fbpx
Connect with us

Non League

Ex-Notts County player: “I was thinking about just giving up on playing football”

Ex-National League player Callum Roberts opened up this week, saying “I was thinking about possibly just giving up on playing football.”

The 25 year old just signed for Aberdeen having left English club Notts County, but he came close to coming away from the game due to a number of issues.

In 2019, the 25-year-old found himself in a difficult position, being released from Newcastle United, following a season when he had scored his first goal for the club.

One minute he was a Premier League footballer, earning a deal elsewhere, but he was also dealing with issues in his personal life.

A number of offers abroad didn’t appeal and he had trials at Southend United, Burnley and Middlesbrough. Burnley were keen to offer a deal, Boro wanted him to extend a trial period by a further month with no money coming in.

Then came National League North side Blyth Spartans, their right-back Rhys Evans, and manager Lee Clark, who had Roberts at Kilmarnock during a loan spell, noting he “owes a lot to those two”.

“That was probably the most important thing I’ve ever done,” Roberts said as per The Scotsman.

“I was in a headspace where I was thinking about possibly just giving up on playing football, or just go to Blyth and see how it goes.

“It was honestly the best thing I ever did. I loved it. Just playing regular football, playing well and then getting a move to Notts County.

“One of my best mates from school was with me at Blyth. Even before I actually signed, he was always on at me to come and keep fit, keep my chin up and try to keep enjoying it.

“It was just at the point when I was having to go on trial with quite a few different clubs. I didn’t really like it or feel like I was getting anywhere.

“I was going through a tough time off the pitch as well and I just wanted to stay somewhere a bit closer to home.

“That’s why Blyth was ideal for me. It was just about finding that love for the game again. I was having to basically re-evaluate my whole life. Thankfully, I gave it another go.”

He gave it his all in half-a-season at Blyth, the impact Roberts made was huge, scoring 17 in 25 games, prompting Notts County to snap him up.

Despite a “few options” elsewhere, he was prepared to stay with the club until Aberdeen arrived on the scene and he spoke to Goodwin.

“Some options were interesting, some were not so interesting,” Roberts, who expects to play “off the right or in the No10”, said.

“It was quite weird because one or two days before I had the interest from Aberdeen, I actually spoke to the manager at Notts County and said I was going to stay this season.

“I was going to see the season out, then see what happened at the end of the season.

“My agent then rang me and said Aberdeen were going to put a bid in. Obviously I had to tell him that I wanted to go. There was no other choice.”

Now he’s expected to play for Aberdeen against St Mirren this weekend, we’re wishing him the best of luck.

Youth career
2005–2015 – Newcastle United

Senior career
2015–2019 – Newcastle United
2015 → Gateshead (loan) – 3 games (0 goals)
2017 → Kilmarnock (loan) – 10 games (0 goals)
2019 → Colchester United (loan) – 3 games (0 goals)
2019–2020 – Blyth Spartans – 25 games (17 goals)
2020–2022 – Notts County – 52 games (20 goals)
2022– Aberdeen – 1 game (0 goals)

National team
2016 – England U20 2 games (0 goals)
2022 – England C 1 game (0 goals)

ROBERTS IN ACTION:

Related Topics
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

More in Non League