Graham Paul Roberts (born 3 July 1959) is an English retired
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
and manager who played as a
defender for numerous clubs including
Tottenham Hotspur (where he won the
FA Cup and the
UEFA Cup),
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
(where he won the
Scottish League and
Scottish League Cup),
Chelsea (where he won the
Second Division) and
West Bromwich Albion. He was also
capped six times by
England. He subsequently served as the head coach of the
Pakistan national team and
Nepal national team.
Playing career
Early career
Roberts was born in
Southampton, and joined his local club,
Southampton F.C
Southampton Football Club () is an English professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, which competes in the . Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, before which they were based at The Dell. The club play in ...
, as an associate schoolboy in October 1973, but failed to make the grade and was released, joining
Portsmouth in March 1977. He was sold to
Dorchester Town
Dorchester Town Football Club are a semi-professional football club, based in Dorchester, Dorset, England. They currently play in the .
The club is affiliated to the Dorset County Football Association and is a FA chartered Standard club. They ...
where he impressed before joining local rivals
Weymouth. From there he was sold to
Tottenham Hotspur in May 1980 for £35,000.
Tottenham Hotspur
Roberts was a member of the successful
Tottenham Hotspur side of the early 1980s, winning the FA Cup in
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
and
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
. With
Steve Perryman
Stephen John Perryman MBE (born 21 December 1951) is an English former professional footballer who is best-known for his successes with Tottenham Hotspur during the 1970s and early 1980s. He has won the FA Cup, League Cup, and UEFA Cup all twi ...
suspended, Roberts captained the side as Tottenham won the
1984 UEFA Cup, scoring in the second leg of the
final against
Anderlecht
Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...
.
Rangers
He moved to
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
in 1986 for
£450,000 and won the
Scottish Premier Division
The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) Th ...
in his first full season and the
Scottish League Cup a year later. Whilst at Rangers he was involved in a controversial
Old Firm derby
The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
at
Ibrox Park
Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of .
O ...
on 17 October 1987. During
a very bad-tempered match three players were sent off and in the aftermath Roberts, his team-mates
Terry Butcher and
Chris Woods and
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
player
Frank McAvennie were all charged with conduct likely to provoke a breach of the peace. McAvennie was found not guilty, while Roberts was found
not proven, although Butcher and Woods were both convicted and fined. During the course of the match Roberts, who had
taken over as goalkeeper after Woods was sent off, was involved in a second controversy when he "conducted" Rangers supporters in a rendition of "
The Sash
"The Sash" (also known as "The Sash My Father Wore") is a ballad from the Irish province of Ulster commemorating the victory of King William III in the Williamite War in Ireland in 1690–1691. The lyrics mention the 1689 Siege of Derry, the 1689 ...
", although Roberts would subsequently claim that he did not realise they were singing that song, a traditional
Ulster loyalist anthem, when he made the gesture.
Chelsea
He joined
Chelsea in August 1988 for £475,000 and helped the side emphatically win the
Second Division championship in
1988–89.
West Bromwich Albion
He later moved to
West Bromwich Albion, where he played out the remainder of his professional career.
International career
Roberts won six
caps for
England.
Coaching career
Roberts was manager of
Enfield from 1992 until 1994, and went on to manage
Yeovil Town between 1995 and 1998. He was later manager of
Chesham United
Chesham United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England. Nicknamed "the Generals", they are currently members of the and play at the Meadow.
History
The club was established in 1917 by a merger o ...
during the 1998–99 season. He was appointed manager to
Hertford Town in 2000, but left in February 2001 when he became manager of
Isthmian League
The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs.
Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...
club
Boreham Wood. Despite leading the club to Division One title, he resigned from the post in July. He was then appointed manager of
Carshalton Athletic
Carshalton Athletic Football Club is an English football club based in Carshalton in the London Borough of Sutton. They currently play in the and are based at the War Memorial Sports Ground. The club also field a women's team playing in the Lo ...
, who he guided to the Isthmian League Division One South title in 2002–03 before leaving the club. Roberts briefly managed
Braintree Town
Braintree Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Braintree, Essex, England. They are currently members of and play at Cressing Road.
History
The club was formed on 24 September 1898 as Manor Works, the works team o ...
at the end of the
2003–04 season.
In June 2005, Roberts was appointed manager of
Clyde. He only had three players under contract, and held open trials in an attempt to get new players. Roberts gave the supporters their greatest day in years, when his Clyde side defeated
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
in the
Scottish Cup in January 2006.
Earlier in the season, Clyde took
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
to extra time at
Ibrox Stadium in the
Scottish League Cup. Roberts was sacked by Clyde in August 2006 after allegations he made racist remarks.
An employment tribunal found that the allegations were "either highly exaggerated or possibly not true" and awarded Roberts £32,000 compensation for unfair dismissal.
In September 2010, he was hired as consultant to the
Pakistan national football team
The Pakistan national football team represents Pakistan association football in FIFA-authorized events and is controlled by the Pakistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Pakistan. Pakistan became a member of FIFA in 19 ...
to assist the coaching staff. Roberts was appointed as
head coach in the following month.
He then joined the
Nepal national football team
The Nepal national football team ( ne, नेपाल राष्ट्रिय फुटबल टोली) represents Nepal in FIFA, International men's association football, football, and is governed by the All Nepal Football Association ...
in January 2011. In March 2012, he stepped down as coach after a 3–0 defeat to
Turkmenistan in the
2012 AFC Challenge Cup
The 2012 AFC Challenge Cup was the fourth edition of the tournament, an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member nations that are mainly categorized as "emerging countries" in the defunct Vision Asia progra ...
.
Honours
As a player
Tottenham Hotspur
*
FA Cup:
1980–81,
1981–82
*
FA Charity Shield
The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
:
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
(shared)
*
UEFA Cup:
1983–84
Rangers
*
Scottish Football League Premier Division:
1986–87
*
Scottish League Cup:
1987–88
Chelsea
*
Football League Second Division:
1988–89
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Graham
1959 births
Footballers from Southampton
Living people
English footballers
Chelsea F.C. players
Dorchester Town F.C. players
Portsmouth F.C. players
Rangers F.C. players
Slough Town F.C. players
Southampton F.C. players
Stevenage F.C. players
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
Chesham United F.C. players
Weymouth F.C. players
Yeovil Town F.C. players
English Football League players
Scottish Football League players
National League (English football) players
England international footballers
England B international footballers
English football managers
English expatriate football managers
Enfield F.C. managers
Chesham United F.C. managers
Yeovil Town F.C. managers
Hertford Town F.C. managers
Boreham Wood F.C. managers
Carshalton Athletic F.C. managers
Braintree Town F.C. managers
Clyde F.C. managers
Pakistan national football team managers
Expatriate football managers in Pakistan
Nepal national football team managers
Scottish Football League managers
English expatriate sportspeople in Pakistan
Association football defenders
UEFA Cup winning players
Outfield association footballers who played in goal
FA Cup Final players
English expatriate sportspeople in Nepal