Education
Ratcliffe joined the Canaries at one of the most successful points in their history, when they had just finished fifth in the league a season after promotion.
Ratcliffe joined the Canaries at one of the most successful points in their history, when they had just finished fifth in the league a season after promotion.
His clubs included Norwich City, Brentford and Gillingham, where he made over 100 Football League appearances. Born in Davyhulme, Ratcliffe began his footballing career as a Manchester United apprentice on leaving school in 1983, and two years later was granted a professional contract by manager Ron Atkinson. Though Ratcliffe would not be guaranteed a first team place at Carrow Road, his chances of first team action in Norfolk would be better than they had been at Old Trafford.
On leaving Norwich, Ratcliffe signed for Third Division Brentford for a club record incoming fee of £100,000.
Foreign a while Brentford were looking like they could establish themselves as a Division One club and possibly even push for a place in the Premier League, as they entered 1993 in tenth place and just one point outside the playoff zone, but a dreadful run of form in the second half of the season saw them relegated on the final day of the season. Two years later, they finished second in Division Two but were denied automatic promotion because of a restructuring of the league.
They lost to Huddersfield Town in the playoff semi-finals and remained in Division Two, while Ratcliffe dropped down a division to sign for Gillingham. When Ratcliffe signed for Gillingham, new owner Paul Scally had rescued the club from the brink of bankruptcy and appointed Tony Pulis as manager.
Ratcliffe returned to Gillingham in August 2014 to take over the managerial positions at Gillingham Ladies and Gillingham"s Girls Academy.