The goalkeeper only made a handful of appearances for Leeds but still left plenty of memories.
For any goalkeeper not suffering from an injury, the ultimate humiliation comes when a manager decides to sacrifice a substitution that could be used on his outfield players by making a change between the sticks.
Five years ago today, Simon Grayson was preparing his Leeds side for a clash with the club he left to take over at Elland Road, Blackpool.
Former Leeds boss Simon Grayson
One player who would have also been looking to prove a point to the Tangerines, as well as his own fans, was goalkeeper Paul Rachubka. The American-born stopper had also moved from Bloomfield Road and was enjoying a run in the team following an injury to first-choice keeper Andy Lonergan.
Having made several mistakes in the games leading up to the Blackpool fixture, the former Manchester United trainee would have been hoping that lining up against his old side would have brought the best out of him.
It certainly did not.
Lomana Lua Lua opened the scoring after Rachubka spilled an effort
Blackpool took the lead when Rachubka parried a fairly simple shot right into the path of Lomana Lua Lua who tucked home into an empty net from around six yards.
And while it was a very similar story for Blackpool’s third – he spilled a low shot into Jonjo Shelvey’s path – it was perhaps the second goal that confirmed that Rachubka was not going to be considered alongside the likes of Gary Sprake, David Harvey and Nigel Martyn in the pantheon of Leeds’ greatest stoppers.
A cross was floated in the box but should have been easily dealt with by the 35-year-old, who now plays for Bury. However, he managed to spill the ball and gift it straight to the Blackpool forward, whose effort was only kept out by Tom Lees’ arm.
The defender was duly sent off and Shelvey scored from the spot.
Alex Cairns replaced Rachubka to make his debut
The horror show prompted Grayson to hand Alex Cairns his debut in the second-half. And while Blackpool would ultimately win 5-0, there was no blame placed on the academy graduate, especially as Lua Lua’s second had been a stunning finish.
Unsurprisingly, the game proved to be Rachubka’s last for Leeds as he joined various sides on loan before his permanent departure in 2013, while Grayson signed the likes of Alex McCarthy and Maik Taylor to make up for Lonergan’s absence.
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