James Robinson (footballer, born 1982)

James Robinson
Personal information
Full name James Gilbert Robinson
Date of birth (1982-09-18) 18 September 1982
Place of birth Liverpool, England
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Manager
Youth career
Crewe Alexandra
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2003–2005 Crewe Alexandra 15 (1)
2005 ÍBV 1 (0)
2005 Accrington Stanley 0 (0)
2005–2006 Altrincham 14 (4)
2006 Richmond SC 19 (13)
2006–2007 Melbourne Victory 7 (1)
2007 Marconi Stallions 10 (5)
2007–2009 Perth Glory 21 (2)
2009–2010 North Queensland Fury 13 (0)
2011 Oakleigh Cannons 23 (4)
2012–2013 Bulleen Lions 10 (4)
2013 Sriwijaya 1 (0)
2013 Dandenong Thunder 0 (0)
2014 Ballarat Red Devils 0 (0)
Teams managed
2014–2015 Ballarat Red Devils

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

James Robinson (born 18 September 1982) is a retired former professional footballer. His is currently a football manager, and held the position of head manager at National Premier Leagues Victoria side Ballarat Red Devils from 2014-15.

Club career

England and Iceland

Born in Liverpool, Robinson joined English team Crewe Alexandra in 1990 at the age of eight, and made his first team debut with the club in 2002, making 15 first team appearances,[1] scoring once against Ipswich Town.[2] He left Crewe Alexandra by mutual consent in 2005 with a year remaining on his contract.[3] Robinson signed for Icelandic club ÍBV ahead of the 2005 season along with fellow former Crewe player Matthew Platt. Upon his return to England later that year, he signed for Football Conference side Accrington Stanley but failed to make a first-team appearance for the club.[4] In November 2005 he joined Altrincham, where he scored 4 goals in 14 Conference matches.[5]

Australia

In February 2006, Robinson headed to Australia, where he joined Melbourne-based Richmond SC. At that time, it was discovered that neither Accrington nor Altrincham had obtained international clearance for Robinson to transfer or play for them, a procedure required due to his spell in Iceland. Accrington escaped penalty, as Robinson had not appeared for their first team. Altrincham, however, had 18 points deducted (all points earned during Robinson's matches), nearly dooming them to relegation.[6] Robinson was devastated by the sanctions to his former team, but went on to help Richmond SC, then in Victorian State League Division 1, earn promotion to the Victorian Premier League.[7]

Melbourne Victory

It was a string of impressive performances for the third, then second-tier club – 19 games for 13 goals in 2006 – that saw Robinson initially selected as a train-on squad player for A-League club Melbourne Victory. By Round 8, and with Melbourne's prolific striker Archie Thompson away on national duty for Australia, Robinson was called up to a bench spot for the away match at Newcastle, upon which he came on as an 81st-minute substitute.

With the departure of Belgian defender Geoffrey Claeys in November 2006, Melbourne Victory announced the signing of the striker; at the end of the home and away season, Robinson had played a total of five games. His only start came in the Round 19 match against Perth Glory at Members Equity Stadium. His first and only goal for the club came in the 92nd minute with a looping header against Adelaide United in the 2007 A-League Major Semi-final second leg in front of 47,000 fans to win the game for Melbourne Victory and send them through to their first A-League Grand Final, making him an instant club hero.[8]

Despite his crucial contribution to the Victory's triumphant campaign, he was not offered a new contract by Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick, he said that the loss of Robinson from the team was due to his Australian visa conditions.[9]

Perth Glory

Robinson was signed by A-League club Perth Glory for the 2007–08 season after his performances for Sydney team Marconi Stallions and after impressing on a pre season trial.

North Queensland Fury

Robinson was a founder member of the North Queensland Fury team and made a number of impressive performances for the team.

Late Career

Towards the end of his playing career, Robinson had a success spell at Victorian Premier League side Oakleigh Cannons in 2011, a two-year stay at Bulleen Lions after that, a brief journey to Indonesia Super League side Sriwijaya FC and then Dandenong Thunder back in Victoria.

Coaching career

Ballarat Red Devils

On 13 January 2014, Ballarat announced the signing of Robinson as player-coach[10] ahead of their inaugural NPLV season. Unfortunately, Ballarat were relegated from the Victorian top flight on the final matchday. In the 2015 season, Ballarat finished fourth and the Englishman was voted NPL 1 Coach of the Year by his peers. Robinson resigned from his position at Ballarat in November 2015.[11]

A-League career statistics

(Correct as of 2 February 2009)

Club Season League Finals Asia Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Melbourne Victory 2006–07 502210---712
Perth Glory 2007–08 1826------1826
2008–09 300------300
North Queensland Fury 2009–10 1305------1305
Total 39213210--- 41313

Honours

With Melbourne Victory:

With Oakleigh Cannons

Coaching

With Ballarat Red Devils

References

External links


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