Football team manager of Richie Jordan pays his tribute as Sunderland team prepares to gather for memorial

Richard Jordan, from Grangetown, was a passenger in a crash between a white Mercede C-Class and a black Vauxhall Corsa crash near the A690 Durham Road junction at 1.45am on Sunday, August 4.

There has been an outpouring of tributes to Richard, who was known as Richie, with a series of gestures planned as the community remembers him.

Philie Hall watched Richie play alongside his own brother Richard when they were at primary school and began to count him as a teammate as they grew older and joined local sides.

They played together at Ryhope CW and reunited through Grangetown Florists, with Philie returning to the side himself in the role of manager.

On Sunday, August 11, ahead of the team’s kick-off against the Queen Vic, all players taking part in the first fixture of the season in the Sunderland Sunday League will pull on black arm bands.

They will hold a two minutes’ silence before pressing on with the match.

From 1pm onwards, the club will gather at the Hendon Grange pub to remember Richie, with all his family and friends welcome to join in.

A collection will be held for his loved ones.

Philie, 31, and others in the team were at a Christening for his seven-month-old daughter Sienna on Sunday afternoon when they heard the devastating news about Richie’s death.

The club had become concerned when the centre midfielder failed to collect another player or make his appearance on the pitch that morning.

Philie said: “This is my first season back and the first thing I did was to go and see Richie and ask him to play for us.

“It motivated me to get him involved because I knew he would make a difference and we would do well.

“He was really supportive and as a footballer he would give the other lads confidence.

“He was always late, but when he was there, he knew what made the team tick and would dictate how the game went and motivate everyone.

“He was always smiling, he was very funny, he was supportive and he would always make you laugh.

“Richie always wanted to win and when he was there, you would relax knowing he would keep everyone going.”

Philie has shared a photo of the Ryhope CW team from the season where they both played and won four accolades two years in a row, which Richie referred to as “the quad.”The manager added his thanks to the Queen Vic for their support in Sunday’s plans.

“We’ll have the two minutes’ silence before the match and then afterwards, we hope as everyone else across the city finishes their games, they’ll come and join us in the Hendon Grange.”

In a Facebook tribute shared by Philie, he said Richie had been “absolutely buzzing” ahead of the season’s start.

He added: “I’ve never played with anyone like him.

“Football aside, his personality was infectious.

“His family are in my thoughts now, love you Richie.”

Kick-off will be at 10.30am and it will be hosted at Meadow Park in Beechbrooke, Ryhope.

Other clubs are also hosting their own tributes, including Richie’s former club Sunderland RCA and Ryhope CW, which is holding a minute’s silence tomorrow, Saturday, August 10, before their 3pm match.