Rob Atkinson
{{Short description|English footballer}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{for-multi|the footballer born in 1998|Robert Atkinson (footballer, born 1998)|the surgeon|Rob Atkinson (surgeon)|other people named Robert Atkinson|Robert Atkinson (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Rob Atkinson
| image = Rob Atkinson 12-04-2014 1.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Atkinson playing for Accrington Stanley in 2014
| fullname = Robert Guy Atkinson{{Cite book
| editor-first = Barry J.
| editor-last = Hugman
| title = The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11
| year = 2010
| publisher = Mainstream Publishing
| isbn = 978-1-84596-601-0
| page = 27 }}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1987|4|29|df=y}}
| birth_place = North Ferriby, England
| height = {{height|ft=6|in=1}}
| currentclub =
| clubnumber =
| position = Centre back
| youthyears1 = {{0|0000}}–2004
| youthclubs1 = Barnsley
| years1 = 2004–2009
| years2 = 2005–2006
| years3 = 2006
| years4 = 2007
| years5 = 2007–2008
| years6 = 2008–2009
| years7 = 2009
| years8 = 2009–2011
| years9 = 2011–2013
| years10 = 2012
| years11 = 2013–2015
| years12 = 2015–2018
| years13 = 2018
| years14 = 2018–2019
| years15 = 2019–2021
| clubs1 = Barnsley
| clubs2 = → Scarborough (loan)
| clubs3 = → Halifax Town (loan)
| clubs4 = → Rochdale (loan)
| clubs5 = → Grimsby Town (loan)
| clubs6 = → Grimsby Town (loan)
| clubs7 = → Grimsby Town (loan)
| clubs8 = Grimsby Town
| clubs9 = Fleetwood Town
| clubs10 = → Accrington Stanley (loan)
| clubs11 = Accrington Stanley
| clubs12 = Guiseley
| clubs13 = → Bradford Park Avenue (loan)
| clubs14 = Spennymoor Town
| clubs15 = Grantham Town
| caps1 = 8
| goals1 = 0
| caps2 = 22
| goals2 = 0
| caps3 = 4
| goals3 = 2
| caps4 = 2
| goals4 = 0
| caps5 = 24
| goals5 = 1
| caps6 = 9
| goals6 = 1
| caps7 = 1
| goals7 = 0
| caps8 = 83
| goals8 = 7
| caps9 = 35
| goals9 = 1
| caps10 = 12
| goals10 = 0
| caps11 = 59
| goals11 = 3
| caps12 = 72
| goals12 = 7
| caps13 = 8
| goals13 = 0
| caps14 = 23
| goals14 = 3
| caps15 = 11
| goals15 = 2
| totalcaps = 373
| totalgoals = 27
| nationalyears1 = 2011
| nationalteam1 = England C
| nationalcaps1 = 2
| nationalgoals1 = 0
| club-update = 00:36, 7 November 2019 (UTC)
| nationalteam-update =
}}
Robert Guy Atkinson (born 29 April 1987) is an English former professional footballer who plays as a defender.
Atkinson started his professional career with Barnsley in 2004, and then spent time on loan with Scarborough, Halifax Town, Rochdale and Grimsby Town. Following three loan spells with Grimsby he joined the club on a permanent basis in 2009 before signing with Fleetwood Town two years later. He later played for Accrington Stanley before dropping into Non-League football in 2015 and has since turned out for Guiseley, Bradford Park Avenue, Spennymoor Town and Grantham Town. He has also been capped twice by the England C football team.
Club career
=Barnsley=
Born in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, Atkinson has come through the youth ranks with Barnsley, making his debut on 6 March 2004. In the 2005–06 season he had a six-month loan spell with Scarborough playing 22 league games. He was also loaned out to Halifax Town during the 2006–07 season. After some impressive performances, Atkinson was recalled to Barnsley following injuries to first team players Bobby Hassell, Paul Reid and Antony Kay. Atkinson played his first full game for the Oakwell based club on Boxing Day 2006, in a 1–0 win over Burnley. In this game, Atkinson's performance earned him the man of the match award.
=Grimsby Town=
Rob Atkinson was initially signed for Grimsby Town on loan in November 2007 by Alan Buckley. He was drafted in as a covering defender, and was slotted in at centre back next to Nick Fenton. He scored his first goal for the club against Chester City on 1 January 2008. Atkinson went on to play he full 90 minutes at Wembley Stadium, in the Football League Trophy final defeat against MK Dons. Atkinson was singled out by Grimsby fans, as one of their more stronger players in the 2007–08 season, and in May 2008, Buckley revealed his desire to bring Atkinson back to the club on loan or possibly on a permanent deal. However at the time, nothing came of the transfer, and after Buckley signed centre backs Richard Hope and Matthew Heywood in pre-season, the Atkinson deal became dead in the water. On 31 October 2008 he re-signed for Grimsby on another loan deal, initially until January 2009. Town who were now managed by Mike Newell had signed Atkinson along with Jean-Paul Kamudimba Kalala, who was another former Grimsby player. Both transfers were made in the space of two days. Atkinson made his second debut for the club in a 2–1 defeat to Darlington when he came on as a substitute for skipper Matthew Heywood in the 30th minute of play. In January 2009 Rob's loan contract with Grimsby expired and he returned to Barnsley. However a day later he joined the club for a third spell, signing on an emergency loan deal to play the league fixture with Morecambe on 10 January. A deal was struck between Barnsley and Grimsby for a permanent switch that was completed two days later. Rob went on to cement a first team place at centre back alongside youngster Ryan Bennett, who had become the club's new captain, replacing Matt Heywood, who had been dropped due to poor performances. Atkinson and Bennett both were integral parts of the Grimsby squad that helped stave off relegation out of the Football League. During the 2009–10 season The Mariners suffered an eventual relegation, bowing out on the final day of the season.
Atkinson remained with Grimsby for the 2010–11 season, which was the club's first season in Non-League football in over 100 years. Following a pre-season injury, Darran Kempson, Scott Garner and Steven Watt shared out the two centre half positions until Atkinson returned and was preferred at the back alongside Kempson. He would also be appointed the club's interim captain when club captain Lee Peacock was not selected in the team, but would go on to depart Grimsby in the summer despite being offered a fresh contract by the club's new managerial duo of Rob Scott and Paul Hurst.
=Fleetwood Town=
Despite being offered a new contract with Grimsby, Atkinson opted to transfer to fellow Conference Premier side Fleetwood Town on 10 June 2011.{{Cite web |url=http://www.fleetwoodtownfc.com/News/latestnews.php?subaction=showfull&id=1307692890&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1& |title=Fleetwood Town FC News |access-date=10 June 2011 |archive-date=30 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930222909/http://www.fleetwoodtownfc.com/News/latestnews.php?subaction=showfull&id=1307692890&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1& |url-status=dead }} In his first season with the club Fleetwood earned promotion to the Football League for the first time in their history. The following season Atkinson spent time on loan with Accrington Stanley but following a managerial change at Fleetwood he returned to the club and briefly captained the side. It was announced on 7 May 2013, that Fleetwood would not be offering the defender a new contract, and would therefore be released.
=Accrington Stanley=
On 16 July 2013 Atkinson returned to Accrington, penning a two-year deal.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/23335239|title=Defender Atkinson rejoins Stanley|publisher=BBC Sport}}
=Non-League=
Atkinson joined Guiseley following his release from Stanley. In February 2018 he joined Bradford Park Avenue.{{Cite web|url=https://bpafc.com/guiseley-defender-rob-atkinson-joins-loan-remainder-season/|title=Guiseley Defender Rob Atkinson Joins on Loan For Remainder of Season|date=20 February 2018}}
On 1 July 2018 Atkinson signed for National League North side Spennymoor Town.{{Cite web|url=https://spennymoortownfc.co.uk/experienced-defender-atkinson-bolsters-back-line/amp/|title=Experienced defender Atkinson bolsters back line|date=July 2018}} He left the club by the end of the season.[https://spennymoortownfc.co.uk/2019/05/27/moors-announce-retained-list-for-2019-20-season/ Moors announce retained list for 2019/20 season], spennymoortownfc.co.uk, 27 May 2019
On 3 July 2019, Atkinson joined Grantham Town on a free agent.[https://www.granthamtownfc.com/news/rob-atkinson-joins-the-gingerbreads-2440260.html ROB ATKINSON JOINS THE GINGERBREADS], granthamtownfc.com, 3 July 2019
International career
On 24 January 2011, Atkinson was called up to the England C squad.{{cite web | url=http://www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10417~2275077,00.html | title=Town FC | website=Grimsby-townfc.co.uk | access-date=24 January 2011 | archive-date=25 March 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325024039/http://www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10417~2275077,00.html | url-status=usurped }} Atkinson was again called up for England duty to face Portugal on 19 May 2011 along with fellow Grimsby defender Scott Garner.{{cite web | url=http://www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10417~2358255,00.html | title=Town Pair Set For England Duty | website=Grimsby-townfc.co.uk | access-date=16 May 2011 | archive-date=15 May 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515020121/http://www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10417~2358255,00.html | url-status=usurped }}
Career statistics
{{updated|match played 21 November 2017}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | ||||||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|FA Cup !colspan="2"|League Cup !colspan="2"|Other !colspan="2"|Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| rowspan="5"|Barnsley
|2003–04{{soccerbase season|38010|2003|accessdate=24 November 2017}} |1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2004–05{{soccerbase season|38010|2004|accessdate=24 November 2017}}
|1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2005–06{{soccerbase season|38010|2005|accessdate=24 November 2017}}
|League One |0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2006–07{{soccerbase season|38010|2006|accessdate=24 November 2017}}
|6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 8 | 0 | ||
| colspan="2"|Total
!8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Scarborough (loan)
|22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| Halifax Town (loan)
|Conference National |4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Rochdale (loan)
|2007–08{{soccerbase season|38010|2007|accessdate=24 November 2017}} |2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Grimsby Town (loan)
|League Two |24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy | 0 | 29 | 1 | |
| Grimsby Town (loan)
|2008–09{{soccerbase season|38010|2008|accessdate=24 November 2017}} |League Two |10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | |
| rowspan="4"|Grimsby Town
|League Two |21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | |
| 2009–10{{soccerbase season|38010|2009|accessdate=24 November 2017}}
|League Two |37 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 2 | |
| 2010–11{{soccerway|robert-atkinson/15970|accessdate=24 November 2017}}
|25 | 4 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 2Appearances in FA Trophy | 0 | 29 | 4 | ||
| colspan="2"|Total
!83 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 91 | 7 | |
| rowspan="3"|Fleetwood Town
|2011–12{{soccerbase season|38010|2011|accessdate=24 November 2017}} |Conference Premier |17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13{{soccerbase season|38010|2012|accessdate=24 November 2017}}
|League Two |18 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||
| colspan="2"|Total
!35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 1 | |
| Accrington Stanley (loan)
|League Two |12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 13 | 0 | ||
| rowspan="3"|Accrington Stanley
|2013–14{{soccerbase season|38010|2013|accessdate=24 November 2017}} |League Two |15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| 2014–15{{soccerbase season|38010|2014|accessdate=24 November 2017}}
|League Two |44 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 3 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!59 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 68 | 3 | |
| rowspan="4"|Guiseley
|38 | 5 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 2 | 0 | 41 | 5 | ||
| 2016–17
|National League |23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18{{soccerbase season|38010|2017|accessdate=24 November 2017}}
|National League |11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| colspan="2"|Total
!72 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 77 | 7 | |
| colspan="3"|Career total
!331 | 22 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 363 | 22 |
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
Honours
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Soccerbase}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Rob}}
Category:People from North Ferriby
Category:Footballers from the East Riding of Yorkshire
Category:English men's footballers
Category:England men's semi-pro international footballers
Category:Men's association football defenders
Category:Barnsley F.C. players
Category:Scarborough F.C. players
Category:Halifax Town A.F.C. players
Category:Rochdale A.F.C. players
Category:Grimsby Town F.C. players
Category:Fleetwood Town F.C. players
Category:Accrington Stanley F.C. players
Category:Guiseley A.F.C. players
Category:Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players
Category:Spennymoor Town F.C. players
Category:Grantham Town F.C. players
Category:English Football League players