Footballer to

Quantity Surveyor: What was next for Danny Roberts?

From playing football all his life to not at all, Daniel Roberts has had a rollercoaster of a career. Since playing from the age of five, he continued to play as a centre-back until he was 32 at non-league clubs all around Nottinghamshire.

An all-round family man with a wife and a two-year-old son, he now has a passion for running and golf as well as providing for his family. Being a commercial manager of a large building firm was definitely a dream of his as he was recently promoted to the highest position at his job, and he loves what he does.

The last club he played for was South Normanton Athletic, finishing his playing career in 2017. His best season at this club was from 2014-15 as he made a total of 45 appearances, scored six goals and took home ten player of the match awards.

Daniel played for more than six teams across his playing career, and also played against Nottinghamborn Jermaine Jenas when he was in the Clifton All-whites team. Jenas later on went to play for Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and QPR. Daniel described him as “driven” as he never took his eyes off of the ball, even at a young age.

Daniel was the Captain of every team he has ever played for, but he was never in over his head. He was known as “Danny Roberts” in the dressing room and by the fans, and he always turned up to games wanting to give his all for the team.

As he thought about the answers to my questions, we both took in our surroundings of the small café and let the overwhelming smell of coffee fill our nostrils as we spoke about the struggles he faced whilst playing football.

He said: “The abuse that was thrown at me and the lads never bothered me, I didn’t really care what people thought. I was just there to play football.”

He prided himself on his strong mentality as hate didn’t affect him on or off the pitch, it only spurred him on to play better. Playing at a semiprofessional level was good enough for him, and the reason he never become professional was simply because he didn’t like football enough. He grew up watching and playing football and it became a part of his life, but he admitted he wasn’t passionate enough about the sport to devote his life to it.

Daniel said: “That is what people couldn’t understand, I just didn’t love football enough. I’d happily play and get on with it but I never really dreamed that I would become a professional footballer. I didn’t want to be famous or have the spotlight on me, it was just something that I did every week.”

He admitted that he was “probably talented enough” to play in a higher league but he had no desire to push himself to that level, so he finished his degree in quantity surveying and got on with the rest of his life. Daniel spoke about his life from a more personal perspective, especially when talking about his Grandad who recently passed away at the age of 86. It was his Grandad who got him into watching and playing football, he recalled when his Mother was working, his Grandad would take him to training from being a young age.

His Grandad, ‘Papa’ as he was more well known as, was the reason he grew up as a Liverpool fan and he can remember being taken to games at Anfield. He played a huge part in Daniel’s football career as he went to every match to support him, and even became a local legend in South Normanton. Daniel chuckled as he recalled the memory from many years ago about how all of the lads in the first team would ask how his Grandad is, and everyone would make the effort to speak to him after the match. Daniel said: “After he passed away last year, I kind of fell out of love with football as he was the main reason I watched and took part in it. Nowadays, I only follow Liverpool and some of the Premier League games, I just don’t really watch it anymore. Looking after my two-year-old takes up enough of my time, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.” I saw him chuckling to himself as he spoke about his little boy, Charlie.

He also admitted that he is not very keen on his son playing football when he grows up, even though he is very active and coordinated for his age. Asking him why this was, he said: “I just don’t want him to feel the pressure that he has to play football, there’s a million things for him to do so I just want him to do what he loves. He loves playing with his new cricket set at the moment, so I’d love for him to be able to play cricket.”

Daniel also was the captain of Eastwood Town Cricket Club and he admitted that he enjoyed cricket more than football, as it was a lot more laidback which suited his personality. The 36-year-old said: “I still play for the Cricket Club now in the summer if they need an extra man, and most of my mates still play there so it’s good fun.”

Daniel Roberts was definitely the footballer who did not love football enough, but he is more than happy with his life now as he has been married for five years and has a house with his wife. He spends his free time now with his family or goes down to his local pub on the weekends with his mates, as well as playing golf occasionally on a Sunday morning. He described playing football as “a whirlwind of emotions” from the lows and highs of non-league football and said it was a shame he did not enjoy it enough to do it professionally.

by Sadie Meakin