Marcelo Bielsa already had the a reputation for being something as a footballing genius before arriving to lofty expectations at Leeds United during the summer of 2018.
A reputation this most enigmatic of tacticians would not only retain but enhance as a host of lower-league nomads and EFL stalwarts butted heads with the Premier League big boys and left many a nose bloody.
Who would have imagined Luke Ayling becoming one of England’s premiere right-backs for a period? Gianni Alioski going from an inconsistent winger to an all-action, goalscoring left-back. Who could forget when Kalvin Phillips was the beating heart of the Three Lions?
Or when Patrick Bamford, seven assists to go alongside his 17 goals, was chasing down Harry Kane and Mo Salah with the Golden Boot in his sights?
Now, Marcelo Bielsa never quite coaxed the same levels of consistent excellence out of Tyler Roberts. But, while the Welshman was never quite taken to the hearts of the Elland Road faithful like Phillips, Alioski or Ayling, do not underestimate his contribution both to Leeds United’s return to the Premier League after two decades away or that remarkable top-half finish in 2021/22.
Tyler Roberts struggling to arrest fall from grace after Leeds United exit
“Tyler is a player who likes being with the ball,” Bielsa said at the time, Roberts’ bravery in possession and his ability to find pockets of space in behind the opposition midfield integral to the Argentine’s gameplan for a period.
“He has a big character because he wants the ball. So to ask for the ball [where he does] you have to have talent and character. Personality.”
The eventual demise of a Marcelo Bielsa reign which burned bright but brief ensured that many of his trusted Leeds lieutenants would never ascend to the same heights again. Phillips is now struggling for starts on loan at Ipswich Town. Alioski spent 17 months without a club.
Bamford followed up 17 Premier League goals with two in an injury-ruined follow-up season.
As for Roberts, a footballer who should really be approaching the peak of his powers at the age of 26 is not even playing Championship football these days. Sold rather unceremoniously to Birmingham City in 2023 after a loan spell at Queens Park Rangers, Roberts is also not part of the Blues side cruising at the top of the League One table.
In fact, he is much closer now to England’s fourth tier than he is a return to the second. Roberts’ joined Northampton Town on a temporary deal last summer. And, in a continuation of a rather worrying post-Elland Road trend, the former West Brom youngster is struggling to make his mark.
Roberts back in action as Northampton Town man looks to end goal drought
Roberts felt initially like a real coup of a signing for a team of Northampton’s budget and ambitions. A footballer who, only a few years prior, was strutting his stuff in the top-half of the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa.
Flash forward to March 2025, however, and Roberts is still awaiting his first goal since bringing his time at Leeds to an end. A barren which, ahead of Saturday’s trip to promotion-seeking Leyton Orient, now stands at 43 games.
The last time Roberts’ name appeared on the scoresheet, he hit a brace in a 2-2 draw at Reading. A result which came all the way back in January 2023.
Though, earlier this week, Northampton manager Kevin Nolan had a rare piece of positive news regarding a player still dreaming of forcing his way back into the Wales squad three years after his most recent cap.
After missing 12 League One games through injury, Roberts is back in action. He came off the bench in draws with Exeter City and Stockport County. A first start since the 5-0 home defeat by Charlton Athletic just before Christmas is finally within reach.
“[The players who have struggled with injury] have been busy working hard,” smiles Nolan, the former Newcastle, West Ham and Bolton Wanderers ace.
“Tyler came on, obviously. He’s got a couple of minutes under his belt now, which is great.”
Can a return to fitness be the turning point Roberts needs to kick his stuttering career back into life? One suspects, after two years and nearly 50 games without a goal, and having drifted form the top flight to the depths of League One, if any player needs a stroke of luck, it is him.
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