Robbie Winters

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Robbie Winters : biography

4 November 1974 –

Robbie Winters (born 4 November 1974) is a Scottish footballer who is a free agent. He has been capped once for Scotland.

Winters started his in career Scotland and played for Dundee United between 1992 and 1997 and Aberdeen between 1998 and 2002. After a short spell at English club Luton Town, Winters played for the Norwegian club Brann between 2002 and 2008 where won the Norwegian Cup and the Norwegian Premier League.

Winters has later played for Clyde, Ayr United, Livingston, Grindavik, Alloa Athletic, Peterhead and Albion Rovers.

Career

Winters was born in East Kilbride and began his career at Dundee United in 1992 and played 99 league games for the Terrors, scoring 19 times. A move to Aberdeen beckoned, which saw Billy Dodds and cash come to Tannadice in exchange for Winters. His time at Pittodrie was fruitful, with 41 goals from 132 league appearances. In the 2000 Scottish Cup final, Winters came on as a 2nd-minute substitute to replace injured goalkeeper Jim Leighton, who suffered a fractured cheekbone. Playing virtually the whole match in an unorthodox position, Winters let in four goals as Rangers beat Aberdeen 4–0.

After leaving in 2002 when his contract expired, Winters played one match for Luton Town, appearing in the first half of the first match of the season, before moving to Norway with Brann. After several seasons with hints about leaving Bergen due to family issues, Winters stated on 31 October that he no longer had the motivation needed to play for SK Brann, and that he wished to leave the club in January. He was seeking a club, preferably in Scotland, but he also stated that an English Championship club would be interesting. With no contract offer, Winters returned to SK Brann to make peace with manager Mons Ivar Mjelde and fulfil his contract until December 2007. Winters’ Scottish team-mate Charlie Miller did leave and subsequently joined Belgian side Lierse.

Winters left Brann after the 2008 season, to join his family who had moved back to Scotland during the summer, due to his children starting school. Winters played 178 matches for Brann, scoring 70 goals. He signed a short term deal with Clyde until the end of the season in April 2009. Winters was released by Clyde in June 2009 along with the rest of the out of contract players, due to the club’s financial position.

Winters, whose younger brother David is a professional footballer, has one Scotland cap, when he appeared as a substitute in the 1–0 friendly win against Germany in Bremen, April 1999.

After an impressive performance as a trialist against Falkirk, Winters signed a professional contract with Livingston on 28 August 2009.

Winters also coaches young people throughout Glasgow in his role with coaching and groupwork company A&M Training.

Winters played for Icelandic club Grindavik in 2011. He scored on his debut against Thor. He then played for Alloa Athletic during the 2011–12 season and helped them win the Scottish Third Division championship. In the summer of 2012, Winters signed for Peterhead, before being released in February 2013 and going on a 3 game trial with Albion Rovers. He chose not to sign a contract at the expiration of the trial.

Honours

Individual

  • SPFA Young Player of the Year: 1996–97
  • Verdens Gang Norwegian Premier League Player of the Year: 2004http://vglive.no/#eliteguiden=s-borsen-sid-24
Dundee United
  • Scottish Challenge Cup runner up: 1995–96
  • Scottish First Division runner up: 1995–96
  • Scottish League Cup runner-up: 1997–98
Aberdeen
  • Scottish Cup runner-up: 1999–00
  • Scottish League Cup runner-up: 1999–00
Brann
  • Norwegian Cup winner: 2004
  • Norwegian Premier League winner: 2007
  • Norwegian Premier League runner-up: 2006
Livingston
  • Scottish Third Division winner: 2009–10
  • Scottish Second Division winner: 2010–11
Alloa Athletic
  • Scottish Third Division winner: 2011–12