Robbie Savage (footballer, born 1960)

For other people named Robert Savage, see Robert Savage (disambiguation).

Robert James Savage (born 8 January 1960) is an English footballer who played as a midfielder in the Football League for Wrexham, Stoke City, AFC Bournemouth, Bradford City and Bolton Wanderers.^[1]

Robbie Savage

Personal information
Full name	Robert James Savage
Date of birth	(1960-01-08) 8 January 1960 (age 64)[1]
Place of birth	Liverpool, England
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
–	Liverpool
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1978–1983	Liverpool	0	(0)
1982–1983	→ Wrexham (loan)	27	(10)
1983	Stoke City	7	(0)
1983–1986	AFC Bournemouth	82	(18)
1986–1987	Bradford City	11	(0)
1987–1990	Bolton Wanderers	87	(11)
–	Knowsley United
Managerial career
–	Knowsley United (player-manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Savage was born in Liverpool, and began his football career with Liverpool, but never played a competitive game for their first team.^[1] He spent time on loan at Wrexham in 1982–83, then signed for Stoke City at the end of that season, but after making just seven appearances in the first four months of the 1983–84 season he moved on to AFC Bournemouth in December 1983.^[2] He was part of Harry Redknapp's Third Division side that beat Manchester United 2–0 to eliminate them from the 1983–84 FA Cup.^[3] He also played as Bournemouth won the inaugural Associate Members' Cup by beating Hull City in the final.^[4] After a short spell with Bradford City, Savage signed for Bolton Wanderers in September 1987 for a fee of £30,000.

He made his debut against Halifax Town on 12 September, and scored his first Bolton goal a week later at Torquay. On 7 May 1988 he scored the winning goal against his old club Wrexham to give Bolton promotion from the Fourth Division,^[5] and played on the winning side at Wembley in the Football League Trophy final in 1989,^[6] the second time he had won the tournament in his career. Savage's final professional appearance was on 7 April 1990, playing against Preston North End.^[1] During the match, he broke his leg, and was later forced to retire due to the injury. He became player-manager of Knowsley United.^[7] In 2006 Savage was working with Tranmere Rovers' Football in the Community scheme.^[3]

Career statistics

Source:^[8]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other[A]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Liverpool	1982–83	First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wrexham (loan)	1982–83	Third Division	27	10	2	1	0	0	0	0	29	11
Stoke City	1983–84	First Division	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
AFC Bournemouth	1983–84	Third Division	23	5	2	0	0	0	5	3	30	8
	1984–85	Third Division	43	9	5	3	1	0	5	0	54	12
	1985–86	Third Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1986–87	Third Division	16	4	2	0	2	0	0	0	20	4
	Total		82	18	9	3	3	0	10	3	104	24
Bradford City	1986–87	Second Division	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
	1987–88	Second Division	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
Bolton Wanderers	1987–88	Fourth Division	39	5	2	0	0	0	3	0	44	5
	1988–89	Third Division	38	6	1	0	1	0	6	1	46	7
	1989–90	Third Division	10	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	12	1
	Total		87	11	3	0	3	1	9	1	102	13
Career Total			214	39	14	4	6	1	19	4	253	48

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy.

References

1. Rollin, Jack, ed. (1990). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1990–91 (21st ed.). London: Queen Anne Press. p. 103. ISBN 0-356-17911-7.
2. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
3. Struthers, Greg (8 January 2006). "Caught in Time: Bournemouth beat Manchester United, FA Cup, 1984". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 25 November 2009.^{[dead link]}
4. "Cup win was simply red-markable for club legend Mozzy". AFC Bournemouth. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
5. "Where are they now? – Former Bolton Wanderers striker John Thomas". The Bolton News. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
6. Powell, David (29 May 1989). "Happy days return to Burnden Park" (reprint). The Times. NewsBank. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
7. "Bolton Wanderers : 1946/47–2008/09". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
8. Robbie Savage at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)