Kieran Richardson

On 16 July 2007, Richardson joined Sunderland for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in the region of £5.5 million. [ 20 ] He signed a four-year contract with Sunderland, [ 21 ] under the management of his former United captain Roy Keane . [ 22 ] After an indifferent start, it was discovered that he had a stress fracture of the spine. This led to him being out of action for almost four months. [ 23 ] He scored his first goal for Sunderland on 29 December 2007 against Bolton Wanderers . [ 24 ] Richardson scored two goals in the 2–0 win against Portsmouth at the Stadium of Light on 13 January 2008, also striking the bar to miss out on his hat-trick . [ 25 ] He then suffered a hamstring injury in training; this injury recurred in Sunderland's 3–0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. [ citation needed ] On 23 August 2008, Richardson scored against Tottenham Hotspur in the 56th minute, in a 2–1 win at White Hart Lane . [ citation needed ] Richardson took a free kick that hit the post three times at Fulham on 18 October, and later had another free kick disallowed as Pascal Chimbonda was adjudged to be pushing in the wall. [ 26 ] On 25 October 2008, Richardson scored the winning goal in the Tyne–Wear derby , with a free kick. [ 27 ] Richardson attracted interest from Bolton Wanderers in the 2009 January transfer window, but manager Ricky Sbragia insisted that he was not for sale. [ 28 ] Richardson scored his first goal of 2009–10 with an equaliser against West Ham United, which ended 2–2. [ 29 ] Richardson was used in several positions throughout the season, whilst predominantly featuring in central midfield he also played at left back – his performances there led to many touting him as a surprise World Cup inclusion. [ 30 ] In the buildup to 2010–11 , Richardson committed his future to the club by signing a new three-year contract. [ 31 ] Soon after, he became first-choice left back at the club citing Brazilian full-back Maicon as inspiration for taking up his new position, sa — Wikipedia