Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Graham Paul Roberts | ||
Date of birth | 3 July 1959 | ||
Place of birth | Southampton, England | ||
Playing position | Defender | ||
Youth career | |||
1973–1977 | Southampton | ||
1977–1978 | Portsmouth | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1978–1979 | Dorchester Town | 0 | (0) |
1979–1980 | Weymouth | 29 | (6) |
1980–1986 | Tottenham Hotspur | 209 | (23) |
1986–1988 | Rangers | 55 | (3) |
1988–1990 | Chelsea | 70 | (18) |
1990–1992 | West Brom | 39 | (6) |
1994–1995 | Stevenage Borough | 11 | (1) |
1995–1998 | Yeovil Town | 6 | (1) |
1998–1999 | Slough Town | 10 | (0) |
Total | 429 | (58) | |
National team | |||
1984 | England B | 1 | (0) |
1983–1984 | England | 6 | (0) |
Teams managed | |||
1992–1994 | Enfield | ||
1995–1998 | Yeovil Town | ||
1998–1999 | Chesham United | ||
2005–2006 | Clyde | ||
2010–2011 | Pakistan | ||
2011–2012 | Nepal | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Graham Paul Roberts (born 3 July 1959) is an English retired footballer and manager who played as a defender for numerous clubs including Tottenham Hotspur (where he won the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup), Rangers (where he won the Scottish League and Scottish League Cup), Chelsea (where he won the Second Division) and West Bromwich Albion. He was also capped six times by England. He subsequently served as the head coach of the Pakistan national team and Nepal national team.
Roberts was born in Southampton, 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 in March 1977. 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. Whilst at Rangers he was involved in a controversial Old Firm derby 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 and Chris Woods and Celtic F.C. player Frank McAvennie were all charged with conduct likely to provoke a breach of the peace. Both Roberts and McAvennie had their cases adjudged not proven, although Butcher and Woods were both convicted and fined. During the course of the match Roberts, who had replaced Woods as goalkeeper after Woods was sent off, was involved in a second controversy when he "conducted" Rangers supporters in a rendition of "The Sash", although Roberts would subsequently claim that he did not realise they were singing that song, a traditional Ulster loyalist anthem, when he made the gesture.