Jimmy Robertson (footballer, born 1944)

James Gillen Robertson (born 17 December 1944) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a winger for Cowdenbeath, St Mirren, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Ipswich Town, Stoke City, Seattle Sounders, Walsall and Crewe Alexandra.[2][3] He was capped once for Scotland.

Jimmy Robertson
Personal information
Full name James Gillen Robertson[1]
Date of birth (1944-12-17) 17 December 1944 (age 79)[2]
Place of birth Cardonald, Glasgow, Scotland[2]
Position(s) Right winger
Youth career
Middlesbrough
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1961–1962 Cowdenbeath 0 (0)
1962–1964 St Mirren 54 (12)
1964–1968 Tottenham Hotspur 157 (25)
1968–1970 Arsenal 46 (7)
1970–1972 Ipswich Town 87 (10)
1972–1977 Stoke City 114 (12)
1976–1977 Seattle Sounders 29 (3)
1977–1978 Walsall 16 (0)
1978–1979 Crewe Alexandra 33 (0)
Total 536 (69)
International career
1962 Scotland Amateurs 1 (0)
1964 Scotland 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career edit

Robertson was born in Cardonald, Glasgow, and began his career playing as a right winger at English club Middlesbrough. He was not offered a professional contract at Middlesbrough, so returned to Scotland and joined up with Cowdenbeath. After his stint there he signed for St Mirren in 1962. With the "Buddies", Robertson made 54 appearances and scored 12 goals. After his spell with St. Mirren, Robertson was bought by Tottenham Hotspur in 1964 for £25,000. During the 1966–67 season he scored the first goal in Tottenham's 1967 FA Cup Final victory against Chelsea.[4] With Spurs he made 181 appearances, including 4 as substitute, and scored 31 goals in all competitions.[5]

He went on to join Spurs' rivals Arsenal in October 1968, in a straight swap for David Jenkins, making him one of the few players to play for both clubs.[6] Robertson made his debut for Arsenal in a goalless draw against West Ham United in October 1968.[4] Robertson played 19 league matches in the 1968–69 season.[4] The following season he made a further 8 appearances, making 27 in all.[4] He is one of only two players to score for both sides in the North London derby. In total Robertson played 59 games for Arsenal, scoring eight goals altogether.[6]

Robertson then joined up with Ipswich Town in March 1970 for £50,000. At Portman Road he became a vital member of Bobby Robson's squad as Ipswich ensured survival in 1969–70 and 1970–71. During the 1971–72 season Robertson helped the club move up to a mid-table position.[7] In July 1972 Robertson joined Stoke City for a fee of £80,000. At Stoke he became a regular under manager Tony Waddington in the 1972–73 and 1973–74 seasons. He suffered a broken leg while playing against Coventry City in December 1974.[2] He then struggled to get back into the side and after two seasons without regular football he decided to leave for the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League.[8] He played 29 matches for the Seattle Sounders before returning to England to play for Walsall, and ended his playing days at Crewe Alexandra.[2]

International career edit

Robertson was capped by Scotland at both full and amateur level.[9][10]

Career statistics edit

Club edit

Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
St Mirren 1962–63[11] Scottish Division One 23 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 5
1963–64[11] Scottish Division One 29 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 9
Total 52 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 52 14
Tottenham Hotspur 1963–64[4] First Division 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
1964–65[4] First Division 36 7 4 1 0 0 0 0 40 8
1965–66[4] First Division 33 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 36 6
1966–67[4] First Division 40 5 8 1 1 0 0 0 49 6
1967–68[4] First Division 34 5 3 1 1 0 5 4 43 9
1968–69[4] First Division 11 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 12 1
Total 157 25 18 4 2 0 5 4 182 33
Arsenal 1968–69[4] First Division 19 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 21 4
1969–70[4] First Division 27 4 2 0 4 0 5 0 38 4
Total 46 7 4 1 4 0 5 0 59 8
Ipswich Town 1969–70[12] First Division 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 3
1970–71[12] First Division 40 5 6 1 2 0 0 0 48 7
1971–72[12] First Division 40 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 43 3
Total 87 10 8 1 3 1 0 0 98 13
Stoke City 1971–72[13] First Division 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
1972–73[13] First Division 31 5 1 0 3 0 2 0 37 5
1973–74[13] First Division 37 3 1 0 2 0 4 0 44 3
1974–75[13] First Division 14 3 0 0 4 2 2 0 20 5
1975–76[13] First Division 18 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 23 1
1976–77[13] First Division 14 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 15 0
Total 114 12 9 0 9 2 8 0 140 14
Seattle Sounders 1976[8] North American Soccer League 12 1 12 1
1977[8] North American Soccer League 17 2 17 2
Total 29 3 29 3
Walsall 1977–78[13] Third Division 16 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 20 0
Crewe Alexandra 1978–79[13] Fourth Division 33 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 36 0
Career Total 534 71 43 6 21 3 18 4 616 84
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Anglo-Scottish Cup, Football League play-offs, FA Charity Shield, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Texaco Cup, Football League Trophy, UEFA Cup, Watney Cup.

International edit

Source:[11]

National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 1964 1 0
Total 1 0

Honours edit

Tottenham Hotspur
Seattle Sounders

References edit

  1. ^ "Jimmy Robertson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  3. ^ Hugman, B. J. (Ed) The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946-2005 (2005) p527 ISBN 1-85291-665-6 Retrieved 30 August 2008
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Jimmy Robertson". 11v11.com. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Topspurs A-Z of players". Top Spurs.com.
  6. ^ a b "Jimmy Robertson: Profile". Arsenal F.C. 3 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Jimmy Robertson". Sporting heroes. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  8. ^ a b c "Jimmy Robertson – Seattle Sounders stats". NASL Jerseys.com.
  9. ^ "Jimmy Robertson | Scotland | Scottish FA". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  10. ^ McColl, Brian; Gorman, Douglas; Campbell, George. "FORGOTTEN GLORIES – British Amateur Internationals 1901–1974" (PDF). pp. 205, 322. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  11. ^ a b c Robertson, Jimmy at National-Football-Teams.com
  12. ^ a b c "Pride of Anglia – Ipswich Town Football Club". www.prideofanglia.com. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h Jimmy Robertson at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  14. ^ "1967/68 Charity Shield". footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  15. ^ "The Cosmos reach their goal". Sports Illustrated.

External links edit