 Rioch in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bruce David Rioch | ||
| Date of birth | (1947-09-06)6 September 1947 (age 78) | ||
| Place of birth | Aldershot, England | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1964–1969 | Luton Town | 149 | (47) |
| 1969–1974 | Aston Villa | 154 | (34) |
| 1974–1976 | Derby County | 106 | (34) |
| 1976–1977 | Everton | 30 | (3) |
| 1977–1979 | Derby County | 41 | (4) |
| 1978 | →Birmingham City (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1979 | →Sheffield United (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| 1980–1981 | Seattle Sounders | 46 | (4) |
| 1981–1984 | Torquay United | 71 | (6) |
| Total | 608 | (133) | |
| International career | |||
| 1975–1978 | Scotland | 24 | (6) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1982–1984 | Torquay United | ||
| 1985 | Seattle Storm | ||
| 1986–1990 | Middlesbrough | ||
| 1990–1992 | Millwall | ||
| 1992–1995 | Bolton Wanderers | ||
| 1995–1996 | Arsenal | ||
| 1998–2000 | Norwich City | ||
| 2000–2001 | Wigan Athletic | ||
| 2005–2007 | OB | ||
| 2008 | AaB | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Bruce David Rioch (/ˈriːɒk/; born 6 September 1947) is a Britishfootball manager and former player for theScotland national team. His last managerial post was atAaB in theDanish Superliga in 2008.
As a player, he made more than 550 appearances inthe Football League and, by virtue of his parents' birthplaces, represented Scotland in 24 matches; he became the first player born in England tocaptain Scotland. As a manager, he has taken charge of clubs in England, including Arsenal, where he signed Dennis Bergkamp, and in the United States, and Denmark. His brotherNeil, sonGregor and nephewMatty Holmes were also professional footballers.
Rioch was born inAldershot, Hampshire: his father served there with theScots Guards, eventually becoming a sergeant major. His father had been born inKinneff, Aberdeenshire, and his mother inSkye, each qualifying him to play for Scotland.[2] After moving toLuton, Bedfordshire, at the age of 14, he joined his local side,Luton Town, turning professional in September 1964. He made his first team debut later that month, and his league debut in November 1964 in a 1–0 defeat at home toSouthend United. He spent a couple of years establishing himself and was a regular member of the Luton team, scoring 24 goals, that won theFourth Division title in 1968. He moved toAston Villain July 1969 for a fee of £100,000, then a record fee paid by aSecond Division side. He won aLeague Cup runners up medal in 1971, Villa losing 2–0 toTottenham Hotspur.
He moved toDerby County in February 1974, winning aLeague Championship medal. He joinedEverton in December 1976, but returned to Derby County in November 1977. After a dispute with the Derby manager,Tommy Docherty, Rioch had brief loan spells withBirmingham City in December 1978 and withSheffield United in March 1979. He then left theBaseball Ground to play forNASL sideSeattle Sounders. While playing with Seattle Sounders in 1980 he was named to the NASL First Team All-Stars.[3][4] He returned to England in October 1980 when he joinedTorquay United as player-coach, working at first underMike Green and then underFrank O'Farrell.
In July 1982, Rioch became player-manager of Torquay United, but left in January 1984. In February 1985, after 13 months out of the game he was appointed manager ofFC Seattle, of the USWestern Soccer Alliance, but resigned in September 1985 to return to England.[5]
He was appointed as manager ofMiddlesbrough in February 1986 and his first success in management came in 1987 when he guided Middlesbrough to runners-up spot in the Third Division and promotion to the Second Division at the end of a season which had started with them locked out ofAyresome Park by theofficial receiver and on the verge of bankruptcy. A year later they won a second successive promotion, this time as winners of the Second Division promotion/First Division relegation playoffs. Middlesbrough showed great promise in the first half of 1988–89, but fell away badly and were relegated on the last day of the season (despite having not occupied a relegation place prior to that). He was sacked the following March as the Teessiders hovered just above the Second Division drop zone but on the brink of their first ever Wembley final in theZenith Data Systems Cup.
Rioch made a quick return to management the following month withMillwall and guided them to a playoff place in the 1990–91 Second Division campaign, but left in March 1992.
Rioch's next stop was atBolton Wanderers, becoming manager in May 1992. In his first season they beat cup holders Liverpool 2–0 at Anfield in an FA Cup replay which many fans feel was the start of Bolton's resurgence. They finished runners-up in Division Two and won promotion to Division One. The following year Bolton finished in a respectable mid-table position as well as beating Premier League opponents Arsenal, Everton and Aston Villa in the F.A cup. In the 1994/95 season they were League Cup losing finalists toLiverpool and beatReading 4–3 in extra time in the Division One playoff final after being 2–0 down at half time.
The playoff final victory was Rioch's last game as Bolton manager. A few weeks later he accepted theArsenal manager's job and was replaced at Bolton byRoy McFarland. He is considered to be the best Bolton manager of all time by the club's supporters.[citation needed]
In1995–96, his only season at Arsenal, Rioch guidedArsenal to aUEFA Cup place, finishing fifth in the Premiership. It was achieved on the last day of the season, at the expense ofEverton,Blackburn Rovers andTottenham Hotspur. Arsenal also reached theLeague Cup semi-finals, but lost on away goals toAston Villa,[6][7] and were knocked out of theFA Cup in the third round by First Division sideSheffield United.[8][9]
Just before the beginning of the1996–97 season, Rioch was sacked, after a dispute with the club's board of directors over transfer funds.
Rioch was also known for his intensive training methods, according to former Arsenal playerAdrian Clarke.[10]
After leaving Arsenal, he worked as assistant manager underStewart Houston (his former assistant at Arsenal) atQueens Park Rangers, but was sacked along with Houston after just over a year atLoftus Road.[11][12]
In May 1998, Rioch was appointed manager ofNorwich City in Division One. He resigned after less than two seasons at the helm after failing to get the Canaries anywhere near the promotion and playoff places that the club had long been hoping for. He cited a perceived lack of ambition at the club as the main reason for his decision to resign (he correctly predicted that the club's star playerCraig Bellamy would inevitably be sold), however he also acknowledged that the club's uncertain financial position meant that the transfer funds available to him were limited.
Rioch made a swift return to management withWigan Athletic for the2000–01 season. He won the Manager of the Month award for November 2000,[13] but left the club the following February, as they occupied the Division Two play-off zone.[14] The club said that Rioch had resigned, but he said he was dismissed.[citation needed]
Rioch was intent on returning from management, and was linked with theDerby County manager's job afterJohn Gregory was sacked at the end of the2002–03 season. But it was four years before he made his return to management. He was appointed as head coach ofDanish Superliga sideOB in June 2005. He led OB to a third place in his first season in charge, but decided to leave the club on 12 March 2007 due to his wife's illness, as the official explanation. The media, however, reported that the actual cause was a dispute between Rioch and the management of OB.[citation needed]
In June 2008, Rioch returned to management with Danish championsAaB after former head coachErik Hamrén moved toRosenborg BK.[15] His first priority was to try to qualify AaB for the Champions League which they entered in the second qualifying round. He guided them into the group stage after defeatingFK Modriča andFBK Kaunas. By beatingCeltic, AaB came third and thus entered theUEFA Cup. Rioch, however, did not witness this victory from the bench: On 23 October 2008 he was dismissed as AaB had only two victories from ten games and were second from bottom of the Danish league.[16]
In November 2009, Rioch was linked with a return to football as manager of theScotland national team, this following the departure ofGeorge Burley.[17] In March 2010, he took training sessions atCornishnon-League clubFalmouth Town, near his home.[18] He later became involved with coaching at another Cornish club,Penryn Athletic of theSouth West Peninsula League.[19][20]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1975 | 8 | 4 |
| 1976 | 6 | 2 | |
| 1977 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1978 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 24 | 6 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 May 1975 | Ninian Park,Cardiff, Wales |  Wales | 2-2 | 2-2 | 1974–75 British Home Championship | [22] |
| 2 | 24 May 1975 | Wembley Stadium,London, England |  England | 1-2 | 1-5 | 1974–75 British Home Championship | [23] |
| 3 | 29 October 1975 | Hampden Park,Glasgow, Scotland |  Denmark | 2-1 | 3-1 | UEFA Euro 1976 qualification | [24] |
| 4 | 17 December 1975 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Romania | 1-0 | 1-1 | UEFA Euro 1976 qualification | [25] |
| 5 | 6 May 1976 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | Wales | 2-0 | 3-1 | 1975–76 British Home Championship | [26] |
| 6 | 8 September 1976 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Finland | 1-0 | 6-0 | Friendly | [26] |
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Torquay United[27] | | 1 July 1982 | 14 January 1984 | 78 | 28 | 17 | 33 | 35.9 |
| Seattle Storm |  | February 1985 | February 1986 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 46.15 |
| Middlesbrough[27] | | 2 February 1986 | 9 March 1990 | 205 | 82 | 52 | 71 | 40 |
| Millwall[27] | | 1 April 1990 | 17 March 1992 | 100 | 36 | 24 | 40 | 36 |
| Bolton Wanderers[27] | | 29 May 1992 | 8 June 1995 | 172 | 83 | 42 | 47 | 48.26 |
| Arsenal[27] | | 8 June 1995 | 12 August 1996 | 47 | 22 | 15 | 10 | 46.81 |
| Norwich City[27] | | 1 July 1998 | 13 March 2000 | 93 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 32.26 |
| Wigan Athletic[27] | | 26 June 2000 | 27 February 2001 | 43 | 19 | 15 | 9 | 44.19 |
| Odense Boldklub (OB)[28] | | July 2005 | March 2007 | 52 | 27 | 12 | 13 | 51.92 |
| Aalborg Boldspilklub (AaB)[28] | | June 2008 | October 2008 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 20 |
| Total | 813 | 335 | 211 | 267 | 41.21 | |||
Luton Town
Aston Villa
Derby County
Scotland
Middlesbrough
Bolton Wanderers
