Carl Philip Robinson (born 13 October 1976) is a Welsh former international

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 lea ...

who played as a central

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He is currently the assistant coach at

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won one MLS Cup, one U.S. Open Cup, and one Eastern ...

Early life

Robinson was born and raised in Llandrindod Wells, where he attended Oxford Road Primary School and Llandrindod High School.

Club career

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Robinson started his career as a trainee with

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. He was promoted to the first-team for the 1995–96 season.

Loan to Shrewsbury Town

On 28 March 1996, Robinson was sent on loan to Shrewsbury Town for the remainder of the season to gain first-team experience. Two days later, Robinson made his

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

debut against Hull City in a 1–1 draw at Gay Meadow in front of 2,346 supporters. He made five appearances for The Shrews: four in the league and one in The

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

at Wembley Stadium in a 2–1 defeat against Rotherham United on 14 April 1996.

Return to Wolves

Following his loan spell at Shrewsbury Town, Robinson returned to Wolves for the 1996–97 season, making his club debut that year. He would go on to become a regular with the first-team over the next six seasons as the club challenged regularly for promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

and made a memorable run to the semifinals of the 1997–98 FA Cup, losing to eventual champions

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 ...

. Robinson was released by Wolves in June 2002 at the expiry of his contract.

Portsmouth

After over 180 appearances for Wolves over six seasons, he moved to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in July 2002 under the

Bosman ruling ''Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman'' (1995) C-415/93 (known as the Bosman ruling) is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of associati ...

. He played 15 league games for Portsmouth in the first half of their

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 sys ...

season before finishing the season with loan spells at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

(where he scored once against future club Norwich) and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

, where he scored once against Bradford City. The following season he was loaned out again, this time to Rotherham, Sheffield United and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. However between these loan spells he did return to Portsmouth to make one

appearance against Chelsea.

Sunderland

After impressing at Sunderland he signed a three-year deal in June 2004. He then went on to collect another championship winners medal as they gained promotion during a season in which he played 42 of 46 matches to become a fan's favourite.

Norwich City

After a loan spell with

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

, he signed for The Canaries permanently on a 2.5 year deal for an undisclosed fee in January 2006. Robinson scored his first goal for Norwich in a 5–1 win against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

on 26 August 2006.

Toronto FC

On 31 January 2007, Robinson joined

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

from Norwich after just over a year at

Carrow Road Carrow Road is a association football, football stadium in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship club Norwich City F.C., Norwich City. The stadium is east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum. ...

, even though he still had 18 months remaining on his deal with Norwich. He scored his first MLS goal when he netted Toronto's third in a 4–0 win against

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

on 17 June 2007. He was voted team

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

in his first year and repeated in his second year at the club.

New York Red Bulls

In March 2010 he was traded from Toronto FC to the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

to join Hans Backe for a fourth-round pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. On 20 March 2010, Robinson started for New York in a 3–1 victory against

Santos FC Santos Futebol Clube () is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a ''bairro'' in the city of Santos, São Paulo, Santos. It plays in the Campeonato Paulista, the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo's premier State football lea ...

, which was the first match played at the new Red Bull Arena. On 21 August 2010, he scored his first goal for New York Red Bulls in a 4–1 road victory against his old club Toronto FC and refused to celebrate due to his relationship with the supporters. During his time at New York Red Bulls he became a player coach.

International career

A Wales international player, Robinson made his debut against

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

in 1999, winning the man of the match award. His 50th cap came in the 2–0 World Cup Qualifier victory over Liechtenstein. On 1 April 2009, Robinson announced his retirement from international football at the age of 32 with 52 caps after Wales suffered two consecutive defeats, making it virtually impossible for them to qualify for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

Coaching career

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

In January 2012, Robinson retired as a player and joined the

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

as an assistant coach. He took over as the head coach of the club in December 2013. The club parted ways with Robinson on 25 September with 5 games remaining in the 2018 season after just under 5 years. He amassed just under 200 games as Caps boss in his stay.

Newcastle Jets

In February 2020, Robinson signed a three-and-a-half-year contract as the head coach of Australian

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

club Newcastle Jets. On 14 October 2020, the Jets announced that Robinson was in talks with Western Sydney Wanderers.

Western Sydney Wanderers

On 15 October 2020, Western Sydney Wanderers announced the signing of Robinson from Newcastle Jets. On 30 January 2022 Wanderers relieved Robinson of his duties and thanked him for his time at the club.

Birmingham City

Having worked with

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle F.C., Pl ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club D.C. United, Robinson followed him to

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

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. The team compete in the ...

in October 2023 as a first-team coach. After fifteen matches, which included nine defeats and only two wins, Rooney and Robinson were dismissed on 2 January 2024.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

{{updated, match played 18 May 2022 , {{citation needed, date=January 2025 {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" , + Managerial record by team and tenure , - ! rowspan="2" , Team ! rowspan="2" , Nat ! rowspan="2" , From ! rowspan="2", To ! colspan="8" , Record , - !{{Tooltip, G, Games managed !{{Tooltip, W, Games won !{{Tooltip, D, Games drawn !{{Tooltip, L, Games lost !{{Tooltip, GF, Goals for !{{Tooltip, GA, Goals against !{{Tooltip, GD, Goal difference !{{Tooltip, Win %, Winning percentage , - , align=left,

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

, {{Flagicon, CAN , align=left, 16 December 2013 , align=left, 25 September 2018 {{WDL, 199, 78, 49, 72, for=276, against=275, diff=yes , - , align=left, Newcastle Jets , {{Flagicon, AUS , align=left, 6 February 2020 , align=left, 15 October 2020 {{WDL, 11, 7, 3, 1, for=19, against=9, diff=yes , - , align=left, Western Sydney Wanderers , {{Flagicon, AUS , align=left, 15 October 2020 , align=left, 30 January 2022 {{WDL, 35, 11, 11, 13, for=55, against=41, diff=yes , - !colspan="4", Total {{WDLtot, 245, 95, 63, 87, for=350, against=325, diff=yes

Honours

Player

{{BLP sources section, date=August 2021 Shrewsbury Town *

runner-up: 1995–96 Portsmouth * Championship: 2001–02 Sunderland * Championship: 2004–05 Individual * Red Patch Boys Player of the Year: 2007 & 2008{{cite web, url=http://redpatchboys.ca/about/player-awards/, title=RFB Toronto FC "Man of the Year" Award, publisher=redpatchboys.ca, access-date=1 July 2018 *Sunderland Fans player of year: 2004

Manager

{{BLP unsourced section, date=August 2021 Vancouver Whitecaps *2014 – Western conference playoffs *2015 – Runner up Western Conference / Western conference semifinals *2015 – Coach of year candidate *2015 – Canadian Voyageurs Cup winner *2016 – Concacaf Champions league semifinals *2016 – Canadian Voyageurs Cup runner-up *2017 – Western Conference semifinals *2017 – Coach of year candidate *2018 – Canadian Voyageurs Cup runner-up Newcastle Jets * Coach of year candidate: 2020

References

{{reflist

External links

{{commons category * {{MLS player, carl-robinson {{D.C. United squad {{navbox, , title = Coaching positions , list1 = {{Vancouver Whitecaps FC coaches {{Newcastle Jets FC head coaches {{Western Sydney Wanderers FC head coaches {{navbox, , title = Awards , titlestyle = background:gold; , list1 = {{Canadian Championship winning managers {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Carl 1976 births Living people Footballers from Llandrindod Wells Expatriate soccer coaches in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football midfielders Major League Soccer players Norwich City F.C. players People educated at Ysgol Calon Cymru Portsmouth F.C. players Premier League players New York Red Bulls players Rotherham United F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players English Football League players Toronto FC players Vancouver Whitecaps FC head coaches Newcastle Jets FC managers Western Sydney Wanderers FC managers Western Sydney Wanderers FC non-playing staff Wales men's international footballers Wales men's under-21 international footballers Walsall F.C. players Welsh expatriate football managers Welsh expatriate men's footballers Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Canada Welsh football managers Welsh men's footballers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Vancouver Whitecaps FC non-playing staff Welsh expatriate sportspeople in the United States Birmingham City F.C. non-playing staff