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Robert William Savage (born 18 October 1974) is a Welsh former 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 ...
who played as a
midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, now a
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
pundit A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
and director of football at club
Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...
. During his career he played predominantly as a
midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, starting off as a youth player with
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
before joining
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
when released by the
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
club. He became a regular for
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and performed a similar role for
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
and
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
. In 2008, he joined
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...
; after a short loan spell with
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
later that year, he returned to captain Derby, with whom he finished his playing career. He also played for the Wales national team on 39 occasions. He is now a pundit for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and regularly presents ''
606 __NOTOC__ Year 606 ( DCVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 606 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...
'' on
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
on Sunday evenings. He also co-presents ''Early Kick Off'' on
BT Sport BT Sport is a group of broadcasting of sports events, pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, Warner Bros. Dis ...
.


Club career


Early career

Born in
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
, Savage started his playing career with local sides Brickfield Rangers and Lex XI. When he finished school, he joined
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
as a trainee and originally played as a striker. He played in the
FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...
winning team of 1992, and was later given a professional contract, but never played a first-team game for the club and signed for
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
in 1994. He switched into midfield early in his time at Crewe and proved himself as a competent young player, helping them reach the Division Two play-offs in his first two seasons at the club; a remarkable feat for a newly promoted club who had only played at this level twice in the previous 30 years. Crewe then made it third time lucky by sealing promotion via the play-offs in 1997. It was the first time that Crewe had reached the second tier of the
English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...
, but shortly after helping Crewe win promotion, Savage handed in a transfer request to manager
Dario Gradi Dario Gradi, MBE (born 8 July 1941) is an Italian-English former amateur football player, coach and manager. He was associated for more than 36 years with Crewe Alexandra, where he was variously manager, director of football and director of the ...
.


Leicester City

Savage was transferred to
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 ...
side
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
managed by
Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Starting his career in Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playi ...
, for a fee of £400,000, in July 1997. Savage spent five years at Leicester, where he made his name as a reliable, competitive and fiery midfielder. In 1999, Leicester reached the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
final against
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
. In a controversial incident, Savage made a poor tackle on Tottenham's
Justin Edinburgh Justin Charles Edinburgh (18 December 1969 – 8 June 2019) was an English professional football manager and player who played as a left back. He notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, where he made 213 league appearance ...
who retaliated by swinging his arm out. Contact was minimal, but Savage fell to the ground. Edinburgh was sent off for raising his arms, and although Tottenham went on to win the final, many Spurs fans still hold a grudge against Savage for the incident to this day. However, a year later Savage reached the League Cup final again, this time winning 2–1 against
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...
.


Birmingham City

When Leicester were relegated from the Premiership at the end of the 2001–02 season he transferred to newly promoted
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
for a fee of £1.25 million, signing a three-year contract. He won the club's Player of the Year award in 2003. At the beginning of January 2005 he submitted a written request for a transfer, allegedly wishing to be nearer his ailing parents in
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
. On 19 January, he completed a move to
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
for a fee of £3 million, having scored 11 goals in 82 league games for Birmingham.


Blackburn Rovers

In his first five months as a Blackburn player, Savage helped his new club to Premier League safety and reached the FA Cup Semi-final, a 3–0 loss to Arsenal in his homeland's
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
. In March, Savage called an end to his international career after new manager
John Toshack John Benjamin Toshack (born 22 March 1949) is a Welsh former professional football player and manager. He began his playing career as a teenager with his hometown club Cardiff City, becoming the youngest player to make an appearance for th ...
dropped him for a World Cup 2006 qualifying game against Austria. His feud with Toshack and the Welsh FA continued long into the 2005–06 season as Savage insisted he retired from international football only because Toshack told him he was not good enough to play for Wales. In 2005–06, Savage was a regular performer for Blackburn, making 42 appearances and scoring once, against former club Birmingham. The following season, he scored against
Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...
and
Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. It currently competes in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system. It ...
in Rovers' UEFA Cup campaign, but his season was cut short by a broken leg in January, which kept him out for the rest of the season. During the 2007–08 season, Savage endured further problems with his knee, suffering a knock in the 2–1 win at Spurs after being caught by
Robbie Keane Robert David Keane (born 8 July 1980) is an Irish professional Association football, football coach and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. Keane served as Captain (association football ...
. Surgery was required which kept him out of the starting lineup for six weeks. Following the return of Steven Reid to the Rovers starting lineup and some good form by
David Dunn David John Ian Dunn (born 27 December 1979) is an English former professional football player and manager; he is now a coach at club Port Vale. Dunn played as an attacking midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career representing ...
, he found it harder to get into the starting XI. Savage was well liked by the Blackburn fans and was given a standing ovation by a near capacity ground by the Rovers fans when he returned with Derby. It was revealed by then Sunderland manager Roy Keane in his 2014 autobiography, that he had been given permission by Blackburn to sign Savage during the end of his time at Blackburn; however he was put off by Savage's " wazzupp" voicemail, with Keane describing his thoughts after hearing this as "I can't be fucking signing that".


Derby County

On 9 January 2008, Savage joined
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...
for a fee of £1.5 million on a two-and-a-half-year contract, and later revealed that he had taken a pay cut to join Derby in his search for first-team football and had rejected a move to
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
because he felt Derby had wanted him more. As the number 8 shirt, which he had worn at previous clubs, was already allocated to then-captain
Matthew Oakley Matthew Oakley (born 17 August 1977) is an English football coach and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a midfielder, notably in the Premier League with Southampton playing there for over a decade, including their defeat to A ...
, he took the number 44 shirt because the numbers add up to 8. He was appointed the new Derby captain after Oakley was sold to Leicester, and he skippered the Derby side in his first match, a 1–0 home defeat to
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...
. Rumours of Savage leaving Derby came in July 2008 when he missed out on every pre-season match. In August, Leicester City chairman
Milan Mandaric Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...
declared an interest in Savage, which was dismissed by Derby.
Paul Jewell Paul Jewell (born 28 September 1964) is an English football manager and former player, who was most recently director of football at Swindon Town. Jewell began his playing career with Liverpool, continued at Wigan Athletic and concluded in a t ...
repeatedly left Savage out of the team, after Derby's poor start to the 2008–2009 season, and he was replaced as captain by
Alan Stubbs Alan Stubbs (born 6 October 1971) is an English football manager and former professional footballer As a player he was a centre-back who played top flight football for every club he played for. He played in the Premier League with Bolton Wand ...
. Stubbs was forced to retire shortly into the new season through injury, but Savage was not considered for the role due to not being in the first team, and the armband went to Paul Connolly. After failing to break back into the first team, Savage was sent out on loan in October to Brighton for a month to keep match fit. He would later reveal one year later, in a build-up to a match between Leicester and Derby County, that he had tried to secure a loan deal to the
Walkers Stadium King Power Stadium (also known as the Leicester City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations and formerly known as the Walkers Stadium) is a football stadium in Leicester, England. It has been the home of Premier League club Leicester City ...
(Leicester had declared an interest in him months earlier). Savage even telephoned club ambassador
Alan Birchenall Alan John Birchenall, (born 22 August 1945) is an English former footballer who played during the 1960s and 1970s as a forward. Born in East Ham he made his Football League debut with Sheffield United and went on to have a varied career, spend ...
and former teammate
Paul Dickov Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
to put in a good word with manager
Nigel Pearson Nigel Graham Pearson (born 21 August 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player, currently the manager of Championship club Bristol City. During his playing career, he was a defender and played for Shrewsbury Town, Shef ...
. Pearson, however, "said no", despite Derby offering to pay "90 or 95 per-cent" of Savage's wages. Following Jewell's resignation as Derby manager, Savage found himself brought back into first team contention by new manager
Nigel Clough Nigel Howard Clough (born 19 March 1966) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Mansfield Town. Playing predominantly as a forward, but later in his career used as a midfielder, Clough was c ...
, who made him first choice in central midfield. Savage scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 loss to
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
on 27 February 2009. Savage signed a one-year extension to his Derby contract with the club on 10 August 2009 to take him through to the end of the 2010–11 season. The next day, he was named in the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
Team of the Week for his performance in the opening day victory over
Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
. Later that month, Savage was renamed as Captain of Derby County, replacing Paul Connolly, who manager Nigel Clough wanted to "concentrate on his own game". In response, Savage said that: "I did not deserve the captaincy when I first came to the club. I was handed it from the first day and I shouldn't have been. It was too much pressure for me and I had a nightmare. I let it get to me. I think I'm ready for it now. I feel more comfortable with it now." Derby struggled once again during the season, not achieving safety until the 44th fixture, but the season was a personal success for Savage as he appeared in all but one of Derby's 51 league and cup fixtures during the campaign, the match which he missed being due to suspension, starting 49 of them. He also scored twice; a free kick against
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
in a 4–2 home defeat and a volley at
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
in a 1–1 draw. He also won the club's own
Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...
award but lost out on the fan's award to
Shaun Barker Shaun Barker (born 19 September 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. Career Rotherham United Born in Trowell, Nottinghamshire, Barker started his career at Rotherham as a junior making his debut in Marc ...
. Savage again started in the Derby first XI in the 2010–11 season in a new 4–2–3–1 formation around new signing
James Bailey James Bailey may refer to: People Academics * James Bailey (classical scholar) (died 1864), English schoolmaster * J. O. Bailey (1903–1979), professor of literature * Jay Bailey (James E. Bailey, 1944–2001), American biochemical engineer and ...
, though Derby got off to a poor start winning just one of their opening seven league games, with Savage's form making fans question the justification for his place in the team and his status as skipper. He made his 100th appearance for the club in a 2–2 draw against
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
before he was dropped to the bench for a 1–1 draw at
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
, the first game he had played no part in for Derby (barring unavailability for selection) since
Nigel Clough Nigel Howard Clough (born 19 March 1966) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Mansfield Town. Playing predominantly as a forward, but later in his career used as a midfielder, Clough was c ...
's arrival as manager in January 2009. Savage played in goal for Derby on 11 March 2010, when
Stephen Bywater Stephen Michael Bywater (born 7 June 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He has made appearances for thirteen clubs, most notably for Derby County, where he made over 150 appearances and won the 200 ...
was taken off with a back injury against
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 ...
. He let in two goals during his 45 minutes in the Derby goal. On 16 October 2010, Savage played his 600th career match in a 3–0 victory on
Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
, scoring an injury-time penalty to seal the win. In January 2011, Savage revealed that he was considering leaving the club for a move to
Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...
, Savage stating: "One thing is for sure, I will be leaving Derby County at the end of the season, if not before, even if they offer me a new contract. My time is up here. I've thoroughly enjoyed my time with Derby and I want to walk away with my head held high". One fan responded by telephoning Savage during an interview on
Radio Five Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
and telling him to "leave the club now" and "take young Mr. Clough with him". Savage eventually rejected the move, stating it was too big a move for his family. On 31 January 2011, Savage announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season to concentrate on his growing media career. In his last two games, a home loss against
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
and an away defeat at
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 ...
, he was met with a round of applause and a standing ovation from both sets of supporters.


Stockport Town

On 24 November 2019, Savage came out of retirement to join Stockport Town of the
North West Counties League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern S ...
. He made his league debut for the club the following evening, as an 80th-minute substitute in a 3–2 victory over FC Oswestry Town. That was his only appearance.


International career

Savage played at under-18 and under-21 level for Wales before making his senior international debut in 1995 against
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
while at Crewe. Savage attained 39 caps, scoring two goals, both in World Cup qualifying against
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, before retiring from international football in September 2005, saying he wished to concentrate on his club career. However, many people believe the reason he quit was due to a spat with Wales manager
John Toshack John Benjamin Toshack (born 22 March 1949) is a Welsh former professional football player and manager. He began his playing career as a teenager with his hometown club Cardiff City, becoming the youngest player to make an appearance for th ...
. Savage did give the explanation that "John Toshack said it was my way or the highway – well I'm on the M56." On 6 March 2006, he appeared on Welsh radio, partaking in a debate with pundit
Leighton James Leighton James (born 16 February 1953 in Loughor, Swansea, Wales) is a former Wales international footballer. Playing career James started his career as a left winger with Burnley, making his league debut in November 1970 against Nottingham Fo ...
over his exclusion from the Welsh squad. Early in his international career he clashed with former Wales manager
Bobby Gould Robert Hewitt Gould (born 12 June 1946) is an English former footballer and manager. Early life Gould was born in Wyken, Coventry, Warwickshire on 12 June 1946. He is the son of Henry Gould and Helen McKellar Gould (née Morton). He spent h ...
when he jokingly threw a replica of
Paolo Maldini Paolo Cesare Maldini (; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left back and centre back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of a ...
's shirt into a disposal bin before a match against Italy. Savage was initially dropped by Gould from the squad only to be reinstated the next day.


Style of play and controversies

Savage's style as a midfield player was all-action and energetic, and he regularly collected
yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...
s, and for a while held the dubious distinction of being awarded the most yellow cards of any Premiership player in the league's history – 89, although he has now been overtaken by
Lee Bowyer Lee David Bowyer (; born 3 January 1977) is an English football manager and former professional player. As a player, he was a midfielder who featured for Charlton Athletic, Leeds United, West Ham United (two spells), Newcastle United, Birmingha ...
,
Kevin Davies Kevin Cyril Davies (born 26 March 1977) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Chesterfield, Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Millwall, Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End. He managed Southport in the 2017 ...
and
Paul Scholes Paul Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football coach, pundit, former player, and co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 ...
. Fans of
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
,
Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...
,
West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...
and
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 ...
have accused him of
simulation A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of Conceptual model, models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or proc ...
, whether to win a set piece or to get an opponent red carded. During a match against
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
in August 2003, the referee
Matt Messias Matthew David Messias (born 7 May 1964
of Messias:
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
's coverage of a Premier League match between
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
and
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
at
Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations ...
, a clearance by Villa midfielder
Stiliyan Petrov Stiliyan Alyoshev Petrov ( Bulgarian: Стилиян Альошев Петров, born 5 July 1979) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Petrov joined Celtic from CSKA Sofia in 1999, and won ten trophies in ...
hit Savage in the face causing some minor bleeding to the nose. Savage has, however, only been sent off twice in his career: once during an international game for the
Welsh national team ) , Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , Coach = Rob Page , Captain = Gareth Bale , Most caps = Gareth Bale (111) , Top scorer = Gareth ...
, and once during a Premier League game for
Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...
. He received his first-ever
red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...
when he was sent off in Wales' World Cup qualification match against
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
in September 2004 for reacting to a foul on him by midfielder Michael Hughes. Both Hughes and Savage were sent off, but, on later review, the punishment of Savage seemed harsh to some. Savage was ridiculed for threatening to appeal to the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
over the decision. His once-impressive statistic of never being sent off in a Premiership match ended on 18 March 2006 when he was dismissed against
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
for two bookable offences. Both were controversial – the first for a challenge on
George Boateng George Antwi Boateng (born 5 September 1975) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is Assistant Coach of the Ghana national team. Born in Ghana, raised in Holland and he represented the Netherlands interna ...
where he appeared to take the ball, and the second for handball when it seemed unintentional. Savage later admitted that he was probably due a controversial sending off because he had escaped punishment for illegal challenges in the past. One famous example of his eccentric behaviour was while he played for
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
. In an incident to become known as "Poogate" he used the referee's toilet before a game, claiming he had an upset stomach due to antibiotics he was on at the time.
The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
charged him and he was fined £10,000, a decision that he appealed against, but lost. Leicester fined him two weeks' wages for the incident. Whilst playing for Leicester, in the final minute of a league game between rivals Leicester and Derby at
Pride Park Pride Park is a business park on the outskirts of the city centre of Derby, England. Developed in the 1990s, It covers 80 hectares of former industrial land between the River Derwent and railway lines. Pride Park Stadium and Derby Arena are both ...
in 2001, Savage dived in the penalty area. Leicester were awarded the penalty, which was converted, and meant they won the game 3–2. Savage's blatant dive, his hopeful look at the referee and his aggressive fist-pumping celebration in front of the home fans resulted in a torrent of abuse from the fans and in Savage being chased across the pitch by incensed Derby players, two of whom were booked. Derby fans regularly booed, jeered and abused Savage whenever he played against them, and when he became a Derby player in January 2008, he was treated with a mixture of hostility and indifference, partly over the incident, and partly over his average form. Savage is also famous for an incident at
Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations ...
, while playing for
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
, in a bad-tempered
Second City derby In English football, the Second City derby or Birmingham derby, is the local derby between the two major clubs in the city of Birmingham – Aston Villa and Birmingham City, first contested in 1879. Villa play at Villa Park while Birmingham play ...
in March 2003. After a slide tackle on him by
Dion Dublin Dion Dublin (born 22 April 1969) is an English former professional footballer, television presenter and pundit. He is a club director of Cambridge United. As a player he was a centre-forward, notably playing in the Premier League for Manchest ...
, a confrontation between the two and several other players occurred before Dublin headbutted Savage. Dublin was then sent off by
referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...
Mark Halsey Mark R. Halsey (born 8 July 1961) is an English retired professional football referee who was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, later based in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
as result. Birmingham would go on to win the derby 0–2. When being interviewed by
BBC Radio Derby BBC Radio Derby is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Derbyshire. It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on St Helens Street in Derby. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audien ...
's Colin Gibson in January 2010, Savage reacted furiously to rumours he heard that the Derby players think the club's backroom staff are not up to the job. These rumours were brought up during a phone-in on Gibson's show on the station the preceding weekend, following the Rams' 4–1 defeat at home to
Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...
on 9 January.


Broadcasting career

Savage occasionally acted as a
pundit A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
during his club career, and started working in the media more regularly in the 2009–10 season. He worked in a number of different punditry roles during the
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
before joining the presenting team for
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
's
6-0-6 ''606'' (pronounced six-oh-six) is a weekend early evening football phone-in programme, broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live throughout the British football season. It covers topics relating to the current affairs of football in the United Kingdom. T ...
show. In September 2010, Savage signed up as official sporting ambassador for bookmakers William Hill. In May 2011 he was awarded the
Sony Radio Academy The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...
Rising Star Award, as well as winning an award from the
Plain English Campaign The Plain English Campaign (PEC) is a commercial editing and training firm based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1979 by Chrissie Maher, the company is a world leader in plain-language advocacy, working to persuade organisations in the UK and ...
. Between 2009–2013, Savage was a pundit on
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, and has since moved to
BT Sport BT Sport is a group of broadcasting of sports events, pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, Warner Bros. Dis ...
. Since retiring from football in May 2011, Savage has attempted to become a more prominent broadcasting figure beyond punditry. From September 2011 Savage took part in the 2011 series of ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'', partnering
Ola Jordan Aleksandra "Ola" Jordan (''née'' Grabowska; born 30 September 1982) is a British-Polish professional ballroom dancer and model. She appeared as a professional on the British TV show ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2006 to 2015. After winning a ch ...
. The show broadcast on 22 October saw Savage perform a dramatic knee-slide towards the camera, which resulted in a broken nose. Savage and Jordan were eliminated from the competition in the quarterfinal on 4 December 2011, placing sixth. In October 2012, along with 463 other players, Savage took part in
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
's attempt to set a new
Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
for the 'most players in a continuous 5 a side exhibition match'. This was for BBC Children in Need along with comedian
Lloyd Langford Lloyd Langford (born 6 August 1983) is a Welsh comedian, comedy writer and voice artist. Early life and education Langford was born in Baglan, Neath Port Talbot. He studied film and television at the University of Warwick; he chose this be ...
and
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
travel reporter Lindsey Chapman. Along with Ex-England cricketer
Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-orde ...
, Savage is part of a
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
podcast called ''Flintoff, Savage & The Ping Pong Guy'', hosted by former table tennis player
Matthew Syed Matthew Philip Syed (born 2 November 1970) is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and former table tennis player. He competed as an English table tennis international, and was the English number one for many years. He was three times the me ...
, which discussed current sporting topics.


Club management

Savage's involvement with Stockport Town led to him becoming involved with the creation of
phoenix club The Phoenix Building and Cincinnati Club are two historic buildings in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The membership of these two clubs was chiefly Jewish. Located at 812 Race Street, the Phoenix Building was constructed in 1893, desi ...
Macclesfield F.C. in October 2020. Macclesfield owner Robert Smethurst appointed Savage as a member of the board (later director of football) with
Danny Whitaker Daniel Phillip Whitaker (born 14 November 1980) is an English former professional football player and manager who was recently the player-manager of club Macclesfield. A former Manchester United F.C., Manchester United Manchester United F.C. ...
as manager. On 30 August Macclesfield defeated local rivals Congleton Town 1-0 in the NWCFL Premier Division; the match was suspended for several minutes late in the second half due to crowd trouble, during which Savage intervened to break up fighting.


Personal life

Savage was born in
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
on 18 October 1974, to Colin and Valerie Savage. He attended
Ysgol Bryn Alyn Ysgol Bryn Alyn is a secondary school in the county borough of Wrexham, Wales. Its catchment area includes its local primary schools within Gwersyllt and other nearby villages. Curriculum At Key Stage 3 (KS3), students at Ysgol Bryn Alyn are ...
in
Gwersyllt Gwersyllt () is an urban village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The densely populated village is one of Wrexham's largest and is situated in the north western suburbs of the city, bordering the nearby villages of Llay, Cefn-y ...
until he completed his
GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...
studies in July 1991. On leaving school, Savage joined Manchester United as an apprentice. Savage and his wife Sarah have two sons. In 2012 one of his sons, Charlie, was attached to Manchester United's
youth academy In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...
and in April 2021 he signed his first professional contract with the club. On 8 December 2021, Savage provided commentary for
BT Sport BT Sport is a group of broadcasting of sports events, pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, Warner Bros. Dis ...
in the match where his son Charlie made his senior Manchester United debut in the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
, coming on as a late substitute in a 1-1 draw against Young Boys. Robbie Savage's father was diagnosed with
Pick's disease Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), or frontotemporal degeneration disease, or frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder, encompasses several types of dementia involving the progressive degeneration of frontal and temporal lobes. FTDs broadly present as ...
, a
dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
-type illness, when he was in his mid-50s, and died in 2012. Savage is an ambassador for the dementia care and research charity, the
Alzheimer's Society Alzheimer's Society is a United Kingdom care and research Charitable organization, charity for people with dementia and their carers. It operates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while its sister charitieAlzheimer Scotlandand Alzheimer's ...
. Savage had said in the future he would have liked to finish his career at home town club
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
before going on to manage them. He also said that the greatest regret of his football career was not signing for Everton when he had the chance in 2005. Savage published an autobiography in 2011, ''Savage!'', written with Janine Self, and in 2015 published ''I'll Tell You What...'', a book of memoir and punditry. In October 2014, Savage was awarded an honorary fellowship at Wrexham's
Glyndŵr University Glyndŵr was one of six local government districts in the county of Clwyd in Wales from 1974 to 1996. History The district was created on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the area of six former districts and two p ...
for services to sport.


Career statistics


Club


International

Appearances and goals by national team and year International goals : Scores and results list Wales's goal tally first. Score column lists score after each Savage goal. , - , 1 , , 20 August 1997 , ,
Ali Sami Yen Stadium Ali Sami Yen Stadium ( tr, Ali Sami Yen Stadyumu) was the home of the football club Galatasaray S.K. in Istanbul, Turkey, from 1964 to 2010. It is named after the founder of the club, Ali Sami Yen. The stadium had a capacity of 23,477 (all-seater) ...
,
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, Turkey , , , , style="text-align:center", 2–2 , , style="text-align:center", 4–6 , ,
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
, , , - , 2 , , 5 September 2001 , ,
Ullevaal Stadion Ullevaal Stadion () is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the home ground of the Norway national football team, and the site of the Norwegian Cup Final. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the home ground of FK ...
,
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, Norway , , , , style="text-align:center", 1–0 , , style="text-align:center", 2–3 , ,
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America ...
, ,


Honours

Manchester United Youth *
FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...
: 1991–92 Leicester City *
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
: 1999–2000; runner-up: 1998–99 Scholastic ; Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships


References


External links

* *
''606''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savage, Robbie 1974 births Living people Footballers from Wrexham Welsh footballers Association football midfielders Manchester United F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Stockport Town F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Outfield association footballers who played in goal Wales under-21 international footballers Wales international footballers British association football commentators Welsh autobiographers Welsh sportswriters