Robert Atkinson (footballer, born 1998)
Robert Philip Atkinson (born 13 July 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL Championship club Bristol City.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Philip Atkinson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 13 July 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Chesterfield, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bristol City | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Cannes | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | Basingstoke Town | 30 | (2) |
| 2017–2019 | Fulham | 0 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Braintree Town (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Eastleigh | 20 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | Oxford United | 39 | (1) |
| 2020 | → Eastleigh (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2021– | Bristol City | 60 | (6) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 March 2023 (UTC) | |||
After playing youth football with AS Cannes, he started his senior career with Basingstoke Town in 2016, before signing for Fulham in 2017. He had a loan spell with Braintree Town in 2019, and joined Eastleigh on a permanent basis later that year. He joined Oxford United in January 2020, and Bristol City in July 2021.
Club career
editAtkinson was born in Chesterfield,[2] and spent much of his youth in France, playing for the academy of AS Cannes.[3] He played for Knaphill U18s and first team before starting his senior football career at Basingstoke Town in the 2016–17 season,[3] where he made thirty league appearances, scoring twice.[4] He joined Fulham in September 2017 for a fee of £30,000 after a trial period with the club; he initially played for the club's under-23 side.[3][5] He joined Braintree Town on loan in January 2019,[6] and made 15 appearances for the club.[2]
In June 2019, he signed for National League side Eastleigh, making 24 appearances in total for the Spitfires and impressing with the National League side.[5]
Oxford United
editIn January 2020, he signed for League One side Oxford United for an undisclosed fee on a three-and-a-half-year contract, though he returned to Eastleigh on loan until the end of the season as part of the deal.[7] He was recalled by Oxford United in February 2020 as a result of an injury to John Mousinho and a suspension for Robert Dickie.[8] He made his professional debut on 5 October 2020, in a 1–1 EFL Cup draw with AFC Wimbledon, in which Oxford won on penalties.[9] He scored his first league goal, and his first goal for Oxford, in a 4–1 home victory over Shrewsbury Town on 13 April 2021.[10] Atkinson had a successful 2020–21 season, scoring once in 39 league appearances as the club finished 6th, qualifying for the play-offs,[11][12] with Atkinson named in the EFL League One Team of the Season.[13] Despite a goal for Atkinson in the play-off semi-final second leg against Blackpool, the club were eliminated from the play-offs after a 6–3 aggregate defeat.[11]
Bristol City
editAtkinson signed for Bristol City for an undisclosed seven-figure fee in July 2021.[14] On 28 April 2023, it was announced that Atkinson had signed a new three-year deal with Bristol City.[15]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played 7 May 2022
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Basingstoke Town | 2016–17[4] | Southern League Premier Division | 30 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 7[a] | 0 | 39 | 2 | |
| Fulham | 2017–18[16] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018–19[17] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Braintree Town (loan) | 2018–19[2] | National League | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| Eastleigh | 2019–20[2] | National League | 20 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| Oxford United | 2019–20[18] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020–21[11] | League One | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 1 | 44 | 2 | |
| Total | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 44 | 2 | ||
| Eastleigh (loan) | 2019–20[2] | National League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Bristol City | 2021–22[19] | Championship | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 2 | |
| Career total | 142 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 163 | 7 | ||
- ^ 3 appearances in FA Trophy, 1 appearance in Southern League Cup and 3 appearances in Hampshire Senior Cup
- ^ 2 appearances in EFL Trophy, 2 appearances and 1 goal in League One play-offs
Honours
editIndividual
References
edit- ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Oxford United" (PDF). English Football League. p. 51. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Robert Atkinson at Soccerway. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ a b c "Atkinson signs". fulhamfc.com. Fulham F.C. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Robert Atkinson". www.aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Aylesbury United F.C. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Eastleigh make former player of the year their fifth signing of the summer". Daily Echo. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ Spurgeon, Simon (5 January 2019). "Another shutout on the road earns Braintree a point". Braintree and Witham Times. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ Pritchard, David (9 January 2020). "Rob Atkinson becomes Oxford United's fourth signing in two days". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ Pritchard, David (24 February 2020). "Oxford United recall Rob Atkinson from Eastleigh loan". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ Pritchard, David (7 September 2020). "Oxford United duo singled out for special praise by boss Karl Robinson". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ Roberts, James (14 April 2021). "Oxford United's Rob Atkinson scores first professional goal". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- ^ a b c "Games played by Robert Atkinson in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "League One table 2020/21 season". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Football Manager EFL Team of the Season line-ups announced". EFL.com. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ "Rob Atkinson: Bristol City sign Oxford United centre-back for undisclosed fee". BBC Sport. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ "Atkinson signs new three-year Bristol City deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Games played by Robert Atkinson in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "Games played by Robert Atkinson in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "Games played by Robert Atkinson in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "Games played by Robert Atkinson in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
- ^ "Norwich City dominate with six players in PFA Championship team of the year". BBC Sport. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
External links
edit- Robert Atkinson at Soccerway