Harlech Town... as he was the manager... it toughened me up and made me a lot stronger." Critical to Roberts' thinking when he joined Watford was that coach Tom Walley was, like himself, Welsh-speaking, as was professional Malcolm Allen, against whom Roberts had played in the local Welsh leagues. He was also influenced by Graham Taylor's record of giving youth players opportunities. Roberts joined Watford as a trainee, signing his first professional contract in July 1986, shortly after his 18th birthday. Club career Watford Roberts made his first-team debut during the 1985–86 season and scored his first goal in professional football on 16 September 1986; it was the only goal in a 1–0 win against Manchester United at Vicarage Road. Having made only one full first team appearance for Watford prior to the match, Roberts came on as a second-half substitute to score the winning goal from a narrow angle. Watford ended the season in ninth position, and despite having three years of his contract remaining, Taylor left the club to join Aston Villa. Roberts broke through in the following season, making 31 appearances in all competitions and scoring three goals, but Watford finished 19th in the table and were relegated to the Second Division. The 1988–89 season saw him make 32 appearances in total, scoring six goals, with Watford finishing fourth, but failing to progress past the 1989 Football League play-offs. Roberts' chances were restricted the following season, when he made just nine league appearances, scoring twice. He scored nine goals in 63 league matches in total for Watford, but felt that he was failing to get enough opportunities and moved to Division Three club Huddersfield Town prior to the start of the 1990–91 season, for £275,000. One of his contemporaries at Watford was future Norwich City manager, Glenn Roeder. Roberts remembers Roeder as "an absolute gentleman ... I can't speak highly enough of him. He helped me a great deal with his experience and any problems that the young lads had they knew he would help them with." Huddersfield Town Roberts credits a lot of his success as a striker to the interaction he had with Huddersfield's then first-team coach, Peter Withe: "Peter was exceptional in the air and he taught me so much on how to use my physicality properly and how to move defenders about especially in the penalty box which would enable me a bit