| Richard Foster |
 Richard Martyn Foster was born on Wednesday, 31st July, 1985, in Elgin, Moray. The 5' 9 (11st 7lbs) defender signed for Ian McCall's Thistle on Monday, 20th July, 2020, having most recently been with Ross County. Aged 35, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 19th September, 2020, in a 3-0 friendly win at home to BSC Glasgow. There were no goals for Richard during his time with Thistle. He played his last game for the club on Friday, 6th May, 2022, in a 1-0 defeat away to Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the SPFL Premiership play-offs, having appeared as a Jag on 64 occasions. At September, 2022, his club-list included Aberdeen, Rangers, Bristol City, Ross County, St Johnstone, Partick Thistle and Detroit City. |
 A product of the Aberdeen youth system, Foster made his debut for Aberdeen aged 17 on 10 May 2003 in an SPL match against Partick Thistle, coming on as a substitute for Darren Mackie. He scored his first goal for the club almost exactly a year later, during a 2–1 league win over Dundee on 15 May 2004. Foster became a first team regular under Jimmy Calderwood and signed a two-year contract extension on 31 July 2007. In February 2009, Foster was involved in a training ground bust up with Jimmy Calderwood which led to him being omitted from the Aberdeen squad to face Dundee United on 21 February, after he called the then Dons manager "stupid". Ahead of the 2010-2011 season, Foster was loaned to his boyhood heroes, Rangers, playing 15 times in their title winning campaign. Despite criticism from avid fan Greg Davidson, on Foster's return to Aberdeen, he was appointed as Paul Hartley's successor as Aberdeen captain for the 2011–12 season. He moved on in the January transfer window, signing a two and a half-year contract with Bristol City. His stint at Aberdeen had stretched from 2003-2012 and he racked up over 230 League appearances for the Dons. Foster, who had played 3 times for the Scotland U-21 team (2004-06) was selected for the full Scotland squad in February 2012, but he did not play in the friendly with Slovenia. He said in November 2018 that he was disappointed that he had not been recalled, given the lack of options in his preferred position. Cutting his Bristol city contract short by a year, Foster signed for Rangers on a two-year deal in June 2013. After being released from Rangers, Foster signed a two-year contract with Scottish Premiership club Ross County. He picked up a winners' medal in the 2015–16 Scottish League Cup as Ross County beat Hibernian 2–1. On 19 August 2016, Foster signed for St Johnstone, agreeing a contract until the end of the 2016–17 season. He scored his first goal for St Johnstone against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 27 August 2016. In April 2017, Foster brought St Johnstone in to disrepute after becoming involved in an on-pitch brawl with teammate Danny Swanson. Both players were suspended by the club and were subsequently fined four weeks' wages. Foster had began dating Scottish singer Amy Macdonald in 2015, and the couple were engaged on New Year's Eve that year. They got married in Las Vegas on 4 June 2018. In February 2019, Foster signed an extension to his contract with St Johnstone, which was due to run until the summer of 2020. In August 2019 Foster was involved in an incident with manager Tommy Wright on the training pitch and was dropped from the first-team. Foster left St Johnstone in August 2019 and returned to Ross County on a one-year contract. On 25 May 2020, Foster was released from his contract criticising the chairman for not taking advantage of the government's furlough scheme, calling it "morally shocking". After leaving Ross County, Foster signed a one year deal with then Scottish League One side Partick Thistle. After winning the League One title with Thistle, Foster signed a one year contract extension with the club. His time at Thistle ended on a bit of a sour note at the end of 2021-22. With Thistle trailing 2-0 at Somerset Park at half-time, some fans were giving players some stick as they trudged of, and the 36-year-old "exploded with rage, and had to be restrained by his own teammates as the aggressive altercation was caught on camera" (Football Scotland). Thistle's lame end to the campaign ended with lacklustre defeats home and away to Inverness CT, Foster's last involvement as a Jag. In August 2022, with well over 600 competitive appearances in Britain behind him, Foster's next move was an exciting one - to the American USL! A holder of a UEFA A-Level coaching license, he signed as a player-coach with Detroit City on a deal for the remainder of the 2022 season, with team and player options that could see him be part of the Rouge and Gold family through to 2024, pending league and federation approval. Foster did a psychology degree at the Open University and has also written a crime novel. |
| (WIK/WS) |
