Graham Paul Roberts (born 3 July 1959) is an English retired

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 ...

and manager who played as a defender for numerous clubs including

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

(where he won 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 ...

and the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

), Rangers (where he won the Scottish League and

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

), Chelsea (where he won the Second Division) and

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. He was also capped six times by

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 ...

. He subsequently served as the head coach of the Pakistan national team and Nepal national team.

Playing career

Early career

Roberts was born in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, and 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 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 March 1977. He was sold to Dorchester Town where he impressed before joining local rivals Weymouth. From there he was sold to

in May 1980 for £35,000.

Tottenham Hotspur

Roberts was a member of the successful

side of the early 1980s, winning the FA Cup in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

and

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

. With

Steve Perryman Stephen John Perryman MBE (born 21 December 1951) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. He is best-known for his successes with Tottenham Hotspur during the 1970s and early 1980s. He has won t ...

suspended, Roberts captained the side as Tottenham won the 1984 UEFA Cup, scoring in the second leg of the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

Rangers

He moved to Rangers in 1986 for £450,000 and won the

Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...

in his first season and the

a year later. Whilst at Rangers he was involved in a controversial

Old Firm derby The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded in ...

at Ibrox Park on 17 October 1987. During a very bad-tempered match three players were sent off and in the aftermath Roberts, his team-mates

Terry Butcher Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps in a ten-year international career that feature ...

and

Chris Woods Christopher Charles Eric Woods (born 14 November 1959) is an English football coach and former professional footballer, who is goalkeeping coach for the Scotland national team. As a player, he was a goalkeeper (association football), goalke ...

and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

player Frank McAvennie were all charged with conduct likely to provoke a breach of the peace. McAvennie was found not guilty, while Roberts was found

not proven Not proven (, ) is a verdict available to a court of law in Scotland. Under Scots law, a criminal trial may end in one of three verdicts, one of conviction ("guilty") and two of acquittal ("not proven" and "not guilty").The Scottish criminal jur ...

, although Butcher and Woods were both convicted and fined. During the match Roberts, who had taken over as goalkeeper after Woods was sent off, was involved in a second controversy when he "conducted" Rangers supporters in a rendition of "

The Sash "The Sash" ( Roud 4796) also known as "The Sash My Father Wore") is a ballad from Northern Ireland commemorating the victory of King William III in the Williamite War in Ireland in 1690–1691. The lyrics mention the 1689 Siege of Derry, the 1 ...

", although Roberts would subsequently claim that he did not realise they were singing that song, a traditional

Ulster loyalist Ulster loyalism is a strand of Unionism in Ireland, Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland (and formerly all of I ...

anthem, when he made the gesture.

Chelsea

He joined Chelsea in August 1988 for £475,000 and helped the side emphatically win the Second Division championship in 1988–89.

West Bromwich Albion

He later moved to

, where he played out the remainder of his professional career.

International career

Roberts won six

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for

Coaching career

Roberts was manager of Enfield from 1992 until 1994, and went on to manage Yeovil Town between 1995 and 1998. He was later manager of Chesham United during the 1998–99 season. He was appointed manager to Hertford Town in 2000, but left in February 2001 when he became manager of

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

club Boreham Wood. Despite leading the club to Division One title, he resigned from the post in July. He was then appointed manager of Carshalton Athletic, who he guided to the Isthmian League Division One South title in 2002–03 before leaving the club. Roberts briefly managed Braintree Town at the end of the 2003–04 season. 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

in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, Earlier in the season, Clyde took Rangers to extra time at

Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers, Ibrox is the third-largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated ca ...

in the

. Roberts was sacked by Clyde in August 2006 after allegations he made racist remarks. An employment tribunal found that the allegations were "either highly exaggerated or possibly not true" and awarded Roberts £32,000 compensation for unfair dismissal. In September 2010, he was hired as a consultant to the

Pakistan national football team The Pakistan national football team () represents Pakistan in men's international Association football, football in FIFA-authorized events and is controlled by the Pakistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Pakistan. Paki ...

to assist the coaching staff for the 2010 Asian Games. Roberts was appointed as a coaching consultant under head coach Akhtar Mohiuddin. Eventually Roberts parted ways and Akhtar was fired by the Pakistan Football Federation. 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 Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup.

Honours

As a player

Tottenham Hotspur *

: 1980–81, 1981–82 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...

(shared) *

: 1983–84 Rangers *

Scottish Football League Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League Scottish Football League First D ...

: 1986–87 *

: 1987–88 Chelsea *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

: 1988–89 Individual * Chelsea Player of the Year: 1989 *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 1988–89 Second Division

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Graham 1959 births Footballers from Southampton Living people English men's footballers Chelsea F.C. players Dorchester Town F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Slough Town F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Chesham United F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Football League players National League (English football) players England men's international footballers England men's B international footballers English football managers English expatriate football managers Enfield F.C. managers Chesham United F.C. managers Yeovil Town F.C. managers Hertford Town F.C. managers Boreham Wood F.C. managers Carshalton Athletic F.C. managers Braintree Town F.C. managers Clyde F.C. managers Pakistan national football team managers Expatriate football managers in Pakistan Nepal national football team managers Scottish Football League managers English expatriate sportspeople in Pakistan Men's association football defenders UEFA Europa League–winning players English expatriate sportspeople in Nepal