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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player, a centre-half who started his playing career at Ipswich Town Roberts was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

Playing career

Roberts joined Ipswich Town as an apprentice and was part of the team that won the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

in 1973 and 1975. He made his first team debut for Ipswich on 28 December 1974 against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

. He was at Ipswich at the same time as other centre-half players such as Kevin Beattie, Allan Hunter,

Russell Osman Russell Charles Osman (born 14 February 1959) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back in the Football League for Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Southampton, Bristol City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Cardiff City. ...

and

Terry Butcher Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps in a ten-year international career that feature ...

and therefore opportunities were limited. He played 24 games before he moved on to

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

for £60,000 in February 1980. During the 1982-83 season, he formed a partnership with Peter Skipper in defence, making 43 appearances, as Hull won promotion from the Fourth Division. He was on the losing side in the

1984 Associate Members' Cup final The 1984 Associate Members' Cup final was the inaugural final of the Associate Members' Cup, the domestic football cup competition for teams from the Third and Fourth Divisions. The match was held at Boothferry Park in Hull on 24 May 1984 and ...

and the following season he was involved in Hull's promotion to the Second Division. He made 182 appearances for Hull before retiring through injury to his pelvis. 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 Centr ...

Coaching career

Roberts became a

driving instructor A driving instructor is a person who is hired by a new driver who is learning how to improve their skills - often for an upcoming practical test. Different countries have different rules regarding permits and other regulations. Driving instructors ...

before starting his coaching career at Hull City, where he was reunited with manager

Colin Appleton Colin Harry Appleton (7 March 1936 – 31 May 2021) was an English footballer and manager. He was captain of the celebrated Leicester side nicknamed the "ice kings" which chased the double in 1962–63 and he also captained the club to their f ...

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 ...

at Ayr United 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 level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

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 association football, footballer who played top-flight football in both the Netherlands and England as a midfielder. He made one appearance for the Netherlands natio ...

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

External links

On Cloud Seven: 579 Dale Roberts

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 20th-century English sportsmen