Robert Earnshaw

Robert Earnshaw
Earnshaw in 2007
Personal information
Full name Robert Earnshaw[1]
Date of birth (1981-04-06) 6 April 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Mufulira, Zambia
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1997–1998 Cardiff City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2004 Cardiff City 183 (86)
2000Greenock Morton (loan) 3 (2)
2004–2006 West Bromwich Albion 43 (12)
2006–2007 Norwich City 45 (27)
2007–2008 Derby County 22 (1)
2008–2011 Nottingham Forest 102 (38)
2011–2013 Cardiff City 19 (3)
2012–2013Maccabi Tel Aviv (loan) 10 (2)
2013 Toronto FC 26 (8)
2014 Blackpool 1 (0)
2014 Chicago Fire 5 (3)
2015 Vancouver Whitecaps 9 (2)
2015Whitecaps 2 (loan) 3 (2)
Total 471 (186)
International career
1998–2001 Wales U21 10 (1)
2002–2012 Wales 59 (16)
Managerial career
2018–2019 Fresno (assistant)
2022– Orange County (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Robert Earnshaw (born 6 April 1981) is a Welsh former international footballer who played as a forward. He is the only player to have scored a hat-trick in the Premier League, all three divisions of the English Football League, the League Cup, the FA Cup, and for his country in an international match.

Born in Zambia and raised in South Wales, Earnshaw joined Cardiff City as a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) trainee in 1997, and turned professional a year later. After making his debut at the age of sixteen, he spent a brief spell on loan with Greenock Morton before establishing himself in the first team. His prolific goalscoring saw him break several club records as he helped the club win promotion to the First Division in 2003. Scoring over 30 times in the First Division following promotion, he joined Premier League club West Bromwich Albion for £3.5 million in August 2004.

He played for several English clubs before later in his career playing in Israel, Canada, and the United States. After leaving Cardiff City in 2004, Earnshaw's transfer fees totalled £12,650,000. He made his international debut for Wales in 2002 and scored 16 goals in 59 games for the national side, making him its eighth-highest all-time goalscorer.

  1. ^ "Robert Earnshaw". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Profiles: Robert Earnshaw". Cardiff City F.C. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012.