Bryan Stanley Robson, better known as Pop Robson (born 11 November 1945) is an English former footballer who played as a centre-forward. He played for

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 ...

, West Ham United,

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 ...

, Chelsea and

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

, and scored 265 goals in 674 league games. He also earned one cap for England under-23s.

Playing career

Early career

Born in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, Robson played for Clara Vale in his youth. His first senior club was Newcastle United, and whilst there he won the Second Division title in 1964–65 and the 1969 Fairs Cup, forming a productive partnership with Welshman

Wyn Davies Ronald Wyn Davies (born 20 March 1942) is a Welsh former professional footballer who made over 550 Football League appearances in the 1960s and 1970s, and who was also capped by Wales. Domestic career Although he began his career with Wrexham, ...

West Ham United and Sunderland

In February 1971 he became West Ham United's record purchase when he signed for £120,000. He scored on his debut against Nottingham Forest on 24 February 1971. He was West Ham's leading scorer in two of his three seasons at Upton Park. He made a return to the North-East to join Sunderland in July 1974 for £145,000. He rejoined West Ham in October 1976. During his two spells at West Ham, he made 254 appearances, scoring 104 goals. He returned to Roker Park in June 1979 for £45,000, and was to eventually play for Sunderland in three separate stints, his goals twice helping them to promotion, as Football League Second Division champions 1976 and runners-up in 1980.

Carlisle and Chelsea

Robson was employed as a player/coach by Carlisle United and Chelsea, and at Sunderland during his third spell there. He even stepped in as caretaker manager for one game during the 1983–84 season before the arrival of Len Ashurst. In 1982 Carlisle managed promotion back to the Second Division with a young

Peter Beardsley Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE (born 18 January 1961) is an English football coach and former footballer who played as a forward or midfielder between 1979 and 1999. In 1987, he set a record transfer fee in the English game and represented his coun ...

alongside Robson in attack.

Third spells at Sunderland and Carlisle United

Robson is remembered by the Sunderland fans for the rescue act on the last day of the 1983–84 season at Leicester City. Recalled to lead the front line at the age of 38 years and 182 days, he scored his last goal for Sunderland in a 2–0 win that saved the team from relegation. In his three stays at the club he amassed 174 appearances (10 from the bench) and 67 goals. He also managed the club as caretaker for a single game in 1984 following the sacking of Alan Durban. He finished his Football League career with a third spell at Carlisle, and in total he made 674 Football League appearances and scored 265 goals. Robson briefly played for non-league

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

after leaving Carlisle, scoring one goal during his stint at the club in 1985–86.

Personal life

Robson is married to the former England international table tennis player

Maureen Heppell Maureen Heppell is a female former international table tennis player from England. Table tennis career She represented England at the 1967 World Table Tennis Championships in the Corbillon Cup (women's team event) with Karenza Smith and Mary ...

Coaching career

After finishing playing with Carlisle he coached at Hartlepool United,

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 ...

, Leeds United and finally Sunderland until May 2004. In July 2011, Robson joined his former club Sunderland as the new chief scout. In April 2013, Ellis Short, Sunderland's chairman and owner, sacked Robson along with his entire scouting network.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robson, Pop 1945 births Living people Footballers from Sunderland English footballers England men's under-23 international footballers Newcastle United F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players English Football League players First Division/Premier League top scorers English football managers Sunderland A.F.C. managers Carlisle United F.C. managers English Football League managers Hartlepool United F.C. non-playing staff Manchester United F.C. non-playing staff Sunderland A.F.C. non-playing staff English Football League representative players Men's association football forwards