Boys in disguise; Robert Codner – TCF – FILBERT WAY

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Robert Codner might not be the first player you think of when talking about your favorite Leicester men over the years. It’s no surprise, but the honest truth is that the former Leicester City reserve team player, overlooked by Gordon Milne, went on to have a brilliant career at a lower level, between a bit of a hump.

Codner, born in 1965, joined Leicester in 1983 from Spurs after being a young player in their ranks, but with Osvaldo Ardiles and Glenn Hoddle among the contenders, surely a move to Leicester made sense.

At 18, Codner was told by Tottenham that they would not put him on a professional contract, so he ended up at Leicester under Gordon Milne for around 18 months. At the end of the contract he (Milne) did not offer Codner another one. After a spell working on a construction site, he tried to settle with Luton Town, but their manager, David Pleat, urged him to gain experience playing non-League football while they pursued him.

Codner then joined Dagenham for four or five months, then a good offer came from Barnet. His form for Barnet earned him selection for England’s semi-professional squad; Wimbledon showed some interest, but in a pre-season game in August 1988, as a trialist for Millwall, he played against Albion. He later became Brighton’s first black captain in the early 1990s, he was an enigma to many managers throughout his playing days but, by his own admission, the much-maligned Barry Lloyd got the best out of he. A dynamic midfielder with a great shot in his locker, Codner made far more appearances for Albion than any other club he went to and his attachment to the Seagulls continued into the modern era when he was Solly March’s agent.

Brighton boss Lloyd was sufficiently impressed that he was prepared to pay what at the time looked like a staggering £115,000 for a non-league player to give him another shot at making it as a professional. Barry Fry, the Barnet manager at the time, said: “Codner is a super athlete with two good feet, pace and the ability to score goals.” The enigma at the time was that, away from football, Codner had gone on to pursue a successful career at City after turning the tables on a would-be finance salesman by suggesting he could do a better job. The seller’s employers agreed, and Codner was suddenly thrust into the world of trusts, pensions, mortgages and insurance advice. Several clubs were interested in Codner during his time with The Seagulls, including West Ham, who reportedly bid £500,000 for the player in 1991.

Codner was almost permanently in the no. 10. Brighton reached the play-offs at the end of the 1990-91 season with a chance to return to the top tier. He scored in the semi-final away to Millwall as Brighton booked a place in the final at Wembley against Notts County with a 6–2 aggregate victory. Robert Codner featured in new manager Liam Brady’s first game in charge, a 1-0 defeat at home to Bradford City, his off-field demons catching up with him as he had to serve three weeks in Lewes Prison for offenses at steering wheel. Codner was reinstated at the end of January and kept his place until the end of the season.

A later matchday program noted: “He emerged from prison a more focused player but, after an alleged fall-out with (Liam) Brady, was dropped at the start of 1995 and then released at the end of the season.” Although Codner had been a regular under Brady in the first half of the 1994–95 season, he did not play for the first team again after being part of the side in the 4–0 defeat at Crewe Alexandra on 14 January. Brady claimed in his program notes: “The attitude of the day was not what we were looking for and that contributed a lot to losing as badly as we did.” After eventually leaving Brighton with more than 260 appearances for the club under his belt, Codner appeared at a multitude of clubs, playing a handful of games for Reading, Peterborough and Southend United and having a slightly longer spell at Barnet in 1996. -Season 97.

Codner now operates his own football agency in Epsom, RC Ballers Ltd.

FACT FILE

• Full name: Robert Andrew George Codner
• Position: Midfielder / Striker
• Date of birth: 23.01.1965
• Place of Birth: Walthamstow
• Nation: England
• Caps / Gaps: -/-
• Major Career:
  • 1983-84, Leicester City (0/0)
  • 1988-1995, Brighton (266/39)
  • 1995, Reading (5/0)
  • 1996, Peterborough United (2/0)
  • 1996-97, Barnet (32/1)
  • 1997, Southend United (4/0)
• Links: Wikipedia

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