Footballers who have played league football for both PNE and Birmingham
L-Z
786) Trevor Matthewson
PNE 12 apps; 1 goal
Blues 168 apps; 12 goals
PNE debut 25/08/1993 v Burnley (A) – Lost 1-4
593) Tony Morley
PNE 84 apps; 15 goals
Blues 4 apps; 3 goals
PNE debut 06/01/1973 v Q.P.R. (A) – Lost 0-3
186) Arthur Mounteney
PNE 52 apps; 11 goals
Blues 91 apps; 29 goals
PNE debut 01/09/1909 v Nottingham Forest (H) – Lost 0-1
712) Michael Rathbone
PNE 91 apps; 4 goals
Blues 20 apps; 0 goals
PNE debut 15/08/1987 v Chesterfield (H) – Lost 0-1
801) Mark Sale
PNE 13 apps; 6 goals
Blues 21 apps; 0 goals
PNE debut 13/08/1994 v Darlington (A) – Drawn 0-0
813) Andy Saville
PNE 56 apps; 30 goals
Blues 59 apps; 17 goals
PNE debut 12/08/1995 v Lincoln (H) – Lost 1-2
368) George Smithies
PNE 20 apps; 10 goals
Blues 1 app; 0 goals
PNE debut 02/11/1929 v Bradford Park Avenue (H) – Won 4-1
273) George Waddell
PNE 51 apps; 2 goals
Blues 2 apps; 0 goals
PNE debut 18/09/1920 v Newcastle (H) – Won 3-2
672) Jeffrey Wealands
PNE 4 apps; 0 goals
Blues 102 apps; 0 goals
PNE debut 26/12/1984 v Walsall (A) – Lost 1-2
439) Frank White
PNE 22 apps; 10 goals
Blues 147 apps; 46 goals
PNE debut 24/12/1938 v Leeds (H) – Won 2-0
125) Harry Wilcox
PNE 99 apps; 42 goals
Blues 14 apps; 3 goals
PNE debut 28/09/1901 v Leicester Fosse (H) – Won 5-0
978) Tom Williams
PNE 10 apps; 0 goals
Blues 4 apps; 0 goals
PNE debut 06/02/2010 v Derby (A) – Lost 3-5
708) Frank Worthington
PNE 23 apps; 3 goals
Blues 75 apps; 29 goals
PNE debut 21/02/1987 v Torquay (A) – Won 2-0
Other appearances
828) David Lucas
PNE 122 league apps; 0 goals
Made 1 league Cup appearance for Birmingham
PNE debut 27/04/1996 v Hartlepool (A) – Won 2-0
Player Profile – Mick Rathbone
Michael John "Mick" Rathbone was born in Sheldon Birmingham on 6 November 1958. He had ambitions to become a doctor, but decided instead to pursue a career in football and was capped twice by England at youth level.
Birmingham, the club he supported, offered him an apprenticeship in December 1974 and made his debut in a 2-1 defeat at Blackpool on 31 August 1976. His first division debut came as a substitute for Archie Styles in a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham on 20 October. He turned professional in November 1976 and made his home debut in a 4-2 defeat to Ipswich as a substitute replacing Gary Pendrey on 7 December. Four days later he made his first start at St.Andrews defeating Sunderland 2-0. Rathbone played 16 games in the First Division in the 1976/77 season. His form dipped and in the next two seasons saw him just make two appearances in each of the seasons. His last Blues match was a 4-0 defeat at Norwich on 16 September 1978.
Rathbone joined Blackburn on loan in February 1979 and aloan spell convinced Rovers boss John Pickering that Rathbone was just the man he need for a second division relegation fight and Birmingham boss Jim Smith reluctantly agreed to let the full-back make his move when the move was made permanent the following month for a fee of £40,000. He made 15 appearances during the season but could not stop Blackburn avoid relegation to Division Three, whilst his previous club Birmingham was relegated from Division One. His first goal came in the promotion season of 1979/80 in a 3-0 win at Ewood Park against Wimbledon on 19 January. Rathbone was an infrequent member of the starting eleven under manager John Pickering.
The arrival of Bobby Saxton in 1981 changed this and he became the first choice left back, missing just one league game in the 1981/82 season and was an ever present in seasons 1982/83, 1984/85 and 1985/86. Appearances were limited in 1983/84 due to a broken leg against Sheffield Wednesday in October 1983 and a hamstring injury deprived him of an appearance at Wembley in 1987 against Chelsea in the Full Members Cup.
In all, Rathbone spent eight seasons with Blackburn scoring twice in 273 appearances before Preston manager paid a fee of £20,000 for his services in August 1987.
Rathbone made his Lilywhite debut on 15 August 1987 in a 1-0 home defeat to Chesterfield. He made 36 appearances during the season, scoring one goal. The goal came on 9 January 1988 in a 2-0 win at Deepdale against Bristol City.
The 1988/89 season saw Rathbone score the most in one season with two goals from 34 appearances with a 1-1 draw at Bristol City and a 2-0 home win against Mansfield.
Rathbone combined playing for Preston and organising the commercial activities for Darwen but his Preston career was disrupted by a succession of injuries, including a broken arm and a fractured cheekbone to limit him to just 8 appearances in 1989/90. Rathbone scored a further goal in a 1-0 win against Mansfield in 1990/91 and made his last appearance in a 2-1 home win against Southend on 26 January 1991 as a serious knee injury forced his retirement from playing. He had scored 4 goals from 91 appearances
He began a degree course in physiotherapy at Salford University. McGrath, by then manager of Halifax, offered Rathbone the post of physiotherapist to the club, a role he could perform while continuing his formal study. In December 1992, following McGrath's resignation, Rathbone was placed in temporary charge and due to the club's financial problems meant his caretaker role lasted until the end of the season Halifax finished bottom of Division Three and dropped to the Conference and replaced by Wycombe.
Whilst continuing his role as physiotherapist, Rathbone resumed his playing career on an emergency basis for Halifax in the Conference and later became assistant manager-player-physio, but in March 1995 he was sacked as a cost-cutting measure.
Rathbone then returned to Preston as physiotherapist and spent six years at the club; When David Moyes joined Everton as manager in 2002, Rathbone followed a few months later and spent nearly eight years at the club, becoming head of sports medicine, a post he left in May 2010.
Rathbone went on to establish a business combining sports injury consultancy with motivational and after-dinner speaking. In January 2011, he rejoined Preston on a part-time basis until the end of the 2010/11 season and also worked with the England under-17 team.
Rathbone's autobiography, The Smell of Football, was longlisted for the 2011 William Hill Sports Book of the Year.
On 21 November 2014, he was appointed as Head of Performance at Blackpool, overseeing medical and fitness aspects at the club