Thanks to Dave Rowntree for many of the player images after 1984.
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RICHARD ECKERSLEY
Full Name: Richard Jon Eckersley
Born: 12 March 1989
Came from: Burnley Went to: Burnley
First game: 06 March 2010 Last game: 24 April 2010
Appearances: 7 (7/0) Goals: 0
Eckersley, born in Salford, Greater Manchester, progressed through the youth ranks at Manchester United. He was primarily a right-back but equally adept at playing in the centre of defence. He spent five years with United, coming on as a substitute four times during the 2008-09 season. He picked up a League Cup Winners' medal in March 2009 as an unused substitute against Tottenham Hotspur, which United won on penalties.
However, a few months after making his debut he rejected a new contract offer from United and moved to Burnley, with the £500,000 fee being decided by a tribunal. He made his debut in the League Cup against Hartlepool but was sent off during extra time and he made only four appearances for Burnley during his two seasons with the Turf Moor outfit.
In March 2010, Eckersley was signed by Paul Mariner for the Pilgrims on a short-term loan as cover for Reda Johnson, who had picked up an injury. His time at Argyle was disrupted by injury but he did impress during his brief stay with his loan extended until the end of the season.
Returning to Turf Moor, aside from another appearance in the Carling Cup during the 2010-11 campaign, he saw his first team opportunities limited, and was sent out on loan again, firstly to Bradford City in November 2010 and latterly to Bury in March 2011.
In April 2011, Eckersley was loaned further afield to the MLS (Major League Soccer) team Toronto FC, where he was re-united with his ex-Argyle boss Paul Mariner. The move to Toronto FC was made permanent in January 2012. In January 2014, he was signed by New York Red Bulls, with Toronto FC getting their 2017 MLS SuperDraft fourth-round pick - essentially a swap against a future signing. He was hampered with injuries during the 2014 campaign and the Red Bulls chose not to extend his contract for 2015. Whilst at Red Bulls he also linked up with former Argyle team-mate Bradley Wright-Phillips.
Having departed Red Bulls after nine appearances, he returned to England and signed a three-month deal with Oldham Athletic in September 2015. He played six times for Oldham but a re-occurrence of an ankle injury meant his contract was not extended.
At the age of 28, Eckersley, a vegan and enthusiastic guitar player, then decided to retire from the game, and perhaps it was his relaxed and green outlook that helped him choose a very different life. With his wife and daughter he returned to Devon to run the UK's first zero-waste shop, in Totnes.
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APPEARANCE DETAILS [reselect competitions]
The details below reflect appearances in all first-team competitions.
I'm very grateful to many who have helped write GoS-DB's player pen-pictures, and to Dave Rowntree, the PAFC Media Team and Colin Parsons for their help with photos. Thanks also to staff at the National Football Museum, the Scottish Football Museum and ScotlandsPeople for their valuable assistance.
The following publications have been particularly valuable in the research of pen-pictures: Plymouth Argyle, A Complete Record 1903-1989 (Brian Knight, ISBN 0-907969-40-2); Plymouth Argyle, 101 Golden Greats (Andy Riddle, ISBN 1-874287-47-3); Football League Players' Records 1888-1939 (Michael Joyce, ISBN 1-899468-67-6); Football League Players' Records 1946-1988 (Barry Hugman, ISBN 1-85443-020-3) and Plymouth Argyle Football Club Handbooks.
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