Bryan Robson

This article describes the English football player, 90-time national player and later coach, who was mostly active in central midfield from the beginning of the 1970s to 1996. A soccer player of the same name was known as a center forward from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, mostly by the nickname Pop Robson .

Bryan Robson
Personnel
birthday	January 11, 1957
place of birth	Chester-le-Street ,  England
size	180 cm
position	midfield player
Juniors
Years	station
1972-1974	West Bromwich Albion
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1974-1981	West Bromwich Albion	198 (40)
1981-1994	Manchester United	345 (74)
1994-1996	Middlesbrough FC	25 0(1)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1979-1980	England U-21	7 0(2)
1980-1991	England	90 (26)
Stations as a trainer
Years	station
1994-2001	Middlesbrough FC
2003-2004	Bradford City
2004-2006	West Bromwich Albion
2007-2008	Sheffield United
2009-2011	Thailand
1 Only league games are given.

Bryan Robson OBE (born January 11, 1957 in Chester-le-Street , County Durham ) is a former English football player and was a long-time team captain both in the club and in the English national team , which he later looked after under Terry Venables .

Player career

West Bromwich Albion

Regarded by many as one of the most complete English midfielders in recent history, Robson first appeared in public when he made his debut for his club West Bromwich Albion in 1975 against York City . In the last three games of the season in which he was used, he scored two goals and became a regular in the following season. West Bromwich rose to the English First Division this season .

In his first season in the First Division, Robson alternated steadily between the left defensive position and his preferred central midfield role. His career then received due to its first serious injury a setback when he was in a tackle against Chris Jones from Tottenham Hotspur left leg broke.

Robson returned two months later, but the breakage couldn't withstand another tackle. At the end of the season he even broke his leg a third time. Later he was appointed to the English U23 youth team. However, since he suffered an ankle fracture in a game against Manchester City , he had to cancel his participation.

This unfortunate series of injuries should be symptomatic of Robson's playing career. Despite his above-average talent and natural leadership skills, he struggled with wounds that always forced him to regenerate for a large part of the season. Nevertheless, his injuries were limited to broken bones and dislocated joints, the healing processes of which were relatively linear and reliable. He also broke a hand and his nose during his time at West Bromwich.

Manchester United and the English national team

Robson became captain of West Brom in 1979, after which coach Ron Atkinson , who designated him for the role, moved to Manchester United . Robson made his debut in February 1980 for the English national team, who beat Ireland 2-0 in a qualifying match for the 1980 European Championship in Italy . Robson's second international game followed in the last preparation game, a 2-1 win over Australia in Sydney . In the tournament itself, in which England should be eliminated after the group stage, Robson was not used.

After the European Championship, England coach Ron Greenwood regularly relied on Robson in midfield and called him to all eight qualifying games for the 1982 World Cup in Spain , which ended with England qualifying for the World Cup. In one of those games, in the 2-1 defeat in Norway , Robson scored his first goal for England.

Robson's old coach Atkinson offered West Bromwich £ 1.5million for Robson's move to Old Trafford a month before the final qualifier against Hungary at Wembley . After negotiations, the clubs later came to an agreement and Robson signed in October 1981 for a transfer fee of 1.75 million pounds. He was Britain's most expensive player at the time and was not surpassed until six years later in the summer of 1987 when Liverpool FC paid £ 1.9m to move Peter Beardsley from Newcastle United .

Robson made his debut for the new club in a goalless draw against Manchester City and ended the season with 32 games and five goals. In the meantime he developed positively in the English national team and scored both in a 4-0 win against Northern Ireland at Wembley and twice in the last preparation game for the World Cup against Finland . Now Robson should not only be represented in the 22-man squad, but also appear in the starting XI.

Robson was a regular for England for the remainder of the 1980s through 1991. During this time he reached the second round at the 1982 World Cup and the quarter-finals at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico . In the first game of the 1982 World Cup, he scored against France after just a few seconds. At the European Championships in Germany in 1988 he failed in the group stage and was able to make it through to the semi-finals at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. To this day, with his 90 appearances (including 26 goals), he is one of the footballers with the most English internationals and would probably have been able to add a lot more if the aforementioned vulnerability to injuries had not limited him.

Robson scored two goals in the final of the FA Cup of the 1982/83 season, which Manchester won 4-0 in the replay against Brighton & Hove Albion . In the following season he reached the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup with his club , which he lost to Juventus Turin . In 1985 he won the English Cup again when Norman Whiteside scored the decisive goal in extra time to make it 1-0, preventing the opponent from Everton from winning the hitherto unique triple of championship, FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup. In the 1985/86 season Robson started with his club with ten consecutive wins and nourished the hope of being able to bring the English championship back to Old Trafford after 1967. After the turn of the year, however, a long-lasting form weakness followed, which ensured that Manchester could only finish the season in fourth place behind Liverpool, Everton and West Ham United and remained without a title win.

Robson, who is nicknamed Captain Marvel , played a key role in England's qualification for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, in which they then beat Argentina in a legendary quarter-final 2-1 after two goals from Diego Maradona (the first by the famous hand of God - Goal, the second by the World Cup goal of the century ). At the European Championship in 1988 he was one of the few players who could show a good performance. Nevertheless, the team lost all three games in the group stage and then dropped out of the tournament.

Bryan Robson was now one of the most established English football players and kept his regular place even after Atkinson was sacked by Manchester United and replaced by Alex Ferguson . But it was not until 1990 that Robson could win another title. In the first FA Cup final , which Manchester played 3-3 against Crystal Palace , he scored the first goal. The replay was won 1-0 by a goal from Lee Martin Manchester . Again set back by injuries, Robson could only play 17 league games in the 1990/91 season. In the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, which Manchester won 2-1 against FC Barcelona , he was ready to play again.

Despite increased competition from Paul Ince , Neil Webb and Andrei Kantschelskis , Robson was also permanently represented in the starting line-up in the 1991/92 season and came to his 90th and last international match for England, which at the time was only moderately popular with the public Graham Taylor was trained. The season ended disappointingly when Manchester lost to Leeds United in the championship . After missing the final in the League Cup due to injury , which Manchester won against Nottingham Forest , Robson slowly lost his place after more players appeared as competitors and Ferguson told the press that he wanted to sign a new midfielder. Although he was still the team captain, Steve Bruce replaced him more often when Robson was not used.

In the 1992/93 season Robson came in the newly created English Premier League on only 15 league games. He scored a goal on the final day of the match against Wimbledon FC , when Manchester had already secured the English championship (synonymous with Robson's first championship title). Not only his injuries ensured that the now 36-year-old Robson was used less and less. The commitment of Éric Cantona in 1992, who together with Mark Hughes formed a storm row from then on, had the conversion of Mark Hughes' former storm partner Brian McClair into midfield, which immediately worsened Robson's prospects. The trend continued when in the summer of 1993 Roy Keane from Nottingham Forest also joined the team. Nevertheless, Robson was still used sporadically in the 1993/94 season and personally won his second championship. In addition, he was able to achieve one of four goals in the semi-final replay victory in the FA Cup against Oldham Athletic . In the final, however, he was not on the team, which prevented him from being the first player for the club to win four FA Cup finals.

Robson's 13-year stay at Manchester United was then ended in the summer of 1994 after almost 400 games and 97 goals. He then accepted an offer from Middlesbrough FC and worked there as a player- coach .

He is currently the England international with the sixth most appearances and the eleventh best goal haul. Between 1994 and 1996 he worked in a Kotrainer function for Terry Venables and was briefly traded as a possible successor after the European Championship in 1996 , which he refused.

Coaching career

Middlesbrough: Getting Started

Robson's start in the coaching career began last season at Ayresome Park when he won the second division championship with Middlesbrough and was able to celebrate the promotion to the first division and then moved with his team to the new Riverside Stadium . His co-trainer was Viv Anderson , who, like Robson, had previously played for Manchester United.

Middlesbrough's return to the Premier League was extremely successful and was accompanied by numerous top player commitments, including Nick Barmby and the Brazilians Juninho Paulista and Branco . They start in fourth place by October 1995 and are aiming for at least one UEFA Cup place and even the championship race. However, major injury problems in the club then caused a decline within the season, so that Middlesbrough slipped to the relatively weak 12th place in the end.

Robson invested several million pounds in Italian striker Fabrizio Ravanelli and Brazilian midfielder Emerson in the summer of 1996 . However, those expensive signings did not prevent Middlesbrough from starting the season weakly. A significant deterioration then set in when the club was penalized with a 3-point deduction because it canceled a game too short-term and without sufficient agreement due to an injury crisis in the club. At the end of the season, however, the prospect of being able to win the first trophy for the club with the finals in both domestic cup competitions existed. After the first final game of the League Cup against Leicester City , which ended 1-1, Boro lost the replay 0-1.

The eventful season ended for Middlesbrough with relegation to the second division, which would have been prevented without the deduction of points and the club would have ended in 14th place. However, despite ongoing appeals, the decision was not reversed. The disappointment in the club continued when the FA Cup final was lost 2-0 to Chelsea . The club management, however, reaffirmed the confidence in Robson and was rewarded for the loyalty by the direct rise in the 1997/98 season. In addition, the club reached the final in the League Cup, which was again lost to Chelsea.

After Middlesbrough's second promotion, Robson spent three more seasons at the club and then resigned from his post after long-term failure to move the club from midfield to higher table regions. He was succeeded by Steve McClaren , a former Manchester United cotrainer.

Bradford City: Short-term comeback

It was more than two years before Robson returned to football and in November 2003 accepted a coaching offer from Bradford City , a club that was fighting for relegation in the second division . Before that, he was briefly discussed as a coach for the Nigerian national soccer team . However, he declined the offer. His time at Bradford was very unfortunate and the club relegated to the third division after 20 defeats in their last 28 games. Robson's short-term contract was not renewed and he was subsequently inherited by his co-trainer Colin Todd .

West Bromwich Albion: Back to the native Midlands

Robson's third and current coaching position began in November 2004 when he accepted the offer from his old club West Bromwich Albion, 23 years after he left him as a player. Since then, the club had steadily deteriorated and the 2004/05 season was only the second first division season in the past 20 years.

On Christmas Day 2004 West Bromwich was bottom of the table and had major relegation worries, as no club had managed to stay relegated after the club had been at the bottom of the table at Christmas (before that in 1991, this was only Sheffield United in the then First Division succeeded). On the last day of the match, however, the club managed to survive a home win against Portsmouth FC surprising relegation after both Norwich City and Southampton FC lost and Crystal Palace had only played a draw.

Robson strengthened his squad at the start of the 2005/06 season, it hired the striker Wigan Athletic Nathan Ellington for three million pounds and lent for one season Chris Kirkland , keeper of Liverpool FC from. He reacted to the fact that the old squad had only won six games in the previous season and set a negative record with 34 points for a club remaining in the elite league.

West Bromwich started 2006 just above the relegation zone and is currently still far from the form of the late 1970s and early 1980s, in which Robson was active there as a player. At the end of the season Robson rose with "WBA" in the second-rate Football League Championship , whereupon the club separated from Robson in September of that year "by mutual agreement".

Sheffield United

On May 22, 2007, Bryan Robson and Brian Kidd were introduced as the new Sheffield United coaching team . The club started the second division season 2007/08 with difficulty and only collected nine points in the first ten games, making Robson's new team in 20th place in the table. After further erratic performances, Robson announced that he had lost patience with the players following a 2-0 derby defeat by Sheffield Wednesday . Club chairman Kevin McCabe continued to offer his coach public support, but when Robson continued to complain about not having the funds he expected, he came up against a 0-0 home draw on February 9, 2008 Scunthorpe United in the club management under pressure. Following a conversation with the presidium in Brussels and a radio interview in which Robson complained about the lack of support from his own supporters, he left Sheffield United on February 14, 2008. He had previously turned down another role in the club's management.

From September 2009 until his resignation in June 2011, Robson was the coach of the Thai national team .

Sporting successes

• European Cup Winners' Cup : 1991
• English champion : 1993 , 1994
• FA Cup winners: 1983 , 1985 , 1990 , 1994
• League Cup winner: 1992

social commitment

Robson is an ambassador for Show Racism the Red Card .

Individual evidence

1. ^ "Robson unveiled as Sheff Utd boss" (BBC Sport)
2. ↑ "Robson's patience runs out" ( Memento of the original from January 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Sheffield United FC)  
3. ↑ "Chairman Urges Unity" ( Memento of the original from January 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Sheffield United FC)  
4. ↑ "Sheffield United 0-0 Scunthorpe United" (BBC Sport)
5. ↑ "Showdown: Robson summoned for talks with McCabe" (The Sheffield Star)
6. ^ "Robson faces Sheff Utd job talks" (BBC Sport)
7. ^ "Blackwell in for Robson at Blades" (BBC Sport)
8. ↑ Show Racism the Red Card-Hall of fame ( Memento of the original from March 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

Commons : Bryan Robson  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Photo of Bryan Robson (as a player)