Richard Wright

Richard Ian Wright (born 5 November 1977) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is a goalkeeping coach for Premier League club Manchester City.

As a player he was a goalkeeper.

He joined Ipswich Town as a trainee, going on to play for the club 298 times between 1995 and 2001.

Wright was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and signed a professional contract with Ipswich Town on 2 January 1995 after serving his apprenticeship, and made his debut as a 17-year-old in a 2–0 victory at home to Coventry City in May that year.

The season ended with Ipswich's relegation from the Premier League, and for the following four, Ipswich lost in the promotion play-offs from the Football League First Division.

He played a major role in Ipswich's 1999–2000 season when the club were promoted via the play-offs at the fifth attempt.

He was a member of the England squad, earning two caps, and was included in Kevin Keegan's 23 man squad for UEFA Euro 2000 but did not see the field.

On 29 May 2000, in the play-off final against Barnsley, Ipswich won 4–2, with Wright's long goal kick being flicked on by Marcus Stewart for Richard Naylor to put them 2–1 up.

Wright scored an unfortunate own goal when a shot rebounded off the bar and hit him, and gave away a penalty kick by fouling Craig Hignett, but he saved it from Darren Barnard.

In Ipswich's first season back in the top flight, he inspired them to 5th place and qualification to the UEFA Cup.

Wright joined Arsenal on 5 July 2001 for £2 million.

He signed a five-year contract.

Manager Arsène Wenger envisaged him as a long-term successor to David Seaman and also as a more experienced competitor for the previous second-choice goalkeeper Alex Manninger, who soon left the club.

Wright made his debut against Derby County on 29 September, keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 win at Pride Park which put his team on the summit of the table.

On his UEFA Champions League debut against Panathinaikos he saved an Angelos Basinas penalty to help his side win 2–1.

Despite an injury to Seaman which gave him an extended run in the team, he did not capitalise on the opportunity, punching the ball into his own net in a 4–2 home defeat to Charlton Athletic on 4 November when trying to clear from Paul Konchesky, and then two weeks later he was at fault for Gus Poyet's injury time equaliser in the North London Derby against Tottenham Hotspur.

Four days later, he was substituted at half time with injury in a UEFA Champions League match away to Deportivo de La Coruña, being replaced by youth goalkeeper Stuart Taylor in the 2–0 defeat.

He slipped to third choice behind Taylor and played mostly FA Cup matches for the remainder of the season, up to and including the semi-final against Middlesbrough, although Seaman replaced him for the final, which Arsenal won 2–0 against Chelsea.

He made his last Arsenal appearance on the final day of the 2001–02 season, a 4–3 victory over Everton.

Arsene Wenger deliberately started him for the match, so that he ended the season with 10 league appearances, qualifying him for a winners' medal; he was substituted for Stuart Taylor late in the game, so that Taylor also had 10 appearances and earned a medal.

Wright made 22 appearances for Arsenal in total.

He then moved to Premier League club Arsenal, before being signed by Everton in 2002, where he spent five years.

A brief spell on loan from West Ham United with Southampton was followed by a transfer back to Ipswich Town.

After Seaman was given a one-year contract extension, Wright sought first-team action elsewhere, and on 24 July 2002 he moved to Everton for an initial £3.5 million, potentially rising by another million if a set number of appearances were reached.

On his Goodison Park debut on 17 August, he made an error and gifted a goal to Les Ferdinand in a 2–2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur, but a week later he saved a penalty from Kevin Phillips in a 1–0 win at Sunderland.

After the season had ended, on 13 June 2003 (Friday the 13th), he had a freak accident when he fell from his loft, injuring his shoulder.

In August 2003, Everton brought in veteran Nigel Martyn.

On 13 September, Wright went off injured 26 minutes into an eventual 2–2 draw against Newcastle United.

He faced knee surgery and missed the remainder of the season.

During the 2005–06 season, Martyn had a spell out with injury, but Wright injured himself soon after while warming up for a match against Chelsea on 8 February 2006; a large sign instructed players to use temporary goals for their warm-up but he ignored the warning and fell on the sign, injuring his ankle.

Despite Martyn's retirement, Wright remained second in the pecking order for the 2006–07 season behind new arrival Tim Howard.

He played 71 games in total for Everton, but only two in his last campaign.

Wright was released by Everton at the end of the 2006–07 season, and signed for West Ham United on 4 July 2007.

Second-choice to Robert Green, he made his Hammers debut on 28 August in a 2–1 win at Bristol Rovers in the second round of the League Cup.

On 18 April, the loan was extended to the end of the 2007–08 season, he totalled seven appearances for the Saints.

On 20 March 2008, having only played two further League Cup games for West Ham he joined Southampton of the Championship on a month's loan as their first three goalkeepers were all unavailable through injury.

Two days later, he made his debut in a goalless home draw with Coventry City.

After a short spell at Sheffield United, a third stint at Ipswich and a brief time at Preston North End, he joined Premier League champions Manchester City on a free transfer in 2012.

After four years at City, during which he did not play at all, he announced his retirement in May 2016.

He remained with City as a coach under new manager Pep Guardiola.