.jpg) Robertson in 1980 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Neilson Robertson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1953-01-20)20 January 1953[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Viewpark, Lanarkshire, Scotland[2] | ||
| Date of death | 25 December 2025(2025-12-25) (aged 72) | ||
| Position | Left winger | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1970–1983 | Nottingham Forest | 386 | (61) |
| 1983–1985 | Derby County | 72 | (3) |
| 1985–1986 | Nottingham Forest | 11 | (0) |
| Total | 469 | (64) | |
| International career | |||
| 1978–1983 | Scotland | 28 | (8) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
John Neilson Robertson (20 January 1953 – 25 December 2025) was a Scottish professionalfootballer who played as aleft winger forNottingham Forest,Derby County and theScotland national team. He provided the assisting cross forTrevor Francis to score the only goal whenNottingham Forest won the1979 European Cup final. A year later he scored in thefinal when Forest retained the European Cup, this time againstHamburger SV. At Forest he also won promotion from the1976–77 Football League Second Division, the1977–78 Football League First Division, theUEFA Super Cup, twoFootball League Cups, the1978 FA Charity Shield and theAnglo-Scottish Cup.
Robertson also played forScotland, scoring the winning goal againstEngland in 1981 and againstNew Zealand in the1982 FIFA World Cup.
He then moved into coaching, acting as an assistant to his formerNottingham Forest teammateMartin O'Neill atWycombe Wanderers,Norwich City,Leicester City,Celtic,Aston Villa andGrantham Town.
Robertson represented Scotland at Schoolboy and Youth levels and played forDrumchapel Amateurs before joiningNottingham Forest in May 1970, making his first‑team debut later that year. Used mainly as a midfielder in his early seasons, he featured only sporadically and was on the transfer list whenBrian Clough arrived in 1975.[3] Under Clough, however, he was converted into a left winger and became a central figure in the side, putting together a run of 243 consecutive appearances between December 1976 and December 1980.[4] He scored the decisive penalty in the replayed1978 Football League Cup Final against Liverpool,[3] set upTrevor Francis's winning goal in the1979 European Cup Final, and struck the only goal of the1980 European Cup Final against Hamburg.[4]
Brian Clough, Robertson's manager at Nottingham Forest, was quoted as saying "John Robertson was a very unattractive young man. If one day, I felt a bit off colour, I would sit next to him. I was bloodyErrol Flynn in comparison. But give him a ball and a yard of grass, and he was an artist, thePicasso of our game."[5] In his autobiography Clough noted that "Rarely could there have been a more unlikely looking professional athlete... [He was a] scruffy, unfit, uninterested waste of time...but something told me he was worth persevering with." but that "[He] became one of the finest deliverers of a football I have ever seen – in Britain or anywhere else in the world – as fine as the Brazilians or the supremely gifted Italians."[6] Robertson's captain at Forest,John McGovern, later said that "John Robertson was like Ryan Giggs but with two good feet, not one. He had more ability than Ryan Giggs, his ratio of creating goals was better and overall he was the superior footballer", whilst Forest coachJimmy Gordon rated Robertson as a better player thanTom Finney andStanley Matthews, saying that he "had something extra on top".[7]
Robertson was sold toDerby County in June 1983 on a contested transfer, with the fee set by a tribunal; the move contributed to the breakdown in the relationship betweenBrian Clough and his former assistantPeter Taylor.[3] Injuries soon after his arrival limited his impact at Derby, and he was unable to reproduce the form he had shown at Nottingham Forest. He rejoined Forest in August 1985[3] but remained below his previous level and later left to join non‑leagueCorby Town. He subsequently had spells withStamford andGrantham Town.[8]
Robertson earned 28 international caps forScotland between 1978 and 1983, scoring eight goals.[9] He made his full international debut on 13 May 1978, in a 1–1 draw withNorthern Ireland.[9] He was then picked for their1978 World Cup squad, playing in the 1–1 draw withIran.[9]
He scored three goals duringqualification for the 1982 World Cup, twice in a 3–1 win againstIsrael in April 1981 and once in a 2–0 win againstSweden in September 1981.[9] During that year Robertson also scored the winning goal in aBritish Championship match againstEngland, which he later described as being his "greatest ever goal".[9][10] Having helped Scotland qualify for the 1982 World Cup, Robertson played in all three of their matches at the tournament and scored in the 5–2 win againstNew Zealand.[9]
After retiring from playing, Robertson was variously chief scout and assistant manager to former Nottingham Forest teammate Martin O'Neill atWycombe Wanderers, Shepshed Charterhouse,Norwich City,Leicester City,Celtic andAston Villa.[11][12]
Robertson's daughter Jessica was born in 1983 withcerebral palsy, which left herquadriplegic and unable to speak or control her movements. She had a short life expectancy. In 1994, Robertson and his former wife Sally challenged the hospital where Jessica was born for damages, claiming that they had caused her brain damage by a 12-hour delay to carry out aCaesarean section. However, they lost theirHigh Court case.[13]
He released his autobiography,Supertramp, in September 2012. He supported Rangers as a boy but described his time at Celtic as assistant toMartin O'Neill as the best years of his life in football.[14]
Robertson suffered a suspected heart attack while playing tennis with former Forest teammateLiam O'Kane on 23 August 2013.[15]
Robertson died on 25 December 2025, at the age of 72, following a long illness.[12]
Robertson was voted into first place in a 2015 poll by theNottingham Post of favourite all-time Nottingham Forest players.[16]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other[a] | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nottingham Forest | 1970–71 | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1971–72 | First Division | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| 1972–73 | Second Division | 32 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 4 | |||
| 1973–74 | Second Division | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 1974–75 | Second Division | 20 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 1 | |||
| 1975–76 | Second Division | 39 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 45 | 5 | |||
| 1976–77 | Second Division | 41 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 9 | 2 | 57 | 11 | ||
| 1977–78 | First Division | 42 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 3 | — | — | 56 | 18 | |||
| 1978–79 | First Division | 42 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 63 | 16 | |
| 1979–80 | First Division | 42 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 65 | 19 | |
| 1980–81 | First Division | 38 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 52 | 9 | |
| 1981–82 | First Division | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 42 | 3 | |||
| 1982–83 | First Division | 34 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | — | — | 40 | 9 | |||
| Total | 386 | 61 | 35 | 10 | 47 | 16 | 20 | 5 | 14 | 3 | 502 | 95 | ||
| Derby County | 1983–84 | Second Division | 31 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 2 | ||
| 1984–85 | Third Division | 41 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 48 | 2 | ||
| Total | 72 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 85 | 4 | |||
| Nottingham Forest | 1985–86 | First Division | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 469 | 64 | 41 | 10 | 53 | 17 | 20 | 5 | 16 | 3 | 599 | 99 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1978 | 4 | 0 |
| 1979 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1980 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1981 | 7 | 4 | |
| 1982 | 7 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 28 | 8 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 June 1979 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  Norway | 3–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying |
| 2 | 19 December 1979 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Belgium | 1–3 | 1–3 | UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying |
| 3 | 28 April 1981 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Israel | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 2–0 | |||||
| 5 | 23 May 1981 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  England | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1981 British Home Championship |
| 6 | 9 September 1981 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Sweden | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 15 June 1982 | Estadio La Rosaleda,Málaga, Spain |  New Zealand | 4–2 | 5–2 | 1982 FIFA World Cup |
| 8 | 21 September 1983 | Hampden Park, Glasgow |  Uruguay | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
Nottingham Forest
Individual
John Robertson was a very unattractive young man. If one day I was feeling a bit off colour, I would sit next to him. I was bloody Errol Flynn compared to him. But give him a yard of grass and he was an artist. The Picasso of our game.
Scotland squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
