Peter Robinson

Date and Place of Birth 4th September 1957 - NEWBIGGIN-BY-THE-SEA   Transfers to and from Burnley junior then pro from June 1976 to SPARTA ROTTERDAM - July 1980 (£30,000)   First and Last Burnley Games BOLTON WANDERERS (a) - 9th November 1976   LEICESTER CITY (h) - 22nd March 1980   Other Clubs ---------------------------------------- SPARTA ROTTERDAM, ROCHDALE, DARLINGTON, HALIFAX TOWN

Burnley Career Stats

Profile by Tony Scholes

Peter Robinson might not be the best known Claret of the 1970s but he did score a late goal in a local derby against Blackburn Rovers in the 1976/77 season that clinched the points for Burnley.

The Newbiggin-by-the-Sea born defender was just 19 at the time. He had signed for Burnley in the summer of 1976 having played occasionally for the youth team in the previous season. He must have impressed then manager Joe Brown too as we offered him a professional deal without him having served an apprenticeship with the club.

He didn't have too long to wait for his first team debut, coming in for a tough baptism against promotion chasing Bolton Wanderers at Burnden Park in November 1976 for the injured Jim Thomson. It was just for one game, although he did well, but over the season he made occasional first team appearances, some in the centre of defence and he also played up front.

Towards the end of the season he won himself a place back alongside Billy Rodaway in the defence and that coincided with the Easter fixtures of 1977 when we faced Blackburn, Blackpool and Bolton in a four day period.

The first of those games was the Good Friday clash with Blackburn at Turf Moor. Malcolm Smith gave us an early lead but our visitors equalised right on half time. Peter Noble restored the lead just past the hour and then, with around seven minutes remaining, Robinson calmed the nerves with our third and his first goal in league football.

Now, anyone who scores in a win against Blackburn is good enough for me but the 20 league games Robinson played for us in that first season proved to be his most productive season in four years at Burnley.

He played a similar number in the following season as we struggled for long periods against relegation before making an amazing recovery but he struggled to get too many games in the next season and started only three league games in 1979/80 as the Clarets crashed into the Third Division for the first time.

With Thomson and Rodaway both still around and young defenders Vince Overson and Paul Dixon now ahead of him he opted for a move and in July 1980 signed for Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam in a £30,000 transfer, linking up again with David Loggie with whom he'd played at Turf Moor.

He had three successful seasons with Sparta in the second division of Dutch football before returning home to England and his native North East where he signed for Blyth Spartans. It was there that he won his only international honours when he was selected to play for the England non-league team.

However, he returned to league football in 1985, initially with Rochdale and then with Darlington where he enjoyed three seasons as a first team regular before bringing his professional career to an end in 1988 after a short loan at Halifax.

It was during this period that he made a return appearance at Turf Moor, lining up for Darlington in what was their first ever visit to Burnley, in a Freight Rover Trophy game in March 1986. 

Robinson returned to Blyth Spartans in non-league before ending his player career with Whitley Bay.

He made over 50 league appearances for the Clarets, playing for the club in what was mainly a period of decline following our relegation from the top flight in 1976. All of his games for the Clarets were in the old Second Division.

For a time he looked to have the makings of a good player but it never did quite happen for him, although scoring in a derby win is something that not too many ex-Clarets can list amongst their achievements.