Frank Roberts

Frank Roberts (3 April 1893 – 23 May 1961) was an English professional footballer who played for Manchester City between 1922 and 1928. He could play either as an inside forward or a centre forward.

Early life Roberts was born in Sandbach and began his football career playing for Sandbach Villa and Sandbach Ramblers. He also guested for Brentford. Roberts was suspended and transfer-listed by Bolton during the 1922–23 season 'for taking over one of the principal hotels in that town'. He scored 80 goals in 168 appearances for the club.

In October 1922, Manchester City paid £3,400 for him (a huge sum at the time). He scored his first goal for City in a 2–0 victory over his former team Bolton Wanderers. He scored 10 goals in his first season with the team and was City's third highest goalscorer behind Horace Barnes who scored 21 and Tommy Johnson who scored 15. In the 1923–24 season Roberts scored 14 league goals and 4 goals in the FA Cup including a brace against Halifax Town in a second-round replay. City reached the semi-final of that year's competition but were defeated 2–0 by Newcastle United. In the 1924–25 season he scored 31 league goals, making him the First Division's top scorer. Roberts' goalscoring exploits earned him a call up to the England team. Roberts made his début for England in a 4–0 victory over Belgium in December 1924 with braces from Joe Bradford and Billy Walker securing England victory. Roberts earned four caps in total for his national team. In round 5 of the FA Cup in 1925–26 he scored 5 goals as Manchester City demolished Crystal Palace 11–4. Roberts' former team, Bolton Wanderers, defeated City 1–0 in the final with David Jack scoring the only goal. Roberts was City's top scorer in the league that season with 21 goals. In the 1927–28 season Roberts was City's top scorer with 20 goals as the team came first in the Second Division earning them promotion into the First Division. The team were aided in their endeavour for promotion by the acquisition of Eric Brook and Fred Tilson from Barnsley.

In the 1928–29 season City finished eighth in the First Division, seven points behind champions Sheffield Wednesday. Roberts made only 14 league appearances that season and scored 6 goals. In the same season, his teammate Tommy Johnson scored 38 league goals for the team which is a club record. The season was to be Roberts' last with Manchester City. In total he made 237 appearances for City and scored 130 goals. He ended his career playing for Manchester Central and Horwich RMI.

International goals Date Venue Opponent Result Competition Scored 28 February 1925 Vetch Field, Swansea 2–1 British Home Championship 2

Honours Manchester City FA Cup runner-up: 1925–26