At the age of 16 in 1963, he was offered a professional contract with Leyton Orient F.C., but decided to emigrate to Australia, to play with the Latrobe Soccer Club, based in Brisbane.
[2] Richards continued playing for the club, up to and including the first year of the National Soccer League in 1977.
In 1979 Richards played five NSL matches for Sydney club APIA Leichhardt before becoming coach of the team in May.
Richards has the dubious honour of being the first Australian to be sent off in a World Cup match, getting his marching orders in Australia's third and final group game against Chile in 1974.
Converted into US dollars, she was the highest earning dog in the world at the time, just behind ‘Mo Kick’ from the USA.