Kevin Roberts (born 17 August 1989) is an English professional

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 ...

who plays as a defender for

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

club Chester.

Early life

Roberts was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, Merseyside.

Career

Chester City

Roberts started his career in Chester City's youth system in 2003, signing a professional contract in January 2007. His first involvement in the first team came as an unused substitute in a 2–0 away defeat to Lincoln City on 5 May 2007. He made his first-team debut as a substitute against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

first round tie on 14 August 2007 at home. After the match ended goalless, Roberts stepped up to take a penalty in the shoot-out but saw his effort saved as Chester went out 4–2 on penalties. Four days later he made his Football League debut in a 2–1 win at

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, when he played the whole match. Roberts' rise to prominence continued on 1 September 2007, when he came off the bench to score Chester's equaliser in a 1–1 draw at

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

. His next goal enhanced his reputation further, as he scored a stunning volley in Chester's 2–2 derby draw with

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

on 25 November 2007. He went on to play regularly in the team for the remainder of the campaign, with several youth team contemporaries such as

Paul McManus Paul James McManus (born 22 April 1990) is an English footballer. Career McManus was a product of Chester City's youth system and a prolific scoring record for the youth and reserve sides persuaded Bobby Williamson to hand McManus a professio ...

, Shaun Kelly and Glenn Rule joining him in the team. The following season again brought a regular starting place in the team in a defensive position, in a campaign that ended in relegation from

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

. He remained with the club as they began the following season in the

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-professi ...

. All Chester City players' statistics for the 2009/10 season were expunged after Chester were expelled from the Conference Premier for breaking league regulations.

Cambridge United

Roberts joined

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

in February 2010 after his contract with Chester was terminated, signing a contract until the end of the season. Roberts signed a one-year contract extension at Cambridge United during the summer of 2010. Following a difficult season in which Cambridge battled relegation,

Martin Ling Martin Ling (born 15 July 1966) is an English football manager and former player currently director of football for Leyton Orient. He played in over 100 Football League matches for each of Exeter City, Southend United, Swindon Town and Leyto ...

was sacked and replaced by new manager

Jez George Jeremy "Jez" George (born 24 January 1970) is a former English football manager who was Chief Executive Officer for Cambridge United in the Football League Two. He was also a prominent figure in the Cambridge United Youth & Community Trust. He has ...

, who signed Roberts to a further years contract for the 2011/12 season and reaffirmed his place as the club's first choice right back. Following a barren first 18 months at the club, Roberts scored his first goal for Cambridge in the club's 3–0 home victory against

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

, going on to add another two goals in his next three appearances. On 4 October 2013, Roberts joined

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

club Brackley Town on a one-month

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

. He was released by Cambridge on 27 May 2014.

FC Halifax Town

He signed for Conference Premier club

F.C. Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 seaso ...

on 1 July 2014.

Wrexham

On 20 July 2017, Roberts signed for

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

club

on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He was released on 8 May 2019.

Chester

On 24 May 2019, Roberts signed for

club Chester on a one-year deal.

Career statistics

Honours

Cambridge United *

play-offs: 2013–14 * FA Trophy: 2013–14 F.C. Halifax Town *

play-offs: 2016–17 * FA Trophy: 2015–16

References

External links

Kevin Roberts profile
at the Wrexham A.F.C. website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Kevin 1989 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Men's association football utility players Chester City F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Brackley Town F.C. players FC Halifax Town players Wrexham A.F.C. players Chester F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players