John Robinson (footballer, born 1971)

John Robert Campbell Robinson (born 29 August 1971) is a Welsh former professional footballer. He made over 400 appearances during his professional career with Brighton & Hove Albion, Charlton Athletic, Cardiff City and Gillingham and also won 30 caps for Wales.[2]

For other people named John Robinson, see John Robinson (disambiguation).

John Robinson
Personal information
Full name John Robert Campbell Robinson[1]
Date of birth (1971-08-29) 29 August 1971
Place of birth Bulawayo, Rhodesia
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1987–1989 Brighton & Hove Albion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1992 Brighton & Hove Albion 62 (6)
1992–2003 Charlton Athletic 332 (35)
2003–2004 Cardiff City 42 (3)
2004 Gillingham 4 (0)
2005 Crawley Town 8 (2)
2005 Lewes 7 (1)
Total 455 (47)
National team
Wales U21 16 (3)
1995–2002 Wales 30 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life

Robinson was born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to a Glasgow-born father and Rhodesian mother. His father's job later moved the family to Durban in South Africa before they settled in Sussex in order for Robinson to pursue his dream of playing professional football.[3]

Career

After attending the Bobby Charlton Soccer School,[4] Robinson began his professional career at Brighton & Hove Albion, signing his first deal with the club in 1987. In 1992, he moved to Charlton Athletic for £75,000; he would spend the bulk of his career with the south-east London club. In eleven years at Charlton, he helped the Addicks to two promotions and also enjoyed three seasons of Premier League football. He played in their dramatic win over Sunderland in the 1998 play-off final, winning 7–6 on penalties after a 4–4 draw, with Robinson himself scoring one of the penalties.

Robinson was released at the end of the 2002–03 season and joined Cardiff City following their promotion to Division One, making his debut on the opening day of the 2003–04 season in a 0–0 draw with Rotherham United.[5] In October 2004, Robinson decided to leave Cardiff to sign for Gillingham to be closer to his mother, who was suffering from illness, and family.[3][6] However, he retired after making just four appearances for the club after becoming disillusioned with professional football, stating "I haven't fallen out of love with playing football, it's the politics of football and becoming a commodity I don't like."[3] He later had short spells with non-league sides Crawley Town and Lewes before retiring.[7]

After retirement

After leaving football, Robinson set up a property business with former Cardiff teammate Martyn Margetson and also runs his own football training school.[8] In 2008, he managed Canterbury School (Ft. Myers, FL) to an unbeaten 15-0-2 season in his first year at the school. On 21 May 2013 Robinson was named the head coach of the SW Florida Adrenaline of the USL Premier Development League.[9] In 2017 he was elected to the Charlton Athletic Hall of Fame.

References
  1. Hayes, Dean (2006). The Who's Who of Cardiff City. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-462-0.
  2. "John Robinson". Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  3. Callow, Nick (12 December 2004). "Exit Robinson with a warning". London: The Independent. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  4. "Past world skills winners". Bobby Charlton Soccer and Sports Academy. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  5. "Rotherham 0–0 Cardiff". BBC Sport. 9 August 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  6. "Transfers – October 2004". BBC Sport. 29 October 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  7. "Robinson leaves Crawley for Lewes". BBC Sport. 25 November 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2005.
  8. "Robinson seeking new challenges". BBC Sport. 1 December 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  9. http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2013/may/21/mens-soccer-john-robinson-takes-over-southwest-adr/
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