Players - Bill Lacey

Bill Lacey
Birthdate: 24 September 1889
Birthplace: Enniscorthy, Ireland
Date of death: 30 May 1969
Other clubs: Shelbourne (1906-08), Everton (1908-12); Shelbourne (2), Belfast United, Linfield (wartime guest), New Brighton (1924-25), Shelbourne (3 / 1925-27), Cork Bohemians (1927-31)
Signed from: Everton
Signed for LFC: £150, 27.02.1912
International debut: 13.02.1909 vs. England
International caps: Northern Ireland 23/3 (12/2 at LFC) - Ireland 3/1
Liverpool debut: 02.03.1912
Last appearance: 12.03.1924
Debut goal: 16.03.1912
Last goal: 06.01.1923
Contract expiry: June 1924
Win ratio: 43.08% W:112 D:62 L:86
Games/goals ratio: 8.97
Honours: League Championship 1921/22, 1922/23
Wartime games/goals: 1 / 0
League games / goals: 231 / 18
Total games / goals: 260 / 29

Player Profile

"As for kicking Lacey as a hobby, I can assure you it’s a waste of time, the boy is made from Solid Rock. Dynamite could not shift him off the ball." - A 1923 match report captured Billy Lacey perfectly. After impressing in Ireland with Dublin's Shelbourne, Everton spotted him and he joined the Blues in May 1908. He featured regularly in the 1910/11 season, scoring eight goals in 24 league appearances but rarely got a look in the following season, only playing 37 league games and scoring 11 goals in three and a half seasons. Liverpool made one of their shrewdest transfer deals ever when they paid £300 for Lacey and Tom Gracie as well as letting Harold Uren go in exchange in February 1912. The Liverpool Echo wrote in September 1923 of Lacey's capture: "Was there ever a transfer that turned out so profitable to the Livers!" Lacey immediately went into the first team, making his debut in a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough on 2 March 1912. The scribe at the club programme was impressed. "I have always had an idea that Lacey would make a better man for Liverpool than Everton. He has, it is true, been more than useful to the Blues, but he is the type of player that has always been associated with Liverpool than Everton. We as a rule play more robust football, due to the fact that our forwards have been bigger men. And Lacey, while he is capable of clever work, is also a dashing, fearless forward. He was distinctly the personality on the home side against Middlesbrough, and had there been another of equal calibre I am sure we must have won." Lacey played in the last 11 fixtures of that season with one goal to his credit, against Spurs on 16 March 1912.

Lacey was never renowned as a goalscorer, just 29 from 260 League and cup appearances for Liverpool, but his tricky wing-play usually on the left set up numerous chances for his colleagues. Lacey helped Liverpool reach their first major cup final, but it was Burnley who took the FA Cup home with them after their 1-0 victory at the old Crystal Palace ground. Lacey returned to Ireland to feature for, among others, his first club, Shelbourne, during World War I and as the English League recommenced he showed his versatility by playing at half-back between 1919-1921, revisiting a role he had successfully tried for Liverpool in the second part of the 1914/15 campaign. Once he returned to his old role as right-winger he was an important part of the side that won the first division championship two years running in 1922 and 1923. You could spot Lacey a mile off as his "jutting chin was the delight of the cartoonists." He was also said to have a "rounded, lovable personality" and he was certainly popular with the Liverpool faithful. Lacey was only selected nine times during 1924/25, by which time he was approaching his mid-30's, and it was no real surprise that he was allowed to leave Liverpool and move across the Mersey to join New Brighton. He moved back to his native Ireland in 1925 and retired from the game in 1931 at 42 years of age!
Appearances per season
Please note

Lacey played 23 games and scored 3 goals for the Belfast-based Irish Football Association (IFA) between 13.02.1909 - 22.10.1924. He also played 3 games and scored 1 goal for the Irish Free State between 23.04.1927-11.05.1930 whose association, Football Association of Ireland (FAI), was a rival to the IFA.

Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 231 28 0 0 1 260
1911-1912 11 0 0 0 0 11
1912-1913 21 4 0 0 0 25
1913-1914 35 8 0 0 0 43
1914-1915 32 1 0 0 0 33
1919-1920 33 5 0 0 0 38
1920-1921 22 2 0 0 0 24
1921-1922 39 3 0 0 1 43
1922-1923 30 4 0 0 0 34
1923-1924 8 1 0 0 0 9
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
15 1350 Sunderland
15 1350 Newcastle United
14 1260 Sheffield United
14 1260 Everton
14 1260 WBA
14 1260 Arsenal
13 1170 Bolton Wanderers
13 1170 Manchester City
12 1080 Chelsea
12 1080 Burnley
11 990 Bradford City
11 990 Oldham Athletic
11 990 Preston North End
10 900 Middlesbrough
10 900 Aston Villa
9 810 Manchester United
8 720 Blackburn Rovers
6 540 Huddersfield Town
6 540 Derby
6 540 Bradford Park Avenue
6 540 Tottenham
5 450 Birmingham City
5 450 Sheffield Wednesday
4 360 Notts County
3 270 West Ham United
2 180 Stoke City
2 180 Cardiff City
2 180 Barnsley
2 180 Gateshead
1 90 Gillingham
1 90 QPR
1 90 Wolves
1 90 Bristol City
1 90 Luton Town
Total Venue
130 Away
127 Home
3 Neutral
Total Competition
231 League
28 FA Cup
1 Charity Shield
Total W D L Win % Manager
112 45 24 43 40.2% Tom Watson
98 46 27 25 46.9% David Ashworth
24 9 6 9 37.5% Matt McQueen
17 6 2 9 35.3% George Patterson
9 6 3 0 66.7% Caretaker Manager
Goals per season
Please note

Lacey played 23 games and scored 3 goals for the Belfast-based Irish Football Association (IFA) between 13.02.1909 - 22.10.1924. He also played 3 games and scored 1 goal for the Irish Free State between 23.04.1927-11.05.1930 whose association, Football Association of Ireland (FAI), was a rival to the IFA.

Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 18 11 0 0 0 29
1911-1912 1 0 0 0 0 1
1912-1913 3 3 0 0 0 6
1913-1914 6 5 0 0 0 11
1914-1915 2 0 0 0 0 2
1919-1920 3 2 0 0 0 5
1920-1921 1 1 0 0 0 2
1921-1922 1 0 0 0 0 1
1922-1923 1 0 0 0 0 1
1923-1924 0 0 0 0 0 0
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Wartime Appearances / Goals
Season Appearances Goals
1915-1916 1 0
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 02.03.1912 Middlesbrough Anfield League
50 29.11.1913 Tottenham Anfield League
100 16.01.1915 Sunderland Anfield League
150 24.04.1920 WBA The Hawthorns League
200 14.01.1922 Bradford City Anfield League
250 28.04.1923 Stoke Victoria Ground League
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 47 16.03.1912 Tottenham Anfield League
Related Articles
Swopping players

The Liverpool Echo on February 27 1912.

A last minute winner by Bill Lacey

The Liverpool Echo report on Barnsley 0 - 1 Liverpool on 15 January 1914.

How I signed Billy Lacey in sixty seconds

The Liverpool Echo on 15 February 1949. Written by William Charles Cuff, former chairman of Everton and President of the Football League from 1939-49.

Related Quotes

"As for kicking Lacey as a hobby, I can assure you it’s a waste of time, the boy is made from Solid Rock. Dynamite could not shift him off the ball."

1923 match report on Billy Lacey's toughness

Scrapbook
Billy Lacey and Ken Campbell profile pics
Billy Lacey and Ken Campbell profile pics
Billy Lacey remembers this derby 56 years later!
Billy Lacey remembers this derby 56 years later!
Lacey congratulates the Lawlers - May 1965
Lacey congratulates the Lawlers - May 1965
Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Shelbourne 1905-1908 Irish Football League 10 3 10 3
Everton 1908-1909 England First Division 1 0 1 0
Everton 1909-1910 England First Division 6 1 6 1
Everton 1910-1911 England First Division 24 8 26 8
Everton 1911-1912 England First Division 6 2 7 2
New Brighton 1924-1925 England Third Division North 7 0 7 0
Shelbourne 1925-1927 League of Ireland 66 12 66 12
Cork Bohemians 1927-1931 League of Ireland N/A N/A N/A N/A
Total 120 26 123 26