Position – Goalkeeper
DOB – 16/4/1973
Debut v Arsenal – Oct 2001
Nicknames – Frank, The Music Man
Shouty goalie and current team manager Rich regularly bursts the eardrums of his team-mates when he appears, and not even strikers are safe as Scott Mathers can testify. Behind the bluster beats the heart of a fiercely competitive maniac, hell bent on stopping whatever opponents can throw at him. Rich is also the creative genius behind The Music Man songs at Worldnet, where he often leads the whole team in a rendition of the old classic.
Rich’s Q and A
Describe yourself in a sentence
I am a highly-combustible, highly-competitive goalkeeper, or central midfielder if duty calls, who loves seeing team-mates give their best at all times.
What was the first WFC game you went to and what can you remember about it?
It was a 1-0 win over Exeter City in October 1978. “LUTHER”, as the scoreboard used to say (full names for everyone else), scored the goal and the two things I remember most were the feeling of excitement I got when Z-Cars was played and the smell of pipe / cigar tobacco wafting around the Vicarage Road terrace. I stood on a stool my Dad built, which had ‘Up The Hornets’ written on it in indelible pen, just to the east side of the scoreboard with a crush barrier to lean on.
Finest ever WFC memory
The moment the second goal went in at Wembley in 1999. That win actually led me to work for the club, given the demands of the Premier League. But that moment when Allan Smart scored, time stood still and I just cried uncontrollably for about five minutes. So unexpected, so magical, hard to think we’ll ever repeat that feeling (even if the same result is achieved at any time).
Worst away trip and why
Coming back from Fulham, Christmas 2000. Any lingering thoughts of us reviving our early-season form were buried that day.
WIFC playing highlight
My first Worldnet in 2001 – I had one of my best-ever performances, including all levels of football I’ve played in over the years, against eventual winners Middlesbrough when I was the ‘B Team Keeper’ for the weekend.
Favourite WIFC moment
It’s always the hush that descends when i start up The Music Man at WorldNet!
All-time favourite Watford player
Goalkeeper: Tony Coton. Outfield player: Gary Porter.
All-time favourite Watford XI (not the best players – your favourites)
1 Tony Coton, 2 Nigel Gibbs, 3 Keith Dublin, 4 Craig Ramage, 5 Colin Foster, 6 John McClelland, 7 David Bardsley, 8 Luther Blissett, 9 Paul Wilkinson, 10 Gary Porter, 11 Ronny Rosenthal.
Red shorts or black?
Red. Successful times.
Which actor would play you in ‘WIFC – The Movie’
Vinnie Jones. Mad.