Perhaps one of the most bewildering phenomena to grace Scottish football is the ostensible overnight success story of Bailey Rice. Born on the 4th of October in 2006, by the tender age of 18, Rice had managed to make his way into the world of professional football. Not to any random club, mind you, but to none other than the Rangers. Now don't get yourself in a bollocks tangle, if it's a detailed history of his time at our beloved Celtic you're after, you'll be left wanting. As a Scottish born lad, one might expect a stinging sense of betrayal that he turned to the dark side. But, rest assured, he evidently never wore the green and white.
Given his "impressive" stats, it seems Rice has a flair for embodying the word 'underwhelming'. Standing tall at 6 feet (or 1.85m for those preferring the European approach to measurement), and tipping the scales at a fighting fit 11 stone 2 pounds (that's 71kg if you're again prone to continental methods), he morphs perfectly into his role. Gloriously sporting the #49 jersey, he is a central defensive midfielder. This is a rather technical term for a position where you stand around in the middle of the ground trying to look busy.
A quick jaunt through the annals of his career and it's plain to see Rice's journey has been nothing short of uninspiring. His 2022-2023 season debut with Rangers marked a not-so-memorable one appearance for the first team. In the subsequent 2023-2024 season, he managed to double his previous record with two appearances. And letโs not forget his dazzling 2024-2025 season when he achieved the dizzying heights of seven appearances.
Yet despite this meteoric non-rise, young Rice continued to persevere. However, the grim reality of the present 2025-2026 season serves as a harsh reminder as he's yet to step foot on that green rectangle for a first-team appearance. It is, however, to be noted that he had the golden opportunity to grace the field in the League Cup 2025-2026 with one start, and the Scottish Cup in the 2024 - 2025 season, again startling the spectators with another one start and one appearance as a substitute.
So, here we have it โ the undeniably 'impressive' career of Bailey Rice thus far. And to think, all those birthdays wasted on football when he could have become a balloon artist or something equally practical.
