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Pat Rice

A man who served Arsenal for well-over forty years, Pat Rice also served Northern Ireland for a decade...

Name: Patrick James Rice MBE
Born: 17 March 1949, Belfast
Height: 5.09 ft
Weight: 12.07 st
Position: Right-Back

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 49 Full Caps (1968-1979), 2 Under-23 Caps (1968-1969).
Club Honours: (with Arsenal) Football League Champion 1970/71, Runner-Up 1972/73; FA Cup Winner 1970/71, 1978/79, Runner-Up 1971/72, 1977/78, 1979/80; European Cup Winners’ Cup Runner-Up 1979/80; FA Youth Cup Winner 1965/66; (with Watford) Football League Division One Runner-Up 1982/83, Football League Division Two Runner-Up 1981/82 (promoted).


Club Career:
Clubs
Seasons
Signed
Fee
League
FA Cup
FL Cup
Europe
Other
Arsenal
67/68-80/81
Mar-66
Youth
391(6)/12
67(0)/1
36(0)/0
26(1)/0
1(0)/0
Watford
80/81-83/84
Nov-80
Free
112(0)/ 2
10(0)/0
9(0)/0
0(1)/0
2(0)/0
TOTALS
£0
503(6)/14
77(0)/1
45(0)/0
26(2)/0
3(0)/0


Biography:
Born in Belfast, but raised in the shadow of Highbury, Pat Rice's association with Arsenal was inevitable. Almost thirty years after playing his final game for the Gunners he was voted as the club's 17th greatest ever player.

...

With Northern Ireland, Rice was a regular choice for a decade, normally in his favoured right-back role, but also on the left or in the centre of defence as successive managers tinkered with the back four to make room for a number of gifted defenders or on occasion to make-do and mend for the absence. Frustratingly for Rice his international career stalled on 49 caps as he missed the 1980 British Championship success due to Arsenal's appearances in the FA Cup and Cup Winners' Cup finals and thereafter Billy Bingham installed Jimmy Nicholl as his first-choice number two.


...

Pat Rice was a long-time member of the Arsenal back-room, including spells as youth team coach and briefly caretaker manager in 1996. He was assistant manager until his retirement in 2012. His services were recognised with an MBE in the 2013 New Years Honours List.

More to follow.

Wikipedia

Arsenal Fifty Greatest Players

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
10-09-1968 Israel........ A W 3-2 FR
10-09-1969 USSR.......... H D 0-0 WCQ
15-05-1971 England....... H L 0-1 BC
18-05-1971 Scotland...... A W 1-0 BC
22-05-1971 Wales......... H W 1-0 BC
13-10-1971 USSR.......... H D 1-1 ECQ

16-02-1972 Spain......... H D 1-1 ECQ
20-05-1972 Scotland...... H L 0-2 BC
23-05-1972 England....... A W 1-0 BC
27-05-1972 Wales......... A D 0-0 BC
18-10-1972 Bulgaria...... A L 0-3 WCQ
14-02-1973 Cyprus........ A L 0-1 WCQ
12-05-1973 England....... H L 1-2 BC
16-05-1973 Scotland...... A W 2-1 BC
19-05-1973 Wales......... H W 1-0 BC

26-09-1973 Bulgaria...... H D 0-0 WCQ
14-11-1973 Portugal...... A D 1-1 WCQ
11-05-1974 Scotland...... H W 1-0 BC
15-05-1974 England....... A L 0-1 BC
18-05-1974 Wales......... A L 0-1 BC
04-09-1974 Norway........ A L 1-2 ECQ
16-03-1975 Yugoslavia.... H W 1-0 ECQ
17-05-1975 England....... H D 0-0 BC
20-05-1975 Scotland...... A L 0-3 BC
23-05-1975 Wales......... H W 1-0 BC
03-09-1975 Sweden........ H L 1-2 ECQ
29-10-1975 Norway........ H W 3-0 ECQ
19-11-1975 Yugoslavia.... A L 0-1 ECQ
24-03-1976 Israel........ A D 1-1 FR
08-05-1976 Scotland...... H L 0-3 BC
11-05-1976 England....... A L 0-4 BC
14-05-1976 Wales......... A L 0-1 BC
13-10-1976 Netherlands... A D 2-2 WCQ

10-11-1976 Belgium....... A L 0-2 WCQ
27-04-1977 West Germany.. A L 0-5 FR
28-05-1977 England....... H L 1-2 BC
01-06-1977 Scotland...... A L 0-2 BC
11-06-1977 Iceland....... A L 0-1 WCQ
21-09-1977 Iceland....... H W 2-0 WCQ
12-10-1977 Netherlands... H L 0-1 WCQ
16-11-1977 Belgium....... H W 3-0 WCQ
20-09-1978 Rep of Ireland A D 0-0 ECQ
25-10-1978 Denmark....... H W 2-1 ECQ
07-02-1979 England....... A L 0-4 ECQ
19-05-1979 England....... H L 0-2 BC
22-05-1979 Scotland...... A L 0-1 BC
25-05-1979 Wales......... H D 1-1 BC
06-06-1979 Denmark....... A L 0-4 ECQ
17-10-1979 England....... H L 1-5 ECQ

Summary: 49/0. Won 13, Drew 11, Lost 25.


Northern Ireland Under-23 Cap Details:
20-03-2968 Wales......... A W 1-0 FR
26-03-1969 Italy......... A L 1-2 FR

Summary: 2/0. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 1.

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