So, staggering into work merrily shitfaced from the night before clearly no longer cuts the mustard at Port Vale. Surprising news this, as it seems ok to get yourself on to the Board of Directors without actually paying a penny for your shares, it seems ok to obtain a loan with a dodgy financial company using Vale Park as security, it seems ok to announce that you have negoiated an £8 Million investment for the club when you haven't, and it seems ok to bleed the club dry and hurtle us towards administration at an alarming pace. But turn up for training three sheets from the previous night? That calls for an internal investigation, and subsequent instant dismissal.
It's a crying shame that Roberts hasn't been able to conquer his demons, made all the worse by the fact that he doesn't appear to have made any effort to address his issues with alcohol. He has now been sacked by four clubs - Crewe, Yeovil, Rotherham and now us - and you would think that the penny would have dropped by now that he has no future in the game until he sorts himself out. Does he care? He should do. With the talent he possesses he should be operating at Championship level. It appears that his next move will be Conference football with Mansfield Town. Can he see where he is heading? In a short space of time he has gone from the third Division to the fourth Division and now into non-league football. The complete opposite direction for which a player of his undoubted ability should be heading.
I thought he was fantastic when he first arrived at Vale Park. In the initial period between August and december 2010 he gave us something we haven't seen at Vale for many years, a midfielder with vision and the skill to deliver killer passes. Look at what we've had to witness in recent years; Robin Hulbert, Paul Harsley, Ross Gardner, Craig Rocastle, David Howland, Scott Brown, Neil Mackenzie... Jesus fucking wept! It's a harrowing tale of despair, but Roberts gave us a glimpse of how it could be. He could have become a Vale legend, but sadly is unable to resist drinking himself into a stupor at every given opportunity.
