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SIR BOBBY ROBSON CBE - A
SPECIAL APPRECIATION
The League Managers Association
joins the world of football in mourning the passing of one of the giants of the
game. Sir Bobby Robson was not only a person who graced the managerial
profession, he quite simply graced mankind.
His knighthood recognised his
outstanding contribution as a player, coach and then manager who enjoyed success
with some of greatest clubs in Europe. There has never been a finer sporting
ambassador; his achievements in winning titles in Holland with PSV Eindhoven and
in Portugal with FC Porto as well as helping to rejuvenate an ailing Barcelona
team in Spain are unequalled by anybody from these shores. And he will long be
remembered as an under-rated manager of the England team who came closest to
emulating the feat of Sir Alf Ramsey in winning the World Cup in
1966.
But his most endearing characteristic was his humility, a quality
honed by a childhood spent in the shadow of the pit-head at Langley Park
Colliery on the outskirts of Durham City, where his father Philip spent most of
his working life. He never forgot those roots. Sir Bobby had an uncanny knack of
recognising genuine football talent whether it be in a footballer or a coach.
There are many who owe their subsequent greatness to the encouragement and
example received from him when their careers were in the embryonic stage. But,
if he delighted in spotting, nurturing and then worshipping such natural
ability, he eschewed arrogance as much as he did weak-hearted players who failed
to do themselves justice either on or off the field. His way may not have been
to rant and rave, but transgressors certainly felt his velvet glove.
The
LMA is proud to have had as one of its members and Life Vice President a man who
demonstrated courage, dignity and unselfishness beyond normal human limitations.
When his fifth and finally fatal attack of cancer was diagnosed, he immediately
founded a charity aimed at finding a remedy for a debilitating disease which
respects neither young or old; rich or poor; fame or anonymity. The Sir Bobby
Robson Foundation quickly realised and passed its million pound target and will
continue to fund research equipment at a new unit in the Freeman Hospital on
Tyneside where he was treated.
Our association is also proud to have
awarded Sir Bobby a special honour by inducting him into our Hall of Fame.
Richard Bevan, Chief Executive of the LMA said,
“I was very proud in my first year as CEO to be able to arrange
the LMA’s inaugural Hall of Fame Dinner, A Tribute to Sir Bobby Robson. What
struck me most about this remarkable man was the level of warmth in the room
that night. 400 guests, mostly friends, family, LMA members and those from the
game who had all been touched in some way by Bobby in their lives or career, sat
captivated whilst he spoke about his passion for the game. Bobby only intended
to speak for a few minutes, he was up there for about 20, and the room was
silent the whole time, hanging on his every word. Bobby loved the game, that was
clear, and using his words, ‘it was the drug that his body needed’. He will be
sadly missed.”
Howard Wilkinson, Chairman of the LMA,
explained by saying,
“Our Hall of Fame recognises outstanding achievement and we hope
takes into account the circumstances and nature in which achievements take
place. Whatever the level of resource available to him, Bobby always realised
his team's maximum potential.
Sir Bobby encapsulated the whole range of
worthy attributes and achievements we cite as criteria. He was truly ‘the man
for all seasons’. When you look at Sir Bobby’s career as a player, a coach and a
manager, he did the lot - top class amateur and international player, successful
club manager at home and abroad, England’s second most successful international
manager. But he was much more than that, an honest, passionate, determined,
modest, generous, vulnerable, resilient, courageous, selfless individual. I know
not one person who, having met and worked with him, did not come to like,
admire, even love him. Like many great leaders, Bobby had the capacity to create
in those who worked with him and for him, a massive sense of obligation. You
quickly felt that you just could not let him down.
I first became really
aware of Sir Bobby when I developed a passion for coaching. Along with a lot of
others, we were frequent visitors to places like Lilleshall at a time when
England had and was preparing some of the best coaches in the world. I knew him.
I didn’t know he knew me. Unknown to me, he played a part in me getting my first
job at Notts County and my job at Leeds United. When he became England manager,
he offered me the assistant’s job and when I stupidly declined, had the
forbearance to offer me the U21 and England B jobs.
My best memories of
Bobby are the funny ones, all the more funny because he remained blissfully
unaware, nor offended that his faux pas became a source of such fun. At one U21
gathering, I selected Shola Ameobi who was a young striker at Newcastle
under him. Bobby had also bought at great expense Carl Cort, a striker from
Wimbledon. Shola had about six Christian names, most of them, to me,
unpronounceable and in an attempt to put him at his ease on his debut
performance, I called the lad over and asked him what Bobby called him when he
was at the club. With absolutely no sense of resentment, rather more with a
sense of love and understanding, Shola said, ‘Carl Cort,
mostly'"
“At a time when ‘great’ and ‘world class’ are
sometimes too freely ascribed, the descriptions underscored Sir Bobby Robson.
He was truly a great and world class person.”
Sir Alex Ferguson revealed
a total admiration for his fellow football knight that belied his own
outstanding record as the most successful manager in British football history.
"I was never too big or proud to ask him for advice which he gave
freely and unconditionally. And I'm sure I am speaking for a lot of people when
I say that,” commented the Manchester United manager. “In my 23 years working in
England there is not a person I would put an inch above Bobby Robson. I mourn
the passing of a great friend; a wonderful individual; a tremendous football man
and somebody with passion and knowledge of the game that was
unsurpassed.
His character was hewn out of the coal face; developed by
the Durham County mining background that he came from. His parents instilled in
him the discipline and standards which forged the character of a genuinely
colossal human being. He added his own qualities to that which then he passed on
to his sons.
The strength and courage he showed over the past couple of
years when battling against his fifth bout of cancer was indescribable. Always a
smile; always a friendly word with never a mention of his own problems. The
world, not just the football world, will miss him. Let's hope it won't be long
before another like him turns up because we could never get enough of
them.”
Fabio Capello, one of Sir Bobby's successors as
England manager, and now President of the LMA, said,
“Sir Bobby was a wonderful man, a real gentleman. I remember very
well the times I managed my teams against him. The first time being when Bobby
was manager of Barcelona and I was in my first season with Real Madrid. Later,
when he was Newcastle manager and I was with Roma we faced each other – as
opponents, but always friends.
Of course, I recall Bobby as a manager
with Ipswich, but more so with England. To manage the national team for so long
was a remarkable achievement, and we all remember how close he came to leading
England to the World Cup Final in Italy. He went on to enjoy success with PSV
Eindhoven, Porto, Sporting Lisbon and Barcelona before returning to ‘home’ to
Newcastle.
Earlier this year I spent some time with Bobby when he opened
the new cancer treatment centre, for which he worked so hard to raise funds. He
was a fantastic man, and loved by so many people. His spirit and courage was
incredible. To fight cancer so many times really showed the strength of the
man.
All the time we spoke over a cup of coffee with his close family,
his passion for football shone through. He loved the game and was extremely
proud of his country and the North East region. I also recall the tribute dinner
the LMA hosted for Bobby when he wasn’t planning to say more than a few words.
In the end he stayed on the stage for a very long time, telling story after
story, much to everyone’s amusement.
It’s extremely sad that Sir Bobby
has lost his final fight against cancer, but he will never be forgotten. He
really was a great man.”
George Burley, the Scotland team
manager, had a different and much more personal association with Sir Bobby,
starting from the day when, as a 15-year-old straight from school, he left his
home in Cumnock, Ayrshire, to become one of the first two schoolboys to join his
Ipswich Town club.
“It was a big decision for me and my
parents to make such a long journey at that age,” he recalled. “But Sir Bobby
was like a father to me, taking a personal interest in me right from the start,
always checking whether I was happy; were the digs all right; was I getting the
right food and so on. His support and enthusiasm was the perfect cure for
homesickness and helped my career to get off the ground and thrive.
I'll
never forget when in 1973, the day before we played Manchester United at Old
Trafford, he took me to one side and told me I would be making my first-team
debut. I was 17 and the player I had to mark just happened to be George Best. My
parents came down from Scotland to watch the game and I remember him getting off
the team bus and presenting them with two directors' box tickets. We lost 3-0
but Sir Bobby was magnificent, telling me how well I'd played. It did wonders
for my confidence.
“I went on to play over 500 games for Ipswich in a
side that drew inspiration from its manager. From 1972 we qualified for European
competitions nine out of ten years which was remarkable considering the size of
our squad and our standing as a small-town club.
“That was all down to
his man management; tactics and judgement. No finer example of that was when,
after we won the FA Cup, he sold Brian Talbot to Arsenal for £450,000 and spent
less than that to bring in that fabulous Dutch pair Arnold Muhren and Frans
Thijssen.
“I could not possibly get my head round how my career would
have gone had it not been for Sir Bobby Robson. I owe him everything and I only
hope I can be guided by the example he showed me.”
LMA Vice
Chairman Frank Clark remembers one special occasion when his and Sir Bobby's
paths crossed. “It was against Bobby's Ipswich team that I scored
the only goal of my playing career,” he
said.
“I was at Nottingham Forest and we played them at
Portman Road a week before their Cup Final against Arsenal. I was sub but Brian
Clough put me on for the second half instead of our striker Peter Withe after
giving the team a typical half-time rollicking. I'd never played up front before
or since but I got a chance that even I couldn't miss.
Afterwards,
Cloughie's assistant Peter Taylor asked Bobby for the match ball for me but he
wouldn't hand it over because he didn't believe I'd scored the only goal of a
500-game plus career against his team. He only agreed after a lot of
convincing.
“As a County Durham-born lad myself I had a special affinity
with Sir Bobby. I had the pleasure and honour of representing the LMA when he
was given the freedom of Durham City a few months ago. As usual, in spite of his
health problems, he delivered a speech which had everybody hanging on every
word. Although he always put me at ease when we met I was completely in awe of
him. He was a one-off; a very special person.”
Bryan Robson
will be ever grateful to Sir Bobby for the epithet his namesake handed him at an
England press conference. “He called me his Captain Marvel and it
stuck for the rest of my playing career,” said the former Manchester United and
England skipper. `It made me very proud but it was only typical of the respect
he earned from myself and the rest of the dressing room.
“I have never
come across anybody with such a passion for football. We had a tremendous
personal relationship as manager and skipper. Any criticism he had of a player
was kept very private; publicly he gave all of us his total backing. We stayed
pretty close even towards the end and along with many other friends I enjoyed
his company in Portugal playing in his Golf Classic. He will be missed by
everybody who knew him.”
A final fitting tribute comes from
Jose Mourinho who owes his dynamic career as a successful European Cup-winning
coach with Porto as well as two league title triumphs with Chelsea and more
recently with Inter Milan in Italy to his former mentor. It was Sir Bobby who
plucked the then unknown schoolteacher from obscurity and gave him a job on his
coaching staff at Sporting Lisbon before taking him with him to FC Porto and
Barcelona.
Said Jose, “I have no words to speak about Mr
Robson. That's why for a few months I have been unable to talk to him. It is
difficult to accept such a person is no longer with us - but he is immortal
because he leaves in everybody who knows him a mark of his personality - a great
coach but, more than that, a great
person."
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