Graham Rix
Encyclopedia
Graham Cyril Rix is an English
former football
player and coach
. He was fired by Heart of Midlothian
in March 2006, which was his most recent role in professional football. He is currently a coach at the Glenn Hoddle Academy
in southern Spain
.
, Yorkshire
, Rix joined Arsenal
as an apprentice in 1974 and turned professional the year after. He made his debut for the club against Leicester City
on 2 April 1977, and marked it by scoring the opening goal. Rix immediately became a regular on the left wing
, replacing George Armstrong
. Together with Liam Brady
he formed part of an impressive attacking midfield, which helped Arsenal to three successive cup finals between 1978 and 1980. Arsenal only won one of these, in 1979 against Manchester United
; the final score was 3–2, with Rix crossing for Alan Sunderland
's last-minute winner, just seconds after United had equalised to level the score 2–2.
Arsenal reached the Cup Winners' Cup
final the following season, against Valencia
; the match finished 0–0 after extra time – a penalty shootout
ensued, but Rix missed his kick and Arsenal lost. After the departure of Liam Brady
to Juventus that summer, many believed Rix would also leave but he stayed at the club, and became captain in 1983. Arsenal's form slumped in the early 1980s, though, meaning Rix was unable to claim any silverware as skipper.
kept Rix out of the team in the mid-1980s, and he lost his starting place in the side to Martin Hayes
. Rix spent a spell on loan at Brentford
, before being released in 1988. In all he played 464 times for the Gunners, scoring 51 goals.
After leaving the London club, Rix was subject of offers from his home city club Sheffield Wednesday
as well as Queen's Park Rangers, but he instead signed for French
club Caen
, where he would spent three years before transferring to Le Havre
, and then played in Scotland
for Dundee
before announcing his retirement as a player in 1993.
, including making five appearances at the 1982 World Cup
.
as youth team coach in mid-1993; during an injury crisis, he briefly enlisted as a player for the club, playing a solitary Premier League
match in May 1995 against his old side Arsenal. Rix became assistant manager in 1996 under new Blues boss Ruud Gullit
, and continued in the same role under Gullit's successor Gianluca Vialli
, winning the FA Cup in 1997, and the League Cup
and Cup Winners' Cup in 1998.
, of which he served six, for having underage sex and indecently assaulting a 15-year-old girl, who was the daughter of a family friend. He was also ordered to be placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years, and banned by the FA
from working with youth players under the age of 16. Upon his release from prison he immediately rejoined Chelsea in his old job. He won the FA Cup again in 2000 before leaving the club after Vialli was sacked by Ken Bates
, after a brief spell as caretaker manager.
between 2001 and 2002, before he was sacked in favour of Director of Football
Harry Redknapp
. Rix managed Oxford United
for seven months in 2004. They declined sharply during the final three months of the 2003–04
Division Three campaign – falling from the automatic promotion places to ninth in the final table and failing to merit even a playoff place. He was sacked after their dismal form continued into 2004–05
.
club Heart of Midlothian
, it was confirmed that Rix would take over at Tynecastle. He officially took the position of head coach on 8 November 2005. Events reported in February 2006, by Scottish newspapers, suggested that Rix was unhappy with Vladimir Romanov
's "hands on" approach and speculation increased that Romanov was involved in team selection. On 22 March 2006 Rix was sacked as manager after just four months in charge."
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
former football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player and coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
. He was fired by Heart of Midlothian
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
in March 2006, which was his most recent role in professional football. He is currently a coach at the Glenn Hoddle Academy
Glenn Hoddle Academy
The Glenn Hoddle Academy was established in 2008, by former England international footballer Glenn Hoddle. Hoddle set the academy up in the memory of his brother, Carl, a former Tottenham Hotspur player who died aged 40....
in southern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Arsenal
Originally from DoncasterDoncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, Rix joined Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
as an apprentice in 1974 and turned professional the year after. He made his debut for the club against Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
on 2 April 1977, and marked it by scoring the opening goal. Rix immediately became a regular on the left wing
Winger (sport)
In certain sports, such as football, field hockey, ice hockey, handball, rugby union, lacrosse and rugby league, the term winger is the name of a position. It refers to positions on the extreme left and right sides of the pitch . In American football and Canadian football, the analogous position...
, replacing George Armstrong
George Armstrong (footballer)
George "Geordie" Armstrong was an English football player and coach, primarily associated with Arsenal.Born in Hebburn, County Durham, Armstrong had trained as an electrician while playing in youth football, and was rejected by both Newcastle United and Grimsby Town. Nevertheless, he succeeded in...
. Together with Liam Brady
Liam Brady
Liam Brady is a former Irish association football player, and former assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland national football team....
he formed part of an impressive attacking midfield, which helped Arsenal to three successive cup finals between 1978 and 1980. Arsenal only won one of these, in 1979 against Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
; the final score was 3–2, with Rix crossing for Alan Sunderland
Alan Sunderland
Alan Sunderland is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Arsenal and Ipswich Town. He was capped once for England.-Career:...
's last-minute winner, just seconds after United had equalised to level the score 2–2.
Arsenal reached the Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
final the following season, against Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
; the match finished 0–0 after extra time – a penalty shootout
Penalty shootout (football)
A penalty shoot-out, referred to as kicks from the penalty mark in the Laws of the Game, is the FIFA official term for a method used in association football to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a tied game...
ensued, but Rix missed his kick and Arsenal lost. After the departure of Liam Brady
Liam Brady
Liam Brady is a former Irish association football player, and former assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland national football team....
to Juventus that summer, many believed Rix would also leave but he stayed at the club, and became captain in 1983. Arsenal's form slumped in the early 1980s, though, meaning Rix was unable to claim any silverware as skipper.
After Arsenal
A series of injuries to his achilles tendonAchilles tendon
The Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...
kept Rix out of the team in the mid-1980s, and he lost his starting place in the side to Martin Hayes
Martin Hayes (footballer)
Martin Hayes is an English former footballer.-Career:Born in Walthamstow, London, Hayes played youth football for Essex schoolboys before joining Arsenal as an apprentice in June 1982...
. Rix spent a spell on loan at Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
, before being released in 1988. In all he played 464 times for the Gunners, scoring 51 goals.
After leaving the London club, Rix was subject of offers from his home city club Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
as well as Queen's Park Rangers, but he instead signed for French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
club Caen
SM Caen
Stade Malherbe Caen is a professional French football team, playing in the city of Caen, Normandy. The club was founded on 17 November 1913 following the merger of Club Malherbe Caennais and Club Sportif Caennais...
, where he would spent three years before transferring to Le Havre
Le Havre AC
Le Havre Athletic Club Football Association is a French association football club based in Le Havre. The club was founded originally as an athletics and rugby club in 1872, thus making it the oldest association football and rugby club registered in France...
, and then played in Scotland
Football in Scotland
Association football is the national sport in Scotland and highly popular throughout the country. There is a long tradition of "football" games in Orkney, Lewis and southern Scotland, especially the Scottish Borders, although many of these include carrying the ball and passing by hand, and despite...
for Dundee
Dundee F.C.
Dundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...
before announcing his retirement as a player in 1993.
International
Between 1980 and 1984, Rix played for the England national teamEngland national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
, including making five appearances at the 1982 World Cup
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:...
.
Chelsea
Rix joined ChelseaChelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
as youth team coach in mid-1993; during an injury crisis, he briefly enlisted as a player for the club, playing a solitary Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
match in May 1995 against his old side Arsenal. Rix became assistant manager in 1996 under new Blues boss Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit
OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...
, and continued in the same role under Gullit's successor Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli is an Italian football manager and former player. Since retiring, he has gone into management and punditry and is a commentator for Sky Sport Italia....
, winning the FA Cup in 1997, and the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
and Cup Winners' Cup in 1998.
Sex offences and prison term
In March 1999, Rix was sentenced to 12 months in prisonPrison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
, of which he served six, for having underage sex and indecently assaulting a 15-year-old girl, who was the daughter of a family friend. He was also ordered to be placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years, and banned by the FA
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
from working with youth players under the age of 16. Upon his release from prison he immediately rejoined Chelsea in his old job. He won the FA Cup again in 2000 before leaving the club after Vialli was sacked by Ken Bates
Ken Bates
Kenneth William Bates is a British businessman and football executive. The current chairman and now owner of Leeds United AFC, Bates was previously chairman and majority shareholder of Chelsea FC from 1982 until 2003....
, after a brief spell as caretaker manager.
Portsmouth and Oxford
Rix managed PortsmouthPortsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
between 2001 and 2002, before he was sacked in favour of Director of Football
Director of football
"Director of football" is a term describing a senior management figure at a football club, most commonly used in Europe. The exact nature of the role is often unclear and extremely variable and causes much debate in the sports media...
Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
. Rix managed Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...
for seven months in 2004. They declined sharply during the final three months of the 2003–04
2003-04 in English football
The 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game....
Division Three campaign – falling from the automatic promotion places to ninth in the final table and failing to merit even a playoff place. He was sacked after their dismal form continued into 2004–05
2004-05 in English football
The 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League...
.
Hearts
In November 2005, after speculation linking him with the manager's job at Scottish Premier LeagueScottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
club Heart of Midlothian
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
, it was confirmed that Rix would take over at Tynecastle. He officially took the position of head coach on 8 November 2005. Events reported in February 2006, by Scottish newspapers, suggested that Rix was unhappy with Vladimir Romanov
Vladimir Romanov
Vladimir Nikolayevich Romanov ; born 1947 in Tver Oblast, Russian SFSR, USSR) is an ethnic Russian businessman who also holds Lithuanian citizenship following that country's independence from the Soviet Union. He is chairman of UBIG Investments which is the majority shareholder in Scottish Premier...
's "hands on" approach and speculation increased that Romanov was involved in team selection. On 22 March 2006 Rix was sacked as manager after just four months in charge."
Managerial stats
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
| Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four... |
 |
13 September 2000 | 17 September 2000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Portsmouth Portsmouth F.C. Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from... |
|
25 February 2001 | 25 March 2002 | 56 | 16 | 23 | 17 | 28.57 |
| Oxford United Oxford United F.C. Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The... |
|
22 March 2004 | 14 November 2004 | 29 | 6 | 15 | 8 | 20.68 |
| Hearts Heart of Midlothian F.C. Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian... |
 |
8 November 2005 | 22 March 2006 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 47.36 |