| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Ullathorne | ||
| Date of birth | 11 October 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Wakefield, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1990–1996 | Norwich City | 94 | (7) |
| 1996–1997 | CA Osasuna | 18 | (0) |
| 1997–2000 | Leicester City | 31 | (1) |
| 2000–2001 | Sheffield United | 14 | (0) |
| 2001–2003 | Sheffield United | 26 | (0) |
| 2004 | Northampton Town | 13 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | Notts County | 69 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Tamworth | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 247 | (8) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Robert Ullathorne (born 11 October 1971 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England) is former a professional footballer, most recently playing for Conference North side Tamworth, where he played as a defender.
He played most of his professional games for Norwich City.
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Predominantly a left-sided defender or midfielder Robert Ullathorne was a successful product of Norwich City youth team. He chose to join Norwich City despite having schoolboy trials with the likes of Everton, Cambridge United, West Ham United and Luton Town.
Ullathorne made his first start for Norwich on 22 April 1991 in an away fixture against Nottingham Forest, he went on to make a total of 115 appearances, scoring seven goals in the process. He was primarily a squad player making the most of his appearances ironically in his last season with the club, but was out of contract at the end of 1995/96 season.
After spending six seasons with Norwich, Robert was subject of interest from Crystal Palace but took opportunity of a move to Spanish Segunda División side CA Osasuna on a free transfer, where he was joined by fellow Englishman Jamie Pollock who arrived from Middlesbrough. Ullathorne spent just over nine months with the club before leaving to return to England.
On 17 February 1997 Robert returned to the Premier League to play for Leicester City in a deal worth £600,000. Ullathorne was only eleven minutes of his debut against Wimbledon in a Coca Cola Cup semi-final, when he suffered a suspected broken ankle and was substituted.
Ullathorne recovered, but it was reported that he was unhappy at Leicester and sought a transfer despite regular spots in the Leicester City first team. Robert had an impressive game for Leicester in the 1999 League Cup final where he kept David Ginola quiet throughout the game. However Tottenham Hotspur won the game with a last minute goal depriving Robert of silverware.
Ullathorne's career with Leicester was thrown into disaray when he broke his leg at Chelsea on 18 March 1999 which raised real questions about his future as a footballer and fears that he might be thrown onto the soccer scrapheap. He scored two goals during his spell at Leicester, scoring once against Blackburn Rovers in the league[1] and once against Birmingham City in the FA Cup.[2]
Ullathorne left Leicester at the end of the 1999/00 season, joining Newcastle United briefly on trial before signing for Sheffield United as a free agent in December 2000. He played 14 games for United up until the end of the season before being released, but re-signed for the Yorkshire club again in November 2001. In his second spell he played 26 league games but was released at the end of the 2002/03 season, signing for Northampton Town. At Northampton, Ullathorne made 13 league appearances, scoring once against Mansfield Town on the last day of the season,[3] his goal clinching the Cobblers' place in the Division Three play offs. Ironically, their opponents in the play off semi final would be Mansfield. However, Ullathorne was unable to prevent his team from losing on penalties.[4] He then signed for Notts County, where he spent two seasons, scoring once in the League Cup against Bradford City.[5]
On 2 July 2007 Ullathorne was re-united with his former Notts County manager Gary Mills at Conference North side Tamworth, agreeing a non contract deal.
In a busy day in the transfer market for the club, Ullathorne was also joined at the club by former Notts County team mate Jake Sheridan, as well as another former Notts County team mate Matthew Williams who committed himself to the club for a further season, following initial doubts over his future with the club.
It was announced on 21 August 2007 that Robert Ullathorne registration with Tamworth had been cancelled following a meeting with manager Gary Mills. It was also confirmed that Ullathorne had decided retired from football, and concentrate on a new career away from full time training, and football.[6]
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