Richard Pacquette

Club career

Born in Kilburn, London to Dominican parents, Pacquette's first club was Queens Park Rangers (QPR), where he had been a member of the youth system since the age of 13. He turned professional on 1 February 2000 and made his first team debut as a 77th minute substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Huddersfield Town on 21 April 2001. He made one further appearance in the 2000–01 season, with a start in a 3–0 defeat to Stockport County. The season finished with QPR's relegation to the Second Division, and Pacquette scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 victory over Bury on 12 January 2002. He scored his second, and final goal of the 2001–02 season, to give QPR the lead in a 1–1 draw with Cardiff City in March, but was later handed a red card. After the end of the season, in July, manager Ian Holloway placed him on the transfer list.

After having made four appearances and scored one goal for QPR during the 2002–03 season, he joined Conference National team Stevenage Borough on a three-month loan on 18 October. He made his debut the following day in a 1–0 defeat to Burton Albion and scored in his next game, a 2–1 victory over Swansea City in the Football League Trophy first round. He went on to score for Stevenage in the southern section second round of the Football League Trophy, which finished in a 4–3 defeat to Luton Town. He finished the loan spell having scored four goals in 10 appearances. After returning to QPR, he scored three goals in the league and featured for them in both legs of the Second Division play-off semi-final, as well as the final, which was lost 1–0 to Cardiff at the Millennium Stadium.

Pacquette scored on his first appearance of the 2003–04 season, in a 2–0 victory over Kidderminster Harriers in the Football League Trophy in October 2003. He featured against Dagenham & Redbridge in the Football League Trophy in November, which proved to be his final appearance for QPR. He later joined Dagenham on loan on 29 December and made his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Aldershot Town on 1 January 2004. He scored his first goal for Dagenham in a 5–0 victory over Shrewsbury Town and finished loan the spell with five appearances and two goals. He joined Mansfield Town in the Third Division on a one-month loan on 4 February. He made his debut in a 3–0 defeat to Rochdale and scored in the following game, which finished as a 2–1 victory over York City. He finished the loan spell at Mansfield with five appearances and one goal, and after the end of the season, in June, he was released by QPR after not being offered a new contract.

He trained with newly formed League One team Milton Keynes Dons (MK Dons) and joined them on 24 September. Pacquette made his debut in a 4–2 victory over Hartlepool United and scored his first goal in his following match, a 3–0 victory over Brentford in the Football League Trophy. After making seven appearances for MK Dons, he was released in November, and subsequently signed for Southern League Division One East club Fisher Athletic later that month. He left the club to sign for Brentford in League One on non-contract terms on 26 November. He played for Brentford in a 2–0 defeat to Hull City. He left the club by mutual consent and signed for Conference National side Farnborough Town on 7 December. His debut came in a 1–1 draw with Canvey Island and his first goal came in a 2–1 defeat to Morecambe.

After making five appearances for Farnborough, he rejoined Stevenage on non-contract terms, after training with Grimsby Town. He made two appearances for Stevenage, and after failing to earn a long-term contract he had another trial at Grimsby. He eventually joined St Albans City in February, where he made one appearance before signing for Hemel Hempstead Town in March. After making two appearances, he soon moved on after joining Hampton & Richmond Borough 10 days later. He made six appearances for Hampton before the end of the 2004–05 season. He joined Worthing after a trial in July 2005, and was loaned to Thurrock of the Conference South in February 2006, where he made four appearances after making his debut in a 1–0 defeat to Yeading. Before this loan, he was transfer-listed by Worthing, and in March he was released by the club, after scoring 17 goals in 30 appearances during the 2005–06 season.

After leaving Worthing, Pacquette joined Conference South side Havant & Waterlooville in March, scoring three goals in eight league appearances during the remainder of the 2005–06 season. He scored his first goal of the 2006–07 season in a 2–0 victory over Dorchester Town on 11 September. He scored two goals for Havant in their 3–0 victory over Team Bath in the FA Trophy third qualifying round, which saw them progress to the first round. He played in both legs of Havant's play-off semi-final defeat to Braintree Town, finishing the season with 41 appearances and 13 goals. Following the end of the season, he signed a new contract with Havant in June 2007. He scored for Havant in their FA Cup fourth round tie against Premier League side Liverpool at Anfield on 26 January 2008, putting Havant 1–0 in the lead on eight minutes, before they eventually lost 5–2.

On transfer deadline day, 31 March 2008, Pacquette joined rival Conference South club Maidenhead United on loan until the end of the 2007–08 season, after making 32 appearances and scoring 13 goals for Havant up to that point during the 2007–08 season. He made five appearances and scored three goals for Maidenhead before the end of the season, and signed for the club permanently during the summer. He signed for Conference Premier team Histon on a one-month loan on 18 February 2009, after having made 25 appearances and scored 15 goals for Maidenhead up to that point during the 2008–09 season. He made his debut for Histon as a 75th-minute substitute against Eastbourne Borough on 21 February 2009. He started the following game, a 2–0 victory over Barrow, before making his final appearance as an 83rd substitute in a 3–0 victory against Lewes. He was an unused substitute for the following four matches before he finished the loan spell at Histon with three appearances. He finished the 2008–09 season with 32 appearances and 20 goals for Maidenhead.

At the end of the season, Pacquette signed for Conference Premier team York City on 22 May 2009. After being unavailable for the opening three games of the season due to a suspension he received while at Maidenhead, he made his debut as a 78th-minute substitute against Hayes & Yeading United, scoring York's equaliser with a header in a 1–1 draw. He was sent off 56 minutes into his first start for York in the following game against Gateshead, which resulted in him serving another three-match suspension. He made his return as an 82nd-minute substitute in a 3–2 victory over Tamworth in October. He later pulled a thigh muscle, meaning he was expected to be out injured for the remainder of the month, eventually returning to training in November. His return came in a 3–2 victory over Crewe Alexandra in the FA Cup first round, coming on as an 84th-minute substitute, before scoring to equalise the game at 2–2. He scored the winning goal in an FA Trophy second round replay against Newport County in stoppage time on 26 January 2010. He scored York's goal in a 2–1 defeat in the FA Trophy quarter-final against Barrow on 2 March. He finished the 2009–10 season with 18 appearances and four goals for York and the club announced that he would be released when his contract expired.

Pacquette signed for Conference Premier team Eastbourne Borough on a one-year contract on 28 June. He made his debut in the opening game of the 2010–11 season, a 4–2 defeat at Tamworth on 14 August, and he scored Eastbourne's first goal with a header. Pacquette finished the season with 14 goals in 39 appearances as Eastbourne were relegated to the Conference South. He was not offered a new contract by the club after indicating that he wished to leave and later went on trial with former club Maidenhead.

At the start of August 2011 Pacquette joined Forest Green Rovers on trial and featured in a game against Cirencester Town but failed to land a deal. Later that month, Pacquette joined Conference Premier side Hayes & Yeading United. He was released by Hayes on 9 December, later that day re-signing for Maidenhead of the Conference South. He made his second debut for the club in a goalless draw with Staines Town in the FA Trophy first round, and also appeared in the replay defeat three days later. He would go on to score three goals in the next three games, all in the Conference South. Just a month after joining Maidenhead he returned to the Conference Premier after signing for Lincoln City on a contract until the end of the 2011–12 season.

He joined Gainsborough Trinity on trial in August 2012 and scored in the team's 4–0 pre-season victory over Doncaster Rovers. He signed for Conference South side Bromley on 16 August 2012 and made his debut two days later in a 0–0 draw at home to Staines Town. He scored his first two goals for the club on 25 August 2012 in a 3–2 defeat at Chelmsford City. Pacquette was released by Bromley in December 2012, and promptly joined fellow Conference South side Eastleigh. He scored on his debut, a 5–3 a defeat at Salisbury City on 1 January 2013, but was subsequently released on 10 January 2013, after scoring once in two matches for the club. He signed for another Conference South club, Sutton United, on 19 January 2012. Pacquette's debut came in a 2–1 home win over Eastleigh on 2 February 2013, before scoring his first goal in a 3–2 victory at home to Basingstoke Town on 19 February. He was released by Sutton on 6 March 2013, having scored once in seven games for the club.

Pacquette returned to Conference South side Maidenhead on 7 March 2013 on a contract until the end of the 2013–14 season, making his third debut on 9 March in a 2–0 home defeat to Eastleigh. In June 2014 he left Maidenhead to rejoin Eastbourne Borough of the Conference South.

During the summer of 2015, he made preseason appearances for Hampton & Richmond Borough, scoring a goal against Tooting & Mitcham United on 12 July 2015, and later signed for them. He went on a loan stint at Lewes in November 2015, and after a spell with Walton & Hersham winter 2016, he was back in the Hampton & Richmond Borough jersey on 22 March 2016 as they narrowly lost to Cockfosters in a 42 penalty shoot out thriller in the Middlesex Senior Charity Cup. In July 2016, Metropolitan Police manager Jim Cooper announced his arrival. Pacquette went on to sign for fellow Isthmian League Premier Division club Grays Athletic on 20 October. Following his release on 17 November 2016, he made his debut for Egham Town on 3 December 2016. In June 2017, Pacquette joined Isthmian League Premier Division side Harrow Borough.

International career

Pacquette earned a call-up to the Dominica national team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification CONCACAF First Round match against Barbados on 6 February 2008. Barbados went into the match as heavy favourites but fell behind to Pacquette's goal on his international debut, which finished as a 1–1 draw. After making his debut, manager Christopher Ericson said "He is great in front of goal, powerful and full of effort and work. I only hope that we can get him some more support up front in the next game – if we do I am sure we can win it". He also played in the 1–0 defeat in the second leg on 26 March.

Style of play

After signing for York City in 2009, manager Martin Foyle described him as being "strong and can hold the ball up, which we were poor at doing last season. He could be our link man because we need to retain possession better in the final third."

Personal life

His cousin is fellow Dominica international footballer Jefferson Louis, with whom he was paired as Dominica's strikers in the second leg game against Barbados. During his time as a semi-professional Pacquette worked as a school caretaker and a truancy officer. At his school, he participated in coaching with the sixth formers. Pacquette and his Havant & Waterlooville teammates would have received £10,000 each if they had beaten Liverpool in the FA Cup, which he said he would spend on helping his local community. After joining York City in 2009, he moved into a house with teammates Neil Barrett, Alex Lawless, James Meredith and Danny Parslow.

Club

International

International goals