Playing position Role Footballer 1987–1989 Brighton & Hove Albion Height 1.78 m | Years Team Position Midfielder Name John Robinson | |
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Full name John Robert Campbell Robinson Date of birth (1971-08-29) 29 August 1971 (age 44) Place of birth Bulawayo, Rhodesia
(today Zimbabwe) | ||
John Robert Campbell Robinson (born 29 August 1971) is a Welsh former professional footballer. He made over 400 appearances during his professional career with Brighton & Hove Albion, Charlton Athletic, Cardiff City and Gillingham and also won 30 caps for Wales.
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Early life
Robinson was born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to a Glasgow-born father and Rhodesian mother. His father's job later moved the family to Durban in South Africa before they settled in Sussex in order for Robinson to pursue his dream of playing professional football.
Career
After attending the Bobby Charlton Soccer School, Robinson began his professional career at Brighton & Hove Albion, signing his first deal with the club in 1987. In 1992, he moved to Charlton Athletic for £75,000; he would spend the bulk of his career with the South London club. In eleven years at Charlton, he helped the Addicks to two promotions and also enjoyed three seasons of Premier League football. He played in their dramatic win over Sunderland in the 1998 play-off final, winning 7–6 on penalties after a 4–4 draw, with Robinson himself scoring one of the penalties.
Robinson was released at the end of the 2002–03 season and joined Cardiff City following their promotion to Division One, making his debut on the opening day of the 2003–04 season in a 0–0 draw with Rotherham United. In October 2004, Robinson decided to leave Cardiff to sign for Gillingham to be closer to his mother, who was suffering from illness, and family. However, he retired after making just four appearances for the club after becoming disillusioned with professional football, stating "I haven't fallen out of love with playing football, it's the politics of football and becoming a commodity I don't like." He later had short spells with non-league sides Crawley Town and Lewes before retiring.
After retirement
After leaving football, Robinson set up a property business with former Cardiff team mate Martyn Margetson and also runs his own football training school. On 21 May 2013 Robinson was named the head coach of the SW Florida Adrenaline of the USL Premier Development League. In 2017 he was elected to the Charlton Athletic Hall of Fame.