Tottenham and Wolves lead tributes to former defender Richards
Former Tottenham and Wolves defender Dean Richards has died after a long-term illness, it was announced today. He was 36.
Richards, who also played for Bradford and Southampton, was ****** to retire from the game in March 2005 after suffering from dizzy spells and headaches while at White Hart Lane.
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Tragic: Dean Richards saw his career at Tottenham cut short by dizzy spells
A statement on the Wolves website read: "Everyone at Wolves was saddened to hear of the death of Dean Richards, who ****** away this morning at the age of 36 after a long-term battle with serious illness."
The statement continued: "Wolves would like to take this opportunity to send their condolences to the former Molineux defender's ****** and friends."
The Black Country club announced they were planning a tribute to Richards ahead of next Sunday's game with Spurs at Molineux.
Bradford-born Richards started his career with his hometown club where he made more than 80 appearances.
The club said today on
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"The club are truly devastated to hear of the death of former Bradford City fans' favourite Dean Richards."
From west Yorkshire, Richards moved to Wolves in 1995 where he made 145 appearances in a four-year spell and became a crowd favourite.
He subsequently moved on to Southampton who were then in the top flight where he spent two years before switching to White Hart Lane for £8.1million, despite the player not having earned any senior international caps for England.
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Crowd favourite: Richards (right) in action for Wolves against Tottenham
Richards, who played four times at under-21 level, spent four years in north London although his time there was dogged by injury.
Richards was ****** to give up the game in March 2005 after suffering dizzy spells and headaches which were reportedly initially diagnosed as an inner ear infection.
Richards made almost 350 appearances in a career spanning 13 years before his retirement and returned to the game in August 2007 as a youth team coach at Bradford.
A statement on the Tottenham website,
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, read: 'Everyone at Tottenham Hotspur was saddened to hear of the death of our former player Dean Richards, who ****** away this morning at the age of 36 after a long-term battle with serious illness.'
It continued: 'There will be a tribute paid to the defender ahead of our fixture next Sunday at Molineux against his former club Wolves.
'We extend our sincere condolences to the ****** of Dean Richards at this very sad time.'
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