Graham Roberts

Graham Roberts
Personal information
Full nameGraham Paul Roberts
Date of birth3 July 1959
Place of birthSouthampton, England
Playing positionDefender
Youth career
1973–1977Southampton
1977–1978Portsmouth
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1978–1979Dorchester Town0(0)
1979–1980Weymouth29(6)
1980–1986Tottenham Hotspur209(23)
1986–1988Rangers55(3)
1988–1990Chelsea70(18)
1990–1992West Brom39(6)
1994–1995Stevenage Borough11(1)
1995–1998Yeovil Town6(1)
1998–1999Slough Town10(0)
Total429(58)
National team
1984England B1(0)
1983–1984England6(0)
Teams managed
1992–1994Enfield
1995–1998Yeovil Town
2005–2006Clyde
2010–2011Pakistan
2011–2012Nepal
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Graham Paul Roberts (born 3 July 1959 in Southampton) is a retired English footballer and manager who played for numerous clubs, mainly in a defensive role. He most recently was coach for the Nepal national football team.

Playing career

English FA cup final, 1981. Here is Tottenham's Graham Roberts who lost three teeth, but who nonetheless refused to leave the field.

Roberts joined his local club, Southampton F.C, as an associate schoolboy in October 1973, but failed to make the grade and was released, joining Portsmouth in March 1977.[1] He was sold to Dorchester Town where he impressed before joining local rivals Weymouth. From there he was sold to Tottenham Hotspur in May 1980 for £35,000.

Roberts was a member of the successful Tottenham Hotspur side of the early 1980s, winning two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup in 1984, scoring in the second leg of the final against Anderlecht, and then scoring his penalty as Spurs won the final on a shootout. He moved to Rangers in 1986 for £450,000 and won the Scottish Premier Division in his first full season and the Scottish League Cup a year later. He joined Chelsea in August 1988 for £475,000 and helped the side emphatically win the Second Division championship in 1988–89. He later moved to West Bromwich Albion, where he played out the remainder of his professional career.

Roberts won six caps for England.[2]

Coaching career

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 in the Scottish Cup in January 2006.[3] Earlier in the season, Clyde took Rangers 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.[3] An employment tribunal found that the allegations were "either highly exaggerated or possibly not true" and awarded Roberts £32,000 compensation for unfair dismissal.[3]

In September 2010, he was hired as consultant to the Pakistan national football team to assist the coaching staff.[4] Roberts was appointed as head coach in the following month.[5]

He then joined the Nepal national football team in January 2011. In March 2012 he stepped down as coach after a 3-0 defeat to Turkmenistan in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup.[6]

Honours

As a player

Tottenham Hotspur
Rangers
Chelsea

References

  1. ↑ Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. p. 614. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
  2. ↑ "Graham Roberts England career". englandstats. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Ex-Clyde boss wins dismissal case". BBC News. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  4. ↑ Siddiqui, Abdul Hafeez (26 September 2010). "PFF to hire consultant and foreign coach". footballpakistan.com. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  5. ↑ "Former Tottenham hardman Graham Roberts becomes boss of Pakistan's national side". Daily Mail. 7 October 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  6. ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/men-a-youth/afc-challenge-cup/38311-npl-v-tkm-reaction