{{Short description|English footballer (born 1974)}} {{use British English|date=July 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Richard Edghill | image = | fullname = Richard Arlon Edghill<ref name="Hugman 2008-09">{{cite book | editor-last = Hugman | editor-first = Barry J. | title = The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09 | publisher = Mainstream | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-1-84596-324-8}}</ref> | height = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1974|9|23|df=y}} | birth_place = Oldham, England | currentclub = | clubnumber = | position = Right back | youthyears1 = 1988–1993 | youthclubs1 = Manchester City | years1 = 1993–2002 | years2 = 2000 | years3 = 2002 | years4 = 2003 | years5 = 2003–2005 | years6 = 2005–2007 | years7 = 2007–2008 | clubs1 = Manchester City | clubs2 = → Birmingham City (loan) | clubs3 = Wigan Athletic | clubs4 = Sheffield United | clubs5 = Queens Park Rangers | clubs6 = Bradford City | clubs7 = Macclesfield Town | caps1 = 183 | caps2 = 3 | caps3 = 0 | caps4 = 1 | caps5 = 40 | caps6 = 42 | caps7 = 16 | goals1 = 1 | goals2 = 0 | goals3 = 0 | goals4 = 0 | goals5 = 0 | goals6 = 1 | goals7 = 0 | totalcaps = 285 | totalgoals = 2 | nationalyears1 = 1994 | nationalyears2 = 1994 | nationalteam1 = England B | nationalteam2 = England U21 | nationalcaps1 = 1 | nationalcaps2 = 3 | nationalgoals1 = 0 | nationalgoals2 = 0 | club-update = 7 May 2009 | nationalteam-update = }} '''Richard Arlon Edghill''' (born 23 September 1974) is an English football coach and former professional footballer.
He played as a defender from 1993 to 2008, spending the majority of his career with his home town club, Manchester City. He spent numerous seasons in the Premier League and remained with the club through several relegations, followed by several promotions. He also appeared for Birmingham City in a loan spell and after leaving City in 2002 he moved on to Wigan Athletic. Spells with Sheffield United, Queens Park Rangers and Bradford City followed before ending his career with Macclesfield Town. He was capped by both England U21 and England B.
Following retirement he returned to City as a youth team coach and later became a tour guide at the City of Manchester Stadium.
==Club career==
===Manchester City=== Edghill started his career with Manchester City as a product of the youth scheme which he joined as a schoolboy in 1988.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/manchester-city-save-best-till-last-zjwqvm32vmz |title=Manchester City save best till last |newspaper=The Sunday Times |location=London |first=Greg |last=Struthers |date=22 February 2009 |access-date=27 September 2024 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240927075558/https://www.thetimes.com/article/manchester-city-save-best-till-last-zjwqvm32vmz |archive-date=27 September 2024 }}</ref> His first team debut came in the 1993–94 season in a match against Wimbledon. Edghill was capped by England at under-21 and 'B' level, but his development was hampered by a series of serious injuries, including missing the entire 1996–97 season due to a knee injury. After recovery from this injury Edghill featured regularly in the first team for the next three seasons and also scored in the penalty shootout of the play-off final despite, at this point, never having scored in his professional career. In the 1999–2000 season an injury to team captain Andy Morrison saw Edghill take over as captain and he helped earn City promotion back into the Premiership. The 1999–2000 season also saw Edghill score his first professional goal in a 2–0 win against Blackburn Rovers. By then City's longest serving player, Edghill suffered a poor start to the 2000–01 season including a calamitous own goal in a 2–1 defeat against Coventry City where he was substituted at half-time.<ref name="bbc080201">{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/1159923.stm|title=City list Edghill|date=8 February 2001|publisher=BBC Sport|access-date=4 May 2018}}</ref> His team-mate Nicky Weaver criticized the crowd's treatment of Edghill, who had been withdrawn by manager Joe Royle to spare him further embarrassment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2000/aug/27/match.sport14|title=Edghill's City stock plummets|date=27 August 2000|work=The Guardian|accessdate=4 May 2018}}</ref> Edghill lost his first team place and the captaincy, and he was loaned to Birmingham City for a month.<ref name="bbc080201"/>
Royle purchased both Richard Dunne and Laurent Charvet to replace Edghill. However Manchester City were going through a bad run of form and on 1 January 2001 Edghill returned to the starting line up along with Andy Morrison. However Royle was unsure of his best team hence the choice of personnel was often erratic. After falling out of the first team picture again he was transfer-listed on 8 February 2001.<ref name="bbc080201"/> Manchester City were relegated and Kevin Keegan became manager. Keegan used a 3–5–2 formation with wing backs and Shaun Wright-Phillips was preferred to Edghill at right wing back. Keegan's acquisition of Sun Jihai served to further limit Edghill's opportunities at the club and he was released at the end of the 2001–02 promotion winning campaign, having made a total of 207 appearances for the club in nine years.
===Later career=== Following his release Edghill had short unsuccessful spells with Wigan Athletic and Sheffield United before joining Queens Park Rangers in August 2003. In the 2005 close season Edghill joined Bradford City on a free transfer. At Bradford he scored twice; against Tranmere Rovers in the league<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_2/4210906.stm|title=Tranmere 2-2 Bradford |publisher=BBC |date=9 September 2005 |access-date=7 February 2017}}</ref> and Barnsley in the FA Cup.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/4472864.stm|title=Barnsley 1-1 Bradford |publisher=BBC |date=3 December 2005 |access-date=7 February 2017}}</ref> He was one of ten players released by Bradford in May 2007 following the club's relegation from League One.<ref name="maccs">{{cite web|url=https://www.macclesfield-express.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/edghill-signs-up-2535490|title=Edghill signs up|date=18 July 2007|publisher=Macclesfield Express|accessdate=4 May 2018}}</ref>
Edghill joined Macclesfield Town on 13 July 2007, re-uniting with former City teammate Ian Brightwell, manager of the League Two side.<ref name="maccs"/> He stayed until the end of the season before being released by manager Keith Alexander.
==International career== He was capped by both England U21 and England B. He was also called up to Terry Venables' get-together England squad in April 1995,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-venables-places-emphasis-on-youth-1616294.html |title=Venables places emphasis on youth |work=The Independent |date=19 April 1995 |accessdate=22 October 2014}}</ref> but ultimately was never capped for the senior side.
==Coaching career== Edghill has helped out as a coach at former club Manchester City's soccer school.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1315222_city_old_boys_reunited_to_help_the_kids |title=City old boys united to help the kids |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=26 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100829145759/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1315222_city_old_boys_reunited_to_help_the_kids |archive-date=29 August 2010}}</ref> He has since worked as a tour guide at the City of Manchester Stadium as part of the "Legends Guides".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mancity.com/news/club-news/club-news/archive/2012/july/stadium-and-club-tour |title=A legendary tour |publisher=Manchester City F.C. |date=31 July 2012 |access-date=28 February 2022}}</ref>
==Personal life== His autobiography, ''Once a Blue, Always a Blue,'' was published in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/richard-edghill-fans-qa-7596208|title=Richard Edghill: Fans Q&A|date=11 August 2014|publisher=Manchester Evening News|accessdate=4 May 2018}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} *{{cite web| title=Richard Edghill| publisher=Manchester City Supporters | url=http://www.uit.no/mancity/players/old/edghill-richard.html| accessdate=29 May 2006| url-status=dead| archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130223010201/http://www.uit.no/mancity/players/old/edghill-richard.html| archivedate=23 February 2013| df=dmy-all}}
==External links== *{{Soccerbase}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edghill, Richard}} Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:English men's footballers Category:England men's B international footballers Category:England men's under-21 international footballers Category:Footballers from Oldham Category:Manchester City F.C. players Category:Birmingham City F.C. players Category:Wigan Athletic F.C. players Category:Sheffield United F.C. players Category:Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Category:Bradford City A.F.C. players Category:Macclesfield Town F.C. players Category:Premier League players Category:English Football League players Category:Men's association football full-backs Category:Manchester City F.C. non-playing staff