Will Philip Roberts Come Good For Dfc ?

[Gedee]

An earlier poster in commenting on The Dark Blue Forum said, he appreciated the level of respect showing by posters to each other, and hoped this respect would also be extendended to players when commenting on them ............ I agree with that.

Roberts came to us with a mixed reputation, but I think most of us felt under the watchful eye of PH he would come good.

Even though it was a big step up in class, given the time and space, and with the right attitude, he had the speed and potential to develop into another shrewd buy for PH and our club.      Is this one our manager mat have gor wrong ? Do others think he has a future with dfc ?

Promising players come and go and that's part of the football game. But I would like to think, bearing in mind he is ony in his 20's he ca still do the business with/for us.

If you dont think so, let's no' totally go about ripping his football skills and his attitude to bits .......But what do you think ?

[chomp my root]

An earlier poster in commenting on The Dark Blue Forum said, he appreciated the level of respect showing by posters to each other, and hoped this respect would also be extendended to players when commenting on them ............ I agree with that.

Roberts came to us with a mixed reputation, but I think most of us felt under the watchful eye of PH he would come good.

Even though it was a big step up in class, given the time and space, and with the right attitude, he had the speed and potential to develop into another shrewd buy for PH and our club.      Is this one our manager mat have gor wrong ? Do others think he has a future with dfc ?

Promising players come and go and that's part of the football game. But I would like to think, bearing in mind he is ony in his 20's he ca still do the business with/for us.

If you dont think so, let's no' totally go about ripping his football skills and his attitude to bits .......But what do you think ?

As you say, you can see he's got a lot of good qualities but it seems its his head that lets him down, if he can get this right then he could be a cracking player. 

[Baldee]

Can't make my mind up about Roberts. Got potential but we haven't seen too much of him. He looks decent without being impressive if you know what i mean. Has had attitude problems in the past and will obviously be unhappy not starting at the moment, yet hasn't really burst a gut when he has had his chance coming off the bench.

Jurys still out but unless he starts to show what he's got then don't think he will be at Dens next season. 

[Weedee88]

Once again I may be in the minority but I like Roberts. 

It is quite difficult to discuss him without making comment on his recent performances in both the first and development teams. I struggle to get to games but from what I have seen, he has shown great flashes of what he is capable of. But, he has also shown that he can be very lazy at times and does not do much to help the team off the ball. Just seems to hang around the halfway line waiting for someone to pump the ball up to him. 

That being said, I do think when he is on the ball, he has imence pace and a good first touch. His pass completion rate is also relatively high. Lets not forget that he is still only 20 and has time to learn yet. Touch wood we have not seen an outburst from him and he seems to have put all that behind him. 

I think he will still come good but he does need to work on his attitude off the ball. I have every faith in PH, who in turn had faith in Philip to sign him in the first place. In Hartley we trust

[TheDarkBlues]

I keep forgetting how young Roberts really is.

Personally I like a team with width, and with that I would have Roberts and Boyle out on the wings. Both of them are lighting fast and Roberts has already shown (against Celtic) that he can do the job. However, I think these last few months he hasn't been in the starting 11 and maybe his head has gone down a little (Kinda like the Tank). So, he really needs to get his head into a good place, work hard and take his chance when it comes around.

One thing I will say for Roberts, he takes a good corner.

[Ivan Drago]

Was speaking to a Dee before the Saints match who made an excellent point, we massively over hype the young players we produce and totally overlook their shortcomings but then expect the younger players we buy to be the finished article.

Both Roberts and Boyle are still young laddies learning the game and should be given time.

Roberts for me has some great qualities that he demonstrated very well against Celtic at Dens. Pace, a trick and a great cross on him, in the first half he had an expereinced SPL full back standing off him. However he is the type of player who is never going to win over some fans at Dens because he looks lethargic and has a languid style, yet bursts into life in the appropraite areas. For example in the cup game at the dump folk were going mental about his poor attitude when tracking back, yet totally ignore his cross on a plate for McPake.

All in all a player that has a place at Dens for me but needs to prove his desire to play for the club. I do think he would beenfit from a few games in the team, However I doubt he will ever win over the "love a player with dirty shorts" brigade.

[Gedee]

Even reading the posts to date, it seems to me that, like me, everyone feels the skills and potential are there. and if getting another chance to prove himself in the first team  ( When PH feels the time is right for him) I think we might see him, doing things that might astonish us. And maybe even himself.

He does appear to have a bit of an attitude problem,and he can look totally disinterested and even lazy.

But,as I cannae see PH as the kind of manager who would put up with that too long, it is maybe not at all the case of course. I do think if he cannae make the grade under PH, then he may have to think again about his future.

As I said previously, players come and go. But there is something about this 20 year old laddie, that makes me feel I really want him to do it for DFC.

[Billy Campbell's Ghost]

Both Boyle and Roberts have a bit to go before being auto-picks, mainly in football intelligence and decision making.

Boyle shoots when he should cutback/pass, and goes in too close to defenders making it easier for them to tackle or dispossess him.

Roberts needs a cuddle I think and again has to decide whether to pass or run.

Time will tell.

[Double Blue]

Roberts has pace and is probably the best at the club in taking corners. It is a pity we didn't have the American Football rule when we could bring on "the kicker" to take the corners and allow Harkins to be in the box. From what I have seen and heard his problem is his attitude on ocassions, but hopefully Hartley can get him on track.

[Ludo*1]

Roberts has the ability to make it at a club bigger than ours. Unfortunately his attitude doesn't seem fit for a junior club. He's been given a last shot at making it at a semi-big club in Scotland. If he blows it he's blowing his career away.

[Cobra]

I find his attitude to under 20s games baffling. Aside from it being his best chance to break into the first team, you think he'd enjoy playing in his most competitive game of the week but just doesn't look interested.

[Randy]

I'm drawn towards guessing he won't come good, which is dissapointing because there is talent there. I definitely think he has the ability to play at this level and we've seen that in flashes already but his attitude is letting him down. It was always a bit of a gamble considering how he left other clubs and the way those fans had described him made me a bit worried. I think Hartley thinks he can change him and if Roberts has any sense he'll need to start showing progress because he won't have many oppurtunities if his attitude lets him down again. I'm not one of the dirty shorts brigade but it's the complete lack of interest he's showing that bothers me. I think it bothers Hartley as well because he isn't even making the development sqaud now and I don't think he's injured but I may be wrong. His attitude in the game the week before was frustrating because he showed he can be dangerous then just completely went back to hanging around without helping the team. Hopefully he comes good and firmly shuts my puss right up.