Matthew Richard Robinson (born 23 December 1974) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a full back who notably played in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, before switching to rivals

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. He later played 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 ...

for

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

and

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

before moving into non-league football with

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

and Totton. He later had a spell as player/manager of Swindon Supermarine, before later joining Chippenham Town as a coach.

Playing career

Having represented Dorset Schools, Robinson joined

as a trainee in July 1991, signing as a professional in 1993. His career at Southampton suffered from the rapid turnover of managers and in little over four years, he served under five different managers. He only made 14 appearances (of which 11 were from the bench) for Southampton before joining

for £50,000 in February 1998. At Portsmouth, he was Alan Ball's second signing as manager and he went straight into the side at

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. His career also suffered from frequent managerial changes, but in his two years at

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect A ...

, Robinson chalked up more than 75 games, including 69 league appearances and scoring one goal, before moving to

in a £150,000 deal in January 2000. Robinson played another 75 league and cup games for Reading before he headed to

in July 2002 on a free transfer. A regular for Oxford, Robinson amassed 192 games in just over four years. Another free transfer took him to

in September 2006 where he made thirty Conference appearances. In May 2007, he joined Salisbury City on a part-time basis and is now training to be a police officer. After a successful period with Salisbury, Robinson left the club and signed for A.F.C. Totton in February 2009. In 2010, Robinson joined Southern League side Swindon Supermarine as player-manager. The 2011–12 season was a hard season for Swindon Supermarine finishing third from bottom under the management of Matt Robinson and Gary Horgan. With the appointment of Highworth manager Dave Webb and assistant Lee Spalding the club hoped Robinson would still play for the club and Horgan would take a coaching role. Robinson left Supermarine in April 2012.

Personal life

Robinson is now a

Police Officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

. In November 2021, Robinson spoke candidly about how it was difficult to be accepted by Portsmouth fans following his transfer from Southampton.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Matthew 1974 births Living people Footballers from Exeter English men's footballers Southampton F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Reading F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Salisbury City F.C. players A.F.C. Totton players Premier League players Swindon Supermarine F.C. players Men's association football defenders