Captain Robbo at the double
To have played against some of the world’s elite like Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and David Beckham is not something most professional footballers achieve during their careers. But left back Paul Robinson has. A man who has many years experience in the top flight with Watford, West Bromwich Albion and Bolton Wanderers, Robinson is now the club captain of Championship side Birmingham City and helped the Blue’s dramatically avoid relegation to League 1 on the final day of the 2013/14 season. Adored by fans for his passion and tough tackling, Robinson has proved to be one of the hardest defenders to play against with opposing players knowing that they are going to have to be at their best in order to find a way past him.
Career to date.
Robinson started off his career at Watford, his home town club, and is regarded as one of the best left backs that the Hornets have ever had. The 35 year old, who is regarded as a Watford legend by the Golden Boy’s fans, says he “absolutely loved” his time with Watford. “It was where I was born and bred and to get the opportunity as a young lad to come through the ranks under so many great people and Dennis Gibbs who gave me my chance to start off with Nigel Gibbs dad. To train with him at such a young age and then progress through the ranks with the likes of Kenny Jackett, Jimmy Gilligan and so many people and then to work under Graham Taylor was fantastic for me to learn”.
Currently the club captain of Birmingham City, whom he joined in September 2012, the left back says he loves the extra responsibility that being a captain entails. “It gives me great responsibility. I mean, if the players want to talk to me about certain things, they can, because they know I’m always there to listen and to work with the young lads and try to help them improve and it does”. He also said, “It gives me that responsibility that I want, because obviously, when I decide to hang my boots up, I want to go into coaching or management. I want to go that route so it’s a great learning curve for me and it’s an example I have to set off the pitch towards my family who are the most important thing to me. So to set a good example to my kids off the pitch is the most important thing”.
On a personal note, Robinson felt that the 2013/14 season went very well for him. The 35 year old said, “I thought it went really well for me. Obviously the main thing was staying injury free. I’m really enjoying playing my football still and I’ve still got that drive. When you get the captaincy, your given a lot more responsibility, not just on the pitch but off it as well. It’s really driven me to try and keep performing at the highest level and to try do as well as I can for the team”.
Birmingham’s club captain speaks so enthusiastically and passionately about the Blue’s and said it was an “unbelievable feeling” in the dressing room after the Blue’s 2-2 draw with Bolton on the final day of the 2013/14 season which meant that the club avoided relegation to League 1 on the final day of the season. Paul Caddis popped up with the all important goal on that day, and Robinson said that the match was “like life or death on the last game. It could have gone either way. The club could have gone totally into administration or gone bust if we were relegated. Or we could have kept our status in the Championship and tried to improve on this year. But the feeling in the dressing room was just incredible. I mean, it was like we had won the FA Cup or we’d won the League. It was just that type of feeling and it was just so emotional and draining all at the same time”.
After a disappointing 2-0 defeat away to Middlesbrough on the opening day of the season, Robinson is hoping to achieve “a reasonable position in the league” with the Blues. The 35 year old said, that a “top 10 finish would be great, just to stable the club out” and is hoping that “new owners will come in and give this club a big lift and take the club forward in which case, it needs now.”
He lists helping Birmingham avoid relegation to League One last season as his personal career highlight to date. “My personal highlight, is obviously, the great escape two with Birmingham. Obviously at the moment that stands out. I mean I did it with West Brom whilst I was there but the Birmingham one was just an unbelievable feeling knowing that it was going down to the last game and what it all meant to everyone”
‘Robbo’ has also had the experience of playing in the Premier League with his home town club Watford, West Bromwich Albion and Bolton Wanderers. He said it was a ‘fantastic’ experience to play in the Premier League and that it is the “best league that you want to play in”. He went on to say “You get all the world class players playing in it and to play against them players and when your kids have grown up and they watch you play against the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney and all these top quality players that you’ve played against, it’s just a surreal moment. You have to pinch yourself sometimes that you’ve actually played against that player, in that week.”
Robinson has played against some of the worlds best players in his career to date, and lists Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo as the hardest player that he has played against. He said: “I mean, Beckham when I first played against him, he was probably one of the hardest players to mark because you couldn’t mark him. You never knew where he was. But Ronaldo was just on another planet because he was just so strong, quick and physically he could blow you away in a space of a couple of minutes just with his movement and everything”.
Robinson lists the goal he scored for West Bromwich Albion against Aston Villa at Villa Park as his favourite goal that he has scored to date. “My favourite goal has got to be the one against Villa for West Brom at Villa Park. Everything was riding on us to get a draw there, for us to get out of the bottom three and I just gambled in the 93rd minute on the back stick and the ball just perfectly came across and I was there to just timely head it into the back of the net. So I would say that was the most important goal in my career that I have ever scored”.
Career Inspiration.
After Robinson decides to hang up his boots, he would like to go into a coaching or management career in football. “I’d love to go in to coaching or management. That’s my aim. Is to become a top coach and top manager. That’s what I would like to do. I’d like to push myself and push my limits to believing in what I could be as a coach or manager”. Having so much respect from his team mates and fans puts him in good stead and after having the experience of being club captain, I’m certain that Robinson would make an excellent coach or manager at any club.
Robinsons recommended method for a young defender, who wants to improve their skills is to “work on what they believe they are good at. When you’re watching defenders there are so many in different varieties as to what they can do at a young age. Obviously the main aim is to go out and enjoy yourself as well because that’s what you should be doing at a young age. Enjoy it and make the most of it as much as you can. Watch and study opposition players, the ones that you are going to come up against and just seen what their movements like, what positions you can get yourself in to and work on that and work on that on the training pitch. That’s the most important thing, is that you are on that training pitch and you’re working hard to be the best defender and to knowing what player you are coming up against at the weekend that you are going to get the better of him”.
Finally, his key tips for any up and coming footballers out there is to “to make the most of it while the opportunity is there for you. It’s such a driven sport. You know you’ve got to have that drive, you’ve got to have that passion and you’ve got to have that desire to become the best player as much as you can. I mean, technically I wasn’t the best player but what I had was a heart and I had drive and I wanted to be the best at that and I wanted to prove people wrong who said to me that I wasn’t good enough. So that would be, what my advice is. Is that yeah, it’s a tough job to do but if you’ve got that drive and desire then you can go a long way”.
Paul Robinson has proved to be an excellent defender in both the Championship and Premier League with his passion, willingness to win and tough tackling, leading to him being adored by fans. He has proved to be a great servant at all of the clubs that he has represented and speaks enthusiastically about his career to date as well as the clubs he has played for. A Watford legend and a brilliant guy, I’m sure Robinson will have a successful end to his playing career and will prove to be a great coach or manager in the near future.
Follow Paul Robinson on twitter - @Robbo04pr