Paul Robinson (goalkeeper)
Encyclopedia
Paul William Robinson is an English footballer who plays for Blackburn Rovers
as a goalkeeper in the Premier League. He had also been an England
international and he earned 41 cap
s between 2003 and 2007 before his retirement from international football in August 2010.
He joined Leeds United
at 16 years of age, but did not sign on professional
terms until the age of 18 where he played 95 league games and also scored a goal in a League Cup
tie, featuring in total in 119 games in all competitions. In 2004, following Leeds' relegation from the Premier League, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur
. He played in 175 matches for Tottenham, including 137 Premier League games, scoring another goal, before he was signed by Blackburn Rovers in 2008.
, East Riding of Yorkshire
, Robinson played in the York City
youth system
before coming through the youth ranks at Leeds United
after joining following a trial, making his debut against Chelsea
in 1998, keeping a clean sheet. His appearances were at first sporadic, although he was memorably called upon when Leeds faced Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League
. He was Leeds' number 2 goalkeeper behind Nigel Martyn
for several years, until Martyn asked Terry Venables
for some time off during pre-season after going to the 2002 World Cup for England. Venables reacted angrily and Robinson then became Leeds' number one from then on. Martyn was offloaded later in the season with young keeper Scott Carson
as backup for Robinson.
In the 2003–04 season he scored his first professional goal via a header from a cross against Swindon Town
in the closing moments of a League Cup
game, forcing extra time. The game went to a penalty shootout, one of which was saved by Robinson (Swindon missed another penalty, hitting the post) to help his team to victory. Leeds were subsequently relegated that season, with Robinson having a slightly disappointing season. He showed his emotions after Leeds were relegated when he burst into tears. In the Premier league, he conceded 77 goals in 36 games. Despite this somewhat dubious record Tottenham Hotspur's Director of Football David Pleat
was not dissuaded in his pursuit of Robinson as he had played well throughout the season.
in May 2004, for a fee of £1,500,000.
In his first two seasons at Spurs, he was in top form and showed why he was considered England's best goalkeeper since David Seaman
. In his third season, he was very inconsistent in his performances partly due to the lack of confidence after his mistake at the beginning of the season for England against Croatia, He never fully recovered and in that season Spurs had a poor record of keeping clean sheets, but managed a fifth place finish in the league.
On 17 March 2007, Robinson scored the second goal of his professional career, in a Premier League game against Watford
at White Hart Lane
. He took a free-kick from just outside of his own penalty area, 80 metres from the opposition goal and the ball bounced over the head of Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster
, and into goal. He became the third goalkeeper in Premier League history (excluding own goals) to score after Peter Schmeichel
for Aston Villa
in 2001 and Brad Friedel
for Blackburn Rovers in 2004, although of the three only Robinson's team went on to win the match. He was also the third goalscoring goalkeeper in English professional football in the 2006–07 season, following goals from Gavin Ward
for Tranmere Rovers
and Mark Crossley
for Sheffield Wednesday
.
This match was just before both Paul Robinson and Ben Foster were due to join up with the England squad but Robinson claimed he would not mention the incident to Foster. However, Foster said that the other players in the squad did tease him a bit about it.
Robinson captained the team in their 1–0 Football League Cup
quarter-final win over Southend United
, and in their 0–0 FA Cup
third round draw at Cardiff City
as Ledley King
and Robbie Keane
were both injured.
His form again suffered for club and country and Spurs
dropped him in favour of Radek Cerny
.
However Robinson regained his place and collected the first major trophy of his career in Tottenham's 2–1 victory over Chelsea
in the 2008 League Cup
final.
He was dropped again after this however and ended up missing the last few games of the season due to family reasons. He did return for the final game and was on the bench.
Paul Robinson had a great relationship with the Spurs fans and even started some chants before a European game against Slavia Prague. He became a real fan favourite due to his banter and interaction with the fans. After joining Blackburn Rovers he was asked what the best thing would be about going back to White Hart Lane was and he said "the amazing fans".
's first signing at the club. On 29 July it was confirmed during an interview that he would be wearing the No.1 shirt vacated by the departure of Brad Friedel
. On 30 July, he made his Blackburn Rovers debut in a 2–1 victory against Northwich Victoria
in a pre-season friendly
. Although showing flashes of the kind of form which earned him the England No.1 place, he was inconsistent, however under Sam Allardyce
his performances improved. In the final 10 games of the season, he produced his best performances of the last two years and earned man-of-the-match award against Wigan Athletic
. Robinson helped Blackburn earn 37 points in the games he played in along with keeping 9 clean sheets in his 35 Premier League appearances. On the opening day of the 2009–10 season he captained Blackburn for the first time against Manchester City
but despite making some fine saves he could not prevent a 0–2 defeat. Again he captained Blackburn against West Ham United
, a game that Rovers earned their first point of the season as well as keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 game. Robinson had been Rovers captain in five Premier League games during the early stages of the season due to injury to regular skipper Ryan Nelsen
. Manager Sam Allardyce said he gave Robinson the armband as he had been a very vocal member of the team and showed good leadership qualities. He was the hero for Rovers in a League Cup
upset against Chelsea
, saving two penalties which meant Blackburn won 4–3 on penalties after a 3–3 final score. Robinson made his 75th appearance for Blackburn in a 0–0 draw against Manchester United
on 11 April 2010, keeping a clean sheet. On 11 May 2010, Fabio Capello
announced his 30-man preliminary squad for the World Cup finals held in South Africa
, and left Robinson out, picking Portsmouth
veteran David James
, young Manchester City keeper Joe Hart
who had had a successful season on loan to Birmingham City
, and West Ham's Robert Green
. Upon this selection, Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce said that he was staggered: "It is completely the wrong decision," he said."If you look at his form for Rovers, there has not been a better goalkeeper who has been so consistent." Robinson ended the season with a total of 13 Premier League clean sheets, which was the best record of all the English goalkeepers. He featured in Blackburn's opening 2010–11 Premier League
game against Everton
at Ewood Park
, playing the full 90 minutes and making a few key saves against David Moyes
side in a 1-0 victory.. On 15 January 2011, Robinson made his 100th appearance for Blackburn in all competitions, playing against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
in a 2-0 defeat. Robinson made his 100th Premier League start for Rovers against Birmingham City in a 1-1 draw at Ewood Park
.
. He was part of the UEFA Euro 2004 squad, as understudy to David James
, making no appearances in the tournament. In the subsequent qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
he replaced James as England's first choice goalkeeper.
At the 2006 FIFA World Cup
, Robinson was named in England's World Cup squad for the finals in Germany
and was an ever present in England's campaign, keeping clean sheets in four out of five games that he played. He conceded no goals to Paraguay
and Trinidad and Tobago
during the group stage. However, in spite of his clean sheet tally he was also criticised for being very indecisive on crosses, missing three against Trinidad and Tobago. After the opening World Cup game against Paraguay, when his counterpart Justo Villar was injured 7 minutes into the match, ending his tournament early, Robinson sent Villar his gloves as a gesture of good will after England won 1–0. During the knockout rounds, he kept clean sheets against Ecuador
in the round of 16 and Portugal
in the quarter-finals, although the latter prevailed 3–1 in the penalty shoot-out to end England's campaign.
On 11 October 2006, during a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia
, an unexpected bobble on a backpass from Gary Neville
caused Robinson to miss the ball as he tried to clear it out of the penalty area, resulting in an own goal to put Croatia 2–0 up. Robinson later described the incident as a freak. On 22 August 2007, Robinson made a mistake to gift Germany
their first goal in England's first loss at the new Wembley Stadium
, with a final scoreline of 2–1. He was substituted at half-time by James, although England manager Steve McClaren said he planned to make this substitution before the game.
After a 2–1 loss to Russia
in Euro 2008 qualifying, in which Robinson palmed a shot into the path of Russian forward Roman Pavlyuchenko
's path to allow the winner, manager Steve McClaren
dropped Robinson for the final qualifying match against Croatia
in November, replacing him with Scott Carson
.
Robinson was called back into the England squad in 2009 for 2010 FIFA World Cup
qualifiers against Kazakhstan
and Andorra
because regular keeper David James was injured. After Robinson's mistake in a qualifier for UEFA Euro 2008 against Croatia he was not picked for two years. It was Robinson's first call up under Fabio Capello
since he took charge. For the Kazakhstan game he was selected as a sub after West Ham United
keeper Robert Green
. Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce
said that Robinson should be the number one goalkeeper for England again due to his impressive club form. Robinson failed to make the England squad for South Africa
2010 behind Joe Hart
, David James
and Robert Green
.
On 8 August 2010, Robinson retired from international football and pulled out of the squad after being selected for the friendly match against Hungary
, on 11 August. He said about his retirement, "Only now have I been able to make this decision as previously I haven't been in contention for selection, I don't see myself as a number three or four keeper and find that role very frustrating."
in Beverley
, East Riding of Yorkshire
. He grew up as a Hull City
fan and often went to games with his family. During winter he even helped to clear snow off the pitch to get free tickets.
Whilst playing for Leeds he moved to a house in the village of Stamford Bridge
. He is married to Rebecca, his childhood sweetheart
. The couple currently live in York with their daughter Lucy May and son, Jack, born 14 January 2008. Jack had suffered health problems and was in hospital whilst Paul was playing in the League Cup final, which he said was very difficult for him. After Paul moved to Blackburn Rovers Jack was rushed to hospital again and spent a few nights there. Rovers manager at the time, Paul Ince, praised Robinson's attitude during this difficult time.
On 4 September 2005, burglars raided his house while he was in Cardiff
for the 2006 World Cup qualifier
win over Wales
. His wife and daughter were not at the house at the time of the raid.
|-
|1998–99
||rowspan="6"|Leeds United||rowspan="6"|Premier League||5||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||6||0
|-
|1999–00||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|2000–01
||16||0||1||0||1||0||6||0||24||0
|-
|2001–02
||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|2002–03
||38||0||5||0||1||0||6||0||50||0
|-
|2003–04
||36||0||1||0||2||1||0||0||39||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Leeds United Total
!95!!0!!7!!0!!5!!1!!12!!0!!119!!1
|-
|2004–05
||rowspan="4"|Tottenham Hotspur
||rowspan="4"|Premier League||36||0||6||0||2||0||0||0||44||0
|-
|2005–06
||38||0||1||0||1||0||0||0||40||0
|-
|2006–07
||38||1||4||0||3||0||9||0||54||1
|-
|2007–08||25||0||1||0||4||0||7||0||37||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Tottenham Hotspur Total
!137!!1!!12!!0!!10!!0!!16!!0!!175!!1
|-
|2008–09||rowspan="4"|Blackburn Rovers
||rowspan="4"|Premier League||35||0||3||0||3||0||0||0||41||0
|-
|2009–10||35||0||0||0||3||0||0||0||38||0
|-
|2010–11
||36||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||37||0
|-
|2011–12
||12||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||12||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Blackburn Rovers Total
!118!!0!!4!!0!!6!!0!!0!!0!!128!!0
|-
350||1||23||0||21||1||28||0||422||2
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
as a goalkeeper in the Premier League. He had also been an England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
international and he earned 41 cap
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
s between 2003 and 2007 before his retirement from international football in August 2010.
He joined Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
at 16 years of age, but did not sign on professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
terms until the age of 18 where he played 95 league games and also scored a goal in a League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
tie, featuring in total in 119 games in all competitions. In 2004, following Leeds' relegation from the Premier League, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
. He played in 175 matches for Tottenham, including 137 Premier League games, scoring another goal, before he was signed by Blackburn Rovers in 2008.
Leeds United
Born in BeverleyBeverley
Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood. The town is noted for Beverley Minster and architecturally-significant religious buildings along New Walk and other areas, as well as the Beverley...
, East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, Robinson played in the York City
York City F.C.
York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...
youth system
Youth system
Youth system is a sporting terminology used to refer to a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show enough promise, and to fill up squads numbers in some teams...
before coming through the youth ranks at Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
after joining following a trial, making his debut against Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
in 1998, keeping a clean sheet. His appearances were at first sporadic, although he was memorably called upon when Leeds faced Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
. He was Leeds' number 2 goalkeeper behind Nigel Martyn
Nigel Martyn
Antony Nigel Martyn , more commonly known as Nigel Martyn, is a retired English football goalkeeper. He played for Crystal Palace where he became the first £1million goalkeeper in British football and also won the Full Members Cup. Martyn then left to spend six seasons at Leeds United. He went on...
for several years, until Martyn asked Terry Venables
Terry Venables
Terence Frederick "Terry" Venables , often referred to as "El Tel", is a former football player and manager, as well as being a media pundit. During the 1960s and 70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, and gained two caps for England...
for some time off during pre-season after going to the 2002 World Cup for England. Venables reacted angrily and Robinson then became Leeds' number one from then on. Martyn was offloaded later in the season with young keeper Scott Carson
Scott Carson
Scott Paul Carson is an English footballer who plays for Bursaspor as a goalkeeper.He joined the Leeds United football academy in 2002, making his full first team debut for Leeds against Manchester United in February 2004...
as backup for Robinson.
In the 2003–04 season he scored his first professional goal via a header from a cross against Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
in the closing moments of a League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
game, forcing extra time. The game went to a penalty shootout, one of which was saved by Robinson (Swindon missed another penalty, hitting the post) to help his team to victory. Leeds were subsequently relegated that season, with Robinson having a slightly disappointing season. He showed his emotions after Leeds were relegated when he burst into tears. In the Premier league, he conceded 77 goals in 36 games. Despite this somewhat dubious record Tottenham Hotspur's Director of Football David Pleat
David Pleat
David John Pleat is an English football player turned manager and sports commentator.He is remembered by his contemporaries primarily for his career as manager of Tottenham Hotspur and Luton Town football clubs, and for an oft-televised clip of him running onto the pitch in 1983 to celebrate after...
was not dissuaded in his pursuit of Robinson as he had played well throughout the season.
Tottenham Hotspur
Robinson transferred to Tottenham HotspurTottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
in May 2004, for a fee of £1,500,000.
In his first two seasons at Spurs, he was in top form and showed why he was considered England's best goalkeeper since David Seaman
David Seaman
David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...
. In his third season, he was very inconsistent in his performances partly due to the lack of confidence after his mistake at the beginning of the season for England against Croatia, He never fully recovered and in that season Spurs had a poor record of keeping clean sheets, but managed a fifth place finish in the league.
On 17 March 2007, Robinson scored the second goal of his professional career, in a Premier League game against Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
at White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Tottenham, London, England. Built in 1899, it is the home of Tottenham Hotspur and, after numerous renovations, the stadium has a capacity of 36,230....
. He took a free-kick from just outside of his own penalty area, 80 metres from the opposition goal and the ball bounced over the head of Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster
Ben Foster (footballer)
Benjamin Anthony "Ben" Foster is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for West Bromwich Albion, on loan from Birmingham City, and internationally for the England national team.-Stoke City:...
, and into goal. He became the third goalkeeper in Premier League history (excluding own goals) to score after Peter Schmeichel
Peter Schmeichel
Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993...
for Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
in 2001 and Brad Friedel
Brad Friedel
Bradley Howard Friedel is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League....
for Blackburn Rovers in 2004, although of the three only Robinson's team went on to win the match. He was also the third goalscoring goalkeeper in English professional football in the 2006–07 season, following goals from Gavin Ward
Gavin Ward (footballer)
Gavin John Ward is a former professional footballer and coach who played in the position of goalkeeper from 1987 until 2011. He is currently Goalkeeping Coach at Shrewsbury Town...
for Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers F.C.
Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...
and Mark Crossley
Mark Crossley
Mark Geoffrey Crossley is a former English-born Wales international football goalkeeper, who is currently employed as the Goalkeeping Coach of Football League One side Chesterfield....
for Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
.
This match was just before both Paul Robinson and Ben Foster were due to join up with the England squad but Robinson claimed he would not mention the incident to Foster. However, Foster said that the other players in the squad did tease him a bit about it.
Robinson captained the team in their 1–0 Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
quarter-final win over Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...
, and in their 0–0 FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
third round draw at Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
as Ledley King
Ledley King
Ledley Brenton King is an English footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur. He is the longest serving player at the club and captained Spurs since 2005. He is currently contracted to Tottenham until 2012...
and Robbie Keane
Robbie Keane
Robert David "Robbie" Keane is an Irish association football player who plays as a striker for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer and captains the Irish national football team....
were both injured.
His form again suffered for club and country and Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
dropped him in favour of Radek Cerny
Radek Cerný
Radek Černý is a Czech footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers as a goalkeeper.-Slavia Prague:Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Černý turned professional in 1993 as a 17-year-old with Slavia Prague, his home team...
.
However Robinson regained his place and collected the first major trophy of his career in Tottenham's 2–1 victory over Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
in the 2008 League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
final.
He was dropped again after this however and ended up missing the last few games of the season due to family reasons. He did return for the final game and was on the bench.
Paul Robinson had a great relationship with the Spurs fans and even started some chants before a European game against Slavia Prague. He became a real fan favourite due to his banter and interaction with the fans. After joining Blackburn Rovers he was asked what the best thing would be about going back to White Hart Lane was and he said "the amazing fans".
Blackburn Rovers
He joined Blackburn Rovers on 25 July 2008, for a fee of £3.5 million on a five-year deal, making him Paul IncePaul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...
's first signing at the club. On 29 July it was confirmed during an interview that he would be wearing the No.1 shirt vacated by the departure of Brad Friedel
Brad Friedel
Bradley Howard Friedel is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League....
. On 30 July, he made his Blackburn Rovers debut in a 2–1 victory against Northwich Victoria
Northwich Victoria F.C.
Northwich Victoria Football Club are an English football club who play at the Victoria Stadium in Wincham, Northwich, Cheshire in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of the English football league system.Northwich are an old club, founded in 1874 and named in honour of...
in a pre-season friendly
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
. Although showing flashes of the kind of form which earned him the England No.1 place, he was inconsistent, however under Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce
Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....
his performances improved. In the final 10 games of the season, he produced his best performances of the last two years and earned man-of-the-match award against Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
. Robinson helped Blackburn earn 37 points in the games he played in along with keeping 9 clean sheets in his 35 Premier League appearances. On the opening day of the 2009–10 season he captained Blackburn for the first time against Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
but despite making some fine saves he could not prevent a 0–2 defeat. Again he captained Blackburn against West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
, a game that Rovers earned their first point of the season as well as keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 game. Robinson had been Rovers captain in five Premier League games during the early stages of the season due to injury to regular skipper Ryan Nelsen
Ryan Nelsen
Ryan William Nelsen, ONZM is a New Zealand footballer who plays as a defender, and is captain of Premier League club Blackburn Rovers. Nelsen captains the New Zealand national team, the All Whites. He joined Blackburn back in 2005 on a free transfer from D.C. United...
. Manager Sam Allardyce said he gave Robinson the armband as he had been a very vocal member of the team and showed good leadership qualities. He was the hero for Rovers in a League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
upset against Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, saving two penalties which meant Blackburn won 4–3 on penalties after a 3–3 final score. Robinson made his 75th appearance for Blackburn in a 0–0 draw against Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
on 11 April 2010, keeping a clean sheet. On 11 May 2010, Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the manager of the England national football team.Capello has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with every club he has coached throughout his career...
announced his 30-man preliminary squad for the World Cup finals held in South Africa
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
, and left Robinson out, picking Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
veteran David James
David James (footballer)
David Benjamin James is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bristol City.On 14 February 2009, he achieved the all-time Premier League appearance record with 536 appearances, overtaking Gary Speed. He held this record until being overtaken by Ryan Giggs on the 14th May 2011...
, young Manchester City keeper Joe Hart
Joe Hart
Charles Joseph John "Joe" Hart is an English football goalkeeper who plays for Premier League club Manchester City and the England national football team and was previously a regular for the England under-21 team....
who had had a successful season on loan to Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
, and West Ham's Robert Green
Robert Green
Robert Paul Green is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United and the England national football team as a goalkeeper.-Norwich City:...
. Upon this selection, Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce said that he was staggered: "It is completely the wrong decision," he said."If you look at his form for Rovers, there has not been a better goalkeeper who has been so consistent." Robinson ended the season with a total of 13 Premier League clean sheets, which was the best record of all the English goalkeepers. He featured in Blackburn's opening 2010–11 Premier League
2010–11 Premier League
The 2010–11 Premier League was the 19th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The 2010–11 fixtures were released on 17 June 2010 at 09:00 BST. The season began on 14 August 2010, and ended on 22 May 2011...
game against Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
at Ewood Park
Ewood Park
Ewood Park is a football stadium in the English town of Blackburn, Lancashire, and is the home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club — one of the founder members of the Football League and Premier League. Rovers have played there since they moved from Leamington Street in the summer of 1890. The...
, playing the full 90 minutes and making a few key saves against David Moyes
David Moyes
David William Moyes is an association football manager and former player, currently managing English Premier League club Everton. He was the 2003, 2005 and 2009 League Managers Association Manager of the Year...
side in a 1-0 victory.. On 15 January 2011, Robinson made his 100th appearance for Blackburn in all competitions, playing against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge (stadium)
Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, and is the home of Chelsea Football Club. The stadium is located within the Moore Park Estate also known as Walham Green and is often referred to as simply The Bridge...
in a 2-0 defeat. Robinson made his 100th Premier League start for Rovers against Birmingham City in a 1-1 draw at Ewood Park
Ewood Park
Ewood Park is a football stadium in the English town of Blackburn, Lancashire, and is the home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club — one of the founder members of the Football League and Premier League. Rovers have played there since they moved from Leamington Street in the summer of 1890. The...
.
International career
Robinson has played 41 times for EnglandEngland national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
. He was part of the UEFA Euro 2004 squad, as understudy to David James
David James (footballer)
David Benjamin James is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bristol City.On 14 February 2009, he achieved the all-time Premier League appearance record with 536 appearances, overtaking Gary Speed. He held this record until being overtaken by Ryan Giggs on the 14th May 2011...
, making no appearances in the tournament. In the subsequent qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
A total of 197 teams entered the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. Germany, as the host, qualified automatically, leaving 31 spots open for competition...
he replaced James as England's first choice goalkeeper.
At the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, Robinson was named in England's World Cup squad for the finals in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and was an ever present in England's campaign, keeping clean sheets in four out of five games that he played. He conceded no goals to Paraguay
Paraguay national football team
The Paraguay national football team is controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association and represents Paraguay in men's international football competitions. The team has reached the second round of the World Cup on four occasions . The 2010 trip also featured their first appearance in the...
and Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago national football team
The Trinidad and Tobago national football team, nicknamed The Soca Warriors, is the national team of Trinidad and Tobago and is run by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation. It reached the first round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Finals...
during the group stage. However, in spite of his clean sheet tally he was also criticised for being very indecisive on crosses, missing three against Trinidad and Tobago. After the opening World Cup game against Paraguay, when his counterpart Justo Villar was injured 7 minutes into the match, ending his tournament early, Robinson sent Villar his gloves as a gesture of good will after England won 1–0. During the knockout rounds, he kept clean sheets against Ecuador
Ecuador national football team
The Ecuadorian national football team represents Ecuador in international football competitions and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation. They generally play official home matches at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito, but often play friendlies in other stadiums around the country...
in the round of 16 and Portugal
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
in the quarter-finals, although the latter prevailed 3–1 in the penalty shoot-out to end England's campaign.
On 11 October 2006, during a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
, an unexpected bobble on a backpass from Gary Neville
Gary Neville
Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....
caused Robinson to miss the ball as he tried to clear it out of the penalty area, resulting in an own goal to put Croatia 2–0 up. Robinson later described the incident as a freak. On 22 August 2007, Robinson made a mistake to gift Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
their first goal in England's first loss at the new Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, with a final scoreline of 2–1. He was substituted at half-time by James, although England manager Steve McClaren said he planned to make this substitution before the game.
After a 2–1 loss to Russia
Russia national football team
The Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...
in Euro 2008 qualifying, in which Robinson palmed a shot into the path of Russian forward Roman Pavlyuchenko
Roman Pavlyuchenko
Roman Anatolyevich Pavlyuchenko is an footballer who currently plays as a centre forward for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and for the Russian national team.-Spartak Moscow:...
's path to allow the winner, manager Steve McClaren
Steve McClaren
Stephen "Steve" McClaren is an English football manager and former player.McClaren was previously manager of VfL Wolfsburg in Germany between May 2010 and February 2011, having left his post at Dutch side FC Twente, with whom he won the club's first Eredivisie championship in the 2009–10 season...
dropped Robinson for the final qualifying match against Croatia
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
in November, replacing him with Scott Carson
Scott Carson
Scott Paul Carson is an English footballer who plays for Bursaspor as a goalkeeper.He joined the Leeds United football academy in 2002, making his full first team debut for Leeds against Manchester United in February 2004...
.
Robinson was called back into the England squad in 2009 for 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
qualifiers against Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan national football team
The Kazakhstan national football team represents Kazakhstan in international men's association football and is directed by Football Federation of Kazakhstan. They split from the Soviet Union national football team after independence in 1991 and joined the Asian Football Confederation's Central and...
and Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
because regular keeper David James was injured. After Robinson's mistake in a qualifier for UEFA Euro 2008 against Croatia he was not picked for two years. It was Robinson's first call up under Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the manager of the England national football team.Capello has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with every club he has coached throughout his career...
since he took charge. For the Kazakhstan game he was selected as a sub after West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
keeper Robert Green
Robert Green
Robert Paul Green is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United and the England national football team as a goalkeeper.-Norwich City:...
. Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce
Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....
said that Robinson should be the number one goalkeeper for England again due to his impressive club form. Robinson failed to make the England squad for South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
2010 behind Joe Hart
Joe Hart
Charles Joseph John "Joe" Hart is an English football goalkeeper who plays for Premier League club Manchester City and the England national football team and was previously a regular for the England under-21 team....
, David James
David James (footballer)
David Benjamin James is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bristol City.On 14 February 2009, he achieved the all-time Premier League appearance record with 536 appearances, overtaking Gary Speed. He held this record until being overtaken by Ryan Giggs on the 14th May 2011...
and Robert Green
Robert Green
Robert Paul Green is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United and the England national football team as a goalkeeper.-Norwich City:...
.
On 8 August 2010, Robinson retired from international football and pulled out of the squad after being selected for the friendly match against Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
, on 11 August. He said about his retirement, "Only now have I been able to make this decision as previously I haven't been in contention for selection, I don't see myself as a number three or four keeper and find that role very frustrating."
Personal life
Paul Robinson was born at the Beverley Westwood hospital and attended Beverley Grammar SchoolBeverley Grammar School
Beverley Grammar School is a boys' secondary school in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire. It was founded in about 700 AD/CE and is the oldest state school in England and the sixth oldest school overall in England. The school is a specialist Engineering College and shares a mixed Sixth form with...
in Beverley
Beverley
Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood. The town is noted for Beverley Minster and architecturally-significant religious buildings along New Walk and other areas, as well as the Beverley...
, East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
. He grew up as a Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
fan and often went to games with his family. During winter he even helped to clear snow off the pitch to get free tickets.
Whilst playing for Leeds he moved to a house in the village of Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire
Stamford Bridge is a village and civil parish on the River Derwent in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, approximately east of York.-Location and history:The village sits astride an ancient ford on the River Derwent....
. He is married to Rebecca, his childhood sweetheart
Childhood sweetheart
Childhood sweetheart is a reciprocating phrase for a relationship between young persons, traditionally of the opposite sex occurring in their formative years...
. The couple currently live in York with their daughter Lucy May and son, Jack, born 14 January 2008. Jack had suffered health problems and was in hospital whilst Paul was playing in the League Cup final, which he said was very difficult for him. After Paul moved to Blackburn Rovers Jack was rushed to hospital again and spent a few nights there. Rovers manager at the time, Paul Ince, praised Robinson's attitude during this difficult time.
On 4 September 2005, burglars raided his house while he was in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
for the 2006 World Cup qualifier
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
A total of 197 teams entered the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. Germany, as the host, qualified automatically, leaving 31 spots open for competition...
win over Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
. His wife and daughter were not at the house at the time of the raid.
Club
- Statistics accurate as of 14:19, 21 November 2011.
|-
|1998–99
FA Premier League 1998-99
The 1998–99 FA Premier League season was the seventh season of the Premier League, the top division of English football, since its establishment in 1992. The season will always be remembered as the one in which Manchester United won a unique treble of the league title, the FA Cup and the European Cup...
||rowspan="6"|Leeds United||rowspan="6"|Premier League||5||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||6||0
|-
|1999–00||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|2000–01
FA Premier League 2000-01
The FA Premier League 2000-01 season was the third season running which ended with Manchester United as champions and Arsenal as runners-up. Sir Alex Ferguson became the first manager to win three successive English league titles, although three teams had achieved that feat in the past - but with...
||16||0||1||0||1||0||6||0||24||0
|-
|2001–02
FA Premier League 2001-02
The 2001–02 FA Premier League season was the tenth season of the competition. It began with a new sponsor, Barclaycard, and was titled the FA Barclaycard Premiership, replacing the previous sponsor, Carling...
||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|2002–03
FA Premier League 2002-03
The 2002–03 FA Premier League was the eleventh season of the Premier League, the top division in English football. The first matches were played on 17 August 2002 and the last were played on 11 May 2003...
||38||0||5||0||1||0||6||0||50||0
|-
|2003–04
FA Premier League 2003-04
The 2003–04 FA Premier League season was the twelfth season of the Premier League. In the end, Arsenal went through the season without a single defeat – only the second ever team to do so and were crowned champions once more, at the expense of Chelsea, who had spent heavily throughout the...
||36||0||1||0||2||1||0||0||39||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Leeds United Total
!95!!0!!7!!0!!5!!1!!12!!0!!119!!1
|-
|2004–05
FA Premier League 2004-05
The 2004–05 season of the FA Premier League began on 14 August 2004 and ended on 15 May 2005. Arsenal were the defending champions after going unbeaten the previous season....
||rowspan="4"|Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
||rowspan="4"|Premier League||36||0||6||0||2||0||0||0||44||0
|-
|2005–06
FA Premier League 2005-06
The 2005–06 season of the FA Premier League began on 13 August 2005, and concluded on 7 May 2006. The season saw Chelsea F.C retain their title after defeating Manchester United 3–0 at Stamford Bridge towards the end of April...
||38||0||1||0||1||0||0||0||40||0
|-
|2006–07
FA Premier League 2006-07
The 2006–07 FA Premier League was the fifteenth season of the FA Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 19 August 2006 and concluded on 13 May 2007....
||38||1||4||0||3||0||9||0||54||1
|-
|2007–08||25||0||1||0||4||0||7||0||37||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Tottenham Hotspur Total
!137!!1!!12!!0!!10!!0!!16!!0!!175!!1
|-
|2008–09||rowspan="4"|Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
||rowspan="4"|Premier League||35||0||3||0||3||0||0||0||41||0
|-
|2009–10||35||0||0||0||3||0||0||0||38||0
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Premier League
The 2010–11 Premier League was the 19th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The 2010–11 fixtures were released on 17 June 2010 at 09:00 BST. The season began on 14 August 2010, and ended on 22 May 2011...
||36||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||37||0
|-
|2011–12
2011–12 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season
The 2011–12 season is Blackburn Rovers 124th season as a professional football club. The 2011–12 season is Blackburn Rovers' 18th season in the Premier League, and their 11th consecutive season in the top division of English football.-Club:-Technical staff:...
||12||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||12||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Blackburn Rovers Total
!118!!0!!4!!0!!6!!0!!0!!0!!128!!0
|-
350||1||23||0||21||1||28||0||422||2
Honours
Tottenham Hotspur- Football League CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
(1): 2007–082008 Football League Cup FinalThe 2008 Carling Cup Final was a football match played on 24 February 2008. It was the first League Cup Final to be played at the new Wembley Stadium, and the first to be played in England since the old Wembley was demolished in 2000. The defending champions were Chelsea, who beat Arsenal in the...