John Tait Robertson

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John Tait Robertson
0Full Name	John Tait Robertson
0Date of Birth	25 February 1877
0Place of Birth	Dumbarton, Scotland
Player
0Position	Half back
0Chelsea career	1905-1906
0Debut	2 September 1905
0Games (goals)	39 (7)
0Other clubs	Morton Everton Southampton Glasgow Rangers Glossop
Manager
0Chelsea career	1905-1906
0Win percentage
0Honours	-
0Other clubs	Glossop

John Tait "Jacky" Robertson (25 February 1877 - 24 January 1935) was the first manager of Chelsea. A Scotland international, he also played for the club, and scored Chelsea's first competitive goal.

Contents 1 Before Chelsea 2 Chelsea 3 After Chelsea 4 International 5 Statistics 5.1 Manager

Before Chelsea

A left-sided half-back as a player, Robertson's most successful spell was with Glasgow Rangers, with whom he won three Scottish league titles.

Chelsea

Robertson was hired as Chelsea's player-secretary-manager in April 1905, shortly after the club's foundation, and was charged with building a new team. Among his first signings were 22 stone goalkeeper William "Fatty" Foulke and striker Jimmy Windridge. He later signed George "Gatling Gun" Hilsdon, who would become the club's first 100-goal striker.

Robertson also had the distinction of scoring Chelsea's first competitive goal, which came against Blackpool on 9 September 1905. Under his guidance, Chelsea finished a credible 3rd place in the Second Division in 1905-06. However, his position was progressively undermined by boardroom interference. In November 1905 he lost the power to select the team and was eventually stripped of most of his other managerial duties. Robertson resigned on 27 November 1906 and left the club in January. He was succeeded on a temporary basis by club secretary William Lewis, who led Chelsea to promotion at the end of the season.

After Chelsea

After leaving Chelsea, he took over as manager of Glossop. He later joined Manchester United as a coach. He died in Wiltshire in January 1935.

International

Robertson won 16 caps for Scotland between 1898 and 1905 and scored 2 goals, both of which came against Wales.

Statistics

Season	League		FA Cup		Total
	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1905-06	33	7	3	0	36	7
1906-07	3	0	0	0	3	0
Total	36	7	3	0	39	7

Manager

Managers

Robertson (1905–06) • Lewis (1906–07) • Calderhead (1907–33) • Knighton (1933–39) • Birrell (1939–52) Drake (1952–61) • Docherty (1961–67) • Sexton (1967–74) • Suart (1974–75) • McCreadie (1975–77) • Shellito (1977–78) Blanchflower (1978–79) • Hurst (1979–81) • Neal (1981–85) • Hollins (1985–88) • Campbell (1988–91) Porterfield (1991–93) • Webb (1993) • Hoddle (1993–96) • Gullit (1996–98) • Vialli (1998–00) • Ranieri (2000–04) Mourinho (2004–07) • Grant (2007–08) • Scolari (2008–09) • Hiddink (2009) • Ancelotti (2009–11) Villas-Boas (2011–12) • Di Matteo (2012) • Benítez (2012–13) • Mourinho (2013–15) • Hiddink (2015–16) Conte (2016–)