page_title: Gary Roberts (footballer, born 1987)
section_title: Rotherham United
hierarchical_section_title: Gary Roberts (footballer, born 1987) / Club career / Rotherham United
caption_attribution_description: English: Gary Roberts (footballer born 1987)
context_page_description: Gary Steven Roberts is an English footballer who plays for National League North club Chester. A deep-lying playmaker, he has been praised for his vision and ball distribution skills. However off the field he has struggled to control drink and gambling problems.
  He started his career with Crewe Alexandra in 2003, and made 133 league and cup appearances over the next five years. In 2008, he had a loan spell at Yeovil Town, before he joined the club permanently the following year. He signed with Rotherham United in November 2009, having impressed on trial, before he was released in summer 2010. Crewe, Yeovil and Rotherham all cited disciplinary problems as their reason for letting him go. He joined Port Vale in July 2010, having been handed a 'last chance' by manager Micky Adams. His contract was terminated in December 2011, again due to a disciplinary issue, and he signed with Mansfield Town. In January 2013 he joined Maltese club Floriana on loan. He spent a short period out of the game before he joined Welsh Premier League side Gap Connah's Quay in January 2014. He returned to Malta with Mosta in January 2015, coming back to England later in the year to play for Witton Albion.
context_section_description: After he admitted to suffering from drink and gambling addictions he visited the Sporting Chance Clinic, determined to turn his life around. After his rehabilitation, he was originally offered a trial with League One side Brighton & Hove Albion, where he scored two goals in two reserve team games against Brentford and Leyton Orient. He left without an offer of a contract, but was offered another trial with League Two side Rotherham United, where he played in a reserves victory over Huddersfield Town. On 12 November, Roberts was offered a contract with the "Millers". Manager Ronnie Moore commented: "He's only 22 but has real talent... people say he comes with baggage but his attitude has been first class. I think he deserves a second chance." Later in the month Roberts signed a one-month contract. The following month the option to extend Roberts' Rotherham deal until the end of the 2009–10 season was taken. In his fifth appearance for Rotherham, a 4–2 win over Yorkshire rivals Bradford City, he scored his first goal for the club in 'sensational' fashion by finding the net with a free kick from fifty yards out. However, in April 2010 it was announced he had been sacked from Rotherham for breaking club discipline rules several times. The club did not divulge what the final breach was; though the "bitterly disappointed" manager said that while the player was "full of remorse" his teammates would not be "too sorry to see him go".
caption: Roberts at Vale Park in September 2010, just after scoring his first goal for Port Vale against Aldershot Town.
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