Robert Paul Fisher (born 3 August 1956) is an English retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, best remembered for his 9 years as a right back in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

with

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

, for whom he made 350 appearances and was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. After leaving Orient in 1982, Fisher played for Cambridge United and

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, before dropping into

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

. He later moved into coaching and television.

Playing career

Orient

A right back, Fisher began his career in the youth system at Second Division club

and made his debut during the 1972–73 season while still a teenager. He broke into the team in the following season and became the

Brisbane Road Brisbane Road, originally known as Osborne Road, is a football stadium in Brisbane Road, Leyton, East London, England. It has been the home ground of Leyton Orient since 1937, before which it was the home of amateur football team Leyton F.C., w ...

club's regular right back until 1982. Aside from being named

, a highlight of Fisher's time with Orient came in April 1978, when the Os'

1977–78 FA Cup The 1977–78 FA Cup was the 97th season of the world's oldest knockout football competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup. The final saw Ipswich Town beat Arsenal 1–0, with a goal from Roger Osborne. First round proper ...

run saw them denied a place at Wembley after a 3–0 defeat to First Division club

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the semi-finals. Orient's relegation to

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

in 1982 saw Fisher leave the club, after making 350 appearances in 9 years.

Cambridge United

Fisher signed for Second Division club Cambridge United in November 1982. He failed to hold down a regular place in the team and departed in February 1984.

Brentford

Fisher joined Third Division strugglers

for a £5,000 fee in February 1984. His presence in the defence helped stabilise the defence and guide the Bees away from relegation to a 20th-place finish. He continued as Frank McLintock's first choice right back until March 1985, when young centre back Keith Millen broke into the team and McLintock moved

Danis Salman Danis Mahmut Mehmet Salman ( tr, Danış Salman; born 12 March 1960), sometimes known as Danny Salman, is a Turkish Cypriot-born English former professional footballer and coach, best remembered for his time as a defender in the Football League ...

to right back. Fisher had his contract cancelled and he departed Brentford in October 1986, having made 56 appearances during just over years at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

Maidstone United

Fisher ended his career in

with

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

club

Maidstone United Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system. The current club filled the void left by the ol ...

Coaching career

Fisher was head coach of the Great Britain Over 45s team which won the gold medal at the

2009 Maccabiah Games The 18th Maccabiah Games ( he, המכביה ה-18 ישראל תשס"ט), were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Ol ...

. He served as assistant to David Pollock of the Open team at the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

edition.

Television career

After his retirement from football, Fisher dabbled in acting, making appearances in television series' Space Precinct, Starhunter,

Forensic Factor ''Forensic Factor'' is a Canadian true crime docuseries, which airs on Discovery Channel Canada, Sun TV, and the Justice Network. The series, which utilizes an anthology format, features forensic Forensic science, also known as criminalisti ...

and

The Manageress ''The Manageress'' is a television series about a woman who becomes manager of a professional football team. It ran from 1989 to 1990 and had two seasons. The series starred Cherie Lunghi as Gabriella Benson and Warren Clarke as the chairman of ...

Personal life

Fisher is the nephew of former footballer

Mark Lazarus Mark Lazarus (born 5 December 1938) is an English retired professional footballer. He played as a right winger and made more than 400 Football League appearances, scoring over 100 goals. A prominent Jewish player, he initially chose football o ...

and began his career at Orient while Lazarus was winding down his league career with his second spell at the club. Being mixed-race and Jewish, he has spoken about the racism he received from the terraces as a player.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Bobby 1956 births English men's footballers Jewish footballers Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football fullbacks Leyton Orient F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Maidstone United F.C. (1897) players Footballers from the London Borough of Brent People from Wembley National League (English football) players English Jews English male television actors Male actors from London 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Living people Actors from the London Borough of Brent