RIP Michael Robinson, Brighton’s leading top flight scorer

Brighton & Hove Albion’s leading top flight scorer Michael Robinson has passed away at the age of 61.

A post on Robinson’s Twitter account this morning read, “With tremendous sadness we inform you of Michael’s death. It leaves us with a great emptiness, but also countless memories, full of the same love that you have shown him.”

“We will be eternally grateful to you for making this man SO HAPPY, he never walked alone. Thank you.” Robinson had announced in December 2018 that he had been diagnosed with skin cancer.

Robinson was one of the finest strikers ever to play for the Albion. After moving to the Goldstone Ground from Manchester City in the summer of 1980 for £400,000, he scored 37 goals in three top flight seasons. A record number of that won’t be overhauled for sometime yet.

Robinson began his career with Preston North End. His breakthrough came in the 1978-79 campaign when he netted 13 times for PNE in their first season back in the second tier following promotion.

That prompted City to spend an astonishing £756,000 on Robinson in the 1979 close season, making him the second most expensive English player of all time.

The fee was an eye watering amount for a 20-year-old striker and is often credited as being one of the deals that sparked such rapid inflation in the transfer market.

Understandably, young Robinson struggled to live up to expectations although he did still finish as top scorer in his one season at Maine Road.

He was never truly happy at City though and so Alan Mullery swooped in to sign him for half of what City had paid a year previously. It proved to be an astonishingly good bit of business for the Albion.

Michael Robinson top scored in his first season at Brighton with 19 league goals and a total of 22 in all competitions in 1980-81.

That was an outstanding return in a side that looked doomed to relegation until a run of victories in the final month of the season resulted in a last gasp escape from the drop.

He was voted as Player of the Year at the end of the campaign and made his Republic of Ireland debut, going onto win 24 caps for the nation he qualified through via his grandmother.

Robinson scored 11 times in 1981-82 despite missing a larger chunk of the campaign through injury. His goal scoring feats meant that he was constantly linked with other clubs but he remained at the Goldstone, scoring another 10 goals in the 1982-83 season which ended under the Twin Towers of Wembley.

Three of those goals came in the run to the FA Cup Final, including Brighton’s second in the semi final win over Sheffield Wednesday.

It was Robinson’s trademark skills of speed and physicality – he was remarkably strong for someone a little over six foot tall – which teed up Gordon Smith for the infamous “And Smith must score” chance in the final minute of extra time against Manchester United.

Robinson was too good to slip into Division Two with the Albion following relegation. The books needed to be balanced too and so he was sold to Liverpool for £200,000.

Although Robinson only spent 18 months at Anfield, he still managed to win the League title, the European Cup and the League Cup.

He went onto play for Queens Park Rangers and Osasuna in Spain, where his career came to a premature end thanks to a knee injury.

A measure of the man was that as soon as Robinson knew he was unlikely to play again, he ripped up his contract with the Spanish club so that they would not have to pay his wages.

Robinson went onto make a name for himself as a pundit on Spanish television following retirement. He had his own show which was watched almost religiously by football fanatics who loved his integrity and his broken Spanish.

Perhaps best of all, he voiced the Ugly Sister in the Spanish language version of the Shrek films. How many ex-Albion players have been a part of a major Hollywood blockbuster franchise?

His final Brighton career numbers read 43 goals in 133 appearances. Robinson will always be fondly remembered for his scoring exploits on the south coast during one of the greatest periods in the club’s history.

Without him and his goals, the Albion’s first top flight adventure would never have lasted the four seasons it did. His buccaneering style lit up the Goldstone and what’s more, everyone who ever talked about him never did so without referring to what a great man he was.

RIP, Michael Robinson – Brighton will never forget you.