| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Paul Green | ||
| Date of birth | 18 January 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Chertsey, England | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | West Ham United | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1996 | Norwich City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2006 | Norwich City | 223 | (0) |
| 2006– | West Ham United | 198 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1997 | England U16 | 1 | (0) |
| 1998 | England U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2006 | England B | 1 | (0) |
| 2005– | England | 11 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 05:48, 3 January 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Robert Paul Green (born 18 January 1980) is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United and the England national football team as a goalkeeper.
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Born in Chertsey, Surrey, Green came through the youth system at Norwich City and made his first team debut on 11 April 1999 keeping a clean sheet in the 0–0 local derby draw against Ipswich Town at Carrow Road.[2] However, first-team opportunities were restricted by the presence of first-choice goalkeeper Andy Marshall[3] and it was not until Marshall's departure in the summer of 2001 that Green was able to establish himself as first choice goalkeeper for Norwich.
He was a star of the 2001–02 season play off campaign which culminated in a final loss to Birmingham City on penalties. During the extra time period of this match Green pulled off a top class save from Geoff Horsfield from point blank range. The following season Green was an ever present in a Norwich side that finished in 8th position in the Championship table, missing out on the play offs by two places. Green made an impressive tally of 19 clean sheets during the campaign, beating the previous season's effort of 18.
By 2003 Green was a key figure in the Norwich side. He played a key role in helping Norwich to the Championship in the 2003–04 season and promotion to the Premier League.[4] The Norwich number one was once again ever present, keeping another 18 clean sheets and conceding just 39 goals in 46 league appearances. Green put in many match winning performances during the campaign. These man of the match displays included home fixtures with Derby County and Stoke City, the he pulled off a world class save from Gerry Taggart during the latter. Performances of this high standard led to his first England international call up for the friendly in March 2004 versus Sweden. He was also included in the PFA first division XI for the season.
Norwich were relegated to the Championship the following season.[5] Green kept just 6 clean sheets and conceded 77 goals during the Premiership campaign despite many excellent individual performances. England coach Sven-Göran Eriksson continually picked Green for international squads on merit.
After relegation Norwich struggled to adjust back to Championship football. It proved to be Green's worst campaign as Norwich's number one, keeping just 7 clean sheets in 42 league appearances. Green missed the last few matches of the 2005–06 season after he sustained an injury in the warm-up prior to the away fixture at Sheffield Wednesday. In August 2006, Norwich accepted a bid of up to £2,000,000 from West Ham United for Green,[6] who had made 241 appearances for Norwich between 1999 and 2006.[2]
Green signed a four-year deal with West Ham,[6] where he teamed up with former Norwich striker, Dean Ashton who had been sold to West Ham in January 2006. Green made his debut for West Ham on 22 October 2006 in a 1–0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.[7] Two of his best performances were when West Ham won 1–0 against Arsenal at the Emirates[8] and against Manchester United where he helped West Ham United to a 1–0 win,[9] which preserved West Ham's Premier League status. Green kept nine clean sheets in 26 appearances during the league campaign.
In the 2007–08 season season for West Ham United, Green saved the first three penalties taken against him. The first, against Kevin Doyle of Reading,[10] the second, Benjani of Portsmouth in injury time,[11] the third from Tottenham’s Jermain Defoe, again in injury time.[12] The streak was ended by James McFadden of Birmingham on 9 February 2008.[13] He played in every match and was named the West Ham Hammer of the Year with the Irons finishing in a respectable 10th place in the Premiership.[14]
In the 2008–09 season, Green saved yet another penalty, this time on 30 August 2008 against Jason Roberts of Blackburn Rovers, West Ham then went on to win the game 4–1. In May 2009, Green saved a Steven Gerrard penalty, although Gerrard scored from the rebound and Liverpool won 3–0. Green played all 38 league games for West Ham in that season, keeping ten clean sheets.[15] and again played in all 38 league games for West Ham in the following 2009–10 season, keeping eight clean sheets and saving yet another penalty, this time from Aston Villa's Ashley Young in a 2–1 victory.[15]
Green made 44 appearances in all competitions during the 2010–11 season keeping seven clean sheets. He saved a penalty in the 3–1 victory over Wigan Athletic at Upton Park and then again against Stoke City in a 2–1 FA Cup defeat. On 19 March 2011, Green made a magnificent save against Gareth Bale's free kick in the 0–0 draw with Tottenham Hotspur. He was named Hammer of the Year runner-up while Scott Parker got the award.[16]
Green earned his first call-up to the full England squad in 2004 while at Norwich[17] and a year later became the sixth Norwich player in history to wear the Three Lions when he appeared as a substitute against Colombia in the United States.[18] Green remained in the England squad despite Norwich having been relegated to the Coca Cola Championship in 2005 and was selected for the England 2006 World Cup squad.[19] However, he ruptured his groin whilst taking a goal kick during the England B international against Belarus on 25 May.[20] He was replaced in the squad by Liverpool's Scott Carson.[21] The injury not only meant that Green missed the World Cup but also the start of the 2006–07 season.[22] After a prolonged absence from the international scene, Green was called up for the England "B" match in May 2007[23] and then named in the senior England squad to face Brazil and Estonia in June 2007.[24] Green did not make Fabio Capello's first England team in February 2008. Green showed a sense of humour about the international situation, sporting gloves with 'England's No.6' embroidered on them.[25] He was recalled to the squad by Fabio Capello in place of the injured Chris Kirkland for England's friendly with France on 26 March 2008.[26] On 12 February 2009, Green earned his 2nd cap, coming on as a second half substitute during England's 0–2 defeat to Spain in Seville. On 6 June 2009 Green made his first England start in their 4–0 win in Almaty against Kazakhstan in a World Cup qualifying game.[27] He played for England against Croatia on 9 September 2009 with England securing a place in South Africa with a 5–1 victory. On 10 October 2009, he became the first ever England goalkeeper to be sent off, during the penultimate game of qualification against Ukraine, for a professional foul on Artem Milevskiy early in the game. England went on to lose 1–0.[28][29]
Green was named in England's squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[30] Manager Fabio Capello opted not to name his first choice goalkeeper until the day of England's opening match, against the United States on 12 June, at which point he selected Green to start.[31] After England went into a 1–0 lead, Green failed to save a long-range shot from USA midfielder Clint Dempsey in the 40th minute. The incident saw the ball bounce on and off Green's gloves and go over the goal line.[32] The match ended in a 1–1 draw. Following this error and an unconvincing final training session on 17 June, Green was benched. He was replaced by David James who played in England's next game, a 0–0 draw against Algeria on 18 June.[33][34] He did not appear again in the World Cup and was omitted from the first England squad named after the tournament for a friendly against Hungary.
Green was brought back into the squad for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro in October 2010.[35]
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1996–97 | Norwich City | Division 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997–98 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1998–99 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1999–00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | 44* | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | 46 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Premier League | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| 2005–06 | Championship | 42 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0 | |
| Norwich City Total | 226 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 241 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | West Ham United | Premier League | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| 2007–08 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | 38 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | 37 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Championship | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
| West Ham United Total | 190 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 209 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 416 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 450 | 0 | ||
In the summer of 2008, Green climbed Mount Kilimanjaro during a charity event for AMREF (the African Medical and Research Foundation).[37] He has stated that former Stoke City reserve team goalkeeping coach Martin Phelan inspired him to become a goalkeeper after a talk at Green's primary school. He is a fan of Woking F.C. [38]
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