Richie Wellens


Richard Paul Wellens is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of club Swindon Town.
Wellens began his career at Manchester United before signing for Blackpool in 2000, where he went on to win promotion from League Two via the playoffs in 2001. In 2005, he left them to move to Lancashire rivals Oldham Athletic where he made 87 appearances in two seasons at the club. After his spell at Oldham, Wellens made his successful move to Doncaster Rovers in the summer of 2007 where he became an instant fans' favorite, helping the club rise into the Championship for the first time in 50 years. His time at Doncaster came to an end in 2009 after he had helped the club to consolidate their Championship position as he moved to Leicester City. In his time in the Midlands, Wellens made 129 appearances, scoring four goals, and winning the club's Player of the Year in 2011. After a short loan spell with Ipswich Town, Wellens rejoined Doncaster in 2013. He managed Oldham Athletic from September 2017 to June 2018.

Club career

Manchester United

Born in Manchester, Wellens started his career at Manchester United, playing alongside the likes of Wes Brown and John O'Shea. His only first team appearance for the club was as a substitute in a 3–0 League Cup defeat to Aston Villa on 13 October 1999.

Blackpool

Frustrated at the lack of opportunities at Manchester United, he moved to Blackpool in March 2000. Wellens became an instant first team regular at the club and before long he was a fan's favourite. While at the club he helped them win promotion via winning the 2001 Football League Third Division play-off Final which he played in at the Millennium Stadium. He would return to win at the Cardiff stadium two more times with Blackpool, both with the Football League Trophy; first in 2002 after scoring a crucial opening goal against Huddersfield Town in the first leg of the North Area Final, and again in 2004, the same season he was placed in the 2003–04 Football League Second Division PFA Team of the Year. He made 226 appearances with Blackpool before his move in 2005 to Oldham Athletic.

Oldham Athletic

In 2005, he left Blackpool for his local side Oldham Athletic, with Scott Vernon going the other way. This was done to bypass the 50% sell-on clause that Manchester United had added during Wellens' transfer to the Seasiders. In summer 2007, after turning down an improved contract offered by Oldham, he signed a two-year contract with fellow League One side Doncaster Rovers. Wellens made the 2004–05, 2006–07 and 2007–08 League One PFA Team of the Year. Overall, he made 101 appearances and scored 8 times for Oldham.

Doncaster Rovers

Wellens was a member of the Doncaster side that gained promotion to the Championship in 2007–08. His midfield performances brought him several individual awards, several key goals and helped the team gain promotion. His first competitive goal for Doncaster was in August 2007 in the Football League Cup with the second strike in a 4–1 victory over Lincoln City; however, this wasn't the first time he had hit the back of the net for Doncaster: in his very first appearance in a Donny shirt, Wellens chipped the ball over the opposition goalkeeper and into the net from 40 yards in a pre-season friendly against non-league Retford United. Wellens made 97 appearances, scoring 10 times, during his spell with Doncaster prior to his £1,000,000 move to Leicester City.

Leicester City

On 7 July 2009, Wellens joined Leicester City for a potential fee of £1.2 million, signing a three-year contract. Their biggest signing of the summer, Wellens was named by the BBC Sport as the club's key player for the 2009–10 season. He made his debut in a 2–1 win over Swansea City on 8 August 2009, scoring his first goal in a 2–0 win over Middlesbrough on 2 May 2010. Wellens featured in all but three matches for Leicester in The Championship that season. He played a crucial role in Nigel Pearson's team that reached the play-offs – only to lose to Cardiff City away in Wales.
In his second season at the club, Wellens continued to play in midfield under the reign of both Paulo Sousa and Sven-Göran Eriksson. He was named Championship Player of the Month for January, and won the club's player of the year award on 3 May 2011.
During the 2011–12 season, Wellens ended the season, back under the returning Nigel Pearson, with 46 appearances in all competitions and captaining the side 19 times.
On 4 October it was confirmed that Wellens had signed a one-month loan deal with Ipswich Town.
On 23 July 2013 Wellens left Leicester City by mutual consent, having played a total of 149 games and scoring 6 goals over his four seasons with them.

Return to Doncaster Rovers

On 26 July Wellens played for Doncaster Rovers in the first half of their pre-season friendly against Bradford City, and on 2 August signed a short-term contract with the club. In January 2014 he extended his contract for a further 18 months.

Shrewsbury Town

Wellens joined Shrewsbury Town on a free transfer in January 2016, signing an 18-month contract. Having helped Shrewsbury to safety in League One, making twelve appearances in the second half of the 2015–16 season, he was made available on a free transfer less than five months later with manager Micky Mellon unable to guarantee him first-team football. He left in August after having game time limited.

Salford City

In September 2016, Wellens signed for National League North side Salford City. He left the club in October.

Managerial career

On 4 July 2017, Wellens returned to Oldham Athletic as a first-team coach. Wellens had played for Latics from 2005–2007, he also had a brief loan spell at Latics in the 2015–16 season.
On 25 September 2017, Wellens was put in charge of Oldham Athletic on an caretaker basis. After a five-match unbeaten run, he was appointed manager on a permanent basis on 18 October 2017 on a two-year contract. He was dismissed on 8 June 2018 after Oldham's relegation to League Two.
On 13 November 2018, Wellens was appointed manager of League Two side Swindon Town following the sacking of Phil Brown.
. In the 2019-2020 season, Wellens won the League 2 title with Swindon.

Personal life

Wellens' son, Charlie, is also a footballer who is currently contracted to Manchester United.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Club

Blackpool
Doncaster Rovers
Blackpool
Oldham Athletic
Doncaster Rovers
Leicester City
Swindon Town