Gary Roberts

Gary Steven Roberts (born 2 February 1987) is an English footballer who plays for Waggon & Horses as a deep-lying playmaker, he has been praised for his vision and ball distribution skills.

However, off the field he has struggled to control drink and gambling problems.

He started his career with Crewe Alexandra in 2003, and made 133 league and cup appearances over the next five years.

Roberts signed as a professional with Dario Gradi's Crewe Alexandra in 2004, on his 17th birthday, a few months after making his First Division debut for the club in a 3–1 win over Burnley on 26 December 2003.

He later made a second appearance for the club against Wimbledon.

He played a key part in the club's FA Youth Cup team which reached the semi-finals in 2004.

However, he missed much of the 2004–05 season with a serious knee injury, only returning to first team action for games against Sheffield United and West Ham United in March 2005.

Roberts established himself in the Crewe first team in the 2005–06 season, making 33 Championship appearances and scoring two goals – against Millwall and Hull City.

Roberts became a key player in Crewe's bid for promotion in the 2006–07 season, playing mostly as a midfielder.

He made nineteen appearances during the season, scoring three goals – against Swansea City, Nottingham Forest and Yeovil Town.

The first two goals came from the penalty spot, as he built his reputation as a solid penalty taker.

He also received the first red card of his professional career in October 2006, in a defeat at Bristol City.

He was dismissed for violent conduct after a challenge on Louis Carey, though the referee's decision was reported as 'harsh' and 'strange' by the Bristol City website.

That red card was the only sending off, and subsequent suspension, of the season for Crewe, as the club was awarded the 'Bobby Moore Fair Play award for outstanding conduct and discipline throughout the season'.

He scored the opening two goals of the 2007–08 season, in a 2–1 win over Brighton at the Alexandra Stadium.

This led to him being named on the League One 'Team of the Week'.

In 2007–08 his club once again had the best disciplinary record in the Football League.

Once again Roberts received the only Crewe suspension and red card of the season, when he was given a second yellow card in a heavy defeat to Doncaster Rovers.

He received four yellow cards in the season, all of which were for unsporting behaviour.

In 2008, he had a loan spell at Yeovil Town, before he joined the club permanently the following year.

His disciplinary problems off the pitch also first began to come to light, as he was left out of the squad for the March 2008 match with Nottingham Forest due to a "training ground incident".

In June 2008 Roberts was placed on the transfer list by Crewe.

Cardiff City were rumoured to be interested in signing Roberts, a fee of £150,000 was mentioned, but a transfer never materialised.

Instead he trained alone all summer before being given another chance by Crewe boss Steve Holland.

However, he failed to turn up at the club for pre-season training.

Roberts joined Yeovil Town on loan, initially for a four-month spell, in August 2008.

After impressing during his loan spell at Huish Park, Roberts completed a permanent transfer to Yeovil for a nominal fee on 31 October 2008, with the deal officially going through on 1 January 2009.

Roberts played 34 games for Yeovil during the 2008–09 season, scoring two goals.

He signed with Rotherham United in November 2009, having impressed on trial, before he was released in summer 2010.

Crewe, Yeovil and Rotherham all cited disciplinary problems as their reason for letting him go.

At the end of the season the club were relegated into League One, though Roberts was still given a new three-year contract, tying himself to the club until 2009.

He joined Port Vale in July 2010, having been handed a 'last chance' by manager Micky Adams.

His contract was terminated in December 2011, again due to a disciplinary issue, and he signed with Mansfield Town.

In January 2013 he joined Maltese club Floriana on loan.

He spent a short period out of the game before he joined Welsh Premier League side Gap Connah's Quay in January 2014.

He returned to Malta with Mosta in January 2015, coming back to England later in the year to play for Witton Albion.

He joined Welsh club Bangor City in June 2016, and then switched to Southport in July 2017.

He joined hometown club Chester six months later, where he spent close to three seasons, before joining Congleton Town in July 2021.

He switched to Runcorn Town in February 2022 and joined Welsh club Flint Mountain four months later.

In addition to his domestic career, he has also represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 levels.