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Sir Bobby Robson passes away age 76


bobbyshinton
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Did anyone feel a bit cold when Llambias was 'interviewed' on SSN?

 

I actually shouted at the telly for him to just 'fuck off'. Totally inappropriate somehow, seeing him comment on a NUFC/England legend.

 

Most of the people I have spoke to today have expressed their sadness / anger that he died whilst the club he loved was in such a state.

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Did anyone feel a bit cold when Llambias was 'interviewed' on SSN?

 

I actually shouted at the telly for him to just 'fuck off'. Totally inappropriate somehow, seeing him comment on a NUFC/England legend.

 

Most of the people I have spoke to today have expressed their sadness / anger that he died whilst the club he loved was in such a state.

very true Danny, its horrible to think that his last memories of NUFC are the current goings on :lol:

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Did anyone feel a bit cold when Llambias was 'interviewed' on SSN?

 

I actually shouted at the telly for him to just 'fuck off'. Totally inappropriate somehow, seeing him comment on a NUFC/England legend.

 

 

I did exactly that, forgetting that I was at work. Should not have been given the airtime

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Henry Winter:

 

A sport hardly blessed with statesmen instantly becomes a poorer place. Amid the heartache for family, countless friends and admirers, the richness of legacy and memory bequeathed by Robert William Robson needs honouring. His 76 years on this earth were special ones.

After the distressing news that many had feared was announced, tributes issued forth from all corners of the game, signalling the widespread regard in which the former England manager was held.

 

Probably the testimony that captured Robson best emanated from another knight of the realm. In mourning the moment when "a great friend'' finally succumbed to the cancer he fought so valiantly for so long, Sir Alex Ferguson hailed a "wonderful character hewn out of the coal face" of his native County Durham.

As Ferguson noted, Robson's parents "instilled in him the discipline and standards which forged the character of a genuinely colossal human being''. Deeply proud of his father's unstinting presence as the pithead gates opened each day, Robson inherited a prodigious work ethic.

 

Passionately committed to a profession he described as "my life, my obsession, my hobby, my theatre'', Robson refused to let cancer's ravages dim his appetite for a game he graced as a prolific right-half with Fulham, West Brom and England.

In 1995, after a surgeon at the Royal Marsden cut through teeth and bone in Robson's mouth before extracting a tumour the size of a golf ball, many assumed that retirement beckoned.

 

Some 62 year-olds would consider going to Barcelona for a holiday, for some sunshine after such trauma. Not Robson. He went to Barcelona to coach.

He then joined his beloved Newcastle United, refusing to discuss salary, such was his hunger to sign up. Scandalously, Robson was sacked by the chairman, Freddy Shepherd, despite restoring Newcastle's standing in the wake of the dark days of Ruud Gullit's reign.

Even after more surgery in 2006, tackling a tumour in his lungs and in his brain, Robson was out and about, advising Steve Staunton with the Republic of Ireland. Robson loved football as much as football loved him.

 

The man has gone but his influence lives on. Generous with his time and thoughts, Robson enthused everyone he met. Just look at Jose Mourinho, now coach of Inter Milan, given his chance at Barcelona by Robson.

Look at his former players, such as George Burley, the Scotland coach whose fire for management was lit by Robson at Ipswich Town. Robson's gifts to the game lie in the corridors of Portman Road, the walls lined with pictures and newspaper cuttings of his achievements in steering unfashionable Ipswich to the 1978 FA Cup final, settled by Roger Osborne's goal. Ipswich went on to European glory – memories etched in their fans' minds.

His legacy is remembered in the careers he shaped. His eye for footballing talent was remarkable. As manager of Fulham, Robson signed Malcolm Macdonald from Tonbridge for £1,000.

At Ipswich, he nurtured Kevin Beattie and Terry Butcher and built a stage for the elegant Dutchmen Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen, an inspired double signing which opened English eyes to the ball's possibilities.

 

Just consider this cameo. At France 98, the celebrated striker Ronaldo, whose goals were the talk of the tournament, entered a room heaving with footballing luminaries, all eager to bask in his glory. Ronaldo ignored all bar one. He headed straight to Robson, his old mentor at PSV Eindhoven, embraced him, exchanged some words and then slipped out into the night.

Players such as Ronaldo worshipped Robson partly because he encouraged attacking football, partly because he guided them to success and also because he was fiercely protective of them. When Andy Cole proffered an ill-advised jibe about Alan Shearer, Robson retaliated by observing that Cole "should stick to playing and driving his Ferrari''. Ouch. The Ferrari culture concerned him.

 

There was an old world dignity to Robson, an individual often bemused by this "bling thing" of the modern game. In 2003, when Kieron Dyer asked for the Newcastle team bus to turn back to St Andrews because he had forgotten something, Robson was stunned to learn the item was a diamond earring.

"Can you imagine in my playing days a player telling Bill Shankly: 'Stop the bus, Bill, I've left me earring in the dressing-room!'' Robson mused. Yet the kings of bling, the likes of Dyer, adored "Uncle Bobby''.

 

His novel approach to the English language was particularly endearing. Mixing up names was a speciality. Graham Rix was called "Brian", the West End prince of farce. Mark Hateley was referred to as "Tony", his father and noted striker. At the 1986 World Cup, Bryan Robson was greeted with "Morning, Bobby''.

Robson had become England manager in September 1982, assuming the role in the august words of the Egyptian Gazette after "Mr Wood Green retired''. Was he an unlucky England manager? He felt he was.

 

England were cheated by the Hand of God in 1986 but Diego Maradona, Argentina's chief thief and wizard, then scored that sublime second.

If Robson's England were deservedly humiliated by Marco van Basten and company at Euro 88, they were unfortunate to bow out to West Germany at Italia 90. Any subsequent conversation with Robson invariably touched on Turin. "We were so close,'' Robson always said. "So close.''

 

Robson endured much else during that tournament and was the first England manager to have to live with the quickening maelstrom of the modern media. The pre-Italia 90 draw with Tunisia sparked headlines of "In the name of Allah, go''. Robson bore it all with dignity, never banning reporters. His players marvelled at such stoicism.

 

They also respected him because he listened. After Italy, much debate centred on who proposed using Mark Wright as a sweeper, a move that transformed England's fortunes.

Was it the manager or the star chamber of leading players such as Butcher? Robson always insisted it was his idea but, at the very least, he absorbed the players' suggestion.

He could be very decisive mid-match. Some of his substitutions were dazzling. Against Argentina in the Azteca, Robson brought on John Barnes, who terrorised Ricardo Giusti, creating chances for Gary Lineker. Against Belgium in Bologna in 1990, Robson unleashed David Platt, whose late volley sent England through.

 

He managed England, played for England and could certainly talk for England. Words chased each other out of Robson's mouth.

After one match at St James', Robson responded to an inquiry of "Your view on the game, Bobby?'' by praising everything from Shearer's finishing to the quality of the tea lady's cuppa. His answer ran to 996 words.

 

Typical Bobby. Passionate about football. He will be deeply missed.

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Alright, even I don't think Llambias would be laughing, but he sounded a bit embarrassed to have to comment on a situation where he is universally loathed and the bloke he's praising is universally loved.

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Cheers Jimbo... that one's going on my ipod as I type :nufc:

can you put it on iphone?????

 

iphone is an ipod, is it not?

 

The file format is MP4 which plays on Quicktime. Any Apple product should be able to play it I should imagine.

 

FWIW, I've played it back on my iPod and it's perfect. :lol:

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Cheers Jimbo... that one's going on my ipod as I type :aye:

can you put it on iphone?????

 

iphone is an ipod, is it not?

 

The file format is MP4 which plays on Quicktime. Any Apple product should be able to play it I should imagine.

 

FWIW, I've played it back on my iPod and it's perfect. :lol:

 

did not see the link thing on the right :nufc:

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Cheers Jimbo... that one's going on my ipod as I type :aye:

can you put it on iphone?????

 

iphone is an ipod, is it not?

 

The file format is MP4 which plays on Quicktime. Any Apple product should be able to play it I should imagine.

 

FWIW, I've played it back on my iPod and it's perfect. :lol:

 

did not see the link thing on the right :nufc:

 

me neither lol

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Thank you Bobby for so many superb memories of a game you were so passionate about.

 

I should stop reading the tributes, the first and last time Alex Ferguson's words will leave me in tears.

 

"for me, he was the special one."

 

Well said Sven.

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