John Dixon Robson (15 July 1950 – 12 May 2004) was 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 played as a defender. He began his career with

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 ...

, helping the side win the First Division title during the 1971–72 season, before joining

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 ...

in December 1972 for £90,000. With Villa, he made over 150 appearances in all competitions and won the

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

in 1975 and 1977. In 1978, he was diagnosed with the early stages of

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

and was forced to retire from football.

Career

Robson was born in

Consett Consett is a town in County Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in 2019. History Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. Its' name originates in the ...

, Durham and represented the county at schoolboy level before joining

. He made his debut for the England under-23 side in 1970 and went on to win a total of seven caps for the side. He established himself in the first-team and, during the 1971–72 season, Robson missed just one match as he helped the club win the First Division title. In December 1972,

manager

Vic Crowe Victor Herbert Crowe (31 January 1932 – 21 January 2009) was a Wales international football player and later football manager. Career Crowe was born in Abercynon, South Wales but moved to Handsworth, Birmingham with his family when he was t ...

paid £90,000 to sign Robson. He helped the club to win the

twice, in 1975 and 1977, and went on to make 176 appearances in all competitions. At the age of 28, he was diagnosed as being in the early stages of

(MS) and was forced to retire from playing.

After football

Following his retirement, Robson ran a

newsagents A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand (American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local ...

in Boldmere, Sutton Coldfield but was forced to leave the job when his MS worsened. He struggled to deal with the psychological effects of his condition until he was rushed from a hospice in

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Warwickshire and located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutton Coldfield. It was also a council constituency, managed by its o ...

and died a day later at

Good Hope Hospital Good Hope Hospital is a teaching hospital in the Sutton Coldfield area of Birmingham, England. Covering north Birmingham and south east Staffordshire, it is managed by the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospit ...

at the age of 53 on 12 May 2004.

Honours

;Derby County *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

winner: 1971–72 Derby County League Two Winners, promoted to the First Division 1968 - 69, Derby County Watney Cup winners 1970, Derby County Texaco Cup winners 1971 72 ;Aston Villa *

winner:

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robson, John Aston Villa F.C. players Derby County F.C. players English Football League players Sportspeople from Consett Footballers from County Durham 2004 deaths 1950 births England under-23 international footballers English Football League representative players English footballers Association football defenders