Carl Robinson
Encyclopedia
Carl Robinson is a Welsh
footballer who currently plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer
.
. He made his football league debut whilst on loan to Shrewsbury Town during the 1995-96 season and played in the Auto Windscreen Shield final (Football League Trophy
) at Wembley
for Shrewsbury Town losing 2-1 to Rotherham United. He made his Wolverhampton Wanderers debut during the 1996-97
season.
in July 2002 under the Bosman ruling
. He played around 20 games for Portsmouth in their promotion year before loan spells with Sheffield Wednesday
(where he scored once against future club Norwich), Walsall
(where he scored once against Bradford), Rotherham
, Sheffield United
and Sunderland
.
, he signed a permanent 3-year deal in June 2004. He then went on to collect another championship winners medal as they gained promotion during a season in which he played 42 of 46 matches.
, he signed for The Canaries permanently on a 2½-year deal for an undisclosed fee in January 2006. Robinson scored his first goal for Norwich in a 5-1 win against Barnsley
on 26 August 2006. He racked up over 50 appearances in 15 months before deciding to leave.
from Norwich after just over a year at Carrow Road
, even though he still had 18 months remaining on his current deal. He scored his first MLS goal when he netted Toronto's 3rd in a 4-0 win against FC Dallas
on June 17, 2007. He was voted team MVP in his first year and repeated in his second year at the club.
He is currently completing his UEFA licenses in preparation for the opportunity to become a coach/manager.
Although much sought-after in the English Championship
, Robinson has announced that he plans to spend the remainder of his club career in MLS: "Being brought up in English football, this is all I know, but I'm at the next stage of my life now." Although he took a substantial pay cut after moving across the Atlantic, the considerably lower property prices in Canada
compared to the United Kingdom
allowed him to purchase a country estate near Toronto.
to the New York Red Bulls for a fourth-round pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft
. On 20 March 2010, Robinson started for New York in a 3-1 victory against Santos FC, which was the first match played at the new Red Bull Arena.
On 21 August 2010, he scored his 1st goal for New York Red Bulls in a 4-1 road victory against his old club Toronto FC.
player, Robinson made his debut against Belarus
in 1999, winning the man of the match award. His 50th cap came in the 2-0 World Cup Qualifier victory over Liechtenstein. On April 1, 2009, Robinson announced his retirement from international football at the age of 32 after Wales suffered two consecutive defeats, making it virtually impossible for them to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
.
His brother, Lee, is a former Academy Manager at Cardiff City
, but now works with a sports agency. His cousin Andy Robinson
also played professional football for Tranmere Rovers, Swansea City and Leeds United.
Robinson is a big rugby union
fan and writes a sports column for the County Times, a weekly newspaper sold in his home county of Powys
, Wales
.
He was recently awarded Citizen of the Year in his tome town of Llandrindod Wells, which was a "fantastic honour" for him.
He is also a fan of the New Jersey Nets
of the NBA.
|2001–02||Wolverhampton Wanderers
||rowspan="4"|First Division
||11||1||0||0||0||0||colspan="2" |—||10||2
|-
|rowspan="3"|2002–03||Walsall
||10||2||0||0||colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—|||10||2
|-
||Sheffield Wednesday
||4||1||0||0||colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—||4||1
|-
|rowspan="2"|Portsmouth
||15||0||0||0||2||0||colspan="2" |—||17||0
|-
|2003–04||Premier League
||1||0||2||0||colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—||3||0
|-
|rowspan="3"|2003–04||Rotherham United
||rowspan="4"|Championship
||14||0||colspan="2" |—||2||0||colspan="2" |—||3||0
|-
|Sheffield United
||5||0||colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—||5||0
|-
|rowspan="3" |Sunderland
||9||1||colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—||9||1
|-
|2004–05
||40||4||2||0||1||0||colspan="2" |—||43||4
|-
|2005–06||Premier League
||5||0||0||0||2||0||colspan="2"|—||7||0
|-
|2005–06||rowspan="2"|Norwich City
||rowspan="2"|Championship||22||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2" |—||22||0
|-
|2006–07||27||2||2||0||0||0||colspan="2" |—||29||0
|-
|2007
||rowspan="3"|Toronto
||rowspan="3"|MLS
||26||2||colspan="2" |—||rowspan="3" colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—||26||2
|-
|2008
||27||1||4||0||colspan="2" |—||31||1
|-
|2009
||21||0||4||0|| || ||25||0
|-
|2010
||rowspan="2"|New York||rowspan="2"|MLS||11||1|| || ||rowspan="2" colspan="2" |—||2||0||13||1
|-
|2011
||2||0|| || ||colspan="2" |—||2||0
|-
163||11||6||0||7||0||colspan="2" |—||176||11
74||3||8||0||colspan="2" |—|| || ||82||3
13||1|| || ||colspan="2" |—||2||0||15||1
250||15||14||0||7||0||2||0||273||15
Portsmouth
Sunderland
Toronto FC
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
footballer who currently plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
A combative player, Robinson started his career as a trainee with Wolverhampton WanderersWolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
. He made his football league debut whilst on loan to Shrewsbury Town during the 1995-96 season and played in the Auto Windscreen Shield final (Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
) at Wembley
Wembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
for Shrewsbury Town losing 2-1 to Rotherham United. He made his Wolverhampton Wanderers debut during the 1996-97
1996-97 in English football
The 1996–1997 season was the 117th season of competitive football in England.Arrival into the league and exit out of the league returns in the fourth tier for the first time after its 3 season absence with only 1 relegation spot.- Premier League :...
season.
Portsmouth
After over 180 appearances for Wolves over six seasons, he moved to PortsmouthPortsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
in July 2002 under the Bosman ruling
Bosman ruling
Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association, and direct effect of article 39 of the EC Treaty...
. He played around 20 games for Portsmouth in their promotion year before loan spells with Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
(where he scored once against future club Norwich), Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
(where he scored once against Bradford), Rotherham
Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
, Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
and Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
.
Sunderland
After impressing at SunderlandSunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
, he signed a permanent 3-year deal in June 2004. He then went on to collect another championship winners medal as they gained promotion during a season in which he played 42 of 46 matches.
Norwich City
After a loan spell with Norwich CityNorwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
, he signed for The Canaries permanently on a 2½-year deal for an undisclosed fee in January 2006. Robinson scored his first goal for Norwich in a 5-1 win against Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
on 26 August 2006. He racked up over 50 appearances in 15 months before deciding to leave.
Toronto FC
On January 31, 2007, Robinson joined Toronto FCToronto FC
Toronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada....
from Norwich after just over a year at Carrow Road
Carrow Road
Carrow Road is a football stadium in Norwich, England, and is the home of Norwich City Football Club. The stadium is located toward the easterly end of the city, not far from Norwich railway station and the River Wensum....
, even though he still had 18 months remaining on his current deal. He scored his first MLS goal when he netted Toronto's 3rd in a 4-0 win against FC Dallas
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
on June 17, 2007. He was voted team MVP in his first year and repeated in his second year at the club.
He is currently completing his UEFA licenses in preparation for the opportunity to become a coach/manager.
Although much sought-after in the English Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
, Robinson has announced that he plans to spend the remainder of his club career in MLS: "Being brought up in English football, this is all I know, but I'm at the next stage of my life now." Although he took a substantial pay cut after moving across the Atlantic, the considerably lower property prices in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
compared to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
allowed him to purchase a country estate near Toronto.
New York Red Bulls
In March 2010 he was traded from Toronto FCToronto FC
Toronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada....
to the New York Red Bulls for a fourth-round pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft
2011 MLS SuperDraft
The 2011 MLS SuperDraft was the twelfth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 13, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 2011 NSCAA Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center. The 2011 SuperDraft consisted of three rounds with eighteen selections each, for...
. On 20 March 2010, Robinson started for New York in a 3-1 victory against Santos FC, which was the first match played at the new Red Bull Arena.
On 21 August 2010, he scored his 1st goal for New York Red Bulls in a 4-1 road victory against his old club Toronto FC.
International
A Wales internationalWales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
player, Robinson made his debut against Belarus
Belarus national football team
The Belarus national football team represents Belarus in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Belarus, the governing body for football in Belarus. Belarus' home ground is Dinamo Stadium in Minsk...
in 1999, winning the man of the match award. His 50th cap came in the 2-0 World Cup Qualifier victory over Liechtenstein. On April 1, 2009, Robinson announced his retirement from international football at the age of 32 after Wales suffered two consecutive defeats, making it virtually impossible for them to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
.
Personal
Carl married his childhood sweetheart Laura in the summer of 2003. He has a daughter named Lowri Isabella (born in 2002) and a son named Milo Carter (born in 2008).His brother, Lee, is a former Academy Manager at Cardiff City
Cardiff city
Cardiff City may refer to:* Cardiff city centre* Cardiff City Council* Cardiff City F.C.* Cardiff City L.F.C.* Cardiff City Stadium...
, but now works with a sports agency. His cousin Andy Robinson
Andy Robinson (footballer)
Andrew Mark "Andy" Robinson is a professional football player, who plays for Tranmere Rovers. He plays as a Winger and is comfortable playing on either side of the pitch.-Early career:...
also played professional football for Tranmere Rovers, Swansea City and Leeds United.
Robinson is a big rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
fan and writes a sports column for the County Times, a weekly newspaper sold in his home county of Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
He was recently awarded Citizen of the Year in his tome town of Llandrindod Wells, which was a "fantastic honour" for him.
He is also a fan of the New Jersey Nets
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
of the NBA.
Career stats
|-|2001–02||Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
||rowspan="4"|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....
||11||1||0||0||0||0||colspan="2" |—||10||2
|-
|rowspan="3"|2002–03||Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
||10||2||0||0||colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—|||10||2
|-
||Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
||4||1||0||0||colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—||4||1
|-
|rowspan="2"|Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
||15||0||0||0||2||0||colspan="2" |—||17||0
|-
|2003–04||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...
||1||0||2||0||colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—||3||0
|-
|rowspan="3"|2003–04||Rotherham United
Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
||rowspan="4"|Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||14||0||colspan="2" |—||2||0||colspan="2" |—||3||0
|-
|Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
||5||0||colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—||5||0
|-
|rowspan="3" |Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
||9||1||colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—||9||1
|-
|2004–05
2004–05 Football League Championship
The Football League 2004–05 , was the thirteenth season under its current league division format. It began in August 2004 and concluded in May 2005, with the promotion play-off finals. This was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League...
||40||4||2||0||1||0||colspan="2" |—||43||4
|-
|2005–06||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...
||5||0||0||0||2||0||colspan="2"|—||7||0
|-
|2005–06||rowspan="2"|Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
||rowspan="2"|Championship||22||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2" |—||22||0
|-
|2006–07||27||2||2||0||0||0||colspan="2" |—||29||0
|-
|2007
2007 Major League Soccer season
The 2007 Major League Soccer season was the 12th season in league history. The season began on April 7 and concluded with MLS Cup 2007 on November 18, 2007 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C.....
||rowspan="3"|Toronto
Toronto FC
Toronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada....
||rowspan="3"|MLS
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
||26||2||colspan="2" |—||rowspan="3" colspan="2" |—||colspan="2" |—||26||2
|-
|2008
2008 Major League Soccer season
The 2008 Major League Soccer season was the 13th season in league history. The season began on March 29 and ended with MLS Cup 2008, on November 23 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California.-Changes from the 2007 season:...
||27||1||4||0||colspan="2" |—||31||1
|-
|2009
2009 Major League Soccer season
The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. The season began on March 19 and ended with Real Salt Lake winning the MLS Cup 2009, on November 22 at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington-Changes from the 2008 season:...
||21||0||4||0|| || ||25||0
|-
|2010
2010 Major League Soccer season
The 2010 Major League Soccer season was the 98th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 32nd with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada, and the 15th in MLS history. It began on March 25 at Seattle's Qwest Field with Seattle Sounders FC defeating the expansion...
||rowspan="2"|New York||rowspan="2"|MLS||11||1|| || ||rowspan="2" colspan="2" |—||2||0||13||1
|-
|2011
2011 Major League Soccer season
The 2011 Major League Soccer season was the 99th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 33rd with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada, and the 16th season of Major League Soccer. The season marked the arrival of two new league clubs, Portland Timbers and Vancouver...
||2||0|| || ||colspan="2" |—||2||0
|-
163||11||6||0||7||0||colspan="2" |—||176||11
74||3||8||0||colspan="2" |—|| || ||82||3
13||1|| || ||colspan="2" |—||2||0||15||1
250||15||14||0||7||0||2||0||273||15
Club
Shrewsbury Town-
- Football League TrophyFootball League TrophyThe Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
Runners-Up 1996
- Football League Trophy
Portsmouth
-
- Football League ChampionshipFootball League ChampionshipThe Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
(1): Winners 2002
- Football League Championship
Sunderland
-
- Football League ChampionshipFootball League ChampionshipThe Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
(1): Winners 2005
- Football League Championship
Toronto FC
-
- Canadian ChampionshipCanadian ChampionshipThe Canadian Championship—known as the Nutrilite Canadian Championship for sponsorship reasons—is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams...
(1): 20092009 Canadian ChampionshipThe 2009 Canadian Championship was a soccer tournament hosted and organized by the Canadian Soccer Association that took place in the cities of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver in 2009...
- Canadian Championship
Individual
- Toronto FC Player of the Year: 2007Toronto FC 2007-2007 Major League Soccer season:-Mid-season friendlies:-Appearances:Competitive matches only.-Goals:-Reserve appearances:MLS reserve matches only....
(Co-Winner), 2008Toronto FC 2008The 2008 MLS season was the second season in Toronto FC's existence. The club's season began on March 29, 2008 in an away game against Columbus Crew, which resulted in a 2-0 loss. The club's first goal of the season was scored by Maurice Edu on April 5, 2008 in a 4-1 loss against D.C...
External links
- Official Website
- MLS player profile
- Biography at BBC Mid-Wales