Mick Rathbone
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Michael John Rathbone | ||
Date of birth | 6 November 1958 | ||
Place of birth | Birmingham, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Full back | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Oldham Athletic (Physiotherapist and head of conditioning) | ||
Youth career | |||
Aston Villa | |||
1974–1976 | Birmingham City | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1976–1979 | Birmingham City | 20 | (0) |
1979 | → Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 15 | (0) |
1979–1987 | Blackburn Rovers | 258 | (2) |
1987–1991 | Preston North End | 91 | (4) |
1993–1995 | Halifax Town | 8 | (1) |
Total | 392 | (6) | |
Managerial career | |||
1992–1993 | Halifax Town (caretaker manager) | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Michael John Rathbone (born 6 November 1958) is an English former professional footballer who spent a number of years as part of the Everton medical team. He is currently physiotherapist and head of conditioning for Oldham Athletic.
He played 384 games in the
Playing career
Birmingham City
Rathbone was born in
He turned professional in November 1976,[2] and played 16 games in the First Division over the course of the 1976–77 season, but his form dipped and he appeared only rarely over the next 18 months.[9][10] He was dropped by new manager Alf Ramsey and – at the insistence of his teammates – demanded a transfer; Ramsey told him "You can go by all means, but who's going to sign you? You are fucking crap!"[11] He remained at Birmingham throughout Ramsey's reign, however his confidence remained very low.[12] In March 1979, centre-half Joe Gallagher berated the club's young players in the dressing room, and Rathbone responded by informing manager Jim Smith that he intended to quit the game; Smith placated Rathbone by offering him a short break and a three-month loan spell at Blackburn Rovers to restore his confidence.[12]
"God, that walk [onto the pitch]. It was torturous, agonisingly slow, especially when your legs had turned to jelly. I remember studying Charles I in history at school, how he lost the throne and finally ended up getting beheaded. Apparently he refused a blindfold and insisted on walking to the scaffold unaided. I wondered how in such dire circumstances you could still walk and, as I edged my way down that dark tunnel, I realised how he must have felt. It was all right for Charles, though, he only had to go thorough the ordeal once; I had to do it every bloody Saturday.
— Rathbone did not enjoy his time as a first team player at St Andrew's, though later admitted that he had been too sensitive at the time.[12][13]
Blackburn Rovers
Rathbone joined Blackburn Rovers on a three-month loan in March 1979.[12] Veteran midfielder Alan Birchenall immediately gave him nickname "Baz", in reference to actor Basil Rathbone.[14] Having been struggling near the foot of the table at the Second Division time of his arrival, Blackburn were relegated to the Third Division at the end of the 1978–79 season.[15] He enjoyed his time at Ewood Park however, and was instrumental in the loan being made permanent as he begged Jim Smith to sanction a transfer, which Smith did after accepting Rovers manager John Pickering's offer of £40,000.[16] Rathbone signed a three-year contract and received a £2,000 signing-on fee.[16] However his lack of confidence was then replaced with a lack of discipline, as he admitted that he and teammate Russell Coughlin "slow and surely ... drank and ate ourselves out of the game".[17] New manager Howard Kendall gave him a three-month suspension in punishment for Rathbone's declining physical condition.[18] During his suspension he met his future wife, who helped him to take a more professional approach to his drinking and eating habits.[18]
Following the departure of Pickering, Rathbone was an infrequent member of the starting eleven, but under
Preston and Halifax
Rathbone's Preston career was disrupted by a succession of injuries, including a broken arm and a fractured cheekbone.
Physiotherapy career
Rathbone then returned to Preston North End as physiotherapist.[10] He spent six years at the club, during which time they progressed from Division Three (the fourth tier of English football) to the play-off for a place in the Premier League, latterly as part of David Moyes' backroom staff.[4] When Moyes joined Everton as manager in March 2002, Rathbone followed a few months later after the clubs had agreed compensation.[27] He spent nearly eight years at the club, becoming head of sports medicine, a post he left in May 2010 after what the Liverpool Echo described as "a tumultuous season of injuries" to the Everton players.[28]
After leaving Everton, Rathbone went on to establish a business combining sports injury consultancy with motivational and after-dinner speaking.[29] In January 2011, he rejoined Preston North End on a part-time basis until the end of the 2010–11 season,[30] and also worked with the England under-17 team.[21] In November 2014, he was appointed as Head of Performance at Blackpool, overseeing medical and fitness aspects at the club.[31]
On 25 January 2017, it was announced that Rathbone would link up once again with his former Preston teammate Warren Joyce at Wigan Athletic to become the head of the club's medical team.[32] Rathbone then worked as part of the medical team at Nottingham Forest, before re-joining Everton.
On 6 October 2022, he was announced as physiotherapist and head of conditioning at National League club Oldham Athletic, once again working with now Oldham manager David Unsworth whom Rathbone knew from his time at Everton.[33]
Personal life
Rathbone is nicknamed Basil or Baz, in reference to actor
Career statistics
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Birmingham City | 1976–77 | First Division | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
1977–78 | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
1978–79 | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
Blackburn Rovers | 1978–79 | Second Division | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
1979–80 | Third Division | 28 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 1 | |
1980–81 | Second Division | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
1981–82 | Second Division | 41 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 1 | |
1982–83 | Second Division | 42 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 0 | |
1983–84 | Second Division | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
1984–85 | Second Division | 42 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 0 | |
1985–86 | Second Division | 42 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 0 | |
1986–87 | Second Division | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
Total | 273 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 310 | 2 | ||
Preston North End | 1987–88 | Third Division | 36 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 44 | 1 |
1988–89 | Third Division | 34 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 43 | 2 | |
1989–90 | Third Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
1990–91 | Third Division | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 1 | |
Total | 91 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 116 | 4 | ||
Career total | 384 | 6 | 22 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 451 | 6 |
Managerial statistics
Source:[37]
Team | From | To | Record | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
Halifax Town (caretaker) | 8 December 1992 | 31 May 1993 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 16.0 |
Honours
- Blackburn Rovers
- Football League Third Division runner-up: 1979–80
References
General
- Rathbone, Mick (2011), The Smell of Football, Vision Sports, ISBN 978-1-907637-14-8
Specific
- ^ Rathbone 2011, p. 55
- ^ ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
- ^ Rathbone 2011, p. 19
- ^ a b "Mick 'Basil' Rathbone Exclusive". Preston North End F.C. 26 June 2008. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011.
- ^ Rathbone 2011, p. 35
- ^ Rathbone 2011, p. 36
- ^ Rathbone 2011, p. 42
- ^ Matthews, p. 212.
- ^ Matthews, pp. 212–14.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Mick Rathbone Remembers". Lancashire Evening Telegraph. 21 April 2001. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ Rathbone 2011, p. 47
- ^ a b c d Rathbone 2011, p. 60
- ^ Rathbone 2011, p. 46
- ^ Rathbone 2011, p. 64
- ^ Rathbone 2011, p. 66
- ^ a b Rathbone 2011, p. 67
- ^ Rathbone 2011, p. 69
- ^ a b Rathbone 2011, p. 72
- ^ "Blackburn Rovers". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ "Mick's Healing Hands For PNE Players". Lancashire Evening Telegraph. 25 September 1997. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ a b Veevers, Nicholas (9 May 2011). "Full circle for 'Baz'". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ Haylett, Trevor (9 December 1992). "Worthington's Halifax link". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
- ^ Drury, Peter (27 April 2001). "When competing at the bottom beats winning". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
- ^ "A–Z". F.C. Halifax Town. 17 November 2004. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.
- ^ "Mick Rathbone". ShaymenOnline. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
- ^ Metcalf, Rupert (10 March 1995). "Dispute over Roberts". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
- ^ "Moyes swoops on North End". Lancashire Evening Telegraph. 4 September 2002. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ O'Keeffe, Greg (18 May 2010). "Everton FC physio Mick Rathbone leaves Goodison Park". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ "Crossing the white line: '35 years in professional football'". Crossing The White Line. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.
- ^ "Cort to stay at Deepdale until end of the season". Lancashire Evening Post. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ Watt, William (21 November 2014). "Vastly experienced pair join Clark's staff". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
- ^ Jones, Ed (25 January 2017). "Wigan Athletic announce staff changes". Wigan Athletic F.C. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ "Mick Rathbone Joins Latics". www.oldhamathletic.co.uk. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- ^ "Oliver Rathbone: Rochdale sign ex-Manchester United midfielder". BBC Sport. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ "Rathbone Transcript". Everton F.C. 18 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012.
- ^ "Longlist For William Hill Sports Book of Year Revealed" (Press release). William Hill. 30 September 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012.
- ^ a b Mick Rathbone at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- ^ "Mike Rathbone". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 5 April 2012.