Dale Roberts (8 October 1956 – 5 February 2003), was a British

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player, a centre-half who started his playing career at

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

Roberts was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

Playing career

He was on the Ipswich team at the same time as other centre-half players such as

Kevin Beattie Thomas Kevin Beattie (18 December 1953 – 16 September 2018) was an English footballer. Born into poverty, he played at both professional and international levels, mostly as a centre-half. He spent the majority of his playing career at Ipswich ...

, Allan Hunter,

Russell Osman Russell Charles Osman (born 14 February 1959) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a centre back in the Football League for Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich Town, Leicester City F.C., Leicester City, Southamp ...

and

Terry Butcher Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. He works as an academy coach for Ipswich Town. During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps ...

. He played 24 games before he moved on to

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

making 182 appearances as the club moved up from fourth to the second division, before retiring through injury. He later had spells with non league

North Ferriby United North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane. F ...

and

Bridlington Town Bridlington Town Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They were founded in 1918 and currently play in the . History The club was founded in 1918 as Bridlington Centra ...

Coaching career

He started his coaching career at

where he was reunited with manager

Colin Appleton Colin Harry Appleton (7 March 1936 – 31 May 2021) was an English association football, footballer and manager (association football), manager. He was captain of the celebrated Leicester side nicknamed the "ice kings" which chased the double i ...

who made him a youth team coach. In 1993, he joined up with long-time friend

George Burley George Elder Burley (born 3 June 1956) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player, making 628 league appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps. His most successful spell came whi ...

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

as an assistant manager before the pair moved to

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

where he became caretaker manager in 1994 after Burley left abruptly to join Ipswich. In 1995, he returned to Ipswich as

's assistant manager. Many Ipswich supporters share the memory of Roberts and Burley dancing on the Wembley pitch just after

Martijn Reuser Martijn Franciscus Reuser (born 1 February 1975) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played top-flight football in both the Netherlands and England. He made one appearance for the Netherlands national team. Career Born in Amsterdam, ...

had scored the fourth goal in the play-off final. Roberts went on to lead the reserves to the FA Premier Reserve League (South) Championship title in the 2001–02 season.

Death

He died on 5 February 2003, at home in Ipswich, aged 46, after a two-year battle against cancer.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Individual * Ipswich Town Hall of Fame: Inducted 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Dale 1956 births 2003 deaths English men's footballers Ipswich Town F.C. players Atlanta Chiefs players Hull City A.F.C. players North Ferriby United A.F.C. players Bridlington Town A.F.C. players Colchester United F.C. managers English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Deaths from cancer in England Men's association football defenders English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English football managers Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne