Sam Ricketts

On 26 December, he was sent off in the 25th minute of a 2–1 home loss to Burton Albion for a foul on John Burns.

His father is the 1978 world showjumping champion Derek Ricketts, later performance manager of the UK showjumping team from 2002 to 2010, and his uncle is the former National Hunt champion jockey John Francome.

As a teenager, Ricketts himself was a keen rider until prioritising football.

Samuel Derek Ricketts (born 11 October 1981) is a professional football coach and former player.

As a player, his favoured position was at full back, where he was able to play either side as well as being able to operate at the centre of defence.

He played over 100 games for Swansea City before playing Premier League football for both Hull City and Bolton Wanderers.

Ricketts began his career at Oxford United, making his first team debut on 8 October 2000 in a 2–1 Second Division defeat at rivals Swindon Town.

He played 48 total games and scored once, in a 2–0 home win over Southend United on 22 September 2001.

In 2002 he was loaned to Nuneaton Borough of the Football Conference.

In the last of his 11 games for Nuneaton, he scored the equaliser in a 1–1 home draw with leaders Yeovil Town on 25 January 2003.

He was released from his professional contract to sign for Conference side Telford United in the summer of 2003.

His form for Telford led him to be selected for the England non-League XI that season.

Telford United went out of business at the end of the 2003–04 season, meaning Ricketts' contract was annulled.

On 6 April 2004, he scored the only goal of a win against Shropshire rivals Shrewsbury Town at the New Bucks Head.

Swansea manager Kenny Jackett offered him a return to league football though, and he joined Swansea City on a two-year deal on 27 May 2004.

He helped the team to promotion from League Two in his first season, during which he was selected in the division's PFA Team of the Year.

At the end of the campaign he was rewarded for his performances with a new improved contract.

His second season saw the team reach the League One Play-off Final, but Ricketts was part of the team that lost on penalties to Barnsley.

After 103 appearances in total for Swansea, Ricketts moved to Championship club Hull City on 14 July 2006 on a three-year contract.

Hull triggered his release clause by paying £300,000.

He started every minute of Hull's first ten games but sustained a broken cheekbone in the tenth game – a win against Hartlepool United – that required an operation, thereby ruling him out for several weeks.

He made 45 appearances during the season, and scored his only goal for Hull on 31 March 2007, in a 4–0 home win over Southend United.

The defender was part of the Hull team that won promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club's history at the end of the 2007–08 season; he played in their Championship play-off final victory over Bristol City.

Hull manager Phil Brown had stated in advance of this that he wanted to extend Ricketts' contract due to his performances.

Ricketts made 29 league appearances for the Tigers in their inaugural top-flight campaign, as they narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the season.

Following this, he entered into talks regarding a new deal with the club, but had been linked to other Premier League clubs.

On 25 July 2009, fellow Premier League club Bolton Wanderers confirmed Ricketts had signed a three-year deal with them for an undisclosed fee.

He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat to Sunderland on 15 August and went on to play in every defensive position for the club.

In February 2011 he suffered a snapped Achilles tendon during an FA Cup replay against Wigan Athletic, which put him out of first team contention until the end of the year.

He made his return on New Year's Eve 2011, where he also scored his first Bolton goal, in a 1–1 draw against his future club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Ricketts' contract expired at the end of the 2011–12 season but, despite Bolton being relegated from the Premier League, he signed a new two-year deal with the club in the summer of 2012.

He left Bolton in 2013 and captained Wolverhampton Wanderers to the League One title with a record points total.

Furthermore, he represented Wales at international level, making over 50 appearances for the national team.

Ricketts was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

His family is highly involved in equestrianism.

On 4 July 2013, after a season in which the team failed to make an instant return to the top flight, Bolton confirmed that his contract had been cancelled by mutual agreement.

He later expressed his disappointment at leaving Bolton Wanderers.

On the same day as his exit from Bolton, Ricketts joined Wolverhampton Wanderers of League One as a free agent in a two-year deal, reuniting with his former Swansea manager Kenny Jackett.

Having been appointed club captain, he made his debut on 3 August 2013 in a goalless draw at Preston North End.

Ricketts was a regular member of the Wolves team that won the League One title that season with a record 103 points.