Sam Ricketts

Samuel Derek Ricketts (born 11 October 1981) is a professional football manager and former player who is the manager of League One club Shrewsbury Town. His favoured position was at full back, where he was able to play on the left or right side. He was also able to play in the centre of defence.

Sam Ricketts
Ricketts playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2014
Personal information
Full name Samuel Derek Ricketts[1]
Date of birth (1981-10-11) 11 October 1981[1]
Place of birth Aylesbury, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Playing position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Shrewsbury Town (manager)
Youth career
0000–2000 Oxford United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2003 Oxford United 45 (1)
2002–2003 → Nuneaton Borough (loan) 11 (1)
2003–2004 Telford United 41 (4)
2004–2006 Swansea City 86 (1)
2006–2009 Hull City 113 (1)
2009–2013 Bolton Wanderers 96 (1)
2013–2015 Wolverhampton Wanderers 48 (2)
2015 → Swindon Town (loan) 9 (0)
2015–2016 Coventry City 46 (1)
Total 495 (12)
National team
2003–2004 England C 4 (1)
2005–2014 Wales 52 (0)
Teams managed
2018 Wrexham
2018– Shrewsbury Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He played over 100 games for Swansea City before playing Premier League football for both Hull City and Bolton Wanderers. He left Bolton in 2013 and captained Wolverhampton Wanderers to the League One title with a record points total. He played for Wales at international level.

Early life

Ricketts was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.[3] His family is highly involved in equestrianism. His father is the 1978 world showjumping champion Derek Ricketts, later performance manager of the UK showjumping team from 2002 to 2010,[4] and his uncle is the former National Hunt champion jockey John Francome. As a teenager, Ricketts himself was a keen rider until prioritising football.[5]

Club career

Early career

Ricketts began his career at Oxford United, making his first team debut on 8 October 2000 in a 2–1 Second Division defeat at rivals Swindon Town.[6] He played 48 total games and scored once, in a 2–0 home win over Southend United on 22 September 2001.[7]

In 2002 he was loaned to Nuneaton Borough of the Football Conference. On 26 December, he was sent off in the 25th minute of a 2–1 home loss to Burton Albion for a foul on John Burns.[8] In the last of his 11 games for Nuneaton, he scored the equaliser in a 1–1 home draw with leaders Yeovil Town on 25 January 2003.[9]

He was released from his professional contract to sign for Conference side Telford United in the summer of 2003. His form for Telford led him to be selected for the England non-League XI that season. On 6 April 2004, he scored the only goal of a win against Shropshire rivals Shrewsbury Town at the New Bucks Head.[10]

Swansea City

Telford United went out of business at the end of the 2003–04 season, meaning Ricketts' contract was annulled. Swansea manager Kenny Jackett offered him a return to league football though, and he joined Swansea City on a two-year deal on 27 May 2004.[11]

He helped the team to promotion from League Two in his first season, during which he was selected in the division's PFA Team of the Year.[12] At the end of the campaign he was rewarded for his performances with a new improved contract.[13] His second season saw the team reach the League One Play-off Final, but Ricketts was part of the team that lost on penalties to Barnsley.[14]

Hull City
Ricketts playing for Hull City in 2009

After 103 appearances in total for Swansea, Ricketts moved to Championship club Hull City on 14 July 2006 on a three-year contract. Hull triggered his release clause by paying £300,000.[15] He started every minute of Hull's first ten games but sustained a broken cheekbone in the tenth game – a win against Hartlepool United – that required an operation, thereby ruling him out for several weeks.[16] He made 45 appearances during the season, and scored his only goal for Hull on 31 March 2007, in a 4–0 home win over Southend United.[17]

The defender was part of the Hull team that won promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club's history at the end of the 2007–08 season; he played in their Championship play-off final victory over Bristol City.[18] Hull manager Phil Brown had stated in advance of this that he wanted to extend Ricketts' contract due to his performances.[19]

Ricketts made 29 league appearances for the Tigers in their inaugural top-flight campaign, as they narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the season.[20] Following this, he entered into talks regarding a new deal with the club, but had been linked to other Premier League clubs.[21]

Bolton Wanderers

On 25 July 2009, fellow Premier League club Bolton Wanderers confirmed Ricketts had signed a three-year deal with them for an undisclosed fee.[22] He made his debut in a 0–1 defeat to Sunderland on 15 August and went on to play in every defensive position for the club.

In February 2011 he suffered a snapped Achilles tendon during an FA Cup replay against Wigan Athletic, which put him out of first team contention until the end of the year.[23] He made his return on New Year's Eve 2011, where he also scored his first Bolton goal, in a 1–1 draw against his future club Wolverhampton Wanderers.[24] Ricketts' contract expired at the end of the 2011–12 season but, despite Bolton being relegated from the Premier League, he signed a new two-year deal with the club in the summer of 2012.[25] On 4 July 2013, after a season in which the team failed to make an instant return to the top flight, Bolton confirmed that his contract had been cancelled by mutual agreement.[26]

He later expressed his disappointment at leaving Bolton Wanderers.[27]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On the same day as his exit from Bolton, Ricketts joined Wolverhampton Wanderers of League One as a free agent in a two-year deal, reuniting with his former Swansea manager Kenny Jackett.[28] Having been appointed club captain, he made his debut on 3 August 2013 in a goalless draw at Preston North End.[29] Ricketts was a regular member of the Wolves team that won the League One title that season with a record 103 points.[30] He scored his first goal for the club in a 6–4 win against Rotherham United on 18 April 2014.[31]

Back in the Championship, Ricketts seldom featured for Wolves, despite remaining club captain, and in January 2015 was made available for loan.[32] Soon after he took on a coaching role at the club,[33] but on 21 March 2015, left to join League One promotion contenders Swindon Town on loan for the remainder of the season.[34] He helped the club to the play-off final, scoring an equaliser in the semi-final at Sheffield United,[35] but the Robins lost the Wembley final 0–4 to Preston, in which Ricketts came on as an early substitute.[36]

On 17 June 2015 it was announced that his contract with Wolves will not be renewed.[37]

Coventry City

Ricketts signed for Coventry City on 6 July 2015 signing a one-year deal with the club.[38] In July 2016 his contract was extended until the end of the 2016–17 season.[39] On 16 November 2016, he was forced to retire from football because of a knee injury.[40]

International career

Although born in England, Ricketts was eligible for the Wales national football team due to a Welsh grandmother.[41] He made his international debut for Wales on 9 February 2005 in a friendly against Hungary that was John Toshack's first game in charge after his return as manager.[42] On 6 September 2013, he reached the milestone of 50 caps in a 2–1 loss away to Macedonia in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification.[43]

Managerial career

Wrexham

Ricketts was appointed as the manager of National League club Wrexham on 2 May 2018, being given a three-year contract.[44] The team won 1–0 at Dover Athletic on his managerial debut on 4 August.[45]

On 1 December 2018 he was told to stay away from Wrexham's FA Cup second round match against Newport County amid speculation he was poised to be appointed manager of League One side Shrewsbury Town, a local rival.[46] Wrexham were fourth in the table when he left.[47]

Shrewsbury Town
Ricketts managing Shrewsbury in September 2019

On 3 December 2018, Ricketts was appointed manager of Shrewsbury on a 2​1⁄2-year contract, leaving a Wrexham side fourth in the table.[47] Two days later in his first match, Shrewsbury won 2–1 against Walsall to reach the third round of the EFL Trophy; he was the first manager to win on his Shrewsbury debut since Graham Turner in 2010.[48] He brought in eight players in the January 2019 transfer window including Tyrese Campbell, Ro-Shaun Williams and Scott Golbourne.[49] In early 2019, Ricketts lead the club to the fourth round of the FA Cup. The club's cup run ended at the hands of rivals, and one of Ricketts' former clubs, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Town were 2–0 up in the original tie at New Meadow with just under 20 minutes to play, but late goals from Raúl Jiménez and Matt Doherty took the tie to a replay at Molineux.[50] Ricketts' Shrewsbury side went 1–2 up in the replay, only to eventually lose 3–2.[51] A 1–1 draw away at Coventry City on 28 April mathematically secured League One survival for Ricketts and the club.[52]

In the summer of 2019, Ricketts made more notable signings to strengthen the squad for the upcoming 2019–20 season, bringing in players such as Jason Cummings, Sean Goss, Donald Love, Ethan Ebanks-Landell and Aaron Pierre. Ricketts started the season with a 1–0 win at home to Portsmouth on 4 August, with loanee Ryan Giles scoring the goal.[53] During the 2019–20 season, Ricketts lead the club to the fourth round of the FA Cup for the second time during his management spell, defeating Bradford City, Mansfield Town and Bristol City along the way. The fourth round would see Ricketts and his Shrewsbury side host Premier League leaders and European and World champions Liverpool, where Shrewsbury came from 0–2 down to draw 2–2 with 2 goals from substitute Jason Cummings, forcing a replay at Anfield.[54] In the replay, Shrewsbury fell short after a Shaun Whalley goal was disallowed by VAR for offside and an own goal from Ro-Shaun Williams saw the hosts win 1–0.[55] This cup run brought repercussions, however, as Ricketts and the club went 10 league games without a win between December 2019 and February 2020. A 0–2 home defeat to Accrington Stanley on 11 February 2020[56] followed by another 2–0 defeat away at Portsmouth on 15 February[57] put Ricketts' job under severe pressure. The winless run ended a week later on 22 February after a 1–0 win at home to Doncaster Rovers.[58]

Career statistics

As a player

Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Oxford United 2000–01[59] Second Division14000001[lower-alpha 1]0150
2001–02[60] Third Division29100101[lower-alpha 1]0311
2002–03[61] Third Division2000000020
Total 451001020481
Nuneaton Borough (loan) 2002–03[61] Football Conference111000000111
Telford United 2003–04[62] Football Conference41451005[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]1516
Swansea City 2004–05[63] League Two42050102[lower-alpha 1]1501
2005–06[64] League One44110109[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 3]1552
Total 86160201121053
Hull City 2006–07[65] Championship401203000451
2007–08[66] Championship44000203[lower-alpha 4]0490
2008–09[20] Premier League290600000350
Total 11318050301291
Bolton Wanderers 2009–10[67] Premier League270303000330
2010–11[68] Premier League170302000220
2011–12[69] Premier League201400000241
2012–13[70] Championship320200000340
Total 96112050001131
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2013–14[71] League One442200000462
2014–15[72] Championship4000110051
Total 482201000512
Swindon Town (loan) 2014–15[72] League One9000002[lower-alpha 5]1111
Coventry City 2015–16[73] League One43110101[lower-alpha 1]0461
2016–17[74] League One3000100040
Total 461102010501
Career total 4951234116124456918
  1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. Appearances in FA Trophy
  3. Appearances in 2006 Football League play-offs
  4. Appearances in 2008 Football League play-offs
  5. Appearances in 2015 Football League play-offs

International
Wales[75]
YearAppsGoals
200590
200650
2007110
200870
200950
201040
201110
201240
201350
201410
Total520

As a manager
As of match played 7 March 2020[76]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
PWDLWin %
Wrexham[lower-alpha 1] 2 May 2018 3 December 2018 23 13 7 3 056.5
Shrewsbury Town 3 December 2018 Present 78 23 28 27 029.5
Total 101 36 35 30 035.6
  1. Soccerbase's total includes the FA Cup match against Newport County that Wrexham told him to stay away from.

Honours

As a player

Swansea City

Hull City

  • Football League Championship play-offs: 2008[18]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Individual

As a manager

References
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  3. "Sam Ricketts". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  4. Horse and Hound, Report of dismissal, Published 13 January 2010
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