Robert Ullathorne
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Ullathorne | ||
| Date of birth | 11 October 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Wakefield, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Norwich City | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1990–1996 | Norwich City | 115 | (8) |
| 1996–1997 | CA Osasuna | 21 | (0) |
| 1997–2000 | Leicester City | 38 | (2) |
| 2000–2003 | Sheffield United | 44 | (0) |
| 2004 | Northampton Town | 15 | (1) |
| 2004–2006 | Notts County | 77 | (1) |
| Total | 310 | (12) | |
| National team | |||
| England U18 | |||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Robert Ullathorne (born 11 October 1971 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England) is former a professional footballer, most recently playing for Notts County, where he played as a defender.
He played most of his professional games for Norwich City.
Playing career
Norwich City
Predominantly a left-sided defender or midfielder Ullathorne was a successful product of Norwich City youth team. He chose to join Norwich City despite having schoolboy trials with the likes of Everton, Cambridge United, West Ham United and Luton Town.
Ullathorne made his first start for Norwich on 22 April 1991 in an away fixture against Nottingham Forest,scoring his first goal against Notts County the following season. Ullathorne went on to make a total of 115 appearances scoring eight goals in the process including a UEFA cup appearance against Inter Milan at the San Siro during Norwich City's successful run in 1993–94.
CA Osasuna
After having been at Norwich for eight years, Robert was subject of interest from Crystal Palace but took the opportunity of a move to Spanish Segunda División side CA Osasuna on a free transfer, the first under the Bosman ruling from England where he was joined by fellow Englishman Jamie Pollock who arrived from Middlesbrough. Ullathorne spent just over nine months with the club before leaving to return to England in a £650,000 transfer to Leicester City.
Leicester City
With a chance of reaching a Wembley cup final, on 17 February 1997 Robert decided to return to the Premier League to play for Leicester City in a deal worth £650,000. Ullathorne's hopes of playing in a cup final were dashed after only eleven minutes of his debut against Wimbledon in a Coca Cola Cup semi-final, when he suffered a broken leg and a dislocated ankle and was substituted.
Ullathorne recovered, and was a regular in the Leicester City first team during the 1998–99 season showing his versatility by playing in numerous positions. Robert had an impressive game for Leicester in the 1999 League Cup final where he kept David Ginola quiet throughout the game. However Tottenham Hotspur won the game with a last minute goal depriving Robert of silverware.
Playing well during the 1998–99 season and attracting numerous clubs for his signature including a possible return to his old club CA Osasuna,[1] Ullathorne's career was thrown into disarray when he broke his leg at Chelsea on 18 March 1999 which raised real questions about his future. He scored two goals during his spell at Leicester, scoring once against Blackburn Rovers in the league[2] and once against Birmingham City in the FA Cup.[3]
Sheffield United, Northampton and Notts County
Ullathorne left Leicester at the end of the 1999–2000 season, joining Newcastle United briefly on trial before signing for Sheffield United as a free agent in December 2000. He played 14 games for United up until the end of the season. Ullathorne re-signed for the Yorkshire club again in November 2001. In his second spell he played 26 league games during an injury plagued season and was released at the end of the 2002–03 season, signing for Northampton Town. At Northampton, Ullathorne made 13 league appearances, scoring the winning goal against Mansfield Town on the last day of the season,[4] his goal clinching the Cobblers' place in the Division Three play-offs. Ironically, their opponents in the play-off semi final would be Mansfield. However, Ullathorne was unable to prevent his team from losing on penalties.[5] He then signed for Notts County, where he spent his last two seasons, scoring once in the League Cup against Bradford City.[6]
Honours
Leicester City
Runner-up
- 1998–99 Football League Cup
After Football
In November 2011, Ullathorne became a Licensed Players' Agent by The FA and is working with sports management company Elite Sports Properties.
Trivia
- On 14 April 1996, Ullathorne scored an unlucky own goal against local rivals Ipswich Town when he played the ball back to his goalkeeper Bryan Gunn with the ball bobbling over his foot and into the empty net. The goal would win the game 2–1 for Ipswich Town.
- In June 1996, Ullathorne was the first player from England to move on a free transfer using the Bosman ruling to Spanish club CA Osasuna
- On 16 March 2002, an injury sustained by Ullathorne caused the abandonment of a game between Sheffield United and West Brom. The Battle of Bramall Lane is the informal name given to the match. When Ullathorne went off injured, in the 82nd minute, reducing United to six men, the referee, Eddie Wolstenholme abandoned the game with West Brom leading 3–0.
References
- ↑ "Ullathorne fichará next week whether to accept the offer that will make Osasuna". Diario de Navarra. 30 March 1999. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
- ↑ Daley, Kieran (28 February 1998). "Sutton master of class". London: The Independent. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
- ↑ Andrews, Phil (2 January 1999). "Heskey provides the key to unlock Birmingham". London: The Independent. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
- ↑ "Mansfield 1–2 Northampton". BBC. 8 May 2004. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
- ↑ "Mansfield reach final". BBC. 20 May 2004. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
- ↑ "Bradford 1–2 Notts Co". BBC. 25 August 2004. Retrieved 17 February 2010.