John Roberts (Welsh footballer)

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Personal information
John Roberts
Full name	John Griffith Roberts
Date of birth	11 September 1946 (1946-09-11) (age 61)
Place of birth	Abercynon, Wales
Playing position	Defender
Youth clubs
1961–1963 1963–1964	Abercynon Athletic Swansea Town
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1964–1967 1967–1969 1969–1972 1972–1976 1976–1980 1980–1982 1982–1983	Swansea Town Northampton Town Arsenal Birmingham City Wrexham Hull City Oswestry Town	037 (16) 062 (11) 059 0(4) 066 0(1) 145 0(5) 026 0(1)
National team
	Wales U-21 Wales U-23 Wales	001 005 022 0(0)
Teams managed
1982–1983	Oswestry Town (player manager)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

John Griffith Roberts (born 11 September 1946) is a Welsh former footballer who made nearly 400 appearances in the Football League and won 22 caps for Wales.

Born in Abercynon, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Roberts played football for local club Abercynon Athletic while working as a railway fireman. He joined Swansea City as an apprentice in 1963, turning professional in 1964. Initially a striker who later switched to centre half, he moved to Northampton Town in 1967 and then Arsenal in 1969. He played for Arsenal for three seasons, including 18 appearances in the 1970-71 season, when Arsenal won the First Division title, thus earning him a championship medal. Roberts however did not play in the FA Cup Final the same year, which Arsenal also won to complete the Double.

Roberts left Arsenal in 1972, having played a total of 81 matches, scoring two goals. He went on to have spells at Birmingham City, Wrexham and Hull City before trying his hand as player-manager of Oswestry Town. He also won 22 caps with Wales.

He went on to work as a stationery salesman and as a driving instructor.

[edit] References

Caught In Time: Arsenal 1971. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books, p. 120. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.

Persondata
NAME	Roberts, John Griffith
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Professional footballer
DATE OF BIRTH	1946-09-11
PLACE OF BIRTH	Abercynon, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Glamorgan, Wales
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH