Robert Garrett (footballer)
Northern Irish footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Garrett (born 5 May 1988) is a Northern Irish former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. During his career, he played for Stoke City, Wrexham, Linfield, FC Edmonton, Portadown, Glenavon & Bangor before announcing his retirement in April 2026.
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Robert Garrett with Glenavon in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Garrett | ||
| Date of birth | 5 May 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2004 | Stoke City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2007 | Stoke City | 2 | (0) |
| 2007 | → Wrexham (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | → Wrexham (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2008–2014 | Linfield | 149 | (16) |
| 2013 | → FC Edmonton (loan) | 21 | (1) |
| 2014–2017 | Portadown | 100 | (5) |
| 2017–2019 | Linfield | 36 | (2) |
| 2019–2024 | Glenavon | 155 | (7) |
| 2024–2026 | Bangor | 52 | (2) |
| Total | 539 | (33) | |
| International career | |||
| Northern Ireland U21[1] | 14 | (3) | |
| 2008–2010 | Northern Ireland U23 | 3 | (1) |
| 2009–2011 | Northern Ireland | 5 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 29 April 2026 | |||
Club career
Garrett joined Stoke City in 2002 and played just twice for the club both coming as a substitute in games towards the end of the 2005–06 season. In the 2006–07 season, Garrett enjoyed a loan spell at Football League Two side Wrexham. He returned to Wrexham again on loan in the 2007–08 season.[2] In the summer of 2007 Garrett returned to Belfast and joined Linfield and became one of their most important players. As Linfield added more quality to their midfield Robert's first team chances dried up, at which stage he had to consider his future.
On 16 April 2013 Garrett followed fellow Linfield men Daryl Fordyce and Albert Watson joining NASL club FC Edmonton on loan for their 2013 season.[3]
On 2 May 2014, it was confirmed that Garrett had signed for Portadown. Garrett captained the Ports for the first time in a 2–2 draw with Glenavon in 2016.
It was announced in May 2017 that Garrett would be returning to Linfield.
On 16 January 2019, it was announced that Garrett had joined Glenavon on a 2+1⁄2-year deal. After playing 150 league games in five years with the club, Garrett departed Glenavon at the end of the 2023-24 season. He signed for Bangor on 20 May 2024.
International career
In May 2009, Garrett received his first call up to the Northern Ireland squad for a friendly with Italy in Pisa. He was one of five Irish League players called up, one of which was former Linfield teammate Alan Mannus.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Stoke City | 2005–06 | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Wrexham (loan) | 2006–07 | League Two | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | League Two | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| Total | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| Linfield | 2008–09 | NIFL Premiership | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 30 | 4 | |
| 2009–10 | NIFL Premiership | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 2 | |
| 2010–11 | NIFL Premiership | 35 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 6 | |
| 2011–12 | NIFL Premiership | 30 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 4 | |
| 2012–13 | NIFL Premiership | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 25 | 1 | |
| 2013–14 | NIFL Premiership | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 149 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 165 | 17 | ||
| FC Edmonton (loan) | 2013 | North American Soccer League | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | |
| Portadown | 2014–15 | NIFL Premiership | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 38 | 1 | |
| 2015–16 | NIFL Premiership | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | NIFL Premiership | 35 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 38 | 3 | ||
| Total | 100 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 110 | 5 | |||
| Linfield | 2017–18 | NIFL Premiership | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 27 | 2 | |
| 2018–19 | NIFL Premiership | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Total | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 37 | 2 | |||
| Glenavon | 2018–19 | NIFL Premiership | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | |
| 2019–20 | NIFL Premiership | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 3 | ||
| 2020–21 | NIFL Premiership | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 33 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | NIFL Premiership | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | NIFL Premiership | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 24 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | NIFL Premiership | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| Total | 150 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 158 | 7 | |||
| Career Total | 480 | 31 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 518 | 32 | ||
International
Source:[4]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 2009 | 1 | 0 |
| 2010 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 0 | |
