Robert Catlin (born 22 June 1965) is an English-born Australian former professional football (soccer) player who played in the Football League for Notts County and Birmingham City[1] and played more than 300 games in the Australian National Soccer League.[2] He played as a goalkeeper.
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Catlin | ||
| Date of birth | 22 June 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Wembley, England | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1984–1985 | APIA-Leichhardt | 22 | (1) |
| 1987–1992 | Marconi Fairfield | 140 | (0) |
| 1992 | Warringah Dolphins | 1 | (0) |
| 1992–1994 | Notts County | 3 | (0) |
| 1993 | → Birmingham City (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 1994–1997 | Marconi Fairfield | 69 | (0) |
| 1997–1998 | Sydney Olympic | 26 | (0) |
| 1998 | Leichhardt Tigers | 10 | (0) |
| 1998–2000 | Newcastle Breakers | 61 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Newcastle United | 25 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Marconi Stallions | 2 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | APIA-Leichhardt | 25 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Canterbury-Marrickville | 22 | (0) |
| 2004 | Manly-Warringah Dolphins | 11 | (0) |
| Total | 425 | (1) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editCatlin was born in Wembley, London and raised in Australia.[3] He began his football career in Australian domestic football, playing for APIA-Leichhardt and 140 games and scoring one goal in the National Soccer League (NSL) for Marconi Fairfield before trying his luck in England.[2] Catlin and compatriot Shaun Murphy joined Notts County in August 1992 for a total fee of £137,000.[4] Catlin conceded eight goals in his first three appearances for the club. In March 1993 he joined Birmingham City on loan, but after his first game it transpired that the club had mistakenly signed him instead of the Notts County youth goalkeeper they had watched.[3] In November 1993, Notts County was fined £20,000 for irregularities in the transfer of Catlin and Murphy, relating to payments made to a third party other than the players' clubs.[5]
In 1994 Catlin returned to Australia where he played out a long career with numerous clubs.[2] He holds the record for appearances by a goalkeeper in Australia's national competitions.[6] In December 2000, he became the first NSL keeper to record 100 clean sheets when Newcastle United held league leader South Melbourne to a 0–0 draw in his 325th national league match,[7] going on to set a record of 105 clean sheets which in 2003 was beaten by Jason Petkovic.[8]
He represented Australia at schoolboy international level in 1981, but never played a full international for his adopted country, though he was chosen for two representative matches against visiting European club sides, Torpedo Moscow in 1990 and Vitesse Arnhem in 1993.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Notts County : 1947/48–2007/08". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ^ a b c d "Australian Player Database CA". OzFootball. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ^ a b Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
- ^ Stapleton, David (10 May 1993). "Super Notts Win The First Battle". Nottingham Evening Post. Up The Maggies. Archived from the original (reprint) on 27 May 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ^ "Football: Butcher sacked by Sunderland". The Independent. London. 27 November 1993. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ^ Warry, Glenn (July 2007). "My Football Career – a Life of Transition and Achievement" (PDF). The Marston. 12. Australian Professional Footballers' Association: 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2007.
- ^ Maddaford, Terry (19 December 2000). "Soccer: Carlton financial woes rebound on leaders". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
- ^ "Archived News : November–December 2003". FootballWA.net. 14 December 2003. Retrieved 28 May 2009.