Ken Roberts (footballer, born 1936)
- For other persons named Ken(neth) Roberts, see Ken(neth) Roberts
 |
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kenneth Owen Roberts | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1951–1953 | Wrexham | 1 | (0) |
| 1953–58 | Aston Villa | 38 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1968–1976 | Chester | ||
| c.1981–1984 | Oswestry Town | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Kenneth Owen Roberts (born March 27, 1936, Cefn Mawr near Wrexham) was a professional footballer with Wrexham and Aston Villa[1] who later achieved managerial success with Chester.
Playing career
Roberts made his solitary Football League appearance for Wrexham when aged just 15 in 1951-52 during a player availability crisis. At 15 years and 158 days old, he equalled the 1929 record of Bradford Park Avenue's Albert Geldard; this record stood until beaten by Reuben Noble-Lazarus of Barnsley in 2008. Two years later he joined Villa and added 38 league outings and three goals to his tally[1] before retiring due to a knee injury.
Managerial career
Roberts became manager of Chester in March 1968[2] following the departure of Peter Hauser. Chester had never won a Football League promotion when Roberts arrived and six years later this was still the case, having missed out by a single point in 1970-71. That was to change in 1974-75 as Chester finished fourth in Division Four and won promotion on goal average. The season was though best remembered for Chester's incredible Football League Cup run, as they disposed of Leeds United and Newcastle United to reach the semi-finals before suffering a 5-4 aggregate loss to Roberts' former club Aston Villa.
Roberts steered the club to a mid-table finish the following season in Division Three, although his time as manager ended in September 1976.[2]