Robert Booker (born 25 January 1958) is an English former footballer who primarily played as a

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 ...

but often filled other roles in his later years. Born in

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, England he started his career at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

in 1978 where he spent ten seasons playing in the lower divisions before switching to Sheffield United with whom he enjoyed his most successful period, gaining two promotions and playing in the top flight. He returned to Brentford for a further two seasons before injuries prompted him to retire. A spell on the coaching staff at Brentford was followed by a period as assistant manager at Brighton & Hove Albion where he was twice installed as caretaker manager during his tenure.

Playing career

Brentford

Booker was initially spotted by

whilst playing for Saturday side Bedmond Social and they invited him to attend a couple of training sessions before he also caught the eye of

and was offered a trial. Despite being a midfielder he was played as a striker in his trial game and duly scored two goals prompting Brentford to offer him a deal. After agreeing a 'fee' with Bedmond, which saw the non-league side receive a set of tracksuits, Booker signed for the Bees and made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

debut two days later on 14 October 1978, ironically against his home-town club of

. After a short loan to Conference side Barnet, for whom he scored three goals in 13 appearances, he returned to Brentford and duly scored a hat-trick in his first game back. From this point he became a stalwart of the Brentford first team and would be virtually ever present for the next ten seasons at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...

eventually making over 250 appearances for the Bees. Noted for his versatility, by the time Booker was voted the Bees Player of the Season in 1982 he had played in every position apart from goalkeeper. Booker's time at Brentford was marred when he suffered a cruciate ligament injury in 1986 which kept him out of the side for nearly 18 months with the surgeons claiming he would never be able to play again. He returned to fitness and played a few first team games but was now deemed surplus to requirements and offered a testimonial game and a free transfer.

Sheffield United

Booker was considering quitting football, taking the money from the benefit game that

had offered him and putting the money into a window cleaning business. His final contract with Brentford had given him the option of a free transfer should he choose it, in recognition of ten years good service to the club, but it was still something of a surprise when Dave Bassett offered him the chance to move to Sheffield United in 1988 having monitored his progress for a number of years. Blades midfielder Simon Webster had broken his leg and United needed someone to replace him so club physio Derek French, who had played with Booker back in his Bedmond days, contacted him to see if he was interested in a move North. Within 24 hours Booker had signed for the Blades. Over thirty years old, with a recurring knee injury and seemingly with his best years behind him Booker proved an inspired signing, as he became the linchpin of the side that rose through the divisions to reach the top flight in 1990. A cult hero with the Bramall Lane fans Booker endeared himself with his gutsy performances and genuine affection for the club and its fans who he would happily spend hours chatting with. On one occasion a ten-year-old fan wrote to the club asking if Booker could come to dinner at his house – a request which he duly obliged, staying for two hours. Booker continued to be a key player in Division One before injuries finally started to take their toll and he was allowed to return to Brentford in 1991.

Return to Brentford

Signing a three-year deal with The Bees, nearly five years after they had deemed him surplus to requirements, Booker suffered a difficult return. A squad player he was part of the side that were crowned Division Three champions in 1992 but then suffered an immediate relegation the following year. Booker's knee problems had returned as well, and he was forced to retire in 1993 on his doctor's advice. Booker was inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in November 2014.

Managerial career

After drifting out of football for a while Booker eventually took up a coaching post at

in 1994 before being offered the position of assistant manager to Micky Adams at Brighton & Hove Albion in 2000. When Adams left after the side were promoted Booker was made joint caretaker manager along with Martin Hinshelwood before the arrival of Steve Coppell. Remaining at the club he was again called upon to act as caretaker manager in 2003 after Coppell quit to join Reading. New manager Mark McGhee retained Booker as his assistant and the pair remained in charge until McGhee was sacked following a poor start to the 2006–07 season. After a spell managing village side Pease Pottage FC, Booker returned to Brighton along with Micky Adams in 2008 to take up the position of reserve team coach. Booker now works as a driving instructor and summariser on Brighton & Hove Albion's match commentary.

Personal life

Booker left school at 16 to begin a four-year apprenticeship in an upholstery warehouse whilst playing Saturday football. During his first game for

he was marked by

defender Ian Bolton who would eventually join him at Brentford and ironically end up as his brother-in-law. Following his retirement from playing Booker made occasional appearances as match summariser on BBC Radio Sheffield and married former Southern FM breakfast show host Nicky Keig-Shevlin in 2008. In July 2017, a biographical book of Booker's life, written with his support, was published. OOH-AAH: The Bob Booker Story .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Booker, Bob 1958 births Living people Footballers from Watford English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders English Football League players Brentford F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Harrow Borough F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. managers Brentford F.C. non-playing staff English football managers