44-year-old former star of Bolton, Leeds United, Watford, West Brom, and Birmingham City makes a reappearance.
The former Blues and Baggies defender hasn’t set foot on a field in over five years, but he made a comeback last weekend.
Paul Robinson, a 44-year-old former defender for West Brom and Birmingham City, has returned to the game.
Throughout the course of his 22-year playing career, Robinson made over 650 appearances for teams including Leeds United, West Brom, Blues, Watford, and Bolton Wanderers. His accomplishments included being promoted to the Premier League while playing for the Hornets and the Baggies.
For the first time in more than five years, however, Robinson has put on the boots once more. As first reported by sister website Express & Star, Robinson played for Claverdon in the Birmingham & District League on Saturday. He played alongside his son, and they defeated Diamonds Academy. His last appearance came in May 2018, when he came on as a substitute in a 3-1 win over Fulham at the end of the 2017–18 campaign.
Now, he’ll play every other weekend, unless his new team needs him for every game. Regarding his comeback to the field, he stated on the Baggies Broadcast: “It was excellent; my body can handle it because it is not at the same level as I used to play.”
“Unless they keep dragging me in, it’ll only happen every other week, but I still had fun and got to play with one of my sons. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a great joy to grace the same pitch, so I’d like to do the same with all of them.
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“He could gain from me,” a hero from West Ham and Birmingham City tells Wayne Rooney.
Legend of Birmingham City Alan Curbishley feels that Wayne Rooney would benefit from having someone similar in the dugout at St Andrew’s, and he has expressed his sympathy for former Blues manager John Eustace.
The 66-year-old former midfielder, who played for four seasons at Birmingham City and was a key member of the team that won promotion to the Second Division in 1980, has weighed in on Rooney’s first season in charge of the team. Since taking over last month, the Manchester United hero has seen his team suffer three losses and one draw.
The surprise departure of John Eustace, who was fired for “a misalignment with the leadership of the club” despite the team being sixth in the Championship, was followed by the arrival of the former Premier League striker. Now, Birmingham City has dropped to 18th place.
“It’s an interesting one as I have been to a couple of games,” Curbishley, who managed West Ham for two years and Charlton Athletic for seven, said to Free Bets UK. The stadium is the first thing that greets you upon arriving at St. Andrews these days. While some of it is not forbidden, they are unable to use it.
The team is playing to two or two and a half sides, and the atmosphere isn’t what it should be. I believe that when the new owners and team took over the club, they were saying all the right things and making the right structural decisions.
“Well, they started working on the stadium, which is fantastic and the supporters are really appreciative of it, but I believe that when they fired John Eustace and signed Wayne Rooney, everyone thought, ‘Wowah, hold on. It was a bit of a shock because, although you could say John had done a really good job, they finished this year just outside the playoffs and were flirting with contention. But let’s be clear—Wayne Rooney is not to blame for this.
“John Eustace did a good job at Birmingham, so I did feel bad for him and I hope he gets another job soon or has one lined up. But you cannot pass laws to accommodate new owners. When West Ham’s new owners took over, they made the decision to replace Alan Pardew.
“New Owners entered Birmingham, made their choice, and invested their money there. Given what John had done, I don’t believe it was unduly favorable. Wayne is probably feeling a little under pressure. It might still have. He needs to prevail at this point.”
Curbishley continued by explaining that Rooney would have expected a cold reception after leaving D.C. United after a lackluster career, and that he would have benefited from an experienced player like himself.
“When the fans realize a manager is going to be let go, they’re ready for it,” the former Brighton player continued. I believe that most Birmingham supporters were expecting the new owners to begin supporting John Eustace, so this came as a bit of a surprise.
