Patrick Sean Lacey (born 16 March 1993) is an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Cymru North The Cymru North is a regional association football, football league in Wales, covering the northern half of the country. It initially had clubs with semi-professional status. Together with the Cymru South, it forms the second tier of the Welsh fo ...

side

Flint Town United Flint Town United Football Club is a football club based in Flint, Flintshire, Wales who play in the . Nicknamed "the Silkmen", they play their home games at Cae-y-Castell also known as the 'Essity Stadium' following their sponsorship deal. " ...

. He made eleven appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

. Lacey has since also competed in boxing, with his debut fight occurring in October 2021.

Football career

Early career

Lacey started his career in the academy of

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

, before joining

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, where he played alongside players such as

Ravel Morrison Ravel Ryan Morrison (born 2 February 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for UAE Second Division League club Precision. Morrison rose through the youth ranks at Manchester United where he was considered as one of their ...

and

Jesse Lingard Jesse Ellis Lingard (born 15 December 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for and captains K League 1 club FC Seoul. He has won the UEFA Europa League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, and FA Community Sh ...

. After a month with Manchester United, he was given the chance to join

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, the club he had supported as a child, and took up this offer.

Bradford City

On 8 July 2011, Lacey signed for

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

club

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

on a one-year deal following his release from

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

. During his time at Bradford he had loan spells at

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

and

Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors Limited , ;Company No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. is a British Automoti ...

, before agreeing to depart the club by mutual consent on 31 January 2012.

Accrington Stanley

On 21 July 2016, he joined

on a one-year deal. He made his debut for Stanley in the club's 1–0

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

victory against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

on 24 August, coming off the bench in the 83rd minute for

Billy Kee Billy Rodney Kee (born 1 December 1990) is a footballer who plays as a forward for side Quorn. Born in England, he represented Northern Ireland at under-19 and under-21 youth levels. Early life Kee was born in Loughborough, Leicestershire ...

. He made his

debut, and first league appearance for Accrington, against

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

on 27 August, coming off the bench in the 82nd minute for

Shay McCartan Seamus Vincent McCartan (born 18 May 1994) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a forward for NIFL Premiership side Portadown. McCartan joined Burnley in May 2010 on a two-year scholarship, having previously played for Banbridge Town a ...

. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win over

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

on 17 September. On 5 May 2017, Accrington announced they had terminated Lacey's contract after he admitted to a breach of anti-doping regulations. He had been given a 14-month ban by the

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

having tested positive for

benzoylecgonine Benzoylecgonine is the main metabolite of cocaine, formed by the liver and excreted in the urine. It is the compound tested for in most cocaine urine drug screens and in wastewater screenings for cocaine use. Biochemistry and physiology Chemical ...

, a

metabolite In biochemistry, a metabolite is an intermediate or end product of metabolism. The term is usually used for small molecules. Metabolites have various functions, including fuel, structure, signaling, stimulatory and inhibitory effects on enzymes, c ...

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

, following a game against

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

the previous November. One month after his contract was terminated, Lacey was arrested at

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

in possession of 20.3 grams of cocaine, 16.8 grams of MDMA, and £520 in counterfeit £20 notes. He pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a controlled substance, and passing an item as genuine which he knew to be a counterfeit. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison in July 2017.

Return to non-league football

Following his release from prison, on 14 January 2019 it was confirmed that Lacey had joined

on an 18-month contract. In January 2020, he joined

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

Premier Division club

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921, Stalybridge Celti ...

before later joining

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

in September 2020. After suffering a knee injury in February 2021, Lacey raised funds to pay for the surgery he needed. On 15 February 2022, it was announced that Lacey had decided to leave

in order to take up an offer with an unnamed

club. On 16 February 2022, Lacey signed for

Division One West side Warrington Rylands 1906 on a short-term deal until the end of the 2021–22 season. On 29 July 2023,

side

announced the signing of Lacey from Warrington Rylands. Just days later, on 1 August, Lacey's younger brother Luis joined him at Flint Town on loan from Transmere Rovers. He made his league debut for the Silksmen on 18 August against Ruthin Town, receiving a red card in the 53rd minute of the 1–1 draw.

Boxing career

Lacey has also fought as a professional boxer, alongside his semi-professional football career and his day job as a carpet fitter.

Professional boxing record

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="13", 10 wins (2 knockouts, 8 decisions), 0 losses , - style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Res. , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Record , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Type , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round, time , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - align=center , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Stanko Jermelic , , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Pavel Albrecht , , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Vasif Mamedov , , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Josh Crook , , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Jake Bray , , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Ryan Broten , , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Seamus Devlin , , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 8–0 , align=left, James McCarthy , , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 9–0 , align=left, Fernando Valencia , , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 10–0 , align=left, Owen Kirk , , , , , align=left, , align=left,

Personal life

Lacey's brothers, Luis and Shea are also footballers, playing for

and

, respectively. He also had an older sister Lauren and nephew Zack. Born in England, Lacey is of Irish descent.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacey, Paddy 1993 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English men's footballers English people of Irish descent Men's association football midfielders Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Southport F.C. players Vauxhall Motors F.C. players Droylsden F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players Doping cases in association football English male criminals English people convicted of drug offences English prisoners and detainees 21st-century English criminals Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players Chester F.C. players Warrington Rylands 1906 F.C. players English male boxers 21st-century English sportsmen