Patrick James Rice, MBE (born 17 March 1949) is a Northern Irish former football player and coach. As a player, he made nearly 400 appearances for Arsenal, winning the Double, and later made a hundred more appearances for Watford. He also won 49 caps for Northern Ireland. After retirement from playing professionally he was at the helm of Arsenal's academy teams, before serving as caretaker manager and then assistant manager, a position he held since the appointment of Arsène Wenger in 1996. Rice helped the club to two more Doubles, amongst other silverware, in that time. He announced his retirement from the post on 10 May 2012.
Playing career
Arsenal
Born in Belfast, Rice grew up in London where he attended Gifford Street Primary School as a young boy. He later on worked at a greengrocers on Gillespie Road which is the street Highbury Stadium is upon. Veering toward the sport of football, Rice joined Arsenal as an apprentice in 1964. He turned professional in 1966 and worked his way up as a defender through the club's youth and reserve teams. Rice thereafter made his first-team debut in the League Cup against Burnley on 5 December 1967, a match that Arsenal won 2–1.
Playing in particular as a right back, Rice was initially a bit-part player, making only 16 appearances in his first three seasons at Arsenal. He also went on to miss out on Arsenal's 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup win over RSC Anderlecht. However, during this time he won his first cap for Northern Ireland, against Israel on 10 September 1968, while still largely a reserve player. Peter Storey was Arsenal's first choice right back, but he was soon moved into central midfield at the start of the 1970–71 season. With this being so, Rice took his place and was a near-ever present figure in the side of that season, as Arsenal won the League and FA Cup Double. In all the defender played a total of 137 times for the Hornets.
Coaching career
Rice rejoined Arsenal in 1984 as youth team coach, a post he held for the next 12 years, winning the FA Youth Cup twice in 1987–88 and 1993–94. In September 1996, Rice was briefly caretaker manager of the club after the resignation of Stewart Houston, who himself was caretaker after the sacking of Bruce Rioch. He managed the side for three FA Premier League matches (all of which Arsenal won) and a 3–2 defeat in the UEFA Cup at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Upon the arrival of Arsène Wenger at the end of the month, Rice became his assistant, and played a key role in helping the club to their success in the 1990s and 2000s, including the Doubles of 1997–98 and 2001–02, and Arsenal's unbeaten League season of 2003–04. He holds the distinction (along with Bob Wilson) of having taken part, as player or coach, in all three of Arsenal's Doubles.
On 5 May 2012, it was announced that Rice would be stepping down after an accumulative 44 years with club, since joining as an apprentice, with the home game against Norwich being his final home game as Arsenal No.2. Wenger stated, "Pat is a true Arsenal legend and has committed almost his whole life to Arsenal Football Club, which shows huge loyalty and devotion to this club...I will always be indebted to him for his expert insight into Arsenal and football as a whole. On the training pitches and on matchdays, Pat has always been a passionate, loyal and insightful colleague, who we will all miss." His replacement was former Arsenal player Steve Bould.
Personal life
Pat Rice started training at Arsenal at age 14 and would spend all his spare time developing his fitness and football skills. Jon Sammels memory of Rice as a schoolboy who once requested Sammels autograph, "He [Pat] used to live down the road and his brother, Alf used to have the hairdressers at the bottom of Avenell Road where a lot of the lads used to get their hair cut. Pat was always outside kicking a ball around". Getty images pictured Rice, with his wife Betty holding son Stephen as a child, taken at their Cockfosters home in 1975. In the 1970s Rice co-wrote a regular football column with Steve Stammers for The Evening News.
In November 2013 it was announced that Rice had been admitted to hospital for cancer treatment.
After making a recovery in March 2014, he returned to The Emirates at half-time during an FA Cup game against Everton, making a joke about Spurs. The Gunners went on to win the game 4–1. After retiring from full time coaching Rice became an Arsenal scout.
Honours
Player
Arsenal Youth
- FA Youth Cup: 1966
Arsenal
- Football League First Division: 1970–71
- FA Cup: 1970–71,
Watford
- Football League Second Division runner–up: 1981–82
Youth Team Manager
Arsenal
- FA Youth Cup: 1988, 1994