Richard Dryden

Richard Andrew Dryden (born 14 June 1969) is an English former professional footballer turned manager and coach.

Playing career

Born in Stroud, Gloucestershire, Dryden started his career as a trainee with Bristol Rovers, joining them as a professional on 14 July 1987. He then joined Exeter City on loan on 22 September 1988 before signing permanently on 8 March 1989 for a fee of £10,000, where he first played under manager Terry Cooper. During Dryden's time at Exeter, he made a total of 92 appearances and also spent time on loan with Manchester City. While at Exeter, he played a major part in their 1989–90 Fourth Division title triumph. Notts County was the next stop for Dryden, joining on 9 August 1991 for a fee of £250,000. He moved on to Birmingham City for £165,000 on 19 March 1993, where he was re-united with Terry Cooper. After Birmingham, Dryden moved on 16 December 1994 to Bristol City for a fee of £140,000, the rivals of his first club, Bristol Rovers.

On the recommendation of Terry Cooper, now Southampton's chief scout, Dryden moved to Southampton on 6 August 1996 for £150,000. He made his debut on 18 August 1996 at home to Chelsea and successfully marked Gianluca Vialli out of the game in a 0–0 draw. Although he featured regularly in the first team under manager Graeme Souness in 1996–97 (making 29 league appearances), the remainder of his time at The Dell was difficult as Southampton had 5 managers during the course of his 5 seasons with the club. He played a total of 54 games for the FA Premier League side, scoring 4 goals in all competitions. Three of these goals came in Southampton's run in the 1996–97 League Cup. This included a goal against Peterborough United and two against Oxford United; one in the original tie and another in the replay. His only other goal for Southampton came against Nottingham Forest in the league.