Quick Facts
Biography
Gary Paul Michael Roberts (born 5 April 1960 in Rhyl) is a Welsh professional former football forward and winger. As a player, he is best remembered for his six years in the Football League with Brentford, for whom he made over 220 appearances. After retiring from football Roberts turned to management, managing non-league clubs Baldock Town and St Albans City before being appointed Cambridge City manager in 2003, remaining in the role until 2016.
Club career
Brentford
Roberts began his career at Isthmian League Division One side Wembley and secured a move to the Football League with Division Three side Brentford in 1980. He made 19 appearances and scored three goals in the 1980–81 season. Following the departure of David Crown, Roberts was a regular during the following season, playing as a left winger, despite being right-footed. He also served as the club's PFA representative. Roberts came to the fore during the 1982–83 season, scoring 17 goals and amassing a career-high 58 appearances. He followed up with another 15 goals in 1983–84 and won the Midweek Sports Special Goal of the Month award for his finish in a 4–1 League Cup second round first leg defeat to Division One giants Liverpool.
Roberts continued to find the net during the 1984–85 season, scoring a hattrick against Gillingham and scoring four in the 6–0 rout of Newport County in the Football League Trophy Southern Area final, which included a three-minute hattrick either side of half time. Despite his form, Roberts was transfer-listed by manager Frank McLintock and turned down a move to Bradford City. A move to fellow Division Three side Derby County prior to the start of the 1985–86 season was scuppered by an ankle injury. Roberts remained at Griffin Park and managed just three appearances during the season, before retiring from professional football at the end of the campaign. Roberts made 224 appearances and scored 63 goals during his six years with the Bees. He received a testimonial in May 1989, earning nearly £7,000.
Non-league football
Roberts dropped into non-league football to sign for Conference side Barnet in 1986. He scored six goals during the 1986–87 season, which saw the Bees narrowly miss out on promotion to the Football League after as finishing runners-up to Scarborough. Spells with other Conference sides Maidstone United and Welling United followed before Roberts dropped down to the Isthmian League Premier Division to sign for Hitchin Town towards the end of the 1987–88 season. He signed for St Albans City in summer of 1988, scoring three goals in his first five games before departing the club. Alternating spells with Stevenage Borough and Baldock Town followed from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. Spells with Southern League sides Cambridge City and Braintree Town followed, before Roberts retired from football in 1996 following a short stint with Bishop's Stortford.
International career
Roberts won one cap for the Wales U21 team.
Management career
Baldock Town
Roberts took over as joint-manager of former club Baldock Town in 1999. Working alongside Steve Cook, the pair managed the Southern League Division One East side until the club folded in 2001.
St Albans City
Roberts again returned to one of his former clubs, St Albans City, to take over alongside Steve Cook in 2001. A mid-table finish followed in the 2001–02 season and the pair were sacked in December 2002, with the club at the summit of the Isthmian League Premier Division.
Cambridge City
Roberts took over as manager of Cambridge City in January 2003. In what remained of the 2002–03 season, he managed to steer the club away from relegation from the Southern League Premier Division. An eight-place finish followed in 2003–04, before a restructuring of the non-league pyramid in 2004 saw the Lilywhites playing in the newly formed Conference South for the 2004–05 season. Roberts led the club to a second-place finish, but the season ended in heartbreak after defeat to Eastbourne Borough in the playoff semi-finals. Roberts kept City in the division for three further seasons, before suffering demotion back to the Southern League Premier Division in 2008, due to irregularities with the club's Milton Road ground. Over the following six seasons, Roberts guided City to five top-six finishes and a memorable run to the first round proper of the FA Cup in the 2012–13 season, taking League One club Milton Keynes Dons to a replay before being knocked out. He stepped down as manager at the end of the 2015–16 season.
Personal life
Roberts is a constable with the Hertfordshire Constabulary.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 1980–81 | Third Division | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 19 | 3 | |
| 1981–82 | 40 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 44 | 9 | |||
| 1982–83 | 45 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3 | — | 55 | 17 | |||
| 1983–84 | 41 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 15 | ||
| 1984–85 | 39 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 53 | 18 | ||
| 1985–86 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Total | 187 | 45 | 13 | 6 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 224 | 63 | ||
| St Albans City | 1988–89 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 3 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | ||
| Stevenage Borough | 1988–89 | Isthmian League Division Two North | 10 | 5 | — | — | — | 10 | 5 | |||
| 1989–90 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | |||
| Stevenage Borough | 1991–92 | Isthmian League Division One | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 16 | 7 | |
| Stevenage Borough Total | 28 | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 1 | 33 | 13 | |||
| Career total | 215 | 57 | 15 | 6 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 257 | 76 | ||
