Bryan Robson

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For the 1970s footballer of the same name, see Bryan 'Pop' Robson

Bryan Robson
Personal information
Full name	Bryan Robson
Date of birth	January 11, 1957 (age 50)
Place of birth	Witton Gilbert, England
Playing position	Midfielder (retired)
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1975-1981 1981-1994 1994-1996	West Bromwich Albion Manchester United Middlesbrough	240 (47) 465 (99) 025 0(1)
National team
1980-1991	England	090 (26)
Teams managed
1994-1996 1994-1996 1996-2001 2003-2004 2004-2006	Middlesbrough (player-manager) England (assistant manager) Middlesbrough Bradford City West Bromwich Albion
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Bryan Robson, OBE (born January 11, 1957) is a former England, West Bromwich Albion, and Manchester United footballer who also captained his country. He was born and brought up in Witton Gilbert, County Durham. The family moved to the nearby town of Chester-le-Street when he was six. He was regarded by many^{[attribution needed]} as perhaps the most complete English midfield player of the modern era, based on his all-round game. Robson had a good goal-scoring record, tackled and passed well and was also a good header of the ball. Towards the end of his playing career he moved into management as player-manager with Middlesbrough.

His most recent appointment was as manager of Championship (then Premier League) side West Bromwich Albion. He left the post on 18th September 2006, due to a very poor run of form including relegation.

Contents 1 Playing career 1.1 West Bromwich Albion 1.2 Manchester United and England 1.3 Middlesbrough 1.3.1 Achievements and reputation 2 Managerial career 2.1 Middlesbrough 2.2 Bradford City 2.3 West Bromwich Albion 3 Honours 4 Personal life 5 Managerial stats 6 External links

[edit] Playing career

[edit] West Bromwich Albion

Robson came to prominence with West Bromwich Albion, making his debut in 1975 against York City and scoring two goals in the three appearances he was given before that season ended. The following season Robson played more frequently as West Brom gained promotion to English football's top flight.

As the next season got underway Robson was alternating between the positions of left back and his preferred central midfield role, but his rapid progress was halted as he received the first serious injury of his career. Playing at full back, he broke his left leg in a tackle with Tottenham Hotspur striker Chris Jones. He walked off the pitch with his leg heavily strapped, and X-rays later revealed a fracture. Two months later Robson returned to the side, but the original break was refractured in another tackle and then he suffered a third break as the season neared its end. He was later called up to the England under-23 side but had to pull out after suffering a broken ankle in a game against Manchester City.

This appalling run of luck came to epitomise Robson's career. He was an outstanding player, and a natural leader, but for a good proportion of each season he was fighting off an injury. He was fortunate in another way however, that his woeful injury record consisted almost exclusively of broken bones and dislocated joints, injuries which were straightforward in their healing process. He also sustained a broken hand and a broken nose during his time at West Brom.

Robson was Albion's key player in the late 1970s and early 1980s, helping them finish high enough to qualify for the UEFA Cup in 1979 and 1981. In their first campaign, he helped them reach the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup - their longest run in any European competition. He also played in the side which beat Manchester United 5-3 at Old Trafford in a First Division game on 29th December 1978.

[edit] Manchester United and England

Robson became West Brom's captain in 1979 but then the manager who appointed him to the role, Ron Atkinson, left to take over at Manchester United. In February 1980, Robson made his debut for England's full side in a 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland in a qualifier for that summer's European Championships. Robson's second cap came in the final preparation game for the finals - a 2-1 win over Australia in Sydney - but he didn't feature in the tournament itself, from which England were eliminated in the first round.

England coach Ron Greenwood started to feature Robson regularly in his midfield thereafter, selecting him for the first dozen internationals after the European Championships finished, including all eight of the qualifying games for the 1982 World Cup in Spain, through which England earned a place in the finals. During one of these qualifiers - a 2-1 defeat in Norway - Robson scored his first England goal.

One month before the final qualifier against Hungary at Wembley, Robson's old boss Atkinson offered West Brom £1.5million to take Robson to Old Trafford. The bid was accepted and Robson signed for Manchester United on the Old Trafford pitch in October 1981, becoming Britain's costliest player at a fee of £1.75million. This record was not broken for six years, when Liverpool paid £1.9million for Newcastle striker Peter Beardsley in the summer of 1987.

Robson duly debuted for his new club in a goalless draw against Manchester City and ended his first season there with 32 games and five goals to his name. Meanwhile, his England career was flourishing as the World Cup neared; he scored in a 4-0 thrashing of Northern Ireland at Wembley and added a brace in the last warm-up game in Helsinki against Finland. This time he was definitely going to be not just in the squad of 22, but in Greenwood's starting XI at the World Cup.

Robson was a regular player for England throughout the 1980's and continued his international career until 1991, during which time he played a prominent role in helping England reach the World Cup second round in 1982, the World Cup Quarter Final in 1986, the European Championship group stages in 1988 and the World Cup Semi Final in 1990.

Robson was in the record books for 20 years thanks to a goal scored against France in England's opening game of the 1982 World Cup. It came after just 27 seconds of the match - the fastest in World Cup finals history until 2002 when Hakan Şükür scored after ten seconds in the third-place match against South Korea. For Robson's achievement, he received an inscribed gold watch, which he still occasionally wears. [1]

In 1982-83, Robson scored twice for United in their 4-0 FA Cup final replay victory over Brighton after the first game ended in a 2-2 draw. The following season he helped United reach the semi finals of the Cup Winners Cup, where they lost to Juventus. In 1985 he helped United to another FA Cup triumph, this time over Everton where a Norman Whiteside goal denied their opponents the chance of a unique championship/FA Cup/Cup Winners Cup treble. Robson and United began the following season in fine form with ten successive victories which suggested the championship could be on its way back to Old Trafford for the first time since 1967. But their form slipped after Christmas and they finished the season trophyless in fourth place behind champions Liverpool, runners-up Everton and third-placed West Ham.

Captain Marvel, as he was nicknamed, helped England qualify for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico but his hopes of glory were crushed by a 2-1 defeat against Argentina in the quarter final. Robson was injured and didn't play in that game; in fact England's improvement in the tournament was connected to the fact that he was injured in a warm-up game, and was never fully fit. Robson re-injured himself in a dismal 0-0 draw in England's second game against Morocco and played no further part in the World Cup that year.

But Robson was faced with more adversity of his own - a shoulder injury which affected him for weeks after the competition. Two years later Robson played well for England at the 1988 European Championship in West Germany but was unable to prevent them from going out in the first phase of the competition, having lost all three of their group games.

Bryan Robson was now established as one of the best footballers in England, and he remained in favour with his employers after Ron Atkinson was sacked as United manager in November 1986 and replaced by Alex Ferguson. But it was not until 1990 that Robson was to lift another trophy. He scored United's first goal in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace in the first match which ended in a 3-3 draw. United won the second game 1-0 with a goal from Lee Martin. During 1990-91, he was restricted to 17 league appearances due to injury, but was fit for the Cup Winners Cup final in which United beat Barcelona 2-1.

Robson was still a regular choice for United during the 1991-92 season despite competition from likes of Paul Ince, Neil Webb and Andrei Kanchelskis. During that season he made his 90th and final appearance for the England team, who by this stage were being managed by Graham Taylor. But the 1991-92 season ended in disappointment for Robson as United were overhauled in the First Division championship race by Leeds. He missed their League Cup final victory over Nottingham Forest through injury and his first-team chances were starting to look increasingly numbered as he faced competition from other players within the United squad and the press reported that Alex Ferguson was hoping to sign a new midfielder. Robson still captained the club in most of his first-team appearances, but Steve Bruce was captaining the side when Robson was absent.

Robson made just 15 league appearances during the 1992-93 season, which was the first season of the new Premier League. He scored on the final day of the season against Wimbledon. By that game United were Premiership champions and Robson finally achieved the league championship medal that he had spent the last decade trying to achieve. It was not just injuries that were restricting the 36-year-old Robson's first-team chances. Éric Cantona had been signed during the 1992-93 campaign and played up front with Mark Hughes, while Hughes's former strike-partner Brian McClair had been converted into a midfielder. This counted against Robson and the biggest blow came in the summer of 1993 when United signed Nottingham Forest's Roy Keane.

But Robson was still able to make enough appearances for another Premiership champions medal in 1993-94, and scored one of their four goals in the FA Cup semi final replay victory over Oldham. Unfortunately, he was dropped from the squad for the FA Cup final, a decision which manager Alex Ferguson later admitted was one of the hardest of his career.

Robson is arguably one of the best midfield players in Manchester United's history,^{[citation needed]} alongside such notable players as Bobby Charlton, Roy Keane, George Best, Paul Scholes, Nobby Stiles, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham.

[edit] Middlesbrough

Bryan Robson's 13-year spell at Manchester United came to an end after nearly 400 appearances and 97 goals in the summer of 1994 when he accepted the player-manager's job at Middlesborough.

[edit] Achievements and reputation

Bryan Robson is in the England record books as the sixth most capped player and has the eleventh highest goalscoring tally. He was assistant manager of the England team to Terry Venables from 1994 to 1996 and was linked with the manager's job when Venables announcing his intention to quit after Euro 96.

[edit] Managerial career

[edit] Middlesbrough

Bryan Robson made a dream start to his managerial career as Middlesbrough won the Division One title and promotion to the Premiership in their final season at Ayresome Park before relocation to the new 30,000-seat Riverside Stadium on the banks of the River Tees. He was assisted by Viv Anderson, another former Manchester United player.

Middlesbrough made an ambitious return to the Premiership and attracted expensively-signed big names like Nick Barmby and the Brazilians Juninho Paulista and Branco. They went fourth in the Premiership in October 1995, but an injury crisis severely demoralised the side and they slid down the table to finish 12th.

Robson splashed out millions of pounds in the summer of 1996 by signing the Italian striker Fabrizio Ravanelli and the Brazilian midfielder Emerson. But these expensive acquisitions were not enough to prevent Boro starting the 1996-97 campaign on a low note and things were made worse in January when they were deducted three points for postponing a fixture at short notice due an injury crisis. But the centre of attention at the Riverside was soon the possibility of a first-ever major trophy as the club reached the finals of both domestic cups. In the first final, Boro drew 1-1 with Leicester City after extra time but lost 1-0 in the replay.

Middlesbrough's eventful season ended with relegation on the final day of the season, whereas they would have avoided relegation and finished in 14th place had it not been for the points deduction which was not overturned despite continued appeals. Football Association officials were loudly booed in the build-up to the FA Cup Final after the points deduction had cost Middlesbrough their place in the Premier League.

The club endured further disappointment in the shape of a 2-0 FA Cup Final defeat at the hands of Chelsea. But the board kept faith in Robson and he repaid their loyalty with automatic promotion back to the Premiership in 1997-98. The downside of the season was a League Cup final defeat against Chelsea.

After Middlesbrough's second promotion campaign, Robson spent three more seasons at the club before he handed in his resignation having failed to bring the club beyond a mid table Premiership finish. His successor was Steve McClaren, the Manchester United assistant manager.

[edit] Bradford City

It was more than two years before Bryan Robson made his football comeback. In November 2003, he accepted the manager's job with Division One strugglers Bradford City. He had originally been set for the job of Nigerian national coach but turned it down at the last minute. But his spell at Valley Parade was short-lived and unsuccessful as they were relegated in second from bottom place with 20 defeats from their final 28 games. Robson's short-term contract was not renewed and he handed the reins over to assistant Colin Todd.

[edit] West Bromwich Albion

Bryan Robson's third and most recent management job began in November 2004 when he agreed to return to his old club West Bromwich Albion as manager - 23 years after leaving them as a player. Since Robson's controversial departure to better himself at Manchester United, Albion's league form had plummeted; they had spent 16 consecutive seasons out of the top flight of English football, and a recent revival under Gary Megson had run out of steam.

Albion were bottom of the Premiership on Christmas Day 2004. This was not an encouraging sign, as no club had previously survived relegation after being bottom of the Premiership on Christmas Day. The last club to do so in the old First Division had been Sheffield United in 1990-91. But Robson and his players defied all the odds to stay up thanks to a home win over Portsmouth on the final day of the season, while Norwich and Southampton lost and Crystal Palace could only draw.

Albion's "Great Escape" was a spectacular achievement, but their record of only six wins and 34 points from 38 games was the worst of any club ever to survive relegation from the top flight. Knowing that his squad would be sorely stretched to survive again, Robson strengthened for 2005-06 by paying a club record £3 million for Wigan striker Nathan Ellington and taking Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland on a season-long loan.

Albion entered 2006 in 17th place in the Premiership - the last "safe" position; and they were still there with only five games to play. But they failed to respond to a late surge by Portsmouth, who had been in the relegation zone since early December but revived to win six of their last eight games. Albion, meanwhile, took only seven points from their last fifteen games. This time there was no escape; West Brom were condemned to the Championship for the following season. They were favourites to win promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt, but after taking only 12 points from their first eight games they were ninth in the table, and Robson left the club "by mutual consent" on 18 September 2006.

[edit] Honours

Robson was made an Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 in recognition of his impact on the English game as both a player and manager.

[edit] Personal life

Robson is married to Denise; they have three children. Away from football, he is known for his love of horse racing and beer.

In 2000 he was exposed as having an affair with Sky Sports reporter Claire Tomlinson.^{[citation needed]} Tomlinson was then reported to have been banned by Sky from presenting a match involving a team managed by Robson.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Managerial stats

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	L	D	Win %
Middlesbrough		May 31, 1994	December 6, 2000	314	127	101	86	40.44
Bradford City		November 24, 2003	June 17, 2004	28	7	20	1	25.00
West Bromwich Albion		November 9, 2004	September 18, 2006	81	19	38	24	23.45

[edit] External links

• Bryan Robson management career stats at Soccerbase
• Times profile

Preceded by Ray Wilkins	England football captain 1982-1991	Succeeded by Gary Lineker
Preceded by Lawrie McMenemy	England assistant manager 1994-1996	Succeeded by John Gorman
Preceded by Lennie Lawrence	Middlesbrough F.C. Manager 1994-2000	Succeeded by Himself with Terry Venables as Head Coach
Preceded by Nicky Law	Bradford City A.F.C. Manager 2003-2004	Succeeded by Colin Todd
Preceded by Gary Megson	West Bromwich Albion F.C. Manager 2004-2006	Succeeded by Tony Mowbray

	England squad - 1982 FIFA World Cup
1 Clemence | 2 Anderson | 3 Brooking | 4 Butcher | 5 Coppell | 6 Foster | 7 Keegan | 8 Francis | 9 Hoddle | 10 McDermott | 11 Mariner | 12 Mills | 13 Corrigan | 14 Neal | 15 Rix | 16 Robson | 17 Sansom | 18 Thompson | 19 Wilkins | 20 Withe | 21 Woodcock | 22 Shilton | Coach: Greenwood

	England squad - 1986 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists
1 Shilton | 2 Gary Stevens | 3 Sansom | 4 Hoddle | 5 Martin | 6 Butcher | 7 Bryan Robson | 8 Wilkins | 9 Hateley | 10 Lineker | 11 Waddle | 12 Anderson | 13 Woods | 14 Fenwick | 15 Gary A. Stevens | 16 Reid | 17 Steven | 18 Hodge | 19 Barnes | 20 Beardsley | 21 Dixon | 22 Bailey | Coach: Bobby Robson

	England squad - 1990 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place
1 Shilton | 2 Stevens | 3 Pearce | 4 Webb | 5 Walker | 6 Butcher | 7 Bryan Robson | 8 Waddle | 9 Beardsley | 10 Lineker | 11 Barnes | 12 Parker | 13 Woods | 14 Wright | 15 Dorigo | 16 McMahon | 17 Platt | 18 Hodge | 19 Gascoigne | 20 Steven | 21 Bull | 22 Beasant | Coach: Bobby Robson