Boro Mania

Jordan Robinson is a 17-year-old central defender from Yarm (date of birth: 28/4/91). He began playing for Yarm Town Boys under 9s at the age of 6. He was spotted by Boro scout Tony Armstrong and joined the Academy as an eight-year-old in 1999. Starting off in midfield for the under 9s, he played for a couple of years at right back before eventually moving to his current position at the centre of the defence at the beginning of the under 14 season.

Among his attributes are that he reads the game well and is both composed and comfortable on the ball. His distribution from the back is one of his particular strengths. He has worked hard on the physical side of his game in recent years and has developed into a tough uncompromising defender.

An all-round sportsman, he was a promising cricketer playing for both Cleveland and North Yorkshire as an opening batsmen and wicket-keeper. He scored several 50s and had a top score of 93 against a Yorkshire schools team. He also reached the final of the county tennis championships before giving up both summer sports to focus on his football.

A particular highlight during his time at Boro was when he captained the under 13s to victory in a tournament involving several top European clubs in Portugal in 2004, scoring a spectacular winner against AC Milan on the way to the final. The trophy was later paraded around the Riverside together with the Carling Cup and FA Youth Cup. He had also captained the under 12s in a tournament in Holland in 2003.

He was a regular for the under 18s last season, as a first-year scholar, playing in the Youth Cup matches and throughout the 13 match unbeaten run until missing the latter part of the season through injury. He made his debut for the reserves against Wigan in January 2008 and also played in the North Riding Senior Cup. He was consistently selected in the reserves squad after January until injury curtailed his season.