RICHIE FORAN

Height: 6' 1"

Weight: 12st 10lbs

Striker

Richie was born in Dublin on the 16th of June 1980.  He signed  for  Shelbourne on the 1st of July 2000 and  made his senior debut in the Champions League qualifier against Sloga, Jugomagnat. Shelbourne won 2-1 over the two legs and drew  Rosenborg of Norway in the next round. The first leg was at home and Rosenborg won the leg 3-1  Richie scoring the Shelbourne goal in the 62nd minute.  The away game was a much tighter affair, Shelbourne scored first in the 58th minute in the 1-1 draw and again it was Richie that got the goal.

Richie signed for Carlisle on the 31st of August 2001 for a fee which  has been reported as anywhere between £50.000 and £100,000.  

Richie was top goal scorer for United in the 2001/02 season. To read about every goal and how his season went Click here

2002/03 has been an up and down season for Richie. Injuries and suspensions have meant he has missed important games and has not scored as many goals as he himself would have liked. His attacking play and sheer determination has still been a huge asset. A player who never gives up, he covers every blade of grass for the cause and can be seen getting in a vital defensive header to clear a corner then starting an attacking move in the opponents box a minute later. In the crucial games at the end of the season it was nearly always a ball supplied by our number 9 that gave the goal scorer their opportunity. 

All of October was missed through injury after an incident in the game away at Bournemouth on the 28th of September. On 50 minutes Chukki Eribenne attempted an overhead kick for goal, Richie spotted the danger and tried to head the ball away only to receive the full force of a boot in the face. It was  immediately obvious that he had sustained a serious injury and an x-ray revealed a broken cheek bone. 

Scoring nine goals in the season, one of the most important came when United played Bury away on the 12th of April.  By now fighting for league survival this was a crucial game and when the Shakers went ahead through David Nugent in the 33rd minute United had to fight for a point. Hope was fading  with ten minutes to go when Brian Wake  crossed a ball over to Richie on the left side of the box. From what seemed an impossible angle he took one touch to volley straight into the top right hand corner of goal. This was to be Richie's last goal of the season but his contribution in the Torquay and Shrewsbury games were at least as vital. Away at Torquay on the 26th of April he set up all three goals for Russell, Summerbell and Wake to get on the score sheet and seal the 3-2 win. 

Richie has a year of his present contract to run and is currently considering extending his stay for a further year which will see him signed to the club until the summer of 2005.

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