View source for Bobby Hassell

{{Short description|English footballer}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name              = Bobby Hassell
| image             = Bobby Hassell.png
| caption           = Hassell playing for [[Barnsley F.C.|Barnsley]]
| fullname          = Robert John Francis Hassell
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1980|6|4|df=y}}
| birth_place       = [[Derby]], England
| height            = 
| position          = [[Defender (association football)|Defender]]
| youthyears1 = {{0|000}}?–1997
| youthclubs1 = [[Mansfield Town F.C.|Mansfield Town]]<ref>{{cite book|editor1-first=Glenda|editor1-last=Rollin|editor2-first=Jack|editor2-last=Rollin|title=Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013|year=2012|publisher=[[Headline Publishing Group|Headline]]|location=London|isbn=978-0-7553-6356-8|page=427|edition=43rd}}</ref>        
| years1              = 1997–2004
| years2              = 2004–2014
| years3              = 2015
| clubs1              = [[Mansfield Town F.C.|Mansfield Town]]
| clubs2              = [[Barnsley F.C.|Barnsley]]
| clubs3              = [[Bharat FC]]
| caps1               = 164
| goals1              = 3
| caps2               = 270
| goals2              = 8
| caps3               = 18
| goals3              = 0
| totalcaps =452 | totalgoals = 11
| nationalyears1 =        
| nationalteam1 =         
| nationalcaps1 =    
| nationalgoals1 = 
| club-update         = 
| nationalteam-update =
}}

'''Robert John Francis Hassell''' (born 4 June 1980) is an English former [[Association football|footballer]] who played for [[Mansfield Town F.C.|Mansfield Town]], [[Barnsley FC|Barnsley]] and [[Bharat FC]] in [[I-League]] as a [[defender (association football)|defender]]. He is currently an Academy Manager at [[Barnsley F.C.|Barnsley]].

==Career==

===Mansfield===
Born in [[Derby]], Derbyshire, Hassell graduated from the youth ranks at [[Mansfield Town F.C.|Mansfield Town]]. Showing his versatility from the start of his career, Hassell played in both the centre of defence and at right-back. After losing the [[2003–04 in English football|2003–04 Division Three]] Play-Off Final to [[Huddersfield Town A.F.C.|Huddersfield Town]], Hassell failed to negotiate a new contract with Mansfield.

===Barnsley===
[[Barnsley F.C.|Barnsley]] boss [[Paul Hart]] brought Hassell to [[Oakwell]] as part of a rebuilding process in the summer of 2004, completing his move on 1 July. Despite a slow start, Hassell made 43 appearances throughout the [[2004–05 Football League One|2004–05]] campaign and gradually became a fans' favourite. He missed parts of the [[2005–06 Football League One|2005–06]] campaign through injury but played a key role when fit in helping Barnsley gain promotion from [[EFL League One|League One]]. Unlike two years' previously, he was on the winning side at the [[Millennium Stadium]] as Barnsley triumphed over [[Swansea City F.C.|Swansea City]] on penalties in the [[EFL League One play-offs|Play-Off Final]].

Hassell then enjoyed another fine campaign during [[2006–07 Football League Championship|2006–07]], again in the running for all the end of season awards, clocking up 42 appearances and netting two goals. In the following season, he showed his versatility to perform heroically during Barnsley's run to the semi-finals of the [[2007–08 FA Cup|FA Cup]]. He made multiple last ditch tackles and goal-line clearances whilst playing at right-back in a 2–1 win over [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] at [[Anfield]], and was outstanding in an unfamiliar central midfield position as [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] were beaten 1–0 at Oakwell.

He was named as Barnsley's Players' Player of the Year, Fans Player of the Year and Disabled Supporters' Player of the Year for the [[2008–09 Football League Championship|2008–09 season]].

When [[Mark Robins]] was appointed Barnsley manager following the start of the [[2009–10 Football League Championship|2009–10 season]], Hassell initially dropped out of the team, yet soon found his way back in due to consistent performances and a high work rate. Hassell was made Barnsley vice-captain in the summer of 2010 when Robins handed the captaincy to [[Jason Shackell]]. The [[2010–11 Football League Championship|2010–11 season]] was another successful one for Hassell who made his 200th league start for Barnsley against [[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]] in January.

[[Keith Hill (footballer)|Keith Hill]] named Hassell as club captain for the [[2011–12 Football League Championship|2011–12 season]]. Hassell had to go in goal in a [[EFL Cup|League Cup]] tie with [[Rochdale F.C.|Rochdale]] on 11 August 2012 after [[Ben Alnwick]] was sent off and Barnsley had already used all 3 of their substitutions.<ref>{{cite web 
|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19242981
|title=Barnsley boss Keith Hill laments 'petulant' Ben Alnwick
|publisher=[[BBC]] 
|date=13 August 2012 |access-date=14 August 2012}}</ref>

In his final years as a Barnsley player, Hassell found games harder to come by but nevertheless always impressed when called upon. He was released by the club after ten years in May 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27310352|title=Barnsley Release Defender Bobby Hassell After 10 Years|publisher=BBC Sport|date=7 May 2014}}</ref> A year later in July 2015, Hassell was rewarded for his service to Barnsley with a [[testimonial match]] at Oakwell against Mansfield Town. The home side, featuring Hassell's former teammates from the 2006 promotion winning team, won the match 4–3. He is regarded as a club legend at Barnsley.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/barnsley-fc/bobby-hassell-testimonial-barnsley-4-mansfield-town-3-1-7366561|title=Bobby Hassell Testimonial|work=The Sheffield Star|date=20 July 2015}}</ref>

===Bharat===
In December 2014, Bobby signed for new [[I-League]] team [[Bharat FC|Bharat]].<ref>{{cite tweet|user=ILeagueOfficial|author=Hero I-League|number=539726753313210368|date=2 December 2014|title=.@BharatFC have announced their 2nd foreign player signing – English defender Robert 'Bobby' Hassell. #ILeague}}</ref> Hassell played the first ever match for the club as the I-League debutants held [[Dempo SC|Dempo]] to a goalless draw.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Lions' debut ends in a stalemate|url=http://www.goal.com/en-india/match/bharat-fc-vs-dempo/1980976/report|publisher=Goal|access-date=25 January 2015}}</ref>

===Return to Barnsley===

After leaving India, Hassell took up a position as Head of Recruitment for Barnsley's Academy in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.barnsleyfc.co.uk/news/article/bobby-hassell-appointed-academy-head-of-recruitment-2850323.aspx|title=Bobby Hassell Appointed Academy Head of Recruitment – News – Barnsley Football Club}}</ref> He now serves as Academy Manager at Oakwell.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.barnsleyfc.co.uk/club/whos-who/|title = Who's Who? – Barnsley Football Club}}</ref>

==Personal life==

Hassell is a committed Christian and he credits his faith as helping him overcome his temper and giving him an abundant sense of peace.<ref>[http://www.inspiremagazine.org.uk/article.aspx?i=160&q=593' Bobby Hassell talks about his faith with Inspire magazine]</ref>

==Career statistics==
{{updated|match played 30 May 2015}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Club statistics
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|[[FA Cup]]
!colspan="2"|[[EFL Cup|League Cup]]
!colspan="2"|Other
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division
!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="8"|[[Mansfield Town F.C.|Mansfield Town]]
|[[1997–98 in English football|1997–98]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|1997|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|rowspan="5"|[[Football League Third Division|Third Division]]||10||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||10||0
|-
|[[1998–99 in English football|1998–99]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|1998|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|3||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||3||0
|-
|[[1999–2000 in English football|1999–2000]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|1999|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|11||1||1||0||2||0||0||0||14||1
|-
|[[2000–01 in English football|2000–01]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|2000|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|40||1||1||0||3||0||0||0||44||1
|-
|[[2001–02 in English football|2001–02]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|2001|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|43||1||3||0||1||0||1{{efn|Appearances in [[Football League Trophy]]|name=FLT}}||0||48||1
|-
|[[2002–03 in English football|2002–03]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|2002|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|[[Football League Second Division|Second Division]]||20||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||20||0
|-
|[[2003–04 in English football|2003–04]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|2003|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|Third Division||37||0||4||0||1||0||0||0||42||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!164!!3!!9!!0!!7!!0!!1!!0!!181!!3
|-
|rowspan="11"|[[Barnsley F.C.|Barnsley]]
|[[2004–05 Football League One|2004–05]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|2004|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|rowspan="2"|[[EFL League One|League One]]||39||0||1||0||2||0||1{{efn|Appearances in [[Football League Trophy]]|name=FLT}}||0||43||0
|-
|[[2005–06 Football League One|2005–06]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|2005|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|31||2||4||0||0||0||1{{efn|Appearances in [[Football League Trophy]]|name=FLT}}||0||36||2
|-
|[[2006–07 Football League Championship|2006–07]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|2006|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|rowspan="8"|[[EFL Championship|Championship]]||39||2||2||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||42||2
|-
|[[2007–08 Football League Championship|2007–08]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|2007|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|20||0||5||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||25||0
|-
|[[2008–09 Football League Championship|2008–09]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|2008|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|40||0||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||42||0
|-
|[[2009–10 Football League Championship|2009–10]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|2009|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|24||2||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||26||2
|-
|[[2010–11 Football League Championship|2010–11]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|2010|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|37||1||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||39||1
|-
|[[2011–12 Football League Championship|2011–12]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|2011|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|19||0||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||21||0
|-
|[[2012–13 Football League Championship|2012–13]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|2012|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|17||1||2||0||2||1||colspan="2"|—||21||2
|-
|[[2013–14 Football League Championship|2013–14]]<ref>{{Soccerbase season|10849|2013|accessdate=7 December 2014}}</ref> 
|4||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||4||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!270!!8!!18!!0!!9!!1!!2!!0!!299!!9
|-
|rowspan="1"|[[Bharat FC]]
|[[2015 I-League|2015]]
|[[I-League]]||18||0||colspan="2"|—{{efn|Although Bharat FC is a part of extending [[2015 I-League]], it will not play in 2014 Federation Cup|name=BFC}}||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||18||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!452!!11!!27!!0!!16!!1!!3!!0!!498!!12
|}

{{notelist}}

==Honours==
'''Individual'''
*[[Barnsley F.C.|Barnsley]] Player of the Year: [[2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season|2008–09]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.barnsleyfc.co.uk/club/player-of-the-season/ |title=Barnsley Player of the Season |website=Barnsley FC |access-date=2 January 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080704120208/http://www.barnsleyfc.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0%2C%2C10309~10441%2C00.html Bobby Hassell profile] at barnsleyfc.co.uk
*{{Soccerbase}}

{{navboxes
|title=Awards
|bg=gold
|fg=navy
|list1=
{{Mansfield Town F.C. player of the season}}
{{Barnsley F.C. Player of the Year}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassell, Bobby}}
[[Category:1980 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from Derby]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]
[[Category:Mansfield Town F.C. players]]
[[Category:Barnsley F.C. players]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:English expatriate sportspeople in India]]
[[Category:English expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in India]]
[[Category:Bharat FC players]]
[[Category:I-League players]]
[[Category:Barnsley F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:21st-century English sportsmen]]