GARRETH ROBERTS’ DREAM XI How City’s Rock, the Rolls-royce, and Golden Boot winner flourished
Between his debut in 1979 and his final appearance in 1990, Garreth Roberts was a Hull City mainstay for over a decade. The midfielder captained the Tigers to two promotions in 1982-83 and 1984-85 and racked up close to 500 appearances for his hometown club.
Only three players in City’s 116-year history have played more league games for the club and Roberts’ total would surely have been even greater had injury not forced his retirement at the age of 30.
The one-club man was a key figure during his long stay at Boothferry Park and we’ve asked him to pick his best City XI from all the players he called team-mates.
“Stan was probably more of a ball player than Skip and obviously gave us a different dimension with his free-kicks and penalties. He must have scored 20 or 30 goals for us, which for a centre-back was fantastic. “Again, like Pete, he wasn’t the quickest but he knew how to read the game. He was never caught out for a lack of pace. He knew when to go at the right time and was also pretty good in the air.
“The two of them together, Skip and Stan, were a really good partnership. A great understanding between them.”
“I’ve used some managerial licence here. We had a few good leftbacks in my time, like Wayne Jacobs and Roger Devries, but I couldn’t not have
Jobbo in there. His best position was centrehalf but he could play anywhere in that back four.
“He was just like a Rolls-royce. He didn’t look as though he was moving quickly but he had so much pace. He’d glide past players. He was never beaten for pace ever and that’s what helped him play at a higher level after leaving City.
“I don’t think many wingers would’ve got the better of him as a full-back.”
“I’ve opted for a 4-3-3 with me on the right simply because I’d have loved to play in this team!
I’d always give everything and that’s what supporters came to expect. I might have been small but I never shirked a tackle or anything like that. I tried to lead by example.
“I weighed in with my fair share of goals over my career and just tried to be that midfield player that could go box to box for the team. We’d often play 4-4-2 and I could play anywhere across that midfield.
“I played under a lot of managers during my time with City and they all picked me so I must’ve done something right.”
“Billy was the same sort of stature to me but he was uncompromising and got stuck in.
“He could really pass as well, though. Some of the training sessions we’d have when he was on the top of his game, we’d say Billy could have one ball and we’d play with another one. He’d never give it away. His vision and awareness of people around him was fantastic.
“He had a magical left foot and scored a good few goals for us as well. He summed up a theme of this team. He could do a lot of jobs well for the team but also do one or two of those very, very well.”
“He usually played on the right wing but moved inside to centre forward. He had so much pace but his goal ratio for us was excellent. He’d regularly chip in with 15 to 20 goals a season.
Billy Askew