One Bobby Robson...It was exactly twelve months ago today that the world unfortunately lost a special man. I’m not just talking about the football world, I mean the broader world aswell.
Sir Bobby Robson touched the hearts of many people the world over, even those who never had the good fortune to meet him.
His enthusiasm and zest for life was contagious and he brought out the best in people. That is continuing even though he is not here in body to see it. His legacy is most definately living on.
The sheer outpouring of grief after the news that Sir Bobby had passed on broke has provided me with images that I will never forget. In the midst of the utter turmoil his beloved club was going through last summer, Robson managed to get us all pulling together again. He made us Newcastle, United once more. (more…)
Sir Bobby: Always in the eye of the media.“Managing England was very different to managing a club. For one thing, it took me two years to adjust to the job. It was lonely. You didn’t see your players for months sometimes and then the chance you had for any coaching work with them was almost non-existent.” Sir Bobby Robson – ‘Farewell but not Goodbye’ 2005.
Robson’s long reign as England manager was an eventful one with many great moments, some great runs, a few disappointing patches (inevitably followed by huge vitriol from the press), often followed by inspirational tactical switches and salvation. But, alas, it always seemed to be bad lack that got Bobby in the end, whether it was ‘divine intervention’ on behalf of Diego Maradona, disallowed goals or Oscar winning acting performances (and slightly better penalty taking it must be said) from the Germans. Though Bobby himself was far too much of a gentleman to condemn the great Franz Beckenbauer’s supreme gamesmanship, he wasn’t above criticising Maradona when he questioned the role of God’s hand in that famous goal of 1986:
“It wasn’t the hand of God. It was the hand of a rascal. God had nothing to do with it… That day, Maradona was diminished in my eyes forever.”(more…)
Bobby at Fulham in 1966, seeing off some fearsome oppostion! After six years of fine service to the Midlands club however, Bobby returned to Fulham in 1962, his departure caused by a wage dispute with the bigwigs of Albion. Bobby had just welcomed a second son into the world with Elsie, and financial security was very much at the forefront of Bobby’s mind. Though he loved playing at West Brom, these were the days when being a top class international footballer was little different from being a bus driver.
Back in West London, his salary was immediatedly doubled, and Bobby could at last enjoy some form of financial security. This was largely due to his Fulham team-mate, Jimmy Hill and his great work as president of the PFA (Professional Footballer’s Association). In 1961, Hill managed to get the ‘maximum wage’ for footballers abolished. Just before it’s abolition, it stood at (eat your heart out, Christiano Ronaldo) £20 per week.
Though far less ‘pacy’ with his advancing years, Bobby’s superb skill and technique were still there in his Fulham encore, so he played a further 192 games for Fulham over five years, eventually retreating into a more defensive role. (more…)
Part Two >> Sir Bobby.Robert William Robson 1933 – 2009.
“I have accepted what they have told me and I am determined to make the most of what time I have left. I am going to die sooner rather than later. But then everyone has to go some time, and I have enjoyed every minute.” – Sir Bobby Robson.
This remarkably courageous and moving statement, made by Sir Bobby as his life was inexorably drawing to it’s end, was perhaps summed up best by James Marston in the Ipswich Evening Star when he wrote in his own tribute:
“Anyone who can say that, whoever they are and whatever they have done in life, is lucky indeed.”
Quite so, for he had a life affirming quality that made him respected and loved by almost everyone he came into contact with, and he relished it. The following is a biographical tribute to Sir Bobby, who will be sadly missed in many parts of the world. (more…)
I guess there is nothing really left to say, that hasn’t already been said. I’ve had time to reflect and still it’s impossible to accept that he is gone. The last twenty fours is evidence of how many people Sir Bobby reached with his greatness. Traditional rivalry forgotten because he cut across those boundaries because it was impossible to hold him in anything other than the highest regard.
As a Newcastle supporter and England supporter he played an influencing role in how I viewed and played the game. He made you want to be a better person. As a fellow Geordie, I am proud to have known he was one of us. But even though he was fiercely proud of his roots, he was not about regional boundaries. And as such he belonged to football families all over the world. We should mourn his sad departure but celebrate all the great things that came with Bobby Robson.
A mentor to many but a friend to us all, he was an inspiration. And his legacy within football and within life should be cherished and nurtured. Sorely missed but remembered so fondly, always. God bless you Sir Bobby.
Our thanks for use of the portrait go to Excelsior, an illustrator and Newcastle supporter, saddened as we all are.
