Robbie Blake

Playing career

Darlington Born in Middlesbrough, England, Blake began his professional football career at Division Three side Darlington in the 1994–95 season after signing on from the youth academy.

Bradford City Blake quickly settled into the Bradford side and he scored eight goals in his first full season, first under Chris Kamara and then Paul Jewell. He was sent off in the final game of the 1997–98 season against Portsmouth meaning he was suspended for the start of the following season. But he forced his way back into the team and scored in his first game back in a 2–2 draw with Sheffield United. He and new signing Lee Mills forged a lethal partnership in attack sharing 40 goals. Blake scored 16 goals as City won promotion to the Premiership. Blake scored the winning goal in the final game against Wolverhampton Wanderers of the 1998–99 season to see his side finish the season as league runners-up. Following his 2-month loan spell at Forest he returned to Bradford where he finished the season with four goals from his 14 starts in the 2000–01 season with Bradford ultimately being relegated to Division One.

This was not the last transfer offer Bradford would receive as just a few months later on 25 January 2002 the club received a £1 million transfer bid from fellow Division One side Burnley and, due to Bradford's poor financial status, the club had no option but to sell the player.

Wigan later made a third for the player, a revised figure of £700,000. Again the Burnley board turned down this offer and no further bids were made by the Latics. In his final game of his first spell at Burnley he scored what is possibly the best goal of his Burnley career leathering in a stunning free kick from 35 yards in a local derby against Preston North End. Eventually a successful bid of £1.25 million was made by Birmingham City and Blake once again had a chance to prove himself in the top league.

Birmingham City Blake made his debut for Birmingham in the FA Cup against Leeds United on 8 January 2005 as a second-half substitute. Blake was confident that he could push for a starting place at Birmingham saying:

"Clinton Morrison and Emile Heskey have done fantastically well, but hopefully I can push them for a place. I can play in a few positions, behind the strikers or dropping deep, and that gives the gaffer some selections to think about. I thought if anything a bottom four team in the Premiership would come in for me but Birmingham, with the quality of players they have, was an even bigger bonus." During the summer of that year Birmingham confirmed that they had received an offer from Leeds United for Blake:

"We have had an offer from Leeds for Robbie Blake. We are considering it and talks are ongoing. Robbie has done very well for us, but he feels he wants to play more and at Leeds he would probably play every week" – Steve Bruce and he was eventually signed for £800,000.

Leeds United Blake signed a three-year deal at Elland Road and commented that although moving to Leeds was stepping back a division he was looking forward to winning promotion with his new club;

"It's a step back in terms of divisions but hopefully I can get back into the Premier League with Leeds. With the quality of players we have got, I'm sure there will be no end of goals going in." He went on to make 31 starts for Leeds and finished the season with 11 goals.

Blake was one of six strikers at Leeds and was not a first team regular until the second season when Dennis Wise was appointed manager following Kevin Blackwell's departure. Following their relegation to the Football League One Leeds struggled to hang on to their players with the likes of David Healy, Richard Cresswell, Neil Sullivan and Kevin Nicholls all leaving the club.

Blake soon followed when he was re-signed by Burnley for a fee of £250,000 on 13 July 2007 and signed a three-year deal. A number of clauses on the sale meant the total transfer fee would rise to £350,000 after 40 games and also included a further payment if Burnley were to be promoted. Burnley director Brendan Flood also revealed that Burnley had been working on a deal for a couple of weeks prior to the announcement:

"With strikers, once it gets mooted that they may be on the move, it invites others to join the hunt. Being able to keep it under wraps is therefore vital, otherwise you get competitive bids coming and the price spirals. Robbie is a proven entertainer and one of the top strikers in the Championship and we know he is always going to score goals. But the really important factor is that he is happy and keen to play for Burnley." – Brendan Flood

Blake made his return debut for the club on 11 August 2007 in the opening fixture of the 2007–08 Football League Championship season against West Bromwich Albion which Burnley won 2–1. He then scored the first goal of his second spell with the Clarets against in the League Cup game against Oldham Athletic. He was heavily praised by both his and other managers as well as the press for his excellent form at the start of the 2007–2008 season, most notably for his performance in the 1–1 draw against Crystal Palace just days after the birth of his daughter Mia. Blake finished the season with 10 goals and 14 assists in 43 matches.

Blake came close to helping Burnley into the 2009 League Cup final by scoring one goal and making two more in the second leg of the side's semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur. The goals put Burnley just two minutes away from the final, before Tottenham scored twice in the final two minutes to reach the final on aggregate.

Blake returned to the top flight once again in May 2009, this time with Burnley after Burnley beat Sheffield United 1–0 in the play-off final at Wembley. A match which Blake played in, directly against a young Kyle Walker. Blake scored his first Premier League goal since 2005 on 19 August 2009 against the defending Premier League champions Manchester United, in a 1–0 win. This was Burnley's first home game in the top flight of English football for 33 years.

Bolton Wanderers On 30 June 2010, it was announced that he had signed for Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer and would officially join the club a day later. He made his debut for Wanderers in their 3–1 win over West Ham United at Upton Park on 21 August and scored his first goal for the club eight days later in the home game against former employers Birmingham City with a free kick that earned Bolton a 2–2 draw. As the season drew on, Blake became less and less involved in the first team and several clubs showed interest in signing him on loan, but the player decided to stay and fight for his first team place. At the end of the season, the club decided to take up the option on extending his contract for another year. However, at the end of the following season, following Bolton's relegation from the Premier League, Blake was released. He made only three appearances in his second season with only one of them in the league, on the opening day of the season.

Doncaster Rovers On 27 June 2012, it was announced that Blake had signed a one-year deal for Doncaster Rovers on a free transfer. After two League Cup starts and several appearances from the bench, he scored his first goal for Rovers on 1 December 2012 in an FA Cup game at Oldham Athletic. With no appearances since January, Blake's contract was terminated by mutual consent on 25 March 2013, with him having scored once in 14 appearances for the club.

Team Northumbria On 2 November 2013, it was announced that Blake had signed for Team Northumbria who are in the Division One of the Northern League on a free transfer.

Coaching career In September 2015, Blake joined the backroom staff at Portsmouth as a coach.

On 23 May 2018, it was announced that Blake had joined Bognor Regis Town as First Team Coach. He departed the club by mutual consent in November 2024 with the club sitting bottom of the Isthmian League Premier Division.

Blake has joined the coaching staff at Weymouth FC for the 2025/26 season.

On 20 February 2026, Blake was made caretaker manager of National League South club Eastbourne Borough following the departure of Tommy Widdrington, where Blake had been acting as first-team coach.

Career statistics

Honours

As a player Bradford City Football League First Division second-place promotion: 1998–99

Leeds United Football League Championship play-off runner up: 2005–06

Burnley Football League Championship play-offs: 2008–09

As a manager Bognor Regis Town

Sussex Senior Challenge Cup runner-up: 2022-23