Bobby Roberts

Robert Roberts (born 2 September 1940) is a Scottish former football player and manager who played as a midfielder.

Playing career He joined Motherwell from the Edinburgh Norton junior club, and went on to make almost 100 league appearances for the Steelmen. He was made player of the year by the supporter's association for 1962.

Roberts moved to play in the Football League with Leicester City for the 1963–64 season. He went on to play 230 league matches for the club, and also appeared in the 1969 FA Cup Final and the second leg of the 1965 Football League Cup final. On one occasion, he played as a goalkeeper at Old Trafford for 10 or 15 minutes when Peter Shilton was injured. He subsequently transferred to Mansfield Town.

Managerial career Roberts moved into coaching with a brief stint as player-coach with Coventry City, and then in June 1975 he was appointed as manager of Colchester United. He remained at the club for seven years, and led them to promotion to the Football League Third Division in the 1976–77 season.

Roberts also managed Wrexham from 1982 to 1985 and Grimsby Town from 1987 to 1988, relinquishing the role to Alan Buckley. Whilst managing Wrexham, his starting goalkeeper was injured for a 1983–84 Welsh Cup 3rd round tie against Worcester City on 29 November 1983, so he had to decide whether to play his reserve goalkeeper, who was a 16-year-old, or to put his own boots at the age of 43, and after choosing the latter, he helped his side to a 1–1 draw. He still holds this record by a large margin, since the next closest is Ben Foster, aged 40. Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Oxford City.

Managerial statistics

Honours Leicester City FA Cup runner-up: 1968–69 Football League Cup runner-up: 1964–65