Many years ago the idea came upon me to write a biography of former Arsenal and England footballer Herbert Roberts.
The origin of my interest was primarily based on a long ago family connection, his footballing path and that of my grandfather, George Sambrook, crossing during the early 1920s when they both played for Oswestry Town – a non-league team close to my hometown of Shrewsbury.
Aside from being team-mates the two were also close friends, their paths diverging when the pair received overtures to sign for Arsenal. My grandfather declined the offer for family reasons but ‘Herbie‘, as he was known, decided to give Highbury a go – where in an eleven year career between 1926 and 1937 he would make 335 senior appearances, winning four League Championship medals, was an FA Cup winner in 1936 (also a runner-up in 1932) and capped once by England.
Those are the statistics. In researching the book, the long-out-of-print ‘PRINCE of STOPPERS‘ (an epithet Roberts was given after breaking into the Arsenal team), it became clear he was a key figure in the development of British football.
At the outset what I knew of him was interesting but general. Roberts, somewhat misleadingly as it turned out, had gone down as the first ‘stopper’ centre-half, the linchpin of Arsenal’s controversial third-back game that forever altered the face of football.
But it was not until I made contact with some of his relatives and kindly given access to their collection of scrapbooks, programmes and newspaper cuttings, the whole picture began to appear.
There was far, far more to Herbert Roberts than the labels attached to him. In spite of what the reference books say he was not the first exponent of the defensive centre-half role, indeed claims have been made that some clubs were operating such a system before the First World War.
What is certain, however, is that Herbert Roberts redefined the notion of what a centre-half did, popularising the position to such an extent Arsenal’s version of the third-back game was copied the world over.
In the system devised by the great Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman, the centre-half was withdrawn to a central position between the two full-backs – hence the ‘third-back‘ tag – and for the first time was in direct opposition to the centre-forward.
Signed from Oswestry Town in December 1926 as a right-half, Roberts was converted by Chapman into a central defender and because he adapted with such great success, Arsenal had in place the foundation stone upon which their numerous triumphs of the 1930s were built.
As they collected one trophy after another Arsenal were acclaimed by their supporters, but found themselves with few friends beyond Highbury. They were thought defensive and lucky – a club whose success was built on their ability to outbid all others in the transfer market.
But they could refute all three allegations, citing Herbert Roberts as an example of why their critics were wide of the mark.
One observer wrote: ‘Roberts was no costly capture. He was young and unknown when Arsenal obtained him from Oswestry. Herbert Chapman wanted a rock on which attacking waves would break and he saw in the auburn-haired Shropshire lad the ideal fellow to carry his plan of campaign onto the field of play. Roberts had the physique and temperament for the job and he has done it well, carrying out orders faithfully, playing for the team rather than himself.’
The Arsenal team assembled by Chapman were individually gifted – but it was their collective blend of skill, spirit and strength that made them nigh-on invincible.
As they swept all-comers aside, Alex James provided the guile and Cliff Bastin offered directness – yet for inspiration they looked to the presence and authority of talisman Herbert Roberts. He became the symbol of their resilience and was synonymous with matches when Arsenal would be under pressure for long periods – only for the opposition to be thwarted by a stubborn defence he held together. Arsenal would then break with devastating consequences and from pressing hard for a goal, opponents would then find themselves torn apart by James, Bastin or Joe Hulme.
But it is Roberts, reliable and determined, who gave on-lookers their most vivid impressions of this wonderful Arsenal team.
In the mid-1930s one writer expressed these thoughts on the part Roberts had played in making Arsenal the force they were.
‘Think of Elisha Scott and you immediately think of Liverpool; think of Billy Gillespie and you think of nothing else but Sheffield United. Here’s another – Herbie Roberts. By the same process of thought your mind instantly gives you Arsenal. Not only by his long spell with them. He is absolutely part and parcel of their style. He’s one of the foundations upon which Arsenal have built their success. He was there before James, there before Hapgood and before Bastin. He’s still there – the Policeman, the Rock of Gibraltar, ginger-headed Herbie Roberts of – well, you know where of.’
For a player so revered – and one playing for the best team in the country – it seems strange, even now, that he won just one England cap. The England selectors were not particularly enamoured with the third-back game, but picked Roberts for a match against Scotland thinking the system that served Arsenal well would work immediately for England, just because he was in the team. Arsenal, however, had developed their formation over a two year period and it was rather optimistic to think England would adjust in 90 minutes to tactics it had taken even the imaginative Herbert Chapman time to perfect.
While his one appearance for England was an unhappy affair, it remains a travesty he was not given another chance – and in a team better prepared tactically than the one who lost 2-0 at Hampden Park in March 1931. His former Arsenal team-mate Bernard Joy, who later became a renowned sports writer wrote: ‘Roberts was the best centre-half of his generation and deserved more than one England cap.’
Like every era the game has known, the 1930s produced its share of great goal scorers. Marksmen such as Dixie Dean, George Camsell and Pongo Waring were idolised by a generation of football followers and with their achievements came the glory that comes with scoring goals. To counteract the threat posed by these lethal finishers, Herbert Chapman deployed Herbert Roberts in a purely defensive role (previously centre-halves had combined defence and attack) with a brief to shadow the opposing centre-forward at all times.
His sternest critics argued Roberts was a spoiler and Arsenal relied on negative methods. Although nobody would doubt he carried out instructions to the letter, in the tackle Roberts was always hard but fair and according to one description of him ‘never once retaliated.’
Besides every club in the land eventually followed suit – lining up with a centre-half who was strong in the tackle and commanding in the air.
John Arlott offered the opinion: ‘Every club in England followed the lead given by Arsenal, who exploited the fresh method. Indeed, no football fashion has ever caught on more quickly or more effectively.’
But he goes on to acknowledge who set the trend, a footballer who was not the one-dimensional performer detractors of the third-back game would have us believe. ‘Roberts,’ he continued, ‘was sufficiently gifted to have been outstanding in any period.’
Even so, it still may appear strange to celebrate the career of a player whose task was to prevent goals rather than score them. But aside from his important role in the development of the game, Herbert Roberts was acknowledged and widely respected for his impeccable conduct and unfailing good nature.
Devoid of ego or side, he remained unaffected by the fame football thrust upon him and in a life tragically cut short – Roberts was to die of a skin infection known as ‘erysipelas’ while serving as a lieutenant with the Royal Fusiliers at the age of 39 in June 1944 – was to remain a most affable and charming man.
In the introduction to ‘Prince of Stoppers‘, written over twenty years ago, I stated: ‘Herbert Roberts made his name at a time when professional footballers by and large earned more than the man on the terraces, but in comparative terms the difference was nothing like it is today. For players such as Roberts life was comfortable but the financial rewards were not a fraction of what they are nowadays – neither was there the intense media scrutiny and one suspects the game was just a little more benevolent.’
‘With the former apprentice gunsmith and erstwhile Police Constable, who became the finest centre-back of his era, began a chain that shows no sign of breaking. At Highbury, Bernard Joy, Leslie Compton, Ray Daniel, Frank McLintock, David O’Leary and Tony Adams have each picked up the torch and upheld the tradition of great Arsenal centre-backs, while the game at large has produced the likes of Jack Charlton, Brian Labone, Roy McFarland and Terry Butcher, each a sterling servant to club and country.’
‘Every team in the land, from the humble pub side to Manchester United, play with a centre-half who marks the opposing centre-forward and as it was Herbert Roberts who made this tactic fashionable, every stopper in England owes him an acknowledging glance over their shoulder.’
‘But Herbert Roberts will forever remain the ‘Prince of Stoppers.’
Authors Note: This article is respectfully dedicated to the memory of Miss Lillian Davies, whose name was inadvertently left off the acknowledgements for ‘Prince of Stoppers.’ Miss Davies provided great insight into the early life and final days of Herbert Roberts. Twenty three years on from giving me her assistance it is recognition, although belatedly, I am delighted to finally give.
This article was first published on January 30 2019.
NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE’ – an acclaimed thriller now available as an Amazon Kindle Book.