Biography
Versatile defender and midfielder Richard Hinds joined the Tigers on a short term deal in May 2003 with City manager Peter Taylor happy to give Hinds a trial after serious injury led to his release by Tranmere Rovers. Hinds quickly proved his fitness and earned a two year contract, starting the 2003/04 season in the heart of City’s defence as they launched a campaign to gain promotion out of League Divison 3, the fourth tier of English football. Hinds played at centre back and right back in the opening 14 games of the season, after missing three weeks of football in October Hinds returned at the start of November and scored his first and only City goal in a 2-2 draw against Macclesfield Town. Primarily used as right back but occasionally moving into midfield, Hinds was a constant presence in the City first team until another three week lay-off in March, and his defensive solidity contributed handsomely to City’s rise to the top of the table. With City nearing promotion in April 2004 the club wobbled to three draws, all of which Hinds didn’t start – it may have been coincidence that he was reintroduced to the first XI at Yeovil, a match that City won to seal the club’s first promotion in 19 years, but it is beyond doubt that he played an important role that day in the City back four.
Hinds started the first three games of the season in the next division up, but was soon put on the bench. He reappeared for a notorious 0-4 spanking at Huddersfield, which can’t have helped his cause, and he made only irregular first team starts for the rest of the season until moving out on loan in March 2005 and leaving the Tigers that summer.
Richard Peter Hinds was born in Sheffield but started his footballing career in the youth team at Tranmere Rovers. He made his way into the Tranmere first team in May 1999 when he made his senior debut in a 0-1 League Division 1 defeat at Grimsby. Six further appearances came at the end of the 1999/00 season and in 2000/01 season Hinds was a first team regular in a variety of positions – left back, left midfielder, central midfielder and even forward. Rovers were relegated to League Division 2 in May 2001 and Hinds stayed around Prenton Park for two more seasons in the third tier, though injuries hampered his game time. When he left Tranmere in May 2003 he had made 69 senior appearances for the club in five years.
Hinds was loaned to Scunthorpe United in March 2005 and after seven appearances for the Iron he signed a two year contract in July 2005. Richard became a first team regular at Scunthorpe, splitting his time between defence and midfield and missing only a handful of games in the 2005/06 season while scoring seven goals. His consistency and versatility continued into the 2006/07 season as Scunthorpe won the League Division 2 title with Hinds contributing two goals, both scored against Gillingham. In July 2007 he was tempted to sign for Championship side Sheffield Wednesday, the club he supported as a boy. He was a first team regular for much of his first season at Hillsborough but missed six months of the 2008/09 season after fracturing his left leg in a match in August 2008 against Wolves. Although he returned to first team action in February 2009, for the next two seasons he was a support player and made only 19 appearances during that time. He left Wednesday in November 2011 having made 75 senior appearances and scored two goals.
Hinds spent three months at Conference National side Lincoln City then returned to the Football League in February 2012 when he joined Yeovil Town. A season and a half at Huish Park yielded 42 appearances and 4 goals, culminating in a May 2013 League 1 play-off final victory over Brentford after seeing off Sheffield United in the semi-finals – Richard was an unused substitute for the Wembley final. Hinds left the promoted Yeovil in the 2013 close season and spent the 2013/14 season at Bury, making 13 appearances and scoring twice. In the 2014 close season joined Cymru Alliance side Llandudno as player/assistant manager, a role he fulfilled for one title-winning season before hanging up his boots. In the later years of his career Hinds studied Law at the Open University and in 2011 he was awarded a First Class honours degree.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 22 August 1980, Sheffield
Hull City First Game: 9 August 2003, Darlington H (League Division 3), 22 years, 352 days old
Hull City Final Game: 12 March 2005, Torquay United H (League One), 24 years, 202 days old
Clubs
Tranmere Rovers (1998-2003), Hull City (2003-2005), Scunthorpe United (2005, loan), Scunthorpe United (2005-2007), Sheffield Wednesday (2007-2011), Lincoln City (2011-2012), Yeovil Town (2012-2013), Bury (2013-2014), Llandudno (2014-2015)
Hull City Record
Career: 49 apps, 1 goals
Richard HindsSeason | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003/04 | 34 (5) | 1 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | - | - | 0 (1) | 0 |
2004/05 | 6 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 (0) | 0 |