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 Football League representing Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End. He played as a full back. After injury forced his retirement as a player he studied physiotherapy, and worked in that field for Halifax Town, Preston North End, and, from 2002 to 2010, Everton, where he became head of sports medicine. His son, Oliver, also became a professional footballer.
Playing career
Birmingham City
Rathbone was born in Sheldon, Birmingham, and attended Sir Wilfrid Martineau School. His parents were both factory workers. He had ambitions to become a doctor, but decided instead to pursue a career in football when Birmingham City, the club he supported, offered him an apprenticeship in December 1974; as a schoolboy Rathbone had been associated with local rivals Aston Villa. He was capped twice at youth level by England. The 17-year-old Rathbone made his first-team debut on 31 August 1976 in a League Cup defeat to Blackpool at Bloomfield Road, and had a poor game as he later admitted that "I was at fault for both goals" and "had absolutely no confidence at all" due to what he deemed to be an intimidating atmosphere in the Birmingham City dressing room. He was so low on confidence that he tried to avoid manager Willie Bell so as to avoid training with or playing for the first team. He also recalled how he was never able to effectively pass the ball, either in training or in matches, to star forward Trevor Francis due to the nerves he felt in the presence of his childhood hero. However, he made his league debut on 20 October, as a substitute replacing Archie Styles in a 1–0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.
He turned professional in November 1976, 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. 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!" He remained at Birmingham throughout Ramsey's reign, however his confidence remained very low. 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.
Blackburn Rovers
Rathbone joined Blackburn Rovers on a three-month loan in March 1979. Veteran midfielder Alan Birchenall immediately gave him nickname "Baz", in reference to actor Basil Rathbone. 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. 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. Rathbone signed a three-year contract and received a £2,000 signing-on fee. 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". New manager Howard Kendall gave him a three-month suspension in punishment for Rathbone's declining physical condition. During his suspension he met his future wife, who helped him to take a more professional approach to his drinking and eating habits.
Following the departure of Pickering, Rathbone was an infrequent member of the starting eleven, but under Bobby Saxton, appointed in 1981, by which time Blackburn had returned to the second tier, he became the regular first choice at left back. He suffered a broken leg in 1983, and a hamstring injury deprived him of an appearance at Wembley Stadium in the final of the Full Members Cup in 1987. In all, Rathbone spent eight seasons with Blackburn before Preston North End manager John McGrath paid a fee of £20,000 for his services in August 1987.