Robert Atkinson (footballer, born 1998)

Summary

Robert Philip Atkinson (born 13 July 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bristol City.

Robert Atkinson
Personal information
Full name Robert Philip Atkinson[1]
Date of birth (1998-07-13) 13 July 1998 (age 25)
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)
2019Braintree Town (loan) 15 (0)
2019–2020 Eastleigh 20 (1)
2020–2021 Oxford United 39 (1)
2020Eastleigh (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 edit

Atkinson 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 edit

In 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]

He signed for Bristol City for an undisclosed seven-figure fee in July 2021.[14] On the 28th 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
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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
  1. ^ 3 appearances in FA Trophy, 1 appearance in Southern League Cup and 3 appearances in Hampshire Senior Cup
  2. ^ 2 appearances in EFL Trophy, 2 appearances and 1 goal in League One play-offs

Honours edit

Individual

References edit

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Oxford United" (PDF). English Football League. p. 51. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Robert Atkinson at Soccerway. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Atkinson signs". fulhamfc.com. Fulham F.C. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Robert Atkinson". www.aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Aylesbury United F.C. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Eastleigh make former player of the year their fifth signing of the summer". Daily Echo. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  6. ^ Spurgeon, Simon (5 January 2019). "Another shutout on the road earns Braintree a point". Braintree and Witham Times. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  7. ^ Pritchard, David (9 January 2020). "Rob Atkinson becomes Oxford United's fourth signing in two days". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  8. ^ Pritchard, David (24 February 2020). "Oxford United recall Rob Atkinson from Eastleigh loan". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  9. ^ Pritchard, David (7 September 2020). "Oxford United duo singled out for special praise by boss Karl Robinson". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  10. ^ Roberts, James (14 April 2021). "Oxford United's Rob Atkinson scores first professional goal". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  11. ^ a b c "Games played by Robert Atkinson in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  12. ^ "League One table 2020/21 season". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Football Manager EFL Team of the Season line-ups announced". EFL.com. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Rob Atkinson: Bristol City sign Oxford United centre-back for undisclosed fee". BBC Sport. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Atkinson signs new three-year Bristol City deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Games played by Robert Atkinson in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  17. ^ "Games played by Robert Atkinson in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Games played by Robert Atkinson in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  19. ^ "Games played by Robert Atkinson in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  20. ^ "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