Richard Jobson (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Richard Jobson is an English former footballer who made nearly 600 appearances in the Football League
and Premier League over a twenty-year career, representing Watford
, Hull City
, Oldham Athletic
, Leeds United
, Southend United
, Manchester City
, Tranmere Rovers
and Rochdale
. He was capped
twice for England B
, and spent a year as chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association
.
. He began his football career playing part-time for Burton Albion
in the Northern Premier League
while studying for a civil engineering
degree at Nottingham University. In 1982, he abandoned his studies when Graham Taylor signed him for First Division
club Watford
. He played 13 times for the Hornets in 1982–83
– their first top division season ever – and scored once as they finished second. He managed 13 league appearances again in 1983–84
– this time scoring twice – but did not make the squad for the FA Cup Final
, which Watford lost 2–0 to Everton
. He played twice, scoring once, in the 1984–85
season before accepting a £40,000 offer to join Third Division promotion challengers Hull City on 7 February 1985.
He quickly established himself as a regular in the Boothferry Park
defence, securing promotion to the Second Division for the 1985–86 season
and then helped them finish an impressive sixth at that level, just missing out on a place in the First Division for the first time. This was the closest he would come to a top flight return for another five years.
After 221 league appearances for them he was signed by Joe Royle
's Oldham Athletic
for a club record fee of £460,000 in 1990. He was a key player in their promotion
to the first Division, and was called up to Taylor's England
squad for matches in Czechoslovakia
, but played only in the B internationals
.
In five years, he played 189 league games for the Latics, scoring 10 goals. As well as the Second Division title medal in 1991, he came close to collecting a major honour in 1994 when the Latics reached the FA Cup
semi-finals and only a late equaliser by Manchester United's
Mark Hughes
, following by a 4–1 hammering in the replay, prevented Jobson for having a crack at the FA Cup final appearance he had missed out on with Watford a decade earlier. The Latics were relegated from the FA Premier League
just after this disappointment, but Jobson remained loyal to them for more than a year afterwards despite their failure to return to the elite.http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=41121
Jobson moved to Leeds United
for £1million on 26 October 1995, a year after Oldham's relegation from the Premiership, but his Leeds career was disrupted by injury and he spent time on loan to Southend United
in 1997–98. Later that season he rejoined Joe Royle, then at Manchester City
. Again, he suffered injuries, but still helped City reach the Premiership with two successive promotions. Royle decided that the 37-year-old Jobson was too old for the Premiership and he joined Tranmere Rovers
. His only season at Prenton Park
ended in relegation from Division One, and he then signed for Rochdale
. He helped them qualify for the Division Three
playoffs in his first season at Spotland
, but featured less frequently in the following campaign and retired in May 2003, playing the final game of his career six days before his 40th birthday. By this date, he was one of the oldest professional players in England.
Jobson succeeded Nick Cusack
as chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association
(PFA) in November 2002, remaining in the post until he retired as a player. He then joined the PFA staff, and in 2009 was a senior executive in their player management department. He is married with three children.
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
and Premier League over a twenty-year career, representing 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...
, 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...
, Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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 Rochdale
Rochdale A.F.C.
Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...
. He was capped
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...
twice for England B
England B national football team
England B is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the England national football team. At times they have played other nations' full teams; they have also played matches against 'B' teams from other football associations...
, and spent a year as chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association
Professional Footballers' Association
The Professional Footballers' Association is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales. The world's oldest professional sport trade union, it has 4,000 members....
.
Career
Jobson was born in HullKingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
. He began his football career playing part-time for Burton Albion
Burton Albion F.C.
Burton Albion Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005...
in the Northern Premier League
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...
while studying for a civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
degree at Nottingham University. In 1982, he abandoned his studies when Graham Taylor signed him for First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
club 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...
. He played 13 times for the Hornets in 1982–83
1982-83 in English football
The 1982–83 season was the 103rd season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Bob Paisley's last season as Liverpool manager ended on a high as they topped the First Division with a comfortable lead. Bob Paisley retired as Liverpool manager with a record 21 prizes in nine years. His...
– their first top division season ever – and scored once as they finished second. He managed 13 league appearances again in 1983–84
1983-84 in English football
The 1983–84 season was the 104th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Liverpool had a great first season under the management of Joe Fagan as they wrapped up their third successive league title and the 15th in their history...
– this time scoring twice – but did not make the squad for the FA Cup Final
1984 FA Cup Final
The 1984 FA Cup Final was contested by Everton and Watford at Wembley. Everton won 2–0, with one goal by Graeme Sharp and a particularly memorable goal from Andy Gray. He was adjudged by many to have fouled the Watford goalkeeper Steve Sherwood by heading the ball from Sherwood's hands....
, which Watford lost 2–0 to 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...
. He played twice, scoring once, in the 1984–85
1984-85 in English football
The 1984–85 season was the 105th season of competitive football in England.-Bradford City disaster:56 spectators died and more than 200 were injured when a fire ripped through the Main Stand at Valley Parade during Bradford City's Third Division fixture with Lincoln City on 11 May...
season before accepting a £40,000 offer to join Third Division promotion challengers Hull City on 7 February 1985.
He quickly established himself as a regular in the Boothferry Park
Boothferry Park
Boothferry Park was a football stadium in Kingston upon Hull, and was home to the football club Hull City for over 50 years from 31 August 1946 until December 2002, when they moved to the Kingston Communications Stadium....
defence, securing promotion to the Second Division for the 1985–86 season
1985-86 in English football
The 1985–86 season was the 106th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :The championship crown went to Liverpool for the 16th time in their history at the end of their first season under the management of Kenny Dalglish, but they had to fight off some very stiff competition to...
and then helped them finish an impressive sixth at that level, just missing out on a place in the First Division for the first time. This was the closest he would come to a top flight return for another five years.
After 221 league appearances for them he was signed by Joe Royle
Joe Royle
Joseph "Joe" Royle is an English football manager. In his club career, he played for Everton , Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the England national team...
's Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...
for a club record fee of £460,000 in 1990. He was a key player in their promotion
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
to the first Division, and was called up to Taylor's 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...
squad for matches in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, but played only in the B internationals
England B national football team
England B is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the England national football team. At times they have played other nations' full teams; they have also played matches against 'B' teams from other football associations...
.
In five years, he played 189 league games for the Latics, scoring 10 goals. As well as the Second Division title medal in 1991, he came close to collecting a major honour in 1994 when the Latics reached the 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...
semi-finals and only a late equaliser by Manchester United's
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...
Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....
, following by a 4–1 hammering in the replay, prevented Jobson for having a crack at the FA Cup final appearance he had missed out on with Watford a decade earlier. The Latics were relegated from the FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
just after this disappointment, but Jobson remained loyal to them for more than a year afterwards despite their failure to return to the elite.http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=41121
Jobson moved to 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...
for £1million on 26 October 1995, a year after Oldham's relegation from the Premiership, but his Leeds career was disrupted by injury and he spent time on loan to 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...
in 1997–98. Later that season he rejoined Joe Royle, then at 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...
. Again, he suffered injuries, but still helped City reach the Premiership with two successive promotions. Royle decided that the 37-year-old Jobson was too old for the Premiership and he joined 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...
. His only season at Prenton Park
Prenton Park
Prenton Park is an association football stadium in Birkenhead, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers F.C. The club moved to the current Prenton Park in 1912. The ground has had several rebuilds, with the most recent occurring in 1995 in response to the requirement of the Taylor Report...
ended in relegation from Division One, and he then signed for Rochdale
Rochdale A.F.C.
Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...
. He helped them qualify for the Division Three
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
playoffs in his first season at Spotland
Spotland
Spotland is a district of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Spodden, and is the home of Spotland Stadium.Historically a part of Lancashire, Spotland was formerly its own township within the ancient parish of Rochdale....
, but featured less frequently in the following campaign and retired in May 2003, playing the final game of his career six days before his 40th birthday. By this date, he was one of the oldest professional players in England.
Jobson succeeded Nick Cusack
Nick Cusack
Nicholas John Cusack is an English former footballer and, briefly, player-manager. He was for a time chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association .-Football career:...
as chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association
Professional Footballers' Association
The Professional Footballers' Association is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales. The world's oldest professional sport trade union, it has 4,000 members....
(PFA) in November 2002, remaining in the post until he retired as a player. He then joined the PFA staff, and in 2009 was a senior executive in their player management department. He is married with three children.
External links
- League stats at Neil Brown's site