Dale Roberts
Roberts playing for Rushden & Diamonds in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth (1986-10-22)22 October 1986
Place of birth Horden, County Durham, England
Date of death 14 December 2010(2010-12-14) (aged 24)
Place of death Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, England
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
Sunderland
2003–2005 Middlesbrough
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2009 Nottingham Forest 0 (0)
2006 → Eastwood Town (loan) 10 (0)
2006–2007 → Alfreton Town (loan) 42 (0)
2008 → Rushden & Diamonds (loan) 13 (0)
2008–2009 → Rushden & Diamonds (loan) 14 (0)
2009–2010 Rushden & Diamonds 61 (0)
Total 140 (0)
International career
2009–2010 England C 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Dale Roberts (22 October 1986 – 14 December 2010) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Roberts started his career in his native North-East with the academy sides at Sunderland and Middlesbrough before he moved to Nottingham Forest. He failed to make Forest's first team and had loans spells with Eastwood Town and Alfreton Town. He had two more loan spells both with Rushden & Diamonds before joining the Conference National side on a permanent deal in 2009. He won the club's player of the season in 2008–09. He also won six caps for the England C team, winning the 2009–10 player of the year, before his death by suicide at the age of 24.

Club career

Roberts was born in Horden, County Durham.[1] His mother was Isabella.[2] He played for Cleveland Juniors Football Club and attended Easington Comprehensive School with fellow academy footballer Adam Johnson.[3] He was with the Sunderland and Middlesbrough football academies,[4] joining the latter in 2003 as a scholar and was part of Boro's FA Youth Cup winning squad in 2004 as back-up to David Knight.[1]

Roberts began his senior career with Nottingham Forest after signing as a professional in 2005.[1] He joined local Northern Premier League First Division side Eastwood Town on loan in March 2006,[5] where he made 10 appearances.[6] He joined Conference North club Alfreton Town on a season-long loan for the 2006–07 season in July,[7] which he finished with 42 appearances.[8]

He joined Conference National team Rushden & Diamonds on a one-month loan on 24 January 2008,[9] which was extended for a second month in February.[10] He made 19 first team appearances for the club, including the Conference League Cup Final.[5] Roberts rejoined Rushden for a second loan spell in October 2008 as cover for Alan Marriott who was out with a stomach injury that needed surgery.[5] The loan was extended until January 2009 and he finished the spell with 18 appearances, keeping five clean sheets, and subsequently signed permanently at Nene Park on 2 January 2009.[5][11] He was named Rushden's player of the season in 2008–09.

International career

Roberts' performances for Rushden & Diamonds during the 2008–09 season earned him international recognition. He made his debut for the England C team against Malta.[5]

During the 2009–10 season, Roberts played in all four England C games, and was voted the England C player of the season. His last appearance for England C, and in fact in all senior football, came against Wales on 14 September 2010.[12]

Personal life

Roberts was engaged to Lindsey Cowan, but the pair split in May 2010 after revelations she had been having an affair with Roberts' teammate Paul Terry.[13] Later in the year, Roberts and Cowan resumed their relationship and were still engaged to be married at the time of Roberts' death.[14]

Death

On 14 December 2010, just hours before he was due to play in an FA Trophy match against his former club Eastwood Town, it was announced that Roberts had died. The match was subsequently postponed.[15] Roberts was found by Northamptonshire Police at his home in Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire; they said that they were not treating the circumstances as suspicious.[16] The club's FA Youth Cup tie the following day was postponed as was the following first team game against Eastbourne Borough.[16] The cause of death was reported to be suicide by hanging.[17] At an inquest opened at the end of the week, deputy coroner Rodney Haig gave cause of death as asphyxia.[18] Following Roberts' death, Rushden retired their number one shirt.[19] Coroner Anne Pember recorded a suicide verdict at the closing of Roberts' inquest, which heard the goalkeeper had killed himself after struggling to come to terms with an injury and national media speculation about his fiancée's affair with Paul Terry.[2]

Roberts' number one jersey was also retired by phoenix club AFC Rushden & Diamonds. However, in 2015, Southern Football League rules meant that they had to register the number to a player, despite an appeal to The FA.[20] AFC Rushden's appeal was successful.[21]

Career statistics

Club Season League[A] FA Cup League Cup Other[B] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Nottingham Forest 2005–06[22] 0000000000
2006–07[23] 0000000000
2007–08[24] 0000000000
2008–09[25] 0000000000
Total 0000000000
Eastwood Town (loan) 2005–06[6] 100000000100
Alfreton Town (loan) 2006–07[26] 420000000420
Rushden & Diamonds (loan) 2007–08[27] 130000060190
2008–09[28] 140100030180
Rushden & Diamonds 200000010210
2009–10[29] 330000040370
2010–11[30] 8000000080
Total 88010001401030
Career totals 140010001401550

Footnotes

A. ^ The "League" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Football Conference and Northern Premier League.
B. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Conference League Cup, FA Trophy and play-offs.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Nannestad, Ian (18 December 2010). "PFA tribute to young keeper who passed away this week". Professional Footballers' Association. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Dale was so depressed". Evening Telegraph. Northampton. 18 November 2011. Archived from the original on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  3. ↑ Engelbrecht, Gavin (17 December 2010). "England and Manchester City star tells of his torment". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  4. ↑ "Goalkeeper's death shock". The Northern Echo. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Player Profiles". Rushden & Diamonds F.C. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  6. 1 2 "Player Details: Season 2005–2006". SoccerFactsUK. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  7. ↑ "Alfreton Move For 'Keeper". Nottingham Forest F.C. 26 July 2006. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  8. ↑ "Dale Roberts :: Dale Roberts ::". www.zerozero.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  9. ↑ "Rushden bag Forest keeper on loan". BBC Sport. 24 January 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  10. ↑ "Veteran Bastock departs Diamonds". BBC Sport. 28 February 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  11. ↑ "Edinburgh takes up Diamonds role". BBC Sport. 20 October 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  12. ↑ Appleby, Mike (15 September 2010). "Fairclough's food for thought". The Football Association. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  13. ↑ Fricker, Martin (20 May 2010). "John Terry's brother Paul is having an affair with team-mate's girlfriend". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  14. ↑ "Death of Diamonds player Dale Roberts 'not suspicious'". BBC News. 15 December 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  15. ↑ "Rushden and Diamonds goalkeeper Dale Roberts dies". BBC News. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  16. 1 2 "Dale Roberts remembered by former clubs". BBC Sport. 15 December 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  17. ↑ "Dale Roberts 'upset' by talk of fiancee's alleged affair with Paul Terry". BBC News. 17 November 2011.
  18. ↑ "Inquest opened into death of footballer Dale Roberts". BBC News. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  19. ↑ "Justin Edinburgh: Dale touched our lives". Rushden & Diamonds F.C. 19 December 2010. Archived from the original on 19 December 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  20. ↑ "Dale Roberts: AFC Rushden & Diamonds 'not allowed tribute'". BBC Sport. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  21. ↑ "Victory for AFC Rushden & Diamonds over Dale Roberts appeal". The Non-League Paper. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  22. ↑ "Nottm Forest 2005/2006 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  23. ↑ "Nottm Forest 2006/2007 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  24. ↑ "Nottm Forest 2007/2008 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  25. ↑ "Nottm Forest 2008/2009 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  26. ↑ "Dale Roberts :: Dale Roberts ::". www.zerozero.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  27. ↑ "2007-2008 Rushden & Diamonds Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  28. ↑ "2008-2009 Rushden & Diamonds Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  29. ↑ "2009-2010 Rushden & Diamonds Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  30. ↑ "2010-2011 Rushden & Diamonds Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
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