Richard Brindley

Richard Michael Brindley (born 5 May 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Notts County.

He joined the club at the age of nine, and it was announced in October 2008 that he would be offered a scholarship that would begin in June 2009.

He broke into the youth team in 2009, scoring against Aston Villa after coming on as a substitute.

Brindley progressed through the academy at Norwich City, but was released in 2012 after failing to break into the first-team.

He joined Chelmsford City, where his performances attracted the attention of Chesterfield.

In May 2012, a year after turning professional at Norwich City, it was announced that Brindley would not be offered a new contract and would be released by the club, yet to make a first-team appearance.

Brindley signed for Conference South side Chelmsford City in the summer of 2012 following his release from Carrow Road.

He made his debut on 18 August in their 1–1 draw with Havant & Waterlooville at West Leigh Park.

During his time with Chelmsford, Brindley played one game for the UK Football Finder Elite Development Squad on 12 September in a match against a Leatherhead XI, with his side coming out 4–2 victors.

Brindley scored his first and only goal for Chelmsford on 10 December when they defeated Hampton & Richmond Borough 3–2 in the FA Trophy.

He scored after only one minute of play.

He signed for the League Two side in January 2013, where he would make his professional debut.

He played his final game for the club on 12 January 2013, starting in a 3–0 defeat to Halifax Town at The Shay in the FA Trophy.

He made ten Conference South appearances and three FA Trophy appearances in addition to his one goal.

He also featured in the FA Cup four times, including starting in the first round 3–1 win over Colchester United, and the 3–0 second round defeat to Crawley Town.

He made 24 appearances in all competitions for Chelmsford, and was also awarded with three man of the match awards during his time at the club.

League Two side Chesterfield signed Brindley on 17 January 2013, with the deal running until the end of the 2012–13 season.

His first outing for the club was in the Derbyshire Senior Cup on 29 January in Chesterfield's 4–2 win against Belper Town.

Coach John Dungworth was pleased with Brindley's debut, saying that he was "energetic and full of confidence".

Prior to making a first-team appearance, Brindley said that his chance with the club showed "great opportunity to progress" and that he would "like to stay longer [than the end of the season]".

Brindley made his Football League and professional debut on 9 February, where he came on as a substitute for Danny Whitaker in the final minutes of a 2–0 home win over AFC Wimbledon.

Though he only had limited playing time on his debut, Brindley said that he was "grateful" for the opportunity.

He provided an assist for Marc Richards to score the only goal in a 1–0 win over Oxford United on 16 March.

After making nine appearances for the Spireites, Brindley was dropped from the squad ahead of a match against Barnet in April over contractual issues, where negotiations between both parties broke down concerning the extension of his deal with the club.

He would eventually end the season having played twelve League Two games, but his long-term future was still not resolved by the end of the campaign.

Following the expiry of his contract at Chesterfield, Brindley joined League One side Rotherham United on 23 May 2013.

He signed a two-year deal at the New York Stadium.

His new manager Steve Evans said that Rotherham had "watched him [Brindley] at Chesterfield on four occasions and we knew then that he was a top talent".

Following the move, Brindley added that he was determined to prove himself at League One level, setting himself a target of getting "first-team experience and experience in League One".

Brindley made his Rotherham debut in the opening game of the 2013–14 season, starting in a 3–3 draw with Crewe Alexandra.

During the first few weeks of the season, Brindley held down the right-back spot following an injury to Utility player Mark Bradley, who provided competition for the position across the season, and on-loan Newcastle United right-back James Tavernier.

He was subsequently loaned out during the 2014–15 season to Scunthorpe United, Oxford United and Colchester United.

Brindley fell out of favour for the early part of 2014, starting only twice between December 2013 and May 2014.

A host of injuries saw Brindley recalled to the starting line-up for Rotherham's play-off first leg match at Preston North End on 10 May, but was substituted after only 23 minutes following an injury.

After Rotherham reached the play-off final, Brindley started the match on the bench, but came on for Wes Thomas after 54 minutes at Wembley Stadium while Rotherham were 2–0 down to Leyton Orient.

The Millers pegged the score back to 2–2, and secured promotion to the Championship as they won 4–3 after a penalty shoot-out.

He was then signed by Rotherham United, but struggled to hold down a regular starting berth, his one and only goal came in a 5–1 defeat to Bournemouth in the FA Cup in 2015.

Following his release from Rotherham in the summer of 2015, he joined Colchester United on a permanent basis.

He signed for Barnet in July 2017, who he left at the end of the season following relegation.

Born in Norwich, Brindley began his career at Norwich City, where he played as either a central midfielder or as a full-back.