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Bobby Williamson

For the Scottish football goalkeeper of the 1950s and 1960s, see Bobby Williamson (footballer, born 1933).
For other people named Robert Williamson, see Robert Williamson (disambiguation).

Robert Williamson (born 13 August 1961) is a Scottish football player and manager.

Bobby Williamson
Personal information
Full name Robert Williamson
Date of birth (1961-08-13) 13 August 1961 (age 63)
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1983 Clydebank 70 (28)
1983–1986 Rangers 41 (12)
1986–1988 West Bromwich Albion 53 (11)
1988–1990 Rotherham United 93 (49)
1990–1995 Kilmarnock 145 (38)
Total 402 (138)
Managerial career
1996–2002 Kilmarnock
2002–2004 Hibernian
2004–2005 Plymouth Argyle
2007–2008 Chester City
2008–2013 Uganda
2013–2014 Gor Mahia
2014–2016 Kenya
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Williamson played as a striker for Clydebank, Rangers, West Bromwich Albion, Rotherham United and Kilmarnock. He then became manager of Kilmarnock, winning the 1996–97 Scottish Cup. Williamson moved to Hibernian in 2002, but had less success there and left in 2004 to manage Plymouth Argyle. He was sacked by Argyle after just over a year in charge. After a short stint with Chester City, Williamson became manager of the Uganda national football team. After a spell with Kenyan Premier League club Gor Mahia during which he won the league title, Williamson was appointed as the manager of Kenya national football team.

Playing career

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As a player, Williamson was a striker. He began his career at Clydebank and scored 35 goals in 85 matches. Williamson earned a £100,000 move to Rangers during the 1983–84 season.[2] Five months after signing for Rangers, Williamson broke his right leg while on a night out during an end of season tour of Australia.[2][3] The injury was initially expected to keep him out of action for two or three months,[2] but Williamson did not return to full training until December 1984.[4] After an injury-hit spell with Rangers, Williamson moved to West Bromwich Albion in 1986, in part-exchange for Jimmy Nicholl.[5] Williamson also played in the Football League for Rotherham United. He returned to Scotland in 1990 to join Kilmarnock, which proved to be his last club as a player.

Managerial career

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Kilmarnock

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Williamson became the manager of Kilmarnock following the departure of Alex Totten. In his first season as manager, the club won the 1997 Scottish Cup Final by beating Falkirk 1–0 at Ibrox.[6] Kilmarnock finished highly in the Scottish Premier League and he guided them into Europe, playing a total of four two-legged ties over three seasons. He also attracted high-profile players including former Scotland internationals Ally McCoist and Ian Durrant, and the former French international Christophe Cocard.

Hibernian

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Williamson took up a new challenge at Hibernian in February 2002, where he inherited a team that had gone 18 league games without a win.[7] A win against St Johnstone in Williamson's first match in charge effectively removed the danger of relegation.[7] Due to financial problems at the club, Williamson had to move on several senior players,[8] but he did not endear himself to the Hibs fans.[9][10] He lightheartedly joked about this relationship by referring to himself as a "weegie hun".[6] Nonetheless, Hibs produced several excellent young players, including Scott Brown, Derek Riordan, Garry O'Connor, Kevin Thomson and Steven Whittaker. Williamson guided his young team to the 2004 Scottish League Cup Final,[6] but they were beaten 2–0 by Livingston.

Plymouth

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Williamson moved to Plymouth Argyle on 20 April 2004.[10] By winning his first match in charge, the club won promotion to the Football League Championship. After keeping the Pilgrims in the division in his first full campaign, a poor run of results at the start of the 2005–06 season led to his dismissal on 6 September 2005. Financial constraints at Plymouth Argyle resulted in a number of signings which contributed to his demise, most notably Taribo West. He was replaced by Tony Pulis, who had recently been sacked by fellow Championship side Stoke City.

Chester

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Williamson appeared as a pundit on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound before he was appointed as Chester City manager on 11 May 2007.[11] Williamson's first Football League match in charge of Chester ended in a 0–0 draw with Chesterfield on 11 August 2007 and has established them as a promotion contender in the opening months of the season. After mid-season, Chester's form began to drop rapidly, winning only 1 out of 14 games since Boxing Day; Williamson was sacked on 2 March 2008.[12]

Uganda

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On 19 August 2008, Williamson was appointed by FUFA to be the coach of the Uganda national football team.[13] Williamson replaced Csaba László, who resigned in July 2008 to join Scottish Premier League side Hearts.[13] Within days of being appointed, Williamson was given the ultimatum of winning his first two games against Niger and Benin to earn a longer contract.[14] He succeeded in doing that, and their FIFA World Ranking steadily improved during his first two years in charge.[15] Williamson led his Uganda team to the 2011 CECAFA Cup.[16]

Uganda almost qualified for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, losing on a penalty shootout in their qualifying playoff tie against Zambia.[17] Uganda had a bad start to 2014 World Cup qualifying, taking just two points from three games.[18] It was announced on 8 April 2013 that Williamson had been sacked by Uganda.[18][19]

Gor Mahia

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On 5 July 2013, it was announced that Williamson agreed terms with Kenyan Premier League side Gor Mahia to join the club as their new head coach.[20][21][22] He replaced Croatian counterpart Zdravko Logarusić, who was sacked by the club 9 days earlier, on 25 June.[23][24][25][26] Williamson led Gor Mahia to their first national league championship in 18 years.[27]

Kenya

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In August 2014, Williamson was appointed manager of the Kenya national team.[27][28][29] He took over the post after his last game with Gor Mahia in a league game against Sony Sugar on 24 August.[30] He was replaced by ex-Mathare United manager Stanley Okumbi in February 2016.[31]

Honours

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Player

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Rotherham
Kilmarnock

Individual

Manager

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Kilmarnock
Hibernian
Plymouth Argyle
Uganda
Gor Mahia

Personal life

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Since retiring, Williamson lives in Kenya with his wife, Michelle, and daughter Saoirse.[34]

He was diagnosed with cancer of the nasal passages in the summer of 2017.[35] As of July 2018 Williamson is in remission.[36]

References

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  1. ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 384. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  2. ^ a b c McCallum, Andrew (30 May 1984). "Broken leg adds to Rangers' miseries". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  3. ^ "Williamson out of Rangers tour". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 May 1984. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  4. ^ Reynolds, Jim (19 December 1984). "Williamson may solve Ibrox problem". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  5. ^ Traynor, Jim (8 August 1986). "Second time around for so lucky Nicholl". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  6. ^ a b c Alexander, Douglas (14 March 2004). "Hibs manager tackles critics". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Hibs kill off St Johnstone". BBC Sport. 1 March 2002.
  8. ^ Moore, Richard (27 July 2003). "Hibernian: Moving Forward". Sunday Herald.
  9. ^ Bell, Ian (13 April 2003). "Hibs manager the wrong man in the wrong job". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  10. ^ a b Moffat, Colin (20 April 2004). "Few Hibees will mourn Williamson". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  11. ^ "Bobby is the new Blue for City". Chester City FC. 11 May 2007. Archived from the original on 19 May 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2007.
  12. ^ "Chester manager Williamson sacked". BBC Sport. 2 March 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  13. ^ a b Oryada, Andrew Jackson (19 August 2008). "Uganda name new coach". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  14. ^ Walker, Mark (21 August 2008). "Williamson gets two-game chance". The Scotsman. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  15. ^ Baguma, Raymond (9 October 2010). "Bobby Williamson working wonders as Uganda eye promised land". The Scotsman. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  16. ^ Ugasa, Mohammed (12 December 2011). "Uganda cranes savour supremacy". IPP Media. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  17. ^ "Football in brief: Williamson won't quit after cup agony". The Scotsman. Johnston Publishing. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  18. ^ a b "Uganda sack Scottish coach Bobby Williamson". BBC Sport. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  19. ^ "Bobby Williamson on his time with Uganda". Scotsman.com. Johnston Publishing. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  20. ^ Wilson Mathu (5 July 2013). "Bobby Williamson to take over at Gor Mahia". Futaa.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  21. ^ "Former Uganda national team coach Bobby Williamson accepts terms with Gor Mahia". StandardMedia.co.ke. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  22. ^ "Ex-Cranes coach Bobby joins Kenya's Gor Mahia". MTNFootball.com. 6 July 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  23. ^ Patrick Korir (25 June 2013). "Logarusic fired". Futaa.com. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  24. ^ Dennis Machio (25 June 2013). "Zdravko Logarusic has been fired". MichezoAfrika.com. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  25. ^ Dennis Mabuka (25 June 2013). "Gor Mahia part ways with coach Zdravko Logarusic". Goal. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  26. ^ Kenya Television Network (25 June 2013). "Gor Mahia fire coach Logarusic". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2013 – via YouTube.
  27. ^ a b "Williamson named new Kenya coach". FIFA. 5 August 2014. Archived from the original on 17 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  28. ^ Bobby Williamson appointed Kenya coach, BBC Sport
  29. ^ Bobby Williamson signs contract to become Kenya coach, BBC Sport
  30. ^ Vincent Opiyo (22 August 2014). "Bobby to aid in selecting Gor's next coach". Futaa.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  31. ^ "New Stars coach Okumbi equal to task". Nation. 20 February 2016.
  32. ^ Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 148.
  33. ^ "Killie (0) 4 - (2) 2 Ayr Utd". KillieFC.com. 13 May 1998. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  34. ^ "Former Chester boss Bobby Williamson on beating cancer and why Blues collapse happened". www.cheshire-live.co.uk/. 8 February 2019.
  35. ^ Patrick McPartlin (21 December 2017). "Bobby Williamson, ex-Hibs and Kilmarnock boss, reveals cancer fight". scotsman.com. Johnston Press. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  36. ^ "Ex-Hibs boss Bobby Williamson reveals he's cancer free". www.scotsman.com/. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
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