1. Richard Wright
1. Richard Wright |
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| England Target Wrighty
says: "The England games might come too soon but there is no way
I am ruling them out at the moment. My sights are set for the first game
of the season for Everton and getting myself back in contention for England."
England's next game is at Wrighty's old ground, Portman Rd., Ipswich.
(20/06/03) Kevin Ratcliffe does! Hearing about the accident he wasn't surprised. The Rat says: "The reason it's always goalkeepers is obvious. They're all thick!" SO THERE YER GO! (19/06/03) Hoping To Be Back For 1st Game Wrighty says: "I came back from holiday and I was sorting my suitcases out in the garage when I just fell awkwardly off the ladder and landed on my shoulder. I am pretty confident that I can get myself back quickly. I spoke to the specialist and he was very positive and my aim at the moment is to be back for the first game of the season. Everything had been going great during the close season. I had the operation on my knee and had been working in the gym and that was feeling great. I think the first thing I did as I slipped was make sure I had got my leg out the way, leaving my shoulder to take the impact. But I am pretty confident that with the way things have settled down that I will be fighting for my place at the start of the season. (18/06/03) Out For The Start of The Season Wrighty will miss most of the pre-season programme, as his injury will take up to eight weeks to heal. Richard (Lofty) Wright fell out of his loft while putting his scrap books up there. Baz Rathbone says: "The injury doesn't need surgery, but he could be out for up to 8 weeks which means he'll miss most, if not all, pre season training." Everton goalies eh! They make you cry. Only last season Steve Simonsen broke his toe kicking a coffee table. (17/06/03) Richard Wright paid a visit to A&E at Ipswich hospital on Friday following an accident at his parents home, he received treatment for a shoulder injury. Early reports that he dropped a plate whilst drying the dishes have been dismissed, a spokesperson said, 'He had a minor injury, which he received treatment for, and was due to return home'.(15/06/03) It is now confirmed that having had his anthrothingy Big Dicky will not require surgery, the bad bits (known as redshite) have been sucked out and destroyed - if only it were that easy! Wrighty now needs to get some sun on the scar and remove the teflon from his gloves in time for the new season. We feel that this will be the one for Tricky Dicky, he is now well settled in, knows the score from Moyesy & the England No.1 shirt beckons as an interim reward. Get well soon & enjoy the summer, that Villa save is etched!! (28/05/03) Wrighty Fit for Pre-season Wrighty has finally sorted his knee problem. Lets hope this will cure his odd ball drop, too. Mick Rathbone says: "Richard has had a problem with his knee for several months now when he's been kicking the ball. He managed to get through the season okay by just cutting down on the amount of kicking he was doing in training but the day after the season finished he had an arthroscopy (for the anoraks: is when a surgeon looks inside the knee joint with a mini TV camera, & repairs the injury rather than have full surgery.) which hopefully will solve the problem. He's been doing some light training since and he'll fine for pre-season." Well in Mick! (24/05/03) No
England Place Wrighty has been left out of the England squad to face South Africa, Serbia-Montenegro and Slovakia. He hasn't been in the best of form, although he had a great game against United yesterday. The thing that is puzzling is he's been replaced by basin headed Ian Walker from Leicester. Enjoy yer hols, Wrighty. (12/05/03) Explanation Richard has given his version of the second own goal against Fulham. From the telly it was difficult to see if Boa Morte had handled it or not, but Wrighty has blamed Boa Morte role in the oggie. Wrighty said:“We’ve looked at it again on TV and Thomas Gravesen has put his foot out, but Boa Morte has definitely held his hand out.Whether he has pulled it away at the last minute, we don’t know.It’s very frustrating, especially as it seems to have made the ball move. As a goalkeeper you are waiting for the ball to come in and when it clips someone else it’s very frustrating. “Technically, if a ball is coming straight into that situation then as a goalkeeper you would go at it differently, but because I have gone in with my hands high expecting it to come in one position it is difficult to adjust from just three yards away.(05/05/03) Wrighty In England Squad Wrighty
has kept his place in the England squad, along with The
Duke. After a dodgy start with us, Wrighty has settled down in the
Everton goal. The England games are the Euro 2004 qualifiers against Liechtenstein
and Turkey. Move To Everton Has Paid Off Wrighty thinks if he was still at Arsenal he would not have had his England call. Wrighty says: “I came to Goodison to get myself back in the spotlight and playing well again. I am absolutely delighted because that is one of the reasons why I came to Everton Football Club. I am just glad that I have been given the opportunity and if I can perform well who knows what might happen during the week.” (10/02/03) In The Squad Sven seen enough today & left after 36mins of the second half. But Wrighty had pulled off a string of saves, & is in the England squad. Lets hope he plays. (08/02/03) Call Up? He has got to be in with a shout for an England call up .He has kept more clean sheets than any other England goalie. If Jessie James gets in before him I'll show my arse in Wetherspoons window after the Southampton game. Richard
said:"England is something I have always targeted and I know
if I play well at a club like Everton, I will be in the England manager's
thoughts and the opportunity will come" (08/02/03) No Op for Wrighty - Yet! There will be no operation on Richard Wright's knee just yet, he is hoping to last out until the end of the season before he goes under the knife. This could be a key time for Wrighty for both club and country with the shite's No. 22 now out for the season, the door of opportunity has opened for him. He needs to remember those words his Dad drummed into him 'Open the door for me Richard, but don't close the door on me Dick!' Let's hope he goes on to be the England No.1.(28/01/03) Scan for Keeper Wrighy is a doubt for the Sunderland game. Bas Rathbone says: “Richard had trained on the Friday and the Saturday and was okay but he then picked up the injury on the pitch at Tottenham. He will have a scan today and at the present moment we are unsure as to whether or not he’ll be ready for Sunderland.” (14/01/03) Still Improving The save he from Short's header in the last minute was breathtaking. I still think I dribbled a bit when he tipped that over.David Moyes believes Wrighty has got more work to do before he is the finished article. But he is getting there. Moyesy said:He's showing signs of the quality he possessed when he was being touted a couple of years ago.I've got to say I'm always hard on him because I think he should be better than he is. But he is working really hard to reinstate his reputation to where it should be. I've a saying: 'Don't go on stage if you've not got an act' and at the moment we need to make sure when Richard Wright goes on stage - and it will come again, although it might not be this season - he is ready to perform. But he's at a team who are fourth top in the league, he's English and a goalkeeper, so he cannot be too far away from it." England's Number 1 After
receiving the Blue Kipper Star
Man for his performance against Newcastle,
David Unsworth was saying he's that good, he should be in the England
squad. Stats Saturday was Richard's seventh clean sheet out of 11 games in an Everton Jersey. Sorry. How good is that. But he insists that all down to the team and not just him. Richard said: "As far as I am concerned a clean sheet is fantastic, but the whole team takes the credit because we defend as a team and we attack as a team. I can't take too much credit, even though the clean sheets look good next to my stats. It's about the whole team. Everyone deserves recognition. If we keep giving the fans what they want to see we will have great days here again, I'm sure."(25/11/02) Back Spasm Wrighty showed that he is a tough cookie. He got injured in the warm-up but he wanted to play. Moyesy said:" Richard hurt his back in the warm-up and it was touch and go whether he could play. But he was determined to carry on." (24/11/02) Englands, Englands No1 We will all be singing the above chant on Saturday and Moyesy has already started. But he isn't too unhappy that he hasn't been included in the latest England get together. Moyesy said: "I think Richard should have been called up for the England squad's get-together this week. That said, I am not desperately unhappy about that because when I do hand him over to England I want to make sure they are getting a keeper who is as good as anything there is in the country. Richard is going to get even better. The number of clean sheets he's kept recently are a fantastic achievement for him.(20/11/02) I Can Be Your Hero Wrighty pulled off 2 top saves in the penatl shoot to put us in the next round and Alan Irvine knew he was going to do it. Happy Birthday Richard Alan said: “I certainly felt that Richard would save at least one because he has a fabulous record in terms of saving penalties. I just felt that even when David missed the first one that we were still in it as long as we didn’t miss another one. “It was great birthday present for Richard. He had a bit of a mixed night really, making one or two mistakes but he was there for us when we really needed him.”(07/11/02) Will It Be Wrighty? His 2nd clean sheet on the bounce. Could he take over from My Little Pony in goal for England? After his recent performances why not. Moyesy
said"He has gone about his job quietly and I always said he would
take time to settle in here at Everton. He is only 24. You wonder what
he will be like when he is 27. I think Richard will be right up there
among the keepers able to step in when David Seaman does retire."(04/11/02) All Clear Our new physio Baz Rathbone wanted another set of X-Rays on Richards right hand. Thankfully the results are no broken bones so Wrighty should be fit for the Southampton game a week on Saturday.(05/09/02) From Villian to Hero One week you're down the next your up. Well thats what has happened to our goalie. Richard put things right with a top draw performance against The Black Cats. Richard said:“Fortunately, I guessed right and got a good top hand to it. And if it had gone in after that I would have been very disappointed, but it dropped right back into my arms. I’ve got mixed emotions because there was a mistake by me within the game, but you’ve got to take the positives rather than the negatives and the pleasing thing today was that I showed what I can do." “It was difficult at times, with all the high balls in the air, and I got an early whack on both my arms.But today was a good team performance and we played exceptionally well.” Moysey said: "Fortune favours the brave sometimes with Richard. Last week he was really down and disappointed with his performance, but the way he worked in training to try to put it right, and when you've got somebody like that who wants to get better, he's always got a chance. I think he earned his luck, I think everybody would say that, and it was a fabulous save as well."(26/08/02) It Was My Fault Wrighty has blamed himself for the 2nd goal but has also praised the fans and his team mates for grabbing an equaliser. Richard said: “Every goalkeeper makes mistakes, I’m very, very disappointed that I let people down and I’ve made a mistake. It was an elementary mistake to be honest. From my high standards, that’s not good enough. I’m not going to hide away from anything, I’ve made a mistake, I’ve let the lads down, I’ve let the fans down. I’ll work hard to put things right and I won’t do that too often, don’t worry about that.” “It was a fantastic atmosphere. I thought the fans were fantastic. To be fair to the lads, it shows what a good bunch of lads we’ve got here and a good character we’ve got here to come back and actually get a goal back." Moysey said: "In Richard's case it will take a bit of time.He should have saved both of the goals. It is harsh but that is the way we do things here. We deal with things like that and there is no hidden agenda. Obviously, that kind of thing cannot continue but he was the first to admit he was in the wrong." "He was great
at Ipswich and had an up and down year at Arsenal. But let's be fair,
he played for a team that won the Double and worked with another great
keeper, so it must have helped him. Taking the drop from Arsenal to Everton
would have dented his confidence but he is still very young for a keeper.He
is only 24 and David Seaman is 38, but we are sure he will progress. I
have told him that." (19/08/02)
Richard Wright Signs Richard Wright officially put pen to paper today. He spoke about the reasons he has come to Everton. “The main thing was that I want to play first team football and the opportunity to come to Everton was too good to pass, though it was obviously difficult leaving a club like Arsenal," “I spoke to the manager and liked what he had to say and met up with Mr. Kenwright as well and everything about the club – the way they’re looking to move into the new ground and the training ground. "They’re looking to take steps forward and the players that they’ve brought in recently made my mind up that I want to join Everton." “The people who I’ve met have been very welcoming so far and I met a few people when I came to speak the manager and the training complex and everyone I’ve met so far seems very, very good. I can’t wait to meet the fans and show them what I can do as well. Good Luck Richard !!! (25/07/02) England International, Richard Wright has said 'Yes' to Everton. He will sign tomorrow, & will make his debut in Scotland later on in the week. Blue Kipper would like to say thanks to Bill Kenwright & his board, for getting the goalie Moyesy wanted. We are quite quick at having ago, when the fans feel they have a grievance. We will continue to do that. But we are WILL give a pat on the back when it's warranted. This is such a time. Brown Splits all round. Chief executive Michael Dunford says: "We're delighted that Richard has agreed to join. And when everything is complete, he will travel to Scotland to join up with the first team squad." Wrighy's Agent, Barnett said: "It was a big decision for Richard. He had to weigh up all the pros and cons. He loved Arsenal and they liked him. We first spoke to Everton quite a while ago and it was just a matter of Richard weighing up his career and once he had decided, it was fine. He thought if he leaves it another year, that he might be too far behind other goalkeepers and he did not want to give them the advantage. For him it was not about money or anything. It was purely about playing football and hopefully now he will go on to become the England goalkeeper." Jogger says: "We've
got the Look-A-Likes already." Moyesy says:
“It’s fantastic news I feel. I think it is a great signing, and one we
have been looking for. I believe Richard will become a future England
goalkeeper, he has already been involved in the set-up and I think with
him playing regularly for Everton that will push his claims. I hope the
supporters feel that we are moving in the right direction. {Fuckin
Right We Do} It has been a long struggle getting in a goalkeeper,
but I really do feel in Richard Wright, and at the price we have got him,
that it is beneficial for us. He is a young goalkeeper and he’ll have
a lot to do and a lot to learn but I have real high hopes and I will be
disappointed if he doesn’t become an England goalkeeper in the very near
future. When you look back he was one of the best in the Premiership when
Ipswich were in the top division. Then he went to Arsenal and he did very
well. He had a couple of slip-ups in a Champions’ League game but that
happens with young goalkeepers at times and I expect him to get better
and better. It is a big move for him because you have to remember that
at the present time Arsenal are in a far healthier position than Everton
Football Club are. Having to have to decide, no, I don’t want to be a
number two, I want to be a number one I think has been a big decision.
He has also had to take a big wage dock to come here, so that tells you
about his ambition, at a time in football when you hear so much about
players picking up the money. But I can tell you Richard is coming here
to be a goalkeeper. In the conversations and meetings I have had with
him he has shown me great desire to do that and I am looking forward to
starting work with him.” (24/07/02) |
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