Carl Robinson


Carl Robinson is a retired Welsh footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently coaching Australian A-League club Newcastle Jets.

Club career

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Robinson started his career as a trainee with Wolverhampton Wanderers. He made his Wolverhampton Wanderers debut during the 1996–97 season.

Shrewsbury Town

While on loan at Shrewsbury Town Robinson made his Football League debut versus Hull City in a 1–1 draw at Gay Meadow in front of 2,346 on 30 March 1996. 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.

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 First Division Championship season before finishing the season with loan spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Walsall. 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.

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.

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 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 first goal for New York Red Bulls in a 4–1 road victory against his old club Toronto FC and refused to celebrate.

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.

Managerial career

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

In January 2012, Robinson retired as a player and joined the Vancouver Whitecaps FC as an assistant coach. He took over as the head coach of the club in December 2013. The club parted ways with Robinson on 25 September 2018.

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.

Career statistics

Playing career

Managerial statistics

Honours

Individual