Robert "Bobby" Williamson (born 13 August 1961 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a former association footballer who is currently manager of the Uganda national football team. He previously managed Kilmarnock and Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League and Plymouth Argyle in the Football League Championship.
[edit] Playing career
As a player, Williamson was a striker. He began his career at Clydebank and his 35 goals in 85 matches earned him a move to Rangers. However, after an injury-hit spell with the Glasgow club he moved to England, where he had spells with West Bromwich Albion and Rotherham United. He returned to Scotland in 1990 to join Kilmarnock Football Club, which proved to be his last club as a player.
[edit] Managerial career
Williamson became the manager of Kilmarnock following the departure of Alex Totten. In his first season as manager, the club won the 1997 Scottish Cup Final by beating Falkirk 1–0 at Ibrox.[1] Kilmarnock finished highly in the Scottish Premier League and he guided them into Europe, playing a total of four two-legged ties over three seasons. He also attracted high profile players including former Scotland internationals Ally McCoist and Ian Durrant, and the former French international Christophe Cocard.
Williamson took up a new challenge at Hibernian in February 2002, where he inherited a team that had gone 18 league games without a win.[2] A win against St. Johnstone in Williamson's first match in charge effectively removed the danger of relegation.[2] Due to financial problems at the club, Williamson had to move on several senior players,[3] but he did not endear himself to the Hibs fans.[4][5] He lightheartedly joked about this relationship by referring to himself as a "weegie hun".[1] Nonetheless Hibs produced several excellent young players, including Scott Brown, Derek Riordan, Garry O'Connor, Kevin Thomson and Steven Whittaker. Williamson guided his young team to the 2004 Scottish League Cup Final,[1] but they were beaten 2–0 by Livingston.
Williamson moved to Plymouth Argyle on 20 April 2004.[5] By winning his first match in charge, the club won promotion to the Football League Championship. After keeping the Pilgrims in the division in his first full campaign, a poor run of results at the start of the 2005–06 season led to his dismissal on 6 September 2005. Financial constraints at Plymouth Argyle resulted in a number of signings which contributed to his demise, most notably Taribo West. He was replaced by Tony Pulis, who had recently been sacked by fellow Championship side Stoke City.
He appeared as a pundit on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound before he was appointed as Chester City manager on 11 May 2007.[6] Williamson's first Football League match in charge of Chester ended in a 0-0 draw with Chesterfield on 11 August 2007 and has established them as a promotion contender in the opening months of the season. After mid-season, Chester's form began to drop rapidly, winning only 1 out of 14 games since Boxing Day; Williamson was sacked on 2 March 2008.[7]
On 19 August 2008 he was appointed by FUFA to be the coach of the Uganda national football team.[8] Williamson replaced Csaba László, who resigned in July 2008 to join Scottish Premier League side Hearts.[8] Within days of being appointed, Williamson was given the ultimatum of winning his first two games against Niger and Benin to earn a longer contract.[9] He succeeded in doing that, and their FIFA World Ranking has steadily improved during his first two years in charge.[10] Williamson led his Uganda team to the 2011 CECAFA Cup.[11]
[edit] Managerial honours
[edit] Kilmarnock
[edit] Hibernian
[edit] Uganda
[edit] Manager awards
[edit] Managerial statistics
| Team |
Nat |
From |
To |
Record |
| G |
W |
D |
L |
Win % |
| Kilmarnock |
 |
7 December 1996 |
25 February 2002 |
&10000000000000242000000242 |
&1000000000000008900000089 |
&1000000000000006700000067 |
&1000000000000008600000086 |
&1000000000000003678000036.78 |
| Hibernian |
|
25 February 2002 |
20 April 2004 |
&1000000000000009300000093 |
&1000000000000003400000034 |
&1000000000000002100000021 |
&1000000000000003800000038 |
&1000000000000003656000036.56 |
| Plymouth Argyle |
 |
20 April 2004 |
6 September 2005 |
&1000000000000005800000058 |
&1000000000000001900000019 |
&1000000000000001200000012 |
&1000000000000002700000027 |
&1000000000000003275999932.76 |
| Chester City |
|
11 May 2007 |
2 March 2008 |
&1000000000000003900000039 |
&1000000000000001100000011 |
&1000000000000001000000010 |
&1000000000000001800000018 |
&1000000000000002821000028.21 |
| Uganda |
 |
19 August 2008 |
|
&1000000000000003500000035 |
&1000000000000002000000020 |
&100000000000000070000007 |
&100000000000000080000008 |
&1000000000000005714000057.14 |
[edit] External links
| Persondata |
| Name |
Williamson, Bobby |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
Scottish footballer-manager |
| Date of birth |
13 August 1961 |
| Place of birth |
Glasgow, Scotland |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|
