Carl Robinson

Carl Robinson (born 13 October 1976) is a retired Welsh international footballer who played as a central midfielder. He is a first-team coach at EFL Championship club Birmingham City.

This article is about the Welsh footballer. For the English footballer, see Karl Robinson.

Carl Robinson
Robinson with Vancouver in 2015
Personal information
Full name Carl Robinson
Date of birth (1976-10-13) 13 October 1976
Place of birth Llandrindod Wells, Wales
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Birmingham City (first-team coach)
Youth career
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–2002 Wolverhampton Wanderers 154 (19)
1996 → Shrewsbury Town (loan) 4 (0)
2002–2004 Portsmouth 16 (0)
2003 → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 4 (1)
2003 → Walsall (loan) 11 (1)
2003 → Rotherham United (loan) 14 (0)
2004 → Sheffield United (loan) 5 (0)
2004 → Sunderland (loan) 7 (1)
2004–2006 Sunderland 45 (4)
2005–2006 → Norwich City (loan) 7 (0)
2006–2007 Norwich City 42 (2)
2007–2010 Toronto FC 74 (3)
2010–2011 New York Red Bulls 12 (1)
Total 406 (32)
International career‡
1995–1997 Wales U21 6 (0)
1998 Wales B 2 (0)
1999–2009 Wales 52 (1)
Managerial career
2013–2018 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2020 Newcastle Jets
2020–2022 Western Sydney Wanderers
2023 D.C. United (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 June 2011
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 5 April 2009

Club career

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Robinson started his career as a trainee with Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was promoted to the first-team for the 1995–96 season.

Loan to Shrewsbury Town

On 28 March 1996, Robinson was sent on loan to Shrewsbury Town for the remainder of the season to gain first-team experience. Two days later, Robinson made his professional debut against Hull City in a 1–1 draw at Gay Meadow in front of 2,346 supporters. He made five appearances for The Shrews: four in the league and one in The Football League Trophy final at Wembley Stadium in a 2–1 defeat against Rotherham United on 14 April 1996.[1]

Return to Wolves

Following his loan spell at Shrewsbury Town, Robinson returned to Wolves for the 1996–97 season, making his club debut that year. He would go on to become a regular with the first-team over the next six seasons as the club challenged regularly for promotion to the Premier League and made a memorable run to the semifinals of the 1997–98 FA Cup, losing to eventual champions Arsenal. Robinson was released by Wolves in June 2002 at the expiry of his contract.

Portsmouth

After over 180 appearances for Wolves over six seasons, he moved to Portsmouth in July 2002 under the Bosman ruling. He played 15 league games for Portsmouth in the first half of their Championship season[2] before finishing the season with loan spells at Sheffield Wednesday (where he scored once against future club Norwich)[3] and Walsall, where he scored once against Bradford City.[4] The following season he was loaned out again, this time to Rotherham, Sheffield United and Sunderland. However between these loan spells he did return to Portsmouth to make one Premier League appearance against Chelsea.[5]

Sunderland

After impressing at Sunderland he signed a three-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 to become a fan’s favourite.

Norwich City

After a loan spell with Norwich City, he signed for The Canaries permanently on a 2.5 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.

Toronto FC

On 31 January 2007, Robinson joined Toronto FC from Norwich after just over a year at Carrow Road, even though he still had 18 months remaining on his deal with Norwich. He scored his first MLS goal when he netted Toronto's third in a 4–0 win against FC Dallas on 17 June 2007. He was voted team MVP in his first year and repeated in his second year at the club.

New York Red Bulls

In March 2010 he was traded from Toronto FC to the New York Red Bulls to join Hans Backe for a fourth-round pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft.[6] 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.[7] On 21 August 2010, he scored his first goal for New York Red Bulls in a 4–1 road victory against his old club Toronto FC and refused to celebrate due to his relationship with the supporters.[8] During his time at New York Red Bulls he became a player coach.

International career

A Wales international 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 1 April 2009, Robinson announced his retirement from international football at the age of 32 with 52 caps after Wales suffered two consecutive defeats, making it virtually impossible for them to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[9]

Coaching career

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

In January 2012, Robinson retired as a player and joined the Vancouver Whitecaps FC as an assistant coach.[10] He took over as the head coach of the club in December 2013.[11] The club parted ways with Robinson on 25 September with 5 games remaining in the 2018 season after just under 5 years.[12] He amassed just under 200 games as Caps boss in his stay.

Newcastle Jets

In February 2020, Robinson signed a three-and-a-half-year contract as the head coach of Australian A-League club Newcastle Jets.[13] On 14 October 2020, the Jets announced that Robinson was in talks with Western Sydney Wanderers.[14]

Western Sydney Wanderers

On 15 October 2020, Western Sydney Wanderers announced the signing of Robinson from Newcastle Jets.[15][16] On 30 January 2022 Wanderers relieved Robinson of his duties and thanked him for his time at the club.[17]

Birmingham City

Having worked with Wayne Rooney at Major League Soccer club D.C. United, Robinson followed him to EFL Championship club Birmingham City in October 2023 as a first-team coach.[18]

Career statistics

Playing career
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental[lower-alpha 3] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Shrewsbury Town (loan) 1995–96 Second Division 400010–50
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1995–96[19] First Division 000000—00
1996–97 First Division 200000—20
1997–98 First Division 3237140—434
1998–99 First Division 2482010—278
1999–2000 First Division 3333120—384
2000–01 First Division 4032151—475
2001–02 First Division 2320010—242
Total 15419143131—18123
Portsmouth 2002–03 First Division 1500020—170
2003–04 Premier League 1020——30
Total 1602020—200
Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 2002–03 First Division 4100——41
Walsall (loan) 2002–03 First Division 11100——111
Rotherham United (loan) 2003–04 Championship 140—20—160
Sheffield United (loan) 2003–04 Championship 50———50
Sunderland (loan) 2003–04 Championship 71———71
Sunderland 2004–05 Championship 4042010—434
2005–06 Premier League 500020—70
Total 5252030—575
Norwich City 2005–06 Championship 2200000—220
2006–07 Championship 2722000—292
Total 4922000—512
Toronto FC 2007 MLS 262———262
2008 MLS 27140——311
2009 MLS 21040—20270
Total 74380—20843
New York Red Bulls 2010 MLS 10100——101
2011 MLS 2000——20
Total 12100——121
Career total 392322832012041536
  1. Includes FA Cup, Canadian Championship, U.S. Open Cup
  2. Includes Football League Cup, Football League Trophy
  3. Includes CONCACAF Champions League

Managerial statistics
As of match played 18 May 2022[20][21]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Vancouver Whitecaps Canada 16 December 2013 25 September 2018 199 78 49 72 276 275 +1 039.20
Newcastle Jets Australia 6 February 2020 15 October 2020 11 7 3 1 19 9 +10 063.64
Western Sydney Wanderers Australia 15 October 2020 30 January 2022 35 11 11 13 55 41 +14 031.43
Total 245 95 63 87 350 325 +25 038.78

Honours

Club

Shrewsbury Town

Portsmouth

  • Championship winner / Promotion to Premier League – 2001/2

Sunderland

  • Championship winner / Promotion to Premier League – 2004/5

Individual

Manager

Vancouver Whitecaps

  • 2014 – Western conference playoffs
  • 2015 – Runner up Western Conference / Western conference semifinals
  • 2015 – Coach of year candidate
  • 2015 – Canadian Voyageurs Cup winner
  • 2016 – Concacaf Champions league semifinals
  • 2016 – Canadian Voyageurs Cup runner-up
  • 2017 – Western Conference semifinals
  • 2017 – Coach of year candidate
  • 2018 – Canadian Voyageurs Cup runner-up

Newcastle Jets

  • Coach of year candidate: 2020

References
  1. "Familiar role for Jemson". Independent. 14 April 1996. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  2. "Games played by Carl Robinson in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  3. "Sheff Weds 2–2 Norwich". BBC. 13 February 2003. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  4. "Bradford 1–2 Walsall". BBC. 1 March 2003. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  5. "Chelsea 3-0 Portsmouth". BBC. 28 December 2003. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  6. Molinaro, John F. (10 March 2010). "No hard feelings on Robinson: Toronto FC". CBC Sports.
  7. "THE STARTING XI Salou, Kandji partner up top". Bigapplesoccer.com. 20 March 2010. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  8. Molinaro, John F. (21 August 2010). "Ex-TFC star Robinson a class act". CBC Sports.
  9. "Robinson takes Wales retirement" BBC Sport Retrieved on 2 April 2009
  10. "Whitecaps FC solidify MLS coaching staff | Vancouver Whitecaps FC". Whitecapsfc.com. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  11. "Vancouver Whitecaps introduce Carl Robinson as head coach". Vancouver Sun. 16 December 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  12. "Vancouver Whitecaps FC release head coach Carl Robinson". Whitecapsfc.com. 25 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  13. Dillon, Robert (6 February 2020). "Newcastle Jets sign Welshman Carl Robinson as head coach". The Newcastle Herald.
  14. "Club statement: Carl Robinson". Newcastle Jets. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  15. "Wanderers announce Carl Robinson as head coach". Western Sydney Wanderers. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  16. Clarke, George (25 December 2021). "Culture criticism riles Wanderers coach". Bendigo Advertiser. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  17. "Wanderers relieve Carl Robinson as head coach". Western Sydney Wanderers. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  18. "Carl Robinson relishing Championship challenge". Birmingham City F.C. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  19. Matthews, Tony (2008). Wolverhampton Wanderers: The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-632-3.
  20. "Carl Robinson". ALeagueStats. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  21. "Carl Robinson career sheet". footballdatabase. footballdatabase. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  22. "RFB Toronto FC "Man of the Year" Award". redpatchboys.ca. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
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