Richardson joined Hebburn Town on loan from Sunderland earlier this season but has now returned to the Academy of Light after the agreed-upon time period ended last week, with the stopper now forming part of Graeme Murty’s under-21 group once again.
Richardson contributed with a string of positive performances for the Northern Premier League club. The Sunderland man marked his debut with a solid display in a 2-1 home win against Lancaster City before making it six points from two games with an impressive away performance at Hyde United. The first defeat of his temporary stint with Hebburn came in the FA Trophy exit at the hands of United of Manchester, with Richardson also playing in the defeats to Matlock Town and Macclesfield.
Hornets boss Daniel Moore, though, has revealed that the reason Richardson didn’t remain at the club came down to finances. If a non-league club loans a player on a professional contract, they are required to contribute to their wages, and with the Hornets’ regular goalkeeper returning from injury, a tough decision had to be made.
“Like all non-league clubs, if we had the money, I’d have loved to have kept him,” Moore told The Echo. “But you probably know as well as I do that when you’ve got lads on £150, it’s a lot of money to us so it’s a shame that we couldn’t keep him but he covered our keeper that had a month out and he came in and he’s kept us up in the mix for the season going forward.
“We played some really top teams and he acquitted himself really well, in my opinion. He came into the dressing room and his attitude was good; he probably just needs to continue playing men’s football. If I’d had an extra £100, then I’d have kept him around, and it would have been good to see them both try and compete for that for their number one shirt. I’d have liked to have seen that but with non-league clubs, it’s hard for us and we had to make a contribution towards his wages at Sunderland as those are the rules.
“It was a tough decision but we had to do what was best for the football club, but it’s a shame because I’d have liked to have kept him around for the rest of the season, to be honest. The rules are that if a player is on a professional contract, then you have to make a contribution towards his wages.”
Last season, the 20-year-old played for Sunderland during pre-season under Tony Mowbray and was set to join the senior goalkeeping group behind Nathan Bishop and first-choice Anthony Patterson before sustaining an injury towards the end of last summer.
After returning to full fitness, Sunderland were looking to loan Richardson to the National League in February before the shotstopper picked up another injury. After his second comeback, Richardson played a key role as Graeme Murty’s under-21s reached the Premier League 2 play-off final against Tottenham.
Sunderland have a good record when it comes to goalkeepers, having produced England’s number one Jordan Pickford and current Sunderland first-choice Patterson. Patterson has made 134 Sunderland appearances, aged just 24 after a spell at Notts County in the National League. Another of Sunderland’s highly-rated goalkeepers, Matty Young, is also currently out on loan to EFL side Salford City, who play their football in League Two.
“I think all these attributes are there as a goalkeeper,” Moore added when asked how far Richardson could go in football. “His handling’s really good and his decision-making’s really good, but it’s just the physicality of things; even though he’s a big lad, teams aren’t bothered about putting three or four bodies around him and chucking him in the goal so to speak. He’s got all the attributes to go and make a decent career out of the game.
“I think obviously his talking during games will come, I think, in time but he is still a young lad. One thing you want from your keeper is just someone who’s got a big gob on them and I think that’s the same for any goalkeeper. The more games you’re playing, the more confident you get, and the better you get at that. I wish the kid well and if we never have him again, I’d love to see him playing for Sunderland or another team because if it isn’t Sunderland, I think he can go and play league football for definite.”
