Robert Alexander Mann (born 11 January 1974 in Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

) is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 professional footballer currently playing for Formartine United

Formartine United F.C.

Formartine United Football Club are a Scottish senior association football club from Pitmedden, Aberdeenshire currently playing in the Highland Football League. They joined the Highland League for the 2009–10 season, having been accepted into the League on the 25th February 2009...

.

During his youth career, Mann played for St Columba U9s, West Park U10s, Fairmuir u11s to U15s and Dundee United Social Club U16s.

Mann, a defender, started his career with St Johnstone

St Johnstone F.C.

St. Johnstone F.C. is a professional football club based in Perth, Scotland. Although it is officially recorded as being formed in 1884, the club did not play its first game until February 1885. The club's home since 1989 has been McDiarmid Park....

 in 1991 before joining Forfar Athletic

Forfar Athletic F.C.

Forfar Athletic Football Club are a Scottish semi-professional football club from the town of Forfar, Angus. They are members of the Scottish Football League and currently play in the Second Division...

 a year later. He remained with Forfar for 7 years before moving to Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club are a Scottish football club from Inverness who compete in the Scottish Premier League. They are currently managed by Terry Butcher and assistant manager Maurice Malpas...

 in 1999. He was part of the Inverness team who famously defeated Celtic

Celtic F.C.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

 in the Scottish Cup

Scottish Cup

The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...

 in February 2000 and he helped them reach the Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 for the first time in season 2003–04

2003-04 in Scottish football

The 2003–04 season was the 107th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier League:The 2003–04 Scottish Premier League season was won by Celtic with 98 points, 17 points ahead of closest challengers Rangers. Both Rangers and Celtic therefore gained the two UEFA...

.

Despite having reached the Premier League with Inverness, he joined fellow Premier League club Dundee

Dundee F.C.

Dundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...

. In his first season at Dens Park

Dens Park

Dens Park is a football stadium located on Dens Road in Dundee, Scotland. The stadium is the home of Dundee F.C. and has a capacity of 12,085...

, Dundee were relegated to the First Division. Although he was appointed club captain, Mann became an increasingly peripheral figure for the Dark Blues during the 2006–07 season

2006-07 in Scottish football

The 2006–07 season was the 110th season of competitive football in Scotland.-2006:*9 July: Rangers defender Fernando Ricksen is banned for the club's pre-season trip to South Africa, following an incident on the outbound flight. Manager Paul Le Guen cited "wholly inappropriate and...

. He reached an agreement to leave Dens Park and was re-united with former boss Steve Paterson on January 31, 2007, after signing with Scottish 2nd Division side Peterhead. Mann was once again re-united with Paterson when he left Peterhead and signed for Scottish Highland League side Formartine United F.C as player/assistant manager to Paterson.

Ian McCall once said of Bobby Mann, after missing out on his signing when manager of Dundee United, "Bobby Mann is without a doubt the best distributor of a ball from defence, bar none". This goes to show the high regard some of the top managers in the game and Ian McCall have for him.

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