Richard Alan Naylor (born 28 February 1977) is an English former footballer who played as a centre-back.

He started out his Ipswich career as a robust centre forward making an instant impact in the mid-1990s for the club.

However a number of recurring injuries held Naylor back from achieving his full potential as a striker and he soon found himself behind Alex Mathie, James Scowcroft, David Johnson and later Marcus Stewart in the pecking order at Portman Road.

In 1999–2000, Naylor started in fine form but was once again forced onto the bench, however he would play a key role in Ipswich's decisive play-off final against Barnsley (a club he would later join).

Naylor came on as a first-half substitute for the injured David Johnson, and was widely credited at the time for changing the shape of the match in Ipswich's favour,[citation needed] scoring one and setting up another sending Ipswich back into the Premier League for the first time since 1995.

While Ipswich where riding high in the Premiership, Naylor once again found himself out of favour with then manager George Burley.

In 2001–2002 Naylor was out of Ipswich's plans, despite having the opportunity to play against Italian giants Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup.

[2] Naylor helped rejuvenate Leeds' form after signing for his boyhood club, who had previously conceded several goals from set pieces.

The performances of Naylor and Sodje helped Leeds reach the playoff semi-finals, but they eventually lost out to Millwall after losing 2–1 on aggregate over two legs.

Naylor made his return to first team action on 29 September, by starting in the game at home to Carlisle United.

Naylor suffered an injury late on in the match against Hartlepool but was fit enough to start against Stockport County.

"[5] Naylor missed Leeds' FA Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur on 23 January 2010 through injury.

Naylor played in Leeds' Football League Trophy second leg Northern Area final match against Carlisle United and Naylor was at fault for one of the goals conceded when his error let in Adam Clayton to slot the ball home for Carlisle.

Due to a hamstring injury sustained in the pregame warmup, Naylor missed the final game of the season against Bristol Rovers.

[18] Naylor said in an interview about his time at Leeds 'when I look back on it I can have pride that I have made a positive contribution and helped the club move forward.

[19] On 11 July 2011, Naylor joined Doncaster Rovers on a short-term contract from Leeds United on a free transfer.

He made his debut for Rotherham in a 3–2 defeat at Dagenham & Redbridge on 28 January, having prior been an unused substitute twice in home losses to Swindon Town and Port Vale.

[19] On 12 July 2012, Naylor retired from playing football and re-joined Leeds United as a coach working with the youth team alongside Neil Redfearn.