeated by Drogheda United in the final at Lansdowne Road.
[edit] Quotes
As well as his talents as a player and manager Richardson is noted for his eloquence. Despite a certain cavalier attitude to the English language, whereby he coins words and phrases as he likes, there is a certain zen in his observations on soccer, and life in general:
- "Whether one is blessed with a prodigious flair for articulacy or merely entrusted with a basic monosyllabic uttering of contentment, the relevance of this coming season will stimulate in every green and white heart at least a temporary escalation in embellished eloquence, so as to allow all an opportunity to express the most wondrous sense of anticipation and excitement that lies within." Damien Richardson, Shamrock Rovers
- "If the remnants of my classical education at the sometimes not-so tender hands of the Christian Brothers of Donore Avenue and Drimnagh Castle serve me correctly, it was that Greek playmaker of old, Epicurus, who stated that ‘the misfortune of the wise is better than the prosperity of the fool.’"
- "There was a lack of interdepartmental choreography between midfield and attack."
- "I felt there was a lack of definable objectivity about both teams."
- "Whether one possesses the stoical stature of an empirical philosopher or a more mundane propensity for self-gratification, the cataclysmic effect of one’s removal from pole-position in the most senior league in the country could be most injurious."
- "My first manager's page for Shamrock Rovers, and my, shall I say, reasonably extensive vocabulary is still too confined to express how delighted I feel." Damien Richardson, Shamrock Rovers v St.Johnstone, 14/7/99.
- "There is inherent in every true football supporter a reservoir of natural optimism. This inner holding pond of hope springs eternal, and is the safety valve that regulates the emotional turbulence synonymous with professional football. It molifies the annual agitation and sooths the savage beast of frustration. Without this optimistic dimension the personality of the authentic fan is incomplete." Damien Richardson, Shamrock Rovers v Finn Harps, 22/8/99.
- "Astrology informs us that we are entering the Age of Aquarius, a sustained period of harmony and understanding" Damien Richardson, Shamrock Rovers v Cork City, 17/10/99.
- "This is one of the most alluring weekends of the domestic season. The FAI Cup 1st Round has a magical dimension all of its own. Unlike proceeding rounds this particular juncture has an unspoiled, almost virginal quality. This air of innocence is induced by one of the most charismatic aspects of professional football, the spirit of adventure" Damien Richardson, Shamrock Rovers v Cork City, 9/1/00.
- "It's always the same sometimes" Damien Richardson, Shamrock Rovers v Waterford United, 27/2/00.
- "Unfortunately I encountered a plethora of personal predictions in the early part of this week that required immediate and urgent action. As a result my football career was placed in a state of suspended animation while these pressing matters were attended to" Damien Richardson, Shamrock Rovers v Cork City, 9/4/00.
- "Modern football is akin to a turbulent sea. Changes come fast and furious. One may be riding the crest of great waves before being engulfed in enormous crescendos of confusion. Sometimes is can be like surfboarding in the South Atlantic. You do the best you can to stay afloat while all the time fully understanding the fact that things can come crashing down around you. If you worry about the consequences you miss the thrill of the ride." D. Richardson, City Edition Vol 22 Issue 1 p.7
- "The fundamental inability to grasp the fact that real leadership is accepting that you are merely another cog in the wheel has derailed many careers and deranged many managers." D. Richardson, City Edition Vol 22 Issue 3 p.5
- "Football ... is a ballet of wondrous beauty choreographed by highly skilled performers, dramatising the conflict between good and evil that takes place in every heart. And, at the same time it reflects the impatient immediacy of modern society in that success breeds immortality, while the procurement of second place begets anonymity." D. Richardson, City Edition Vol 22 Issue 12 p.5
[edit] Iconic
Aswell as producing some of Irish football's most legendary football quotes, Richardson has displayed some of Ireland's most recognisable icons in football.
- For most of his managerial carreer, Richardson sported, and was easily recognisable by, a thick mustache. His decision to shave it off even drew pseudo-traditional Irish lamenting poems in protest.
- During the run-in at the end of the eircom League campaign in 2005, Richardson wore a Fedora-style fisherman's cap, that witnessed good-fortuned wins such as a late winner 2-1 away to Bohemians. During a later match against local rivals Waterford United (with the added 'spice' that Richardson's predeccessor in the Cork City job Pat Dolan was in temporary charge of the "Blues") the hat appeared to be stolen. Cork played poorly and narrowly avoided defeat.
[edit] Outside football
Damien once played the bodhran on an album by Doug Hudson, a folk musician who also serves as Gillingham's tannoy announcer. [2]
[edit] Sources
- Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-2243-X.
- List of Gillingham players' appearance/goals statistics 1959 to date
| Preceded by Keith Burkinshaw |
Gillingham F.C. Manager 1989-1992 |
Succeeded by Glenn Roeder |
| Preceded by Colin Murphy |
Shelbourne Manager 1995-1998 |
Succeeded by Dermot Keely |
| Cork City F.C. - Current Squad |
|---|
|
1 Devine | 2 Horgan | 3 Ryan | 4 Farrelly | 5 O'Callaghan | 6 Dan Murray | 7 O'Brien | 8 Gamble | 9 O'Flynn | 10 O'Donovan | 11 Woods | 12 The Rebel Army Fans | 14 Cillian Lordan | 15 Healy | 16 McNulty | 17 Carroll | 18 Softić | 19 Murphy | 21 Behan | 23 Harrington | 25 Kelly | 26 Cathal Lordan | 27 Lally | 30 Kearney | |
