Robbie Earle
Encyclopedia
Robert Fitzgerald "Robbie" Earle MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (born 27 January 1965) is an English-born Jamaican former international
Jamaica national football team
The Jamaica national football team is the national team of Jamaica and is controlled by the Jamaica Football Federation. After decades in CONCACAF obscurity, they gained many fans throughout the world after they qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup...

 footballer who played as a midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

. He played 578 league games in senior club football, scoring 136 goals.

A former youth player with Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

, Earle broke into the professional game with Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

 in 1982. He spent nine years at the Burslem
Burslem
The town of Burslem, known as the Mother Town, is one of the six towns that amalgamated to form the current city of Stoke-on-Trent, in the ceremonial county of Staffordshire, in the Midlands of England.-Topography:...

 based club, helping the Vale to promotion out of the Fourth Division
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...

 in 1985–86
1985–86 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1985–86 season was Port Vale's seventy-fourth season of football in the Football League, and second successive season in the Fourth Division. John Rudge achieved his first success as manager, leading Vale to promotion into the Third Division with a fourth place finish...

, and out of the Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...

 via the play-offs in 1989
1989 Football League Third Division play-off Final
The 1989 Football League Third Division play-off final was a two-legged football match played at on 31 May and 3 June 1989, to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Third Division to the Second Division of The Football League in the 1988–89 season. Port Vale faced Bristol...

; he was later voted the club's PFA Fans' Favourites
PFA Fans' Favourites
The PFA Fans' Favourites is a list of football players produced as part of the celebrations of the centenary of the Professional Footballers' Association in 2007. There is one entry for each Football League club's favourite player...

. He moved on to Wimbledon
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

 in 1991, where he also spent nine years. He made nearly 300 league games for each club, scoring 77 and 59 goals respectively. He also represented Jamaica
Jamaica national football team
The Jamaica national football team is the national team of Jamaica and is controlled by the Jamaica Football Federation. After decades in CONCACAF obscurity, they gained many fans throughout the world after they qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup...

 on 33 occasions between 1997 and 2000, scoring eight international goals. He appeared in the 1998 World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

, scoring his nation's first ever goal in the finals.

Following his retirement in 2000, Earle has established himself in the world of football journalism. He regularly appears in print, on the radio and on television. He was dismissed from his punditry role with ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 in 2010 after he passed ITV World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 tickets to a third party. He is currently serving as television broadcast analyst for the Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams:*Portland Timbers, a Major League Soccer expansion team that began playing in 2011....

 of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

.

Club career

An attacking midfielder, Earle was originally a junior player at Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

. After suffering from a broken leg he was released from Stoke, at which point he was snapped up by Stoke's local rivals
Potteries derby
The Potteries derby is the football local derby in Stoke-on-Trent between Port Vale and Stoke City. The fans of each club both consider the other to be their main rivals; this has led to a heated atmosphere at these matches, especially with the rise of football hooliganism and the 'Naughty Forty'...

 Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

, where he turned professional in 1982.

Port Vale

Earle made his Port Vale debut in a 1–0 defeat at Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...

 on 28 August 1982, earning a regular first team place in August 1984. An ever-present in the 1985–86
1985–86 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1985–86 season was Port Vale's seventy-fourth season of football in the Football League, and second successive season in the Fourth Division. John Rudge achieved his first success as manager, leading Vale to promotion into the Third Division with a fourth place finish...

 Fourth Division
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...

 promotion squad, he made 142 consecutive appearances between September 1984 and January 1987, the run coming to an end due to a groin
Groin
In human anatomy, the groin areas are the two creases at the junction of the torso with the legs, on either side of the pubic area. This is also known as the medial compartment of the thigh. A pulled groin muscle usually refers to a painful injury sustained by straining the hip adductor muscles...

 strain
Strain (injury)
A strain is an injury to a muscle or tendon in which the muscle fibres tear as a result of overstretching. A strain is also colloquially known as a pulled muscle...

. The strain led to a hernia
Hernia
A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm....

 operation in the autumn
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....

 of 1987, but he returned to first team action in January 1988. A regular in the 1988–89
1988–89 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1988–89 season was Port Vale's seventy-seventh season of football in the Football League, and third successive season in the Third Division. They achieved promotion to the Second Division with a 2–1 aggregate win over Bristol Rovers in the two-legged play-off Final...

 season, he scored both goals of the 1989 play-off final
1989 Football League Third Division play-off Final
The 1989 Football League Third Division play-off final was a two-legged football match played at on 31 May and 3 June 1989, to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Third Division to the Second Division of The Football League in the 1988–89 season. Port Vale faced Bristol...

 that took Vale through to the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 on aggregate. After the match Earle wept in the tunnel, such was his emotions to have taken his local team to victory in the play-off final.

In all, 'The Black Pearl', as he was affectionately known, played 357 times for the "Valiants" and scored 90 goals. He is considered one of the best midfielders ever to play for the club. In July 1991 he was transferred to Wimbledon
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

 for a fee of £775,000 (and 30% of any future transfer fee above that figure).

It was later reported that Wimbledon chairman Sam Hammam
Sam Hammam
Samir "Sam" Hammam is a Lebanese business man, most notable for his high profile involvement in British football clubs.-Career:...

 had locked Earle in a room during transfer negotiations and only let him out when he agreed to sign for Wimbledon.

Wimbledon

Earle played an important part in the South London club's success during the nineties, and in particular, the club's 'Crazy Gang
Crazy Gang
The Crazy Gang is a nickname used by the English media to describe Wimbledon F.C. during the 1980s and the 1990s.The name, originally that of a well known group of British comedy entertainers popular in the late 1930s, was used because of the often eccentric and boisterously macho behaviour of...

' mentality which fostered team spirit and intimidated opposing players. Earle was known for his late runs into the box and his ability at finishing and agility at heading the ball.

In his first season with the "Dons", he scored an impressive 14 league goals to secure the club's place in the newly formed Premier League for the 1992–93 season. He was an ever present in the first two seasons in the Premier League, scoring seven goals in 1992–93 and nine in 1993–94 – when Wimbledon finished a club best sixth in the final table. After injury limited him to nine goalless appearances in 1994–95 (when Wimbledon still finished ninth), he regained his fitness for the following season and his 11 goals went some way towards securing Wimbledon's survival in 15th place. He was appointed team captain in 1995.

Earle's stamina and natural fitness were a big part of his game, and his consistency in the first five seasons at the Dons led to calls for international recognition. He was called up to England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 squad on two occasions but never earned a cap, and eventually ended up playing for Jamaica.

He remained an integral part of the Wimbledon side throughout the 1990s, but was unable to prevent them from slipping out of the Premier League at the end of the 1999–2000 season, when they relegated on the final day of the season after fourteen years in the top flight.

During a reserve team game for Wimbledon in 2000, Earle sustained a heavy blow to the stomach and became seriously ill with a ruptured pancreas
Pancreas
The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as a digestive organ, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that assist...

. At the age of 35 he was forced to give up playing. His retirement coincided with the end of the 'Crazy Gang'.

In nine years as a Wimbledon player, he made 244 league appearances for the South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...

 club, scoring 59 goals.

International career

Though English-born, Earle was eligible to play for Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

 at international level
Jamaica national football team
The Jamaica national football team is the national team of Jamaica and is controlled by the Jamaica Football Federation. After decades in CONCACAF obscurity, they gained many fans throughout the world after they qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup...

 because of his Jamaican heritage. Before deciding to play for Jamaica in 1997, Earle was in fact once called up to the England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 squad, but never actually played for the side. Earle was the scorer of Jamaica's first ever World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 finals goal, against Croatia
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...

, in the 1998 World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

.

Media work

Since his retirement, Earle has moved into sports journalism and has worked for Capital Radio
GCap Media
GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed in May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. On 31 March 2008 the company agreed a takeover by...

, Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...

, BBC
BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC. It became a fully dedicated division of the BBC in 2000. It incorporates programmes such as Match of the Day, Grandstand , Test Match Special, Ski Sunday, Rugby Special and coverage of Formula One motor racing, MotoGP and the Wimbledon Tennis...

, ESPN, ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

, Sky Sports
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....

 and OnDigital
ITV Digital
ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster, which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network as ONdigital in 1998 and briefly re-branded as ITV Digital in July 2001, before the service ceased in May 2002. Its main shareholders...

. Earle was a regular pundit on ITV's
ITV Sport
ITV Sport is a sport producer and brand name owned by ITV plc. It was formed from the amalgamation of Granada Sport, Carlton's sports department and ISN, the sports division of London News Network. The company produces Champions League and FA Cup Football, along with coverage of England's national...

 football coverage and occasionally joins the team on ESPN PressPass
PressPass
ESPNsoccernet PressPass is a 30 minute show which airs Monday to Friday and is a soccer discussion show between presenters Adrian Healey, Dan Thomas, Andrew Orsatti and analysts including Robbie Mustoe, Gabriele Marcotti, Tommy Smyth, Janusz Michallik, Shaka Hislop, Robbie Earle, Steve Nicol,...

. He has also written columns for the London Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...

and for the Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...

 Evening Sentinel.

In 2005, he took part on BBC's Strictly African Dancing as part of Africa Lives season. He scored 33 and won the competition.

In June 2010, he had his £150,000 a year contract with ITV cancelled for giving away World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 tickets for the Holland
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...

 v Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...

 match. Meant for family and friends, he sold them onwards to third party
Third party beneficiary
A third party beneficiary, in the law of contracts, is a person who may have the right to sue on a contract, despite not having originally been an active party to the contract. This right, known as a ius quaesitum tertio, arises where the third party is the intended beneficiary of the contract,...

 Bavaria Brewery who orchestrated an ambush marketing
Ambush marketing
Ambush marketing can be defined as a marketing strategy wherein the advertisers associate themselves with, and therefore capitalize on, a particular event without paying any sponsorship fee. The Macmillan English Dictionary defines ambush marketing as a marketing strategy in which a competing...

 event, in breach of FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

 rules. The incident also led to him losing his role as an ambassador for England's 2018 World Cup bid. Earle described his actions as "naive" and insisted that he had "not profited in any way". It later emerged that ITV had given Earle 400 free tickets for the tournament, including 40 for the final
2010 FIFA World Cup Final
The 2010 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match that took place on 11 July 2010 at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa, to determine the winner of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Spain defeated the Netherlands 1–0 with a goal from Andrés Iniesta four minutes from the end of extra time...

 itself. This allocation had a RRP of around £70,000. Not permitted to sell the tickets Earle had freely given them out to friends and family, unaware that a 'close friend' would then sell a significant number on to the Dutch company.

In March 2011 he became a broadcasting analyst at US Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

 side Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams:*Portland Timbers, a Major League Soccer expansion team that began playing in 2011....

.

Earle has not ruled out one day heading into management with old club Port Vale, where he is considered a cult hero.

Awards and services

Earle was appointed an MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 in 1999 for his services to football. He is also an Honorary Patron for the campaign against racism, Show Racism the Red Card
Show Racism The Red Card
Show Racism the Red Card is an anti-racism education charity, established in England in January 1996 to harness the high profile nature of footballers as anti-racist role models to educate against racism throughout society in the United Kingdom....

 and has appeared in television commercials promoting blood donation
Blood donation
A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions or made into medications by a process called fractionation....

.

Personal life

Earle attended Longton High School
Longton High School
-History:Before the school moved to a new site in Sandon Road, it was situated in Trentham Road and also used part of the Sutherland Institute.-Grammar school:...

 in Longton
Longton, Staffordshire
Longton is a southern district of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and is known locally as the "Neck End" of the city. Longton is one of the six towns of "the Potteries" which formed the City of Stoke-on-Trent in 1925.-History:...

, Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...

.

Honours

with Port Vale
  • Football League Fourth Division
    Football League Fourth Division
    The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...

     4th place promotion: 1985–86
    1985–86 Port Vale F.C. season
    The 1985–86 season was Port Vale's seventy-fourth season of football in the Football League, and second successive season in the Fourth Division. John Rudge achieved his first success as manager, leading Vale to promotion into the Third Division with a fourth place finish...

  • Football League Third Division
    Football League Third Division
    The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...

     Play-off
    Football League One play-offs
    The Football League One Playoffs are a series of playoff matches, contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the NPower Football League One table to determine the third spot for promotion to the second tier of English football, the Championship....

     winner
    : 1989
    1989 Football League Third Division play-off Final
    The 1989 Football League Third Division play-off final was a two-legged football match played at on 31 May and 3 June 1989, to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Third Division to the Second Division of The Football League in the 1988–89 season. Port Vale faced Bristol...

  • PFA Fans' Favourites
    PFA Fans' Favourites
    The PFA Fans' Favourites is a list of football players produced as part of the celebrations of the centenary of the Professional Footballers' Association in 2007. There is one entry for each Football League club's favourite player...

     player:
    2007

External links

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