Kenneth Owen Roberts (27 March 1936 – 6 February 2021) was a Welsh 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 as a winger with

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

.Football League Stats - Aston Villa players
/ref> He later achieved managerial success with

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

Playing career

Roberts made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

debut for Wrexham in 1951, when aged just 15 years and 158 days old, equalling the 1929 record of Bradford Park Avenue's Albert Geldard for the youngest League player. This record stood until beaten by Reuben Noble-Lazarus of

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 2008. He later joined Aston Villa and added 38 league outings and three goals to his tally.

Managerial career

Roberts became manager of

in March 1968, and remained in charge until September 1976 when he became general manager.Roberts' Football League managerial career at Soccerbase
/ref> The highlight of this reign came in 1974–75, when Chester reached the

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

semi-finals and won promotion from

Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier L ...

. He later returned to the dugout as manager of Oswestry Town in 1983, spending a year in the role.Oswestry Town managers
/ref> He also coached at Wrexham and Roberts would later rejoin Chester as chief scout. Roberts died on 6 February 2021 aged 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Ken (Footballer) 1936 births 2021 deaths Welsh men's footballers Men's association football wingers Footballers from Wrexham English Football League players Wrexham A.F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Welsh football managers Chester City F.C. managers Oswestry Town F.C. managers Welsh football coaches Association football scouts