Mark Roberts (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Mark Roberts is a Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

 professional footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 who is currently the club captain of Ayr United
Ayr United F.C.
Ayr United Football Club are a Scottish association football team based in Ayr, South Ayrshire, that plays in the First Division of the Scottish Football League. Formed in 1910 after the merger of former clubs Ayr Parkhouse F.C. and Ayr F.C...

.

Early days

Roberts spent his youth career with Bellfield Boys Club in Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...

 during the 1991–92 season.

Kilmarnock

Roberts signed for Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...

 at the start of the 1992–93
1992-93 in Scottish football
The 1992–93 season was the 96th season of competitive football in Scotland.- Notable events:* Rangers completing a domestic treble of the Premier Division title, FA Cup and League Cup....

 season and stayed for 8 seasons, where he made 101 league appearances and scored 15 league goals. During 1999 Roberts was loaned out to Raith Rovers
Raith Rovers F.C.
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Kirkcaldy, Fife. They are members of the Scottish Football League, currently playing in the First Division, having secured promotion from the Second Division as champions in 2009. Rovers have won one national trophy, the...

 by Kilmarnock, where he made 3 league appearances and scored one league goal.

Falkirk

Roberts signed for Falkirk
Falkirk F.C.
Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...

 at the start of the 2000–01
2000-01 in Scottish football
The 2000–01 season was the 104th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier League:The 2000–01 Scottish Premier League was won by Celtic, 15 points clear of Rangers who finished second. Both teams earned a place in the UEFA Champions League. Hibernian and Kilmarnock...

 season and stayed for one season, where he made 25 league appearances and scored 9 league goals.

Airdrieonians

Roberts signed for Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians F.C.
Airdrieonians Football Club, more commonly known as Airdrie, were a Scottish professional football team from the town of Airdrie, in the Monklands area of Lanarkshire....

 at the start of the 2001–02
2001-02 in Scottish football
The 2001–02 season was the 105th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Key events:Celtic, domestic treble winners a year earlier, retain their Premier League title....

 season and stayed for one season, where he made 36 league appearances and scored 12 league goals.

Shelbourne

Roberts signed for Dublin club Shelbourne
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....

, who play in the League of Ireland
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...

 First Division in the summer of 2002 but only stayed there until the end of December 2002.

St Mirren

Roberts signed for Paisley
Paisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...

 club St Mirren in the January 2003 transfer window for the remainder of the 2002–03
2002-03 in Scottish football
The 2002–03 season was the 106th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier League:The 2002–03 Scottish Premier League was won on goal difference by Rangers by a single goal over Celtic. Both Rangers and Celtic qualified for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League and...

 season. Roberts made 13 league appearances and scored 3 league goals.

Airdrie United

Roberts signed for Airdrie United
Airdrie United F.C.
Airdrie United Football Club are a Scottish professional football team based in the town of Airdrie, North Lanarkshire. They are currently managed by ex-Airdrieonians player and former Airdrie United Under 19s coach Jimmy Boyle. They are members of the Scottish Football League and play in the...

 at the start of the 2003–04
2003-04 in Scottish football
The 2003–04 season was the 107th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier League:The 2003–04 Scottish Premier League season was won by Celtic with 98 points, 17 points ahead of closest challengers Rangers. Both Rangers and Celtic therefore gained the two UEFA...

 season and stayed for two seasons, where he made 62 league appearances and scored 3 league goals.

Roberts has the distinction of having played for both of Airdrie
Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
Airdrie is a town within North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles east of Glasgow city centre. Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in the former district known as the Monklands. As of 2006,...

's professional clubs, namely Airdrieonians and Airdrie United.

Partick Thistle

Roberts signed for Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle F.C.
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football club from Glasgow. Despite their name, the club are based in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908...

 at the start of the 2005–06
2005-06 in Scottish football
The 2005–06 season was the 109th season of competitive football in Scotland.-2005:*1 June: Gordon Strachan officially takes charge of Celtic after the resignation of Martin O'Neill...

 season. Roberts scored a brace in his first game against Dumbarton
Dumbarton F.C.
Dumbarton Football Club is Scotland's 4th oldest football club – founded in 1872, just after Queen's Park , Kilmarnock and Stranraer...

. Roberts scored 22 goals during his first season at Firhill
Firhill Stadium
Firhill Stadium or Firhill Arena is a football, rugby union and rugby league stadium located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland. As of 2010 it is the home ground of football club Partick Thistle F.C...

, as Partick Thistle gained promotion to the Scottish First Division
Scottish Football League First Division
The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....

 via the play-offs.

Roberts was one of 5 nominees for the Scottish First Division Player of the Year Award for the 2006–07
2006-07 in Scottish football
The 2006–07 season was the 110th season of competitive football in Scotland.-2006:*9 July: Rangers defender Fernando Ricksen is banned for the club's pre-season trip to South Africa, following an incident on the outbound flight. Manager Paul Le Guen cited "wholly inappropriate and...

 season.

Roberts made 104 league appearances for Partick Thistle in his 4 seasons at the club and scored 30 league goals, as well as 17 goals in other competitions. His 47 goals for Thistle ensured that the Jags fans would hold him in high regard long after he left the club. Particularly as many saw him as the player that led Thistle to promotion to the First Division.

Ayr United

Roberts signed for Ayr United in January 2009. Ironically, the money to sign him came from a lucrative cup tie against Ayr's local rivals, and Roberts' former club, Kilmarnock. Up until 5 November 2011 Roberts has made 91 league appearances and scored 37 league goals for the Somerset Park
Somerset Park
Somerset Park is a football stadium located in Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland.It has been the home of Ayr United since they were founded in 1910. Prior to that, it was the home ground of Ayr F.C.. It currently has a capacity of 10,185 of which 1,597 is seated, making it one of the largest capacity...

 club.

On Saturday 18 September 2010, Roberts made history when he scored three penalties for Ayr in a league fixture with East Fife. No player had done this in Ayr United's history. Ironically, Roberts was sent off after a confrontation whilst celebrating his third.
On Tuesday 18 January 2011, Roberts scored the goal that sent SPL side Hibernian crashing out of the Scottish Cup in a match that was beamed live all over the UK by Sky Sports.

The most commonly used phrase in Scottish football in 2010–11 was 'Mark Roberts penalty'.

External links

(Partick Thistle & Ayr United) (Kilmarnock to Airdrie United)
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