Stonebridge, in the London Borough of Brent. Roberts was born into a sporting family: his uncles Cyrille Regis, Dave Regis and Otis Roberts all had careers as professional footballers, while another uncle, John Regis, is a former Olympic sprinter. He began playing football from the age of six, and was scouted by several professional clubs while playing for Parkfield Youth. He trained at the youth academies of a number of these clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, Watford, and Chelsea, but failed to earn a contract. He then spent time on trial at Wycombe Wanderers, but was not offered a permanent deal at the club. After being rejected by Wycombe, Roberts spent more than a year away from football. He began working as an export clerk, and was considering quitting the game altogether. Only when his uncle Cyrille arranged a trial at former club Hayes in the Isthmian League Premier Division Roberts returned to football. He did enough to impress the club and signed a part-time contract worth £15 per week. He made his debut in November 1995, the season Hayes won promotion to the Football Conference. After scoring five goals early in the 1997–98 season, he was sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers for £250,000, before moving to Torquay United on loan, where he scored six goals in 13 games. These goals came as Torquay struggled and won a relegation battle. Another loan took him to Bristol City, where he scored one goal against Oldham in three appearances. He joined Bristol Rovers for £250,000 in August 1998. In the 1998–99 season, Roberts scored 16 goals in 37 league appearances, and was one of the top goal scorers in the FA Cup with a total of seven goals. He continued his plunder in the next season, scoring 22 goals in 41 appearances. In the summer of 2000 however, following Rovers' failure to gain promotion, he handed in a transfer request to the club. West Bromwich Albion Roberts moved to West Bromwich Albion on 26 July 2000, for a club record £2 million fee. He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat away at Nottingham Forest on 12 August, the opening day of the 2000–01 season. He scored twice against Swansea City in the League Cup on 6 September, his first goals for the club. Roberts scored 17 goals in 50 appearances in 2000–01; he formed a successful partnership with Lee Hughes and took Albion