- Birthdate: 12 July 1958
- Birthplace: Leicester, England
- Date of death: 28 April 2020
- Other clubs: Preston North End (1974-79), Manchester City (1979-80), Brighton & Hove Albion (1980-83), Queens Park Rangers (1984-87), Osasuna (1987-90)
- Signed from: Brighton & Hove Albion
- Signed for LFC: £200,000, 08.08.1983
- International debut: 14.10.1981 vs. France
- International caps: Ireland 24/4 (5/0 at LFC) - 13.11.1985
- Liverpool debut: 20.08.1983
- Last appearance: 31.10.1984
- Debut goal: 28.09.1983
- Last goal: 09.10.1984
- Contract expiry: 27.12.1984
- Win ratio: 53.85% W:28 D:15 L:9
- Games/goals ratio: 4
- Games/assists ratio: 5.78
- Honours: League Championship 1983/84; League Cup 1984; European Cup 1984
- Total games/goals opposite LFC: 10 / 2
- League games / goals / assists: 30 / 6 / 5
- Total games / goals / assists: 52 / 13 / 9
Player Profile
Robinson scored 13 goals in 36 games for Preston in the Second Division only 20 years of age. Malcolm Allison at first division Manchester City was impressed by his talent and bought him for a considerable fee of £750,000. Expectations were high but Robinson failed to live up to them and was sold to Brighton only one year later for £400,000. Robinson's career was on the rise again at Brighton with 43 goals in 133 appearances and featured in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United in the FA Cup final, losing 4-0 in the replay. When Brighton were relegated in the 1982/83 season Seville, Manchester United and Newcastle showed interest in Robinson but once Liverpool came knocking there was only one destination for the boyhood red. Joe Fagan was patient with his new signing when Robinson didn't score in his first nine games. He eventually scored two against in a 5-0 victory over Odense Boldklub in the first round of the European Cup and went on to score a hat-trick in the League against West Ham two weeks later. Robinson credits Fagan's psychological ploy on the morning of the Odense game to his upturn in fortune: "Ronnie Moran says: "'The boss wants to see you.' I remember walking down the corridor to Joe Fagan's office thinking, 'Well, that's it, I'm not playing.' When I got there, Joe said, 'Michael lad, I was making a cup of tea this morning and my wife was reading the Echo and saying I was going to leave you out.' 'And I was worried about that because you're worth your weight in gold.' 'Before I go and talk to the press I want you to see the team I'm going to give them.' He handed me a piece of paper with the numbers 1 to 11 blank apart from no 10, where it said Michael Robinson. 'That's the team, laddie.' 'You and 10 more.' That night I scored twice." However, Robinson didn't get regularly on the scoresheet for the rest of the season and he didn't play in the last ten fixtures as Liverpool retained their domestic Championship. He had been a Wembley substitute in the all-Merseyside League Cup final but didn't figure in the Maine Road replay three days later. 1983/84 proved in the end to be an exciting season for Robinson as it culminated in a substitute appearance in the European Cup final in Rome.
Robinson was by his own admission not very skilful and could have been in better physical shape. Even though he was always going to fade in comparison playing with Europe's most lethal striker it did have its advantages: "Ian Rush made me look brilliant in the air," Robinson confesses. "When I jumped up and headed, the ball would always go to Rushie. He could read my body; the way I jumped up Ian would deduce where the ball would go. He worked it out before I had. Rush never knew which bloody knife or fork to use, but on the pitch he was a genius." Robinson's second season was an anti-climax and he only made seven starts before he was transferred to Queens Park Rangers in late December 1984. Robinson was in QPR's line-up when they drew 2-2 with Liverpool in the second leg of the League Cup semi-finals at Anfield. QPR won had their home game 1-0 and progressed to the final where they lost 3-0 to Oxford. After scoring six goals in 58 matches in three years for Rangers, Robinson tried his luck in the Spanish League with Osasuna where he stayed two-and-a-half years and enjoyed the company of his former teammate, Sammy Lee, who had joined six months following Robinson's arrival. Robinson remained in Spain and has made a very good living as a respected and knowledgeable football analyst on his own TV show within the Spanish television network. In December 2018 Robinson announced that he had been diagnosed with an advanced form of melanoma skin cancer and sadly he lost his fight on 28 April 2020.
Appearances per season
Season |
League |
FA |
LC |
Europe |
Other |
Total |
Totals |
30 |
2 |
12 |
7 |
1 |
52 |
1983-1984 |
24 |
2 |
9 |
6 |
1 |
42 |
1984-1985 |
6 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
10 |
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps |
Minutes |
Opponent |
4 |
360 |
Tottenham |
4 |
299 |
Everton |
3 |
265 |
Fulham |
3 |
224 |
Sunderland |
2 |
210 |
Stockport County |
2 |
180 |
QPR |
2 |
180 |
Brentford |
2 |
180 |
Odense BK |
2 |
180 |
Aston Villa |
2 |
180 |
Sheffield Wednesday |
2 |
180 |
Arsenal |
2 |
180 |
Wolves |
2 |
173 |
Athletic Bilbao |
2 |
151 |
Manchester United |
2 |
127 |
Southampton |
2 |
110 |
Norwich City |
2 |
96 |
Luton Town |
1 |
90 |
Newcastle United |
1 |
90 |
Brighton & Hove Albion |
1 |
90 |
Stoke City |
1 |
90 |
WBA |
1 |
90 |
West Ham United |
1 |
90 |
Watford |
1 |
90 |
Lech Poznan |
1 |
79 |
Nottingham Forest |
1 |
62 |
Walsall |
1 |
48 |
Birmingham City |
1 |
46 |
Benfica |
1 |
25 |
Roma |
Total |
Started/substitutions |
46 |
Started |
13 |
On the bench |
6 |
Substitute |
7 |
Substituted |
Total |
Venue |
26 |
Home |
23 |
Away |
3 |
Neutral |
Total |
W |
D |
L |
Win % |
Manager |
52 |
28 |
15 |
9 |
53.8% |
Joe Fagan |
Goals per season
Season |
League |
FA |
LC |
Europe |
Other |
Total |
Totals |
6 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
13 |
1983-1984 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
12 |
1984-1985 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Assists per season
Season |
League |
FA |
LC |
Europe |
Other |
Total |
Totals |
5 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
1983-1984 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
1984-1985 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
A more detailed look at the player's assists
Milestone Appearances
# |
Date |
Against |
Stadium |
Competition |
1 |
20.08.1983 |
Manchester United |
Wembley |
Other |
50 |
12.10.1984 |
Tottenham |
White Hart Lane |
League |
Milestone Goals
# |
Minute |
Date |
Against |
Stadium |
Competition |
1 |
14 |
28.09.1983 |
Odense BK |
Anfield |
Europe |
Related Articles
LFChistory.net recently met former striker Michael Robinson in Madrid and had a good chat with him about his career.
LFChistory had the rare opportunity of spending an evening with Michael Robinson, a warm individual who possesses such an abundance of intelligence and enthusiasm towards sport and life in general.
The Irish Kop is a tribute from the heart of Anfield to those amazing fans who go to incredible lengths to follow Liverpool FC.
Liverpool Football Echo report on West Ham - Liverpool on 15th of October 1983.
Michael Robinson - Spanish television celebrity and director of football at Cadiz.
Related Quotes
"The nicest thing about Michael was that he knew his own limitations. I was at Preston with him and we were at Brighton together and, of course, he followed me to Liverpool. He would tell you himself that he didn't have a good touch for a big man and he was predominantly one-footed. But he was strong. He was very powerful and would chase everything. When the chips were down he would give you absolutely everything."
Mark Lawrenson on his team-mate Michael Robinson
"Ian Rush made me look brilliant in the air. When I jumped up and headed, the ball would always go to Rushie. He could read my body; the way I jumped up Ian would deduce where the ball would go. He worked it out before I had. Rush never knew which bloody knife or fork to use, but on the pitch he was a genius."
Michael Robinson on his strike partner, Ian Rush
“We had to train every day, apart from Mondays in a dirty kit. I joined during the pre-season when the team was on tour. And when we got back to Liverpool, in my second training session, I took one look at my training kit and thought: ‘Hang on a minute, my socks are hard, my shorts aren’t washed – my kit’s dirty…’. I got to the training ground early, Bruce Grobbelaar, Phil Neal and myself were always the first to arrive. Anyway, I looked over to the assistant coach, Ronnie Moran and at first, I thought it might be a dressing room prank - seeing as I was the new boy. So I said to Ronnie Moran: ‘My kit’s dirty’ and he retorted: ‘And it will be tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that…’ I asked: ‘Don’t we have a washing machine?’ and Ronnie replied: ‘Yes, we do have a washing machine but when this club started winning things, in 1958, we didn’t. Mrs Jones in Kemlyn Road used to do the washing for us once a week. What’s the problem? Can’t you win a football match in a dirty kit?’”
Michael Robinson joined Liverpool as a fresh-faced 24-year-old from Brighton in 1983. However, the day-to-day work at Melwood, with the recently-crowned league champions wasn't quite how the young forward had envisaged it would be, as he told AS.
Scrapbook
2 August 1980
Front page on Match - 17 December 1983
Joe's secret wish - August 1983
LFC Official Matchday Magazine interview 2000/01
Life is so tough at the top - 10 March 1984
Mickey Taker - 15 October 1983
Mike sinks the Hammers - 15 October 1983
Profile picture - Official fan club magazine 1983
Robinson left speechless - September 1983
Robinson on the cover of Shoot! 26 November 1983
Robinson on the cover of Shoot! 4 February 1984
Robinson rout - 15 October 1983
Souness injury adds to misery - 29 January 1984
Star spot - Shoot! 1984
There's no place like Rome! - 1984
Why did Liverpool buy me, says Robinson - 1 October 1983
Other Clubs
Club |
Season |
Club rank |
League apps |
League goals |
Total apps |
Total goals |
Preston North End |
1975-1976 |
England Third Division |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
Preston North End |
1976-1977 |
England Third Division |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Preston North End |
1977-1978 |
England Third Division |
10 |
3 |
10 |
3 |
Preston North End |
1978-1979 |
England Second Division |
36 |
13 |
41 |
14 |
Manchester City |
1979-1980 |
England First Division |
30 |
8 |
35 |
9 |
Brighton & Hove Albion |
1980-1981 |
England First Division |
42 |
19 |
47 |
22 |
Brighton & Hove Albion |
1981-1982 |
England First Division |
35 |
11 |
40 |
11 |
Brighton & Hove Albion |
1982-1983 |
England First Division |
36 |
7 |
46 |
10 |
QPR |
1984-1985 |
England First Division |
11 |
1 |
12 |
1 |
QPR |
1985-1986 |
England First Division |
26 |
4 |
33 |
5 |
QPR |
1986-1987 |
England First Division |
11 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
Osasuna |
1987-1990 |
Spain 1 |
61 |
12 |
61 |
12 |
Total |
300 |
78 |
341 |
87 |