HRBFC is delighted to announce the appointment of Richard Thomas as First Team Manager.
Thomas was selected as the preferred candidate after a comprehensive search for a manager who could achieve both near- and long-term success.
His extensive football pedigree includes Championship experience at Luton Town, and his reputation as an elite coach and developer of players is renowned.
Across a 16-year career, Thomas has worked as assistant manager in Leagues One and Two for Matt Bloomfield and Kevin Nolan at Wycombe Wanderers, Colchester United and Notts County, respectively. Before then, in 2021, Thomas was assistant manager to Gemma Grainger for the Wales women’s national team, when the nation narrowly missed out on qualification for the Women’s World Cup.
In 2019, he was Academy Director of Watford while the club was in the Premier League, after spending seven years as academy manager at Leyton Orient.
Speaking for the first time since his arrival, Thomas said: “I’m feeling very excited and am looking forward to it.
“I’m really excited to get back out on the grass and see what we can achieve here because it looks like an unbelievable opportunity.”
On Thomas’ appointment, club chairman Ben Hudson said: “We were clear from the outset that this appointment had to be about finding the right individual to take the club forward and help us build on and off the pitch.
“Richard was hugely impressive throughout the interview process and was the unanimous choice of the board, the owners, and our football leadership. His knowledge of the game, attention to detail, enthusiasm, and clear vision for how he wants his teams to play really stood out.
“He demonstrated a genuine understanding of what we are trying to achieve at Hampton & Richmond Borough, and his ambition and determination to succeed left us in no doubt that he was the right person for the role.
“I would also like to place on record my sincere thanks to Lennie Lawrence for stepping in during the interim period. His experience, professionalism and support over the past few weeks have been invaluable, and we are extremely grateful for his contribution.”