Robbie Savage is a Welsh football pundit and former player. During his career he played predominantly as a midfielder, starting off as a youth player with Manchester United before joining Crewe Alexandra. Best known for his spells with Leicester City and Derby County, Robbie Savage is an incredibly popular and highly sought after football speaker.
Savage played up front then switched into midfield and proved himself as a highly competent young player at Crewe Alexandra, helping them reach the Division Two playoffs in his first two seasons at the club; a remarkable feat for a newly promoted club who had only played at this level twice in the previous 30 years. Crewe then made it third time lucky by sealing promotion via the playoffs in 1997. It was the first time that Crewe had reached the second tier of the English football league system, but shortly after helping Crewe win promotion, Savage handed in a transfer request.
Savage was transferred to Premier League side Leicester City for a fee of £400,000, in July 1997. Savage spent five years at Leicester, where he made his name as a reliable, competitive and fiery midfielder. In 1999, Leicester reached the League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur. In a controversial incident, Savage made a poor tackle on Tottenham’s Justin Edinburgh who retaliated by swinging his arm out. Contact was minimal, but Savage fell to the ground. Edinburgh was sent off for raising his arms, and although Tottenham went on to win the final, many Spurs fans still hold a grudge against Savage for the incident to this day. However, a year later Savage reached the League Cup final again, this time winning 2–1 against Tranmere Rovers in what was the highlight of his career as a player and the cup win is Savage’s only winners medal.
Following spells with Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers, Savage’s next and final real club was Derby County. Upon his arrival, Robbie Savage was named captain of Derby County and began would be a turbulent time with the club. A period of his career that was filled with trials and tribulations and a number of controversies like the entirety of his career, Savage was sent on loan due to his poor performances before being called back due to the arrival of a new manager, Nigel Clough. Savage’s return to Pride Park saw him enjoy his best season at the club and he was named the Derby County Player of the Year and named captain of the club once again. Savage retired in 2011 calling a time on a colourful playing career that also saw him make 39 International appearances for Wales.
Retiring to pursue a career in the media, Savage is now a popular pundit for the BBC and regularly presents 606 on BBC Radio 5 Live on Saturday evenings alongside Darren Fletcher. Working on various other ventures within the media industry, Robbie Savage appeared on TV show Strictly Come Dancing and famously while attempting to perform a knee slide during a particular dance routine broke his nose and had to leave the competition.
Savage gained notoriety for his playing style; in 2008, the Daily Mail labelled him as the dirtiest player in Premier League history, based on numbers of yellow cards received. Savage’s style as a midfield player was all-action and energetic, and he regularly collected yellow cards, and for a while held the dubious distinction of being awarded the most yellow cards of any Premiership player in the league’s history – 89, although he has now been overtaken by Lee Bowyer, Kevin Davies and Paul Scholes.
A controversial player, Savage is loved by fans of teams he plays for and hated by many others, in part due to his style of play and in part due to several controversial incidents he has been involved in. Fans of Aston Villa, Tottenham, West Ham and Arsenal have accused him of simulation, whether to win a set piece or to get an opponent red carded.
A charming and charismatic personality, Robbie Savage has enjoyed a decorated career within football that has been filled with controversies. During his work as a football speaker, Savage discusses the requirements to succeed as a footballer and elaborates on a career that has always seem him gain huge attention from both the media and fans and a career in which he has been both worshipped and despised. A thoroughly entertaining character, Robbie Savage is available to hire as a football speaker for any event or function and is certain to provide an incredibly entertaining performance.
