John Roberts (soccer player, 1946)

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John Roberts
Personnel
Surname John Griffith Roberts
birthday September 11, 1946
place of birth Abercynon ,  Wales
date of death 4th January 2016
position Center-back , striker
Juniors
Years station
Abercynon Athletic
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1964-1967 Swansea Town 37 (16)
1967-1969 Northampton Town 62 (11)
1969-1972 Arsenal FC 59 ( 04)
1972-1976 Birmingham City 66 ( 01)
1976-1980 Wrexham AFC 145 ( 05)
1980-1982 Hull City 26 ( 01)
1982-1983 Oswestry Town
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
Wales U-21 1 ( 0?)
Wales U-23 5 ( 0?)
1971-1976 Wales 22 ( 00)
Stations as a trainer
Years station
1982-1983 Oswestry Town
1 Only league games are given.

John Griffith Roberts (born September 11, 1946 in Abercynon , † January 4, 2016 ) was a Welsh football player . Initially as a striker and later mostly on the defensive, the 22-time Welsh international played for Arsenal in the early 1970s and was part of the 1971 championship team .

Athletic career

After first experience at the local club Abercynon Athletic , Roberts, who had worked as a firefighter before starting his professional career, moved to Swansea Town in July 1964 . There he received his first probation opportunities only after the 1965 relegation to the third English division and although he scored thirteen goals in the 1966/67 season, the next relegation followed. A short time later he returned with his move to Northampton Town in the third English division, but two years later he suffered the next sporting setback, when it went down for Northampton in 1969 to the fourth division .

In the spring of 1969, Roberts finally moved to Arsenal for a transfer fee of £ 35,000 . In the defensive formation of the "Gunners" remained the newcomer, who as a former striker had meanwhile been retrained as a defender, but mostly only the role of the substitute and in addition to the eleven league appearances in his first season 1969/70, he stayed in all games on the way to Victory in the trade fair cup outside. When Arsenal won the "double" from the English championship and FA Cup in the following season 1970/71 , he was also not represented in the cup games. His contribution at the beginning of the season was limited to the representation of Frank McLintock and Peter Simpson - the 18 league games were enough to officially receive a championship medal. Although he barely exceeded his personal yield in the following year and even scored three goals, the prospect of a regular place remained vague and shortly after the start of the 1972/73 season Arsenal let him move on to first division rivals Birmingham City for around £ 150,000 in October 1972 . In between, he had made it to the Welsh senior team regularly and between 1971 and 1976 he made a total of 22 international matches.

The "Blues", who had only recently been promoted to the English elite class, had paid a six-figure sum for a player for the first time during this transfer and so it was not surprising that the newcomer became a fixture in the team of coach Freddie Goodwin by the turn of the year at the latest has been. However, luck turned after the second season 1973/74 with a total of 36 competitive appearances and Roberts lost the connection with just 15 league games in two years. So he left Birmingham in August 1976 for his Welsh homeland and he found a new employer with AFC Wrexham , who played in the third English division .

In Wrexham Roberts celebrated some respectable successes. He played 125 league games within three years, rose to the second division with the club in 1978 and won the Welsh Cup . He qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup , but failed there with his team in the first round to HNK Rijeka (0: 3, 2: 0). At the beginning of the 1980s, he let his career end first at Hull City (1980-1982) and later at Oswestry Town . At the last-named club he was the player-coach until 1983 .

Title / Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Arsenal Double winner John Roberts dies aged 69
  2. ^ Matthias Weinrich, Der Europapokal, Volume 1, page 320
  3. ^ Arsenal: The Official Illustrated History 1886-2008, p. 129
personal data
SURNAME Roberts, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Roberts, John Griffith
BRIEF DESCRIPTION welsh football player
DATE OF BIRTH September 11, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Abercynon
DATE OF DEATH 4th January 2016