Patrick Joseph Christopher Roche, born Dublin, Republic of Ireland, January 4, 1951. Paddy Roche started out with local side Shelbourne before he went on to appear for Manchester United, Brentford, Halifax Town, Chester City, and finally Northwich Victoria during a rollercoaster goalkeeping career which spanned more than two decades. The Dubliner also played for the Repuplic of Ireland for whom he accumulated eight senior appearances between 1971 and 1975, keeping a clean sheet on three occasions.
After accumulating over first team 100 appearances for League of Ireland team Shelbourne, Paddy Roche was brought to Manchester United for a transfer fee estimated to be somewhere in the region of £15,000 at the front end of the 1973-74 season. Roche was given his senior debut for Manchester United in a narrow 1-0 Second Division defeat to Oxford United at Manor Ground on the 8th of February 1975, and proceeded to make his second first team appearance for The Reds in a comfortable and workmanlike 2-0 Division Two win over Hull City at Old Trafford seven days later. Following a 2-1 First Division loss against FA Cup holders West Ham United at Boleyn Ground on the 25th of October the same year, demanding Manchester United supremo Tommy Docherty decided to drop regular goalkeeper Alex Stepney and bring in Roche instead of the Londoner. Roche kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 Division One victory over fellow top-flight new boys Norwich City at Old Trafford the following Saturday, but after letting in ten goals in three matches against Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal respectively in the month of November, Stepney was reinstated as first choice goalkeeper.
The Irishman nevertheless enjoyed a good run during the 1977-78 season when he made 23 first-team appearances between the sticks for Manchester United, but he ultimately lost his goalkeeping place to former Cape Town City and Wits University shot stopper Gary Bailey partly into the 1978-79 campaign. After failing to establish himself as a regular goalkeeper for United, he moved on to Middlesex outfit Brentford where he notched up 71 Third Division appearances for The Bees before he signed with Division Four side Halifax Town in 1984. Following 184 Football League outings for The Shaymen, he played for first Third Division Chester City and then Non-League Nortwich Victoria where he finished his netminding days at the end of the 1989-90 season. A Republic of Ireland international, Roche was handed his senior debut for The Boys in Green by recently appointed manager Liam Tuohy in a heavy 6-0 European Championship Qualifier defeat to Austria at Stadion der Stadt Linz on the 10th of October 1971, and went on to win a total of eight full caps for the country of his birth, with his final appearance coming in a comprehensive 4-0 European Championship Qualifier triumph against Turkey at Dalymount Park on the 29th of October 1975. Paddy Roche Playing Career: Shelbourne, Manchester United, Brentford, Halifax Town, Chester City, Northwich Victoria. Playing Honours: None.
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