Born in the summer of ’69 (but nothing to do with Bryan Adams), 46-year-old Barry Richardson rolled back the years on Saturday, making a surprise appearance in League Two for Wycombe against Plymouth.
The Chairboys’ goalkeeping coach had only recently agreed to combine that job with the role of reserve ‘keeper, after Matt Ingram moved on to QPR. However, just eight days after accepting his dual-role, Richardson was called into action for the first-team after Alex Lynch picked up an injury early on in his side’s league clash away to Plymouth.
The Black Box dance classic Ride On Time was number one when Richardson made his senior debut for Scarborough back in 1989, but despite his advancing years, the ‘keeper impressed in his first league appearance since 2005 (when he broke his leg v Doncaster). Indeed, he would go on to keep a clean sheet and ultimately help his side to a hard-fought 1-0 win against the Pilgrims. After his successful surprise outing, Richardson said:
It was ten years ago and I broke my leg in that game (v Doncaster) and was out for 12 months. I was a player coach. That (appearing against Plymouth) has probably got rid of a few demons.
Not bad for a player whose pre-match warm-up included a cup of tea…
How many other @SkyBetLeague2 players warmed up with a cuppa before kick-off? 46-year-old coach @bazricho1 is on. pic.twitter.com/LypUhHM2sY
— Wycombe Wanderers FC (@wwfcofficial) January 30, 2016
Bring back Peter Shilton for EURO 2016, I say!