| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robbie Neilson | ||
| Date of birth | 19 June 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Paisley, Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Dundee United | ||
| Number | 26 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1996 | Rangers BC | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996–2009 | Heart of Midlothian | 200 | (1) |
| 1999–2000 | → Cowdenbeath (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | → Queen of the South (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2009–2011 | Leicester City | 26 | (0) |
| 2011 | → Brentford (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2011– | Dundee United | 7 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2006 | Scotland | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 October 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Robbie Neilson (born 19 June 1980) is a Scottish internationalist professional association footballer who plays as a right back or centre back. He is currently contracted to Dundee United until the end of the 2010-11 season. Neilson started his league career with Heart of Midlothian, for whom he made 200 Scottish Premier League appearances and he won the Scottish Cup in 2006. Early in his Hearts career, Neilson was loaned to Scottish Football League clubs Cowdenbeath and Queen of the South. He left Hearts in 2009 and signed for English Championship club Leicester City. After about a year he was dropped from the Leicester first team, was loaned to Brentford, and was then given a free transfer in the summer of 2011. After being without a club since then, Neilson signed for Dundee United on 15 November 2011. [1]
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Born in Paisley, Scotland, Neilson was originally attached to Rangers, the team he supported, through their Boys Club system. He joined Hearts Youth Academy at 16 as he felt it offered him a better chance of eventual first-team football and career progression. With hindsight, his judgment could be viewed as a wise one, for few of his contemporaries have established themselves at Ibrox.
He had time on loan at Cowdenbeath in 1999. In August 2002 Neilson joined Dumfries club Queen of the South on loan. Neilson helped the Dumfries club consolidate their Scottish First Division status and win the 2002 Scottish Challenge Cup Final, beating Brechin City 2-0.[2][3] Neilson made 17 appearances for Queens including a man of the match performance at Clyde. He returned to Tynecastle in January 2003.
A high point in his career came in 2004 with his match-winning goal in Hearts' 2-1 away win over FC Basel in the 2004-05 UEFA Cup, his first in any competition for the club.[4] He scored his first league goal for Hearts in a 3-1 win over Livingston later that season.[5]
On 4 February 2009 he was given the role of Hearts' captain after the departure of Christophe Berra. Manager Csaba Laszlo did not start contract talks with Neilson until the season drew to a close. As a result of the new wage structure at Hearts, Neilson and the club could not reach an agreement for a new contract.[6]
In search of a new challenge,[7] Neilson agreed terms with English Championship club Leicester City on May 21, 2009.[8] The next day Leicester confirmed that he had signed a pre-contractual agreement and would join the club in July.[9] Signing a three-year contract,[9] Neilson set his sights on helping the club win promotion to the Premier League.[7] He made his debut in a 0-0 draw against Ipswich Town at Portman Road on 15 August, becoming the 1000th player to debut for Leicester in a competitive fixture.[10] Neilson finished the season with 19 league games for Leicester. He scored his first goal for the club in a 4-3 League Cup win over Macclesfield Town on 10 August 2010.[11] On 27 May 2011, manager Sven Goran Eriksson allowed Neilson along with Michael Lamey to speak to other clubs in search of more regular first team opportunities.[12]
On 17 February 2011, Neilson joined Brentford on loan for a month,[13] which was extended until the end of the season on 23 March 2011.[14] On 3 April 2011 Neilson started in the 2011 Football League Trophy Final playing the full 90 minutes. Carlisle United won the match 1-0[15]
After training briefly with Falkirk [16] and Burton Albion since being released by Leicester on 27 May 2011, Neilson agreed to sign a contract with Dundee United on 15 November 2011 until the end of the current season.[17] His Debut for United was against former club Hearts. United won 1-0.
Neilson was capped 10 times by Scotland under-21. He won his first full Scotland cap in a 2-0 Euro 2008 qualifying defeat to Ukraine in Kiev on October 11, 2006.[18]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Christophe Berra |
Hearts Captain 2009 |
Succeeded by Michael Stewart |
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