Player
Profile
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Lex
Richardson
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Date
of Birth:
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15 Nov 1953 |
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Birthplace:
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Glasgow |
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On 3rd April 1976, Lex made his debut for St Mirren at Love Street in a
Spring Cup victory against Meadowbank, Alex Ferguson having made it clear that
he regarded Richardson not as a raw recruit but as a player who could make a
major contribution at once. It was not long before Lex showed that he had
goal-scoring ability, as well as midfield skills when he scored in his third
game for the club, a 3-0 win over Alloa. Only 5'7" in height, Lex
nevertheless became a key figure as Saints roared to the First Division
Championship in 1976-77, and once in the Premier League, he showed that he
could compete with the best. An Anglo-Scottish Cup-tie against Fulham at
Craven Cottage gave Richardson the chance to earn Saints a draw with a great
free-kick which he bent round Fulham's defensive wall.
With Tony Fitzpatrick's departure to Bristol city in 1979, Lex assumed an
even more important role, and carried it out so well that Jock Stein called
him into the Scottish Under-21 squad against Portugal in February, 1980, as an
over-age player, the first of several such honours he won. A quality in Lex
which appealed very much to the supporters was his ability to raise his game
for the big occasion. While some players froze while playing Rangers or
Celtic, Lex tended to play to his best, as in March 1981, when he scored both
goals in a 2-1 win over Rangers, the first being an unsaveable 25 yard rocket!
1981-82 was an unsettled season for Richardson, who had made a transfer
request, and was linked in the press with Celtic, amongst other clubs. At the
start of the following season, however, Lex was still with the club, and
scored his first hat-trick for Saints in a 3-1 win over Ayr United in the
League Cup. In this match, he played like a human dynamo, even dispossessing
team-mate Alan Logan to score his third!
Lex Richardson played his last game for Saints in a 3-1 defeat at Easter
Road on 17th September 1983, before going to Dundee in a rather surprising
exchange deal which took Eric Sinclair to Love Street.
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