Richard Averell

Son of a United legend, midfielder Ricky Averell arguably failed to live up to his teenage potential after his move to Brentford in 1987.

Born in Cookstown, Ricky was no stranger to Ballymena United Football Club, as his father Bobby was a popular central defender during the 1970’s. Ricky also travelled to Canada when his father spent two seasons with the Toronto Metros, but returned home and his footballing talents quickly blossomed at Cookstown High School, with trials for professional clubs and was capped at Northern Ireland Schoolboy level.

Averell followed in his father’s footsteps and joined Ballymena United in August 1986 and made his senior debut a month later as a 16-year-old substitute in a 1-0 away win at Bangor. It was only the first of two senior appearances during the 1986/1987 season, as Ricky starred for the Reserves, winning the Reserve Team Player of the Year award. He also capped off a stellar season with a place in the Northern Ireland Under-16 squad that impressed in the European Championship finals in France in the summer of 1987.

Having sparked major interest from teams across the water with a trial at Leicester City, it was Third Division Brentford that won the race for Ricky’s signature in August 1987 on a one-year apprenticeship as United let the midfielder leave on a free transfer to Colin Lee’s side, having mutually agreed not to stand in his way if the opportunity of professional football arose. Averell failed to settle in West London, suffering from homesickness and returned back to Northern Ireland in February 1988 without making a single appearance for the Bees.

Ricky was welcomed back to Ballymena with open arms, and patiently waited on the fringes of Alec McKee’s new look team who went onto win the 1989 Irish Cup against Larne, but the midfielder failed to make the squad for the showpiece. With only four further first team appearances since his return to the Showgrounds, frustrations boiled over in October 1989, as he walked out of the club having been substituted in a Reserve team game at Shamrock Park.

Averell forced a move to Glenavon, but only made a single substitute appearance for Alan Fraser’s side in a shock away defeat to Newry Town. By February 1990, Ricky was on the move again to join Dungannon Swifts under Armstrong Beckett in the B Division. Barring a year with Cookstown United (during the 1992/1993 season), it was a memorable six and a half seasons at Stangmore Park with the Swifts, who were enjoying a golden spell in Intermediate and Mid-Ulster football.

Having moved back to a more defensive role, Averell picked up winners medals in the Smirnoff Knockout Cup, three Bob Radcliffe Cups and two B Division runners-up medals before leaving the Swifts to take up the role of player manager at his hometown club Cookstown United aged just 27, in the summer of 1997. United struggled with the competitiveness of the B Division, and were forced to apply for re-election in his first season, and Ricky eventually resigned in February 1999. Averell continued to play and coach into the new millennium with both Cookstown United and Cookstown Olympic.

Career
(Aug 1986) Ballymena United; (Aug 1987) Brentford; (Feb 1988) Ballymena United; (Oct 1989) Glenavon; (Feb 1990) Dungannon Swifts; (Sept 1992) Cookstown United; (Nov 1993) Dungannon Swifts; (Jun 1997) Cookstown United – Player/Manager; Cookstown Olympic

Honours
(with Dungannon Swifts)
Bob Radcliffe Cup: (winner) 1993/1994, 1994/1995, 1995/1996
B Division Knockout Cup: (winner) 1993/1994
B Division: (runner up) 1994/1995, 1995/1996

International Honours
Northern Ireland Under-17 (1 caps, 0 goals – 1987)
Northern Ireland Under-16 (7 caps, 2 goals – 1986-1987)
Northern Ireland Under-16 Schools (4 caps, 0 goals – 1986)