Rob Newman (footballer)

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Robert Newman (born in Bradford on Avon on 13 December 1963) is an English football coach currently assistant manager at Bournemouth.

Newman signed for Bristol City as an apprentice in October 1981 and played 483 games for the club, serving as club captain before being sold to Norwich City for £600,000 in 1991. He was a member of the Norwich team that finished a club record third in the FA Premier League in 1992-93 and went on to play a part in the defeat of Bayern Munich in the following season's UEFA Cup.

Since his playing days, Newman has become a manager in the lower leagues of English football. He had a short time spell at Southend United before being appointed assistant manager to Steve Thompson at Cambridge United in December 2004. Following Thompson's departure from an unsuccessful spell which led to Cambridge's relegation from the Football League, Newman was appointed manager in May 2005.

Newman built a squad with very little money and showed his abilities in scouting little-known players. He also gained the support of the majority of Cambridge fans, earning him the nickname of 'Buzz Lightyear', owing to his facial likeness to the character from the motion-picture Toy Story. Some fans even set up a fan site (see below), and wore Buzz Lightyear masks in homage to him.

However, he was sacked following United's 3-1 defeat by Exeter on Friday, September 1, 2006 that left the club second-bottom of the Conference. The following month, new Bournemouth manager Kevin Bond appointed Newman as his assistant.

[edit] External links

Flown From The Nest: a profile of Rob Newman by 'Flown From The Nest', a website charting the lives of ex-Norwich players
Buzz on Tour: fan site dedicated to Rob Newman