Herbie Roberts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Herbert "Herbie" Roberts (February 19, 1905 – June 19, 1944) was an English football player.
Born in Oswestry, Shropshire, Roberts first played as an amateur for his local club Oswestry Town, whilst working as a policeman. A tall, but quiet and unassuming right half, he was signed by Herbert Chapman's Arsenal in December 1926 for £200 and turned professional. He made his debut against Aston Villa on April 18, 1927, although he was not a regular for the first two seasons at the club.
Roberts' time came when Chapman converted him to a centre half, and he replaced Jack Butler in that position. In the new "WM" formation that Chapman pioneered, Roberts served as the tall "stopper" centre half in the middle of defence, which was then a new tactic, but soon became an ubiquitous position in English football. Nevertheless, at the time Roberts was often abused and pilloried by opposition fans for what they saw as overly negative play.
Roberts was a regular for Arsenal, and took part in many of the club's major successes of the 1930s (although he missed the 1930 FA Cup final with an injury). He won four First Division titles, and finally picked up an FA Cup medal in 1936 (having played in the side that lost the 1932 final). However, he broke his leg in a match early on in the 1937-38 season and was forced to retire. Arsenal won the First Division for a fifth time that season, but Roberts had only played 13 matches that season, one short of the minimum required for a medal.
In all he played 335 matches for Arsenal, scoring 5 goals. He won one cap for England, against Scotland on March 28, 1931.
Upon retiring he worked as a trainer to Arsenal's amateur side. When World War II broke out, Roberts joined the Royal Fusiliers, serving as a lieutenant. He died whilst on duty at the age of 39 from erysipelas; he was the most famous of the nine Arsenal players who perished in the war.
