Noel Bailie

Noel Bailie MBE (born 23 February 1971) is a Northern Irish former semi-professional footballer who spent his entire career playing for Linfield. He played as a sweeper and wore shirt number 11. With 40 club titles with Linfield, he is the most decorated player from the British Isles.^{[citation needed]}

Noel Bailie
MBE

Personal information
Date of birth	(1971-02-23) 23 February 1971 (age 54)
Place of birth	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Position(s)	Central defender, sweeper
Youth career
	Hillsborough Boys Club
1986–1989	Linfield
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989–2011	Linfield
International career
1990–1994	Northern Ireland U21	2	(0)
1990	Northern Ireland U23	1	(0)
1990–1995	Irish League XI	2	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Bailie joined Linfield in 1986 from Hillsborough Boys' Club and this was the only club he ever played for during his senior career. Bailie began playing in the reserve team (Linfield Swifts) and made his first team debut on 30 March 1989 away to Ballymena United in the County Antrim Shield first round tie at the age of 18. In the 1993–94 season he was named as the Ulster Footballer of the Year.^[1] Bailie played under four different Linfield managers - Roy Coyle, Eric Bowyer, Trevor Anderson and David Jeffrey.

He played his 1,000th game for Linfield in a 0–0 draw against Crusaders on the 24 April 2010, getting a guard of honour from both sets of players as well as spectators as he left the pitch after the match.^[2] He made his final career appearance in Linfield's 1–0 win over Portadown on 30 April 2011, where he lifted the IFA Premiership trophy. This was his 1,013th appearance for the club in all competitions.

Bailie's number 11 jersey was retired by the club upon his retirement as a player at the end of the 2010–11 season. Bailie was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to football in Northern Ireland.^[3][4]

Honours

Club

Linfield

• Irish League (10): 1992–93, 1993–94, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11
• Irish Cup (8): 1993–94, 1994–95, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11
• Irish League Cup (8): 1991–92, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2007–08
• Setanta Sports Cup: 2005
• County Antrim Shield (6): 1994–95, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06
• Irish FA Charity Shield (3): 1993, 1994, 2000
• Gold Cup (2): 1989–90, 1996–97
• Floodlit Cup (2): 1993–94, 1997–98
• Ulster Cup: 1992–93

See also

• List of men's footballers with the most official appearances
• List of one-club men