1997–98 season and scored just seven goals; "there were certainly those in the stands who were questioning whether he was worth the near £1,000,000 splashed out on him". There were crowd chants about him being a "waste of money" and Roberts remembers that someone wrote to the Eastern Daily Press and described him as "the worst ever to wear a Norwich shirt", adding the reflection that "it was the bleakest period of all my years as a pro." Roberts had scored just four goals heading into the end of the season; however, his fitness slowly began to improve and "three goals in the final two home games of the season left in good heart for the next campaign". Walker was sacked at the end of the season, and Roberts blames himself for this happening – a result of his lack of goals. Walker was replaced during the summer by Bruce Rioch. During pre-season training, Roberts weighed in at 15 stone 3 pounds (97 kg), with a body fat ratio of 16–17%, when his "fighting weight" should have been "just under 14 stone with around 13 per cent body fat." The turnaround was, according to Roberts, due to some clever psychology by Rioch: "Bruce was very clever: he didn't issue me with an ultimatum, he didn't rant and rave or threaten me. He just said, "Tom Walley would be proud of you". Tom was my youth team manager at Watford and absolutely hated people being out of shape ... It was a gentle hint, but I realised ... I had to sort it out myself." Roberts threw himself into weight training and soon reached a target weight of 13 stone 10 pounds. It paid off: that season, Roberts scored 23 goals. He was partnered by what the Eastern Daily Press described as the "flourishing talent" of Craig Bellamy who scored 19 goals. Norwich finished in the top half of the table and the Canaries fans voted Roberts player of the season. In the 1999–2000 season he was again top scorer (19 goals in 49 games) and retained the player of the season award. He just missed out on becoming the first player in the club's history to win the award three years in a row when Andy Marshall finished narrowly ahead of him in the voting for the 2000–01 season. During that 1999–2000 campaign there was speculation about Roberts's future as