HR
The Chapman Revolution, from 1925
Herbie Roberts
Centre-half1926–1937
No individual photograph is known to survive for Herbie Roberts; see the note on the players index for why we use a plain card rather than guess.
Signed for a modest £200 and not even a regular in his first two seasons, Roberts was converted by Chapman into the game's first true "stopper" centre-half: a purely defensive role, planted in the middle of the back line, that became the model for the position for decades afterward. Teammates called him "the policeman"; he rarely strayed from his post, and picked up four League titles doing exactly that.
At Arsenal
Appearances
335
Goals
5