Introduction
Liam Matthew Ridgewell (born 21 July 1984) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for, and is the captain of, Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers. He is primarily a centre back but can also play at left back.
Ridgewell began his senior career with Aston Villa, spending a spell on loan at A.F.C. Bournemouth in 2002, before moving to Villa's local rivals Birmingham City in 2007, where he was part of the 2011 Football League Cup Final-winning team. He spent two and a half seasons with West Bromwich Albion, who released him at the end of 2013–14. He then joined the Portland Timbers, whom he captained to victory in MLS Cup 2015. During the MLS off-season, he spent time on loan in England with Wigan Athletic and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Internationally, he has eight caps for England at under-21 level.
Club career
Early career
Ridgewell was born in Bexleyheath, London, and attended Bexleyheath School. He began his career with West Ham United, but moved to Aston Villa in February 2001. He was part of the team that won the 2002 FA Youth Cup final against Everton.
Aston Villa
The day after scoring for England Under-19s in a 2–2 draw against Yugoslavia in October 2002, he was loaned to A.F.C. Bournemouth of the Third Division, for whom he made his debut in the Football League in a 2–1 win over Hartlepool United on 13 October and played five games in his month's loan spell.
His debut for Aston Villa's first team came on 4 January 2003, in a 4–1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup third round, when he came on as a substitute to replace Rob Edwards after 69 minutes. His first Premier League appearance came on 28 December 2003, as a 62nd-minute replacement for Mark Delaney in a 3–0 win over Fulham at Villa Park; he made 11 appearances over the season.
On 15 January 2005, Ridgewell scored his first professional goal, heading in Nolberto Solano's cross in the ninth minute to open a 3–0 win over Norwich City. On 10 April, in a 1–1 draw with rivals West Bromwich Albion, he and opponent Jonathan Greening were sent off for headbutting each other.
In the following Premier League campaign, Ridgewell recorded five goals in 32 games, including two in a 3–3 draw at Fulham on 28 December 2005. He scored his only goal of the 2006–07 season against his former club West Ham United on 10 September 2006.
Birmingham City
Ridgewell completed a move to Birmingham City for a fee of £2 million on 3 August 2007, becoming the first player to transfer between the bitter rivals since Des Bremner in 1984.
In the absence through injury of regular captain Damien Johnson, Ridgewell was given the captain's armband. He described his appointment as "a real honour". Though concerns were expressed over how some fans might react to a player signing from Aston Villa, Ridgewell's performances won over the doubters. He scored his first goal for the club in their 3–2 win against Wigan Athletic at St Andrew's in October, but then scored an own goal in the Birmingham derby two weeks later, also at St Andrew's.
In April 2009, Ridgewell suffered a broken leg after a challenge by Plymouth Argyle midfielder Jamie Mackie. He made an unexpectedly quick return to the side five months later, playing in the less familiar position of left back. He continued in that role because of the form of preferred centre-backs Roger Johnson and Scott Dann, and played there as Birmingham went on a club-record 12-match unbeaten run in the top division and set a Premier League record by fielding the same starting eleven for nine consecutive games. He scored a 91st-minute equaliser against Tottenham Hotspur on 30 January 2010 which ensured that Birmingham remained unbeaten at home since the previous September.
Ridgewell continued his goalscoring form with a stoppage-time winner against Derby County to send Birmingham through to the quarter finals of the FA Cup, had a goal disallowed in the quarter-final match against Portsmouth when the ball had "clearly crossed the line", and scored an equalising goal against Liverpool in the league.
In June 2010, Ridgewell signed a new contract with Birmingham, to expire in June 2013. He played the full 90 minutes as Birmingham defeated favourites Arsenal 2–1 in the 2011 Football League Cup Final, thus earning qualification for the Europa League. In the absence of several midfielders through injury, Ridgewell played in the play-off round first leg against Portuguese club Nacional, Birmingham's first participation in major European competition for nearly 50 years, in an unfamiliar holding midfield position. As the August 2011 transfer deadline approached, Ridgewell submitted a transfer request which was rejected by the club, and despite late interest from Premier League clubs including Newcastle United, he remained with Birmingham.
West Bromwich Albion
Ridgewell signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Premier League club West Bromwich Albion on 31 January 2012. The transfer fee was undisclosed. On 12 February, he made his debut in a 5–1 away win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. He made his home debut a week later as West Brom beat Sunderland 4–0 at The Hawthorns. He scored his first goal for West Brom on 7 April in a 3–0 home win against Blackburn Rovers.
On 16 May 2014, West Bromwich Albion announced that they would not take up the option of extending Ridgewell's contract and he was released from the club.
Portland Timbers
Ridgewell was signed as a Designated Player for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer on 25 June 2014. He made his MLS debut on 18 July, the 62nd consecutive sellout at Providence Park, and a comeback 2–1 victory over the visiting Colorado Rapids. Ridgewell was named in the MLS All-Star team for the 2014 MLS All-Star Game against Bayern Munich as a replacement for the injured Kyle Beckerman. He scored his first Timbers goal, the equaliser against the New England Revolution on 16 August 2014, after a 45-yard (41 m) solo run.
On 8 January 2015, Ridgewell signed for Wigan Athletic on a six-week loan deal. He made six appearances for the Latics, who ended the season with relegation from the Championship.
Ridgewell was sent off on 25 June 2015 in a 5–0 loss at LA Galaxy, for a kick at Alan Gordon. The Timbers qualified for the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs, in which Ridgewell opened the scoring in a 3–1 first leg win over Western Conference regular season champions FC Dallas on 22 November, as the team eventually reached MLS Cup 2015. In the decisive match on 6 December away to the Columbus Crew at Mapfre Stadium, he captained the Timbers to a 2–1 win.
In December 2015, Ridgewell agreed a short-term loan with Championship team Brighton & Hove Albion, to begin when the transfer window opened on 2 January 2016 and end in time for the second half of the Timbers' preseason. He finished his spell with four wins from five league appearances.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aston Villa | 2002–03 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Premier League | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 32 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 37 | 5 | ||
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 25 | 1 | ||
| Total | 79 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 7 | ||
| A.F.C. Bournemouth (loan) | 2002–03 | Third Division | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | 5 | 0 | |||
| Birmingham City | 2007–08 | Premier League | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 37 | 1 | |
| 2008–09 | Championship | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 39 | 1 | ||
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 31 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 37 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 36 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | – | 43 | 5 | ||
| 2011–12 | Championship | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Total | 152 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 175 | 11 | ||
| West Bromwich Albion | 2011–12 | Premier League | 13 | 1 | – | – | – | 13 | 1 | |||
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Premier League | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 33 | 1 | ||
| Total | 76 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 78 | 2 | |||
| Portland Timbers | 2014 | Major League Soccer | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 16 | 2 | |
| 2015 | Major League Soccer | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 5 | 1 | 38 | 1 | ||
| Total | 47 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 6 | 1 | 54 | 3 | |||
| Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2014–15 | Championship | 6 | 0 | – | – | – | 6 | 0 | |||
| Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 2015–16 | Championship | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 370 | 20 | 18 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 417 | 23 | ||
Honours
Club
Aston Villa
- FA Youth Cup: 2001–02
Birmingham City
- Football League Cup: 2011
Portland Timbers
- MLS Cup: 2015
- Western Conference (playoffs): 2015
Individual
- MLS All-Star: 2014