Frank Roberts (3 April 1893 – 23 May 1961) was 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 lea ...

who played for

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

between 1922 and 1928. He could play either as an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

or a

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

Early life

Roberts was born in

Sandbach Sandbach (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire East borough of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock, Cheshire, Wheelock. At the 2021 United Kingd ...

and began his football career playing for Sandbach Villa and Sandbach Ramblers. He was transferred to

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

and in 1914

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

paid £200 for his services. Roberts guested for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, scoring 18 goals in 19 appearances between 1917 and 1919. He also guested for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

. Roberts was suspended and transfer-listed by Bolton during the 1922–23 season 'for taking over one of the principal hotels in that town'. He scored 80 goals in 168 appearances for the club.

Manchester City

In October 1922,

paid £3,400 for him (a huge sum at the time). He scored his first goal for City in a 2–0 victory over his former team Bolton Wanderers. He scored 10 goals in his first season with the team and was City's third highest goalscorer behind Horace Barnes who scored 21 and Tommy Johnson who scored 15. In the 1923–24 season Roberts scored 14 league goals and 4 goals in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

including a brace against Halifax Town in a second-round replay. City reached the semi-final of that year's competition but were defeated 2–0 by

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

. In the 1924–25 season he scored 31 league goals, making him the First Division's top scorer. Roberts' goalscoring exploits earned him a call up to the

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

team. Roberts made his début for England in a 4–0 victory over

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in December 1924 with braces from Joe Bradford and Billy Walker securing England victory. Roberts earned four caps in total for his national team. In the

1925 British Home Championship Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

Roberts scored twice in a 2–1 victory against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Fred Keenor Frederick Charles Keenor (31 July 1894 – 19 October 1972) was a Welsh professional footballer. He began his career at his hometown side Cardiff City after impressing the club's coaching staff in a trial match in 1912 organised by his former ...

scored the goal for Wales. Roberts also played in England's 2–0 defeat to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

which secured the latter the championship that year.

Hughie Gallacher Hugh Kilpatrick Gallacher (2 February 1903 – 11 June 1957) was a Scottish people, Scottish association football, football player in the 1920s and 1930s. In 597 senior club games, Gallacher scored 419 goals, playing league football for Airdri ...

scored both goals for Scotland. Roberts won his last cap for England in a 3–2 victory over

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in May 1925. The French player,

Philippe Bonnardel Philippe Bonnardel (28 July 1899 – 17 February 1953) was a French international footballer. He is mostly known for his international career and his club stint at Red Star FC where he won three straight Coupe de France titles from 1921 to ...

scored an own goal in this game while

Vivian Gibbins William Vivian Talbot Gibbins (10 August 1901 – 21 November 1979) was an English amateur association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. West Ham and Clapton Born in Forest Gate, Gibbins joined ...

and Arthur Dorrell scored the other goals for England. He also made an appearance for the

Football League XI The English Football League XI was a representative side of the Football League. The team regularly played against the Scottish Football League XI and other national league select teams between 1891 and 1976. For a long period the annual fixture b ...

in March 1925 and scored two goals in a 4–3 victory over the

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

. In the 1925–26 season Roberts scored 9 goals in the FA Cup and Manchester City reached the final of that year's competition. In round 5 of the FA Cup in 1925–26 he scored 5 goals as Manchester City demolished

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

11–4. Roberts' former team, Bolton Wanderers, defeated City 1–0 in the final with David Jack scoring the only goal. Roberts was City's top scorer in the league that season with 21 goals. Two of these goals came in a record 6–1 victory against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

. Despite this victory and the acquisition of

Jimmy McMullan James McMullan (26 March 1895 – 28 November 1964) was a Scottish football player and manager. He won 16 Scotland caps as a player at half-back and was part of the famous ''" Wembley Wizards"'' side of 1928. Playing career Early life and T ...

from

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

, City came 21st in the league and were relegated to the Second Division. In the 1926–27 season Roberts scored 14 goals and City came third in the Second Division behind

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. In the 1927–28 season Roberts was City's top scorer with 20 goals as the team came first in the Second Division earning them promotion into the First Division. The team were aided in their endeavour for promotion by the acquisition of

Eric Brook Eric Fred Brook (27 November 1907 – 29 March 1965) was an English footballer who played in the outside left position. Brook was also an England international. He was a muscular player with 'one of the fiercest shots in pre-war football' p25 a ...

and

Fred Tilson Samuel Frederick Tilson (19 April 1904 – 21 November 1972) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre forward for England along with Barnsley, Manchester City, Northampton Town and York City. With the Sky Blues he won the 1 ...

from

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

. In the 1928–29 season City finished eighth in the First Division, seven points behind champions

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

. Roberts made only 14 league appearances that season and scored 6 goals. In the same season, his teammate Tommy Johnson scored 38 league goals for the team which is a club record. The season was to be Roberts' last with Manchester City. In total he made 237 appearances for City and scored 130 goals. He ended his career playing for Manchester Central and Horwich RMI.

Legacy

Roberts is listed as the sixteenth greatest ever City player in Ian Penney's book ''The Essential History of Manchester City''. p188

International goals

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Frank 1893 births 1961 deaths Sportspeople from Sandbach English men's footballers England men's international footballers Men's association football inside forwards English Football League players First Division/Premier League top scorers Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players West Ham United F.C. wartime guest players English Football League representative players Footballers from Cheshire Brentford F.C. wartime guest players Manchester Central F.C. players Leigh Genesis F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen