Leam Nathan Richardson (born 19 November 1979) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of Rotherham United.
In the 2001–02 season, he made his Premier League debut, playing the final eight minutes of Bolton's 0–0 draw at Leeds; later, he moved on loan to Notts County,[1] where he made seventeen league appearances in the Second Division.
In 2002, Richardson was loaned out again, this time to Blackpool. He made his debut in a 3–0 win against Peterborough United in the Football League Second Division on 21 December 2002. While at Blackpool, he received the first red card of his career, being sent off against Huddersfield Town on 1 January 2003.
Blackpool
On 23 June 2003, Richardson made a permanent move to Blackpool, joining on a free transfer. He made his debut in a 5–0 loss against Queens Park Rangers on 9 August 2003, and scored his first goal for the club against Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup on 6 December 2003.[2] On 21 March 2004, he appeared as a 90th-minute substitute in the 2004 Football League Trophy final, in which Blackpool defeated Southend United 2–0.[3]
On 10 May 2005, he was released from the club along with Robert Clare.[4]
Accrington Stanley
After three months without a club, Richardson joined Accrington Stanley on a free transfer on non-contract terms.[5] He made his debut against Canvey Island in the Football Conference on 13 August 2005, and was a regular fixture in the team which won promotion to the Football League in the 2005–06 season. In League Two, he continued to be an important player at Accrington, playing 43 times in all competitions during the 2006-07 season and 40 times the following campaign; he scored his first goal for the club against Brentford on 26 February 2008.[6]
During the 2008-09 season, Richardson found his playing time limited, making fourteen appearances in all competitions, and in the following season he played only twice in the league and once in the Football League Trophy. He scored his second career league goal in a 2–1 win over Cheltenham Town on 15 January 2011, in a season in which he made thirteen league appearances, but the 2–1 victory at Morecambe on 26 December 2011 - where he appeared as a 79th-minute substitute - would be his last appearance for the club.
Managerial career
Accrington Stanley and assistant manager roles
In January 2012, Richardson became the caretaker manager of Accrington Stanley, after John Coleman departed to join Rochdale.[7] Richardson's first match as manager was at home to Gillingham, which Accrington Stanley won 4–3.[8] Accrington appointed Paul Cook as their new permanent manager the following month,[9] before Richardson was re-appointed as manager after Cook left to become manager of Chesterfield in October.[10] Originally employed as caretaker manager for a second spell, he was appointed as the manager of the club on a permanent basis from 1 November, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal.[11]
On 30 April 2013, it was announced that Richardson had left Accrington in order to re-unite with Paul Cook, becoming his new assistant manager at Chesterfield.[12] The two later moved to manage Portsmouth in 2015, winning promotion to League One in 2017.[13][14]
Wigan Athletic
On 31 May 2017, Richardson once again followed Cook to Wigan Athletic, once again acting as his assistant manager.[15] He and Cook oversaw Wigan's promotion to the Championship in their first season in charge, and kept them there for two seasons.[16]
Following a takeover in mid-2020, Wigan collapsed into administration and were relegated after being punished with a 12 point deduction. Cook resigned as manager on 4 August 2020 and Richardson was appointed to take charge of training duties until further notice.[17]John Sheridan was appointed as the club's new permanent manager, but he left after just 15 games to join Swindon Town, and Richardson was named caretaker manager.[18] Following Wigan's takeover in March 2021, the new owners stated that Richardson would continue in his caretaker manager role until the end of the season.[19]
Despite this, Richardson was appointed as the permanent manager of the club on 21 April 2021 with three games still remaining. Richardson confirmed that Cook, who had recently been appointed manager of Ipswich Town, had asked him to join him in Suffolk as his assistant again, but he declined so he could remain at Wigan. He insisted however that there was no ill-will on either side and that they remain on good terms.[20][21] He was able to keep Wigan up, avoiding relegation to League Two.[22]
In November 2021 Wigan striker Charlie Wyke collapsed during training after suffering a cardiac arrest. Following his discharge from hospital Wyke praised Richardson's swift initiation of CPR saying: "...my life has been saved by the actions of the gaffer [Leam Richardson] and the club doctor Jonathan Tobin..."[23]
On 24 April 2022, Richardson was named the 2021–22 EFL League One Manager of the Season at the league's annual award ceremony.[24] Later that month Richardson led Wigan to promotion into the Championship as they finished the season as League One champions.[25]
On 10 November 2022, Richardson was sacked as Wigan manager after a run of six losses in seven matches that saw the club fall into the Championship relegation zone.[26] The sacking came just sixteen days after Richardson had signed a new three-year contract with the club.[27]
Rotherham United
On 11 December 2023, Richardson was appointed head coach of Championship bottom club Rotherham United on a three-and-a-half-year deal.[28]
On 17 April 2024, two weeks on from relegation having been confirmed, Richardson was sacked having won just two of his twenty-four matches in charge.[29]
