Samson Alfie Philip Robinson (born 9 January 2002) is an English 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 plays as a defender who plays for club

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...

. A former England youth international, he joined Port Vale from

Manchester City 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 Salford to the west. The tw ...

in January 2022. He helped the club to win promotion out of

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

via the play-offs in four months later. Released by the Vale in June 2023, he joined non-League side Kidderminster Harriers three months later.

Club career

Early career

After playing for Leeds United, Robinson joined

at the age of 14. He was originally a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

at Leeds, was then moved to

centre-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 ...

at Manchester City and then later to

central midfield 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 ...

, before he finally settled at right-back. He represented the Manchester City Academy team in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

on 24 September 2019, in a 2–1 win at

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

. He was promoted to the Elite Development Squad in January 2020. He was given the squad number 77, but was sidelined after picking up what

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Brian Barry-Murphy Brian Barry-Murphy (born 27 July 1978) is an Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder in the Football League. He began his career at his hometown club Cork City. In 1999, he moved to English ...

described as a "really bad injury" in August 2020. He made a total of 16 appearances in the

Professional Development League The Professional Development League is a system of youth association football, football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the The Football Association, Footbal ...

, scoring one goal and providing two assists.

Port Vale

Robinson signed an 18-month contract with

club

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

on 31 January 2022, after

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Darrell Clarke Darrell James Clarke (born 16 December 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player who played in the English Football League. He is the manager of club Port Vale. A box-to-box midfielder, Clarke began his career with ...

needed cover for the injured

Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He w ...

and with

James Gibbons James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as ninth ...

; director of football

David Flitcroft David John Flitcroft (born 14 January 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the director of football at club Port Vale. His older brother is the former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City player Garry ...

cited a desire to build a relationship with Manchester City; City retained a sell-on clause. He made his debut at Vale Park on 20 March, coming on as a substitute for

David Worrall David Richard Worrall (born 12 June 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Barrow. A versatile and aggressive player, he is able to play wide right or in central midfield. Worrall began his career at B ...

in a 2–0 win over Sutton United. He was an unused substitute as Vale secured promotion out of the play-offs with victory over

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

at Wembley Stadium. He made his full debut on 6 August, in a 4–0 defeat at fellow League One newcomers Exeter City, and despite giving away a penalty he received praise from Clarke, who said Robinson was "unfairly penalised". Speaking three months later, Robinson said his focus was on improving the defensive aspect of his game. On 15 April, he was sent off for two bookable offences in a 3–2 defeat at Lincoln City despite only coming on as a half-time substitute; he was defended by opposition manager Mark Kennedy, who said that Robinson had been a "little bit emotional and rash" but that "he has had a really tough start in his life and he is an incredible person". Flitcroft confirmed that the player's contract would not be renewed beyond June 2023.

Kidderminster Harriers

On 29 September 2023, Robinson joined

of the National League.

International career

Robinson won a total of 26 caps representing England at under-15, under-16 and under-17 level.

Style of play

Robinson has been described as a "whole-hearted central defender... who is comfortable in possession". He can play in central defence or at right-back.

Personal life

Robinson is a Leeds United supporter.

Career statistics

Honours

Port Vale *

EFL League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

play-offs:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Sammy 2002 births Living people Footballers from Cheltenham English men's footballers Men's association football defenders England men's youth international footballers English Football League players Leeds United F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players