Bobby Robson Rip

[spongeman]

Just heard there on Sky that he passed away this morning.

Now THAT'S a real legend.

Got Newcastle to 3rd, 4th, and 5th in the League, got England to within penalties of a World Cup final, and was booted out by both !

A great man.

[Lite Beer]

A great man.

Yes he was. One of the best.

[LeungKen]

Thanks for the memories Sir Bobby, your name and the the manner in which you played the game will be treasured forever.

[bkkjames]

Yep, all class.

[LaoPo]

Sir Bobby Robson

Football legend Robson dies at 76

Former England manager Sir Bobby Robson has died at the age of 76, following a long battle with cancer.

Robson will be best remembered on the international stage for leading England to the 1990 World Cup semi-final.

At club level, he cut his managerial teeth at Fulham before establishing his credentials at Ipswich where he won the FA Cup and Uefa Cup in a 13-year stay.

Spells at PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, Porto and Barcelona followed before managing at Newcastle.

Robson was at St James' Park for a charity match earlier this week.

An England side, featuring Alan Shearer and several members of the 1990 World Cup squad including Paul Gascoigne and Peter Shilton, beat a Germany team 3-2.

The game was a repeat of the 1990 World Cup semi-final when England, managed by Sir Bobby, lost on penalties.

A statement issued on behalf of his family said: "It is with great sadness that it has been announced today that Sir Bobby Robson has lost his long and courageous battle with cancer.

"He died very peacefully this morning (Friday) at his home in County Durham with his wife and family beside him.

"Sir Bobby's funeral will be private and for family members only.

"A thanksgiving service in celebration of Sir Bobby's life will be held at a later date for his many friends and colleagues.

"Lady Robson and the family would very much appreciate it if their privacy could be respected at this difficult time."

As a player, Robson was a key member of the Fulham and West Brom team during the 1950s and 1960s and also won 20 caps for England.

Story from BBC SPORT:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport2/hi...all/8177945.stm

-- BBC July 31, 2009

LaoPo

[mrtoad]

A true great and a football legend. RIP.

[delboy]

A great man and a sad day for football.

RIP Sir Bobby.

[Jockstar]

Terrible news. RIP Sir Bobby

[alant]

true gent, true to all his clubs, true to all those who watched him. a loss

[marshbags]

true gent, true to all his clubs, true to all those who watched him. a loss

Agreed

A gentleman always, and never to be forgotten.

RIP Bobby

marshbags ened by the news

[phutoie2]

As a Suffolk Punch ex-pat I salute you "Sir Bobby"

The 1978 FA Cup final against the mighty Arsenal and those European nights at Portman Road, still so fresh in the memory.

[echobono]

R.I.P Sir Bobby, and thanks for the memories.

[trainman34014]

true gent, true to all his clubs, true to all those who watched him. a loss

Agreed

A gentleman always, and never to be forgotten.

RIP Bobby

marshbags ened by the news

One of the most respected British managers of all time both by players and the general public. RIP Bobby.

[mrbojangles]

R.I.P Sir Bobby. Very sad news.

[sanmiguellight]

Watching the rolling news channels over here and ive never seen so many people from all walks of life speak in such genuine glowing terms about a man.

Like Beardsleys story from when he went to speak to Bryan Robson in the 1986 World Cup, he said ok Bobby to which Bryan Robson interupted and said no you're Bobby im Bryan!

He certainly put fun and decency into football.

[thaimiller]

R.I.P Bobby, a legend that will not be forgotten.

[Jockstar]

SIR BOBBY ROBSON: 1933-2009

The story of a legend: Sir Bobby's factfile

By Soccernet Staff

July 31, 2009

Comment

Email

Print

Sir Bobby Robson Factfile:

1933: Born February 18, in Langley Park, County Durham.

1950: Joins Fulham. Makes 152 appearances, scoring 68 goals. Moves to West Brom, scoring 56 goals in 239 games.

GettyImages

Sir Bobby Robson: 1933-2009.

1958: Plays for England in World Cup in Sweden. Wins 20 caps for his country and one under-23 cap.

1962: Rejoins Fulham, making 193 appearances and scoring nine goals.

1967: Leaves Fulham in May to join Vancouver Royals as manager.

1968: Takes over as Fulham manager in January. Sacked in November.

1969: Appointed manager of Ipswich.

1978: Ipswich win FA Cup with 1-0 victory over Arsenal.

1981: Ipswich win UEFA Cup with a 5-4 aggregate victory over AZ Alkmaar.

1982: Appointed England manager.

1986: England reach World Cup quarter-finals, losing to Argentina 2-1, thanks to Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' opening goal.

1990: Football Association reveal Robson's contract as England manager is unlikely to be renewed even if he wins World Cup. Robson announces he will be taking over at PSV Eindhoven after tournament. England beaten on penalties in World Cup semi-final by West Germany.

1991: Wins Dutch league with PSV.

1992: Wins Dutch league before taking over as manager of Sporting Lisbon.

1993: Controversially sacked in December after a UEFA Cup defeat.

1994: Appointed manager of FC Porto, with whom he wins Portuguese Cup.

1995: Guides Porto to Portuguese league title.

1996: Steers Porto to second successive league title before resigning to take over at Barcelona.

1997: Presides over Barcelona's Cup Winners' Cup-winning campaign but eventually surrenders coaching reins to Louis van Gaal and moves upstairs as Barcelona's general manager in charge of scouring Europe for talent.

1998: Rejoins PSV as coach over the summer.

1999: February - Offers to take over as England boss on a temporary basis after the sacking of Glenn Hoddle.

September 3 - Appointed manager of Newcastle.

GettyImages

Sir Bobby Robson with Alan Shearer.

2000: February 18 - agrees a new 12-month rolling contract with Newcastle on his 67th birthday.

October 21 - Rules himself out of the running to take on the England job for a second time.

2002: Leads Newcastle United to fourth place in the Premiership to put them into the qualifying stages of the Champions League.

June 15 - Knighted in Queen's Birthday Honours.

2003: May - Newcastle finish the season in third place and qualify for the Champions League qualifying rounds, where they are beaten by Partizan Belgrade.

2004: August 1: Chairman Freddy Shepherd confirms he will not extend Robson's contract when it expires at the end of the 2004-2005 season. Robson admits Shepherd's comments had been a surprise.

August 14: Leaves Kieron Dyer on the bench after the England man refuses to play on the right wing against Middlesbrough.

August 28: Robson chooses to start captain Alan Shearer on the bench as Newcastle lose 4-2 at Aston Villa.

August 30: Newcastle reveal Robson has been "relieved of his duties'' as manager.

2005: October - Admits his interest in taking over as Hearts manager to replace Ipswich protege George Burley.

November: Hearts appoint former Chelsea coach Graham Rix as head coach.

2006: January - Named as international football consultant to new Republic of Ireland manager Steve Staunton.

August 5 - Treated in hospital after being taken ill during the first half of Ipswich's clash with Crystal Palace, at which he had been named honorary club president.

August 20 - Announces he needs operation to remove a small brain tumour.

2007: May 6 - Vows to "battle as I've always done'' following the start of chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed with cancer for the fifth time.

November 15 - Indicates his health may mean he has to retire.

2008: February 16 - Embarks upon a campaign to raise £1m to fund a cancer trial research centre at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital.

August 7 - Admits he will lose his long battle against cancer "sooner rather than later''.

October 30 - Joined by Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Robson at a gala event to raise money for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

December 8 - Granted the freedom of the city of Durham.

2009: February 20 - Accepts a cheque for £75,000 from England boss Fabio Capello on behalf of the Football Association, their contribution to his charity fund.

April 24 - Announces the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy clash between England and Germany on July 26.

July 26 - Attends St James' Park for England v Germany clash in a wheelchair and is given a guard of honour. Also presented with the Emerald UEFA Order of Merit award.

July 31 - Robson dies at home at the age of 76.

[EastSaxCol]

I'll always remember the affection that he commanded in Porto when he managed their team -- his endearing personality transcended boundaries.

RIP a great man

[aitch52]

Well done Jockstar, his achievements are an example to us all, Englishman, Gentlemman, Gentle man RIP Sir Bobby always fondly remembered

[charlie1968]

YES WHAT A GENTLEMAN

[doodee]

I had the honour to meet Sir Bobby and he was a lovely man and a real gent.

R.I.P

And thank you for many many happy hours of good football.

[doppa]

i also met the man, he kindly signed an oil painting i did of him in his playing days , he deliberated for ages, and kept asking me , what should i say, extraordinary man, and a sad loss to the world of football, and life itself, god rest bonny lad.

[Crill]

What a sad day. He truly was a gent and an amazing character.

RIP Sir Bobby Robson

[rixalex]

Great man. True gent (dying breed).

RIP

[Devil]

Legend... Never forgot.

[EastSaxCol]

[eddie11]

A true gentleman of the game, will be sadly missed.

RIP Sir Bobby

"A GENUINELY COLOSSAL HUMAN BEING"

The footballing world today paid tribute to Sir Bobby Robson, who has died after a long battle with lung cancer. Sir Alex Ferguson led the tributes, saying: "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."

Howard Wilkinson also paid tribute to a man who also had a tendency to forget players' names (hence the Fiver's reference to him as Rir Sobby Robson). "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 England Under-21 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'.

[Macclad]

A very sad day for the world of football.

As well as being a hugely successful manager he was a true gentleman and decent guy.

Some really nice tributes being paid to him on the BBC Sports website.

RIP Sir Bobby.

[Tingnongnoi]

very sad news

RIP Sir Bobby

[Sarpedon]

Very sad news indeed. A true footballing gentlemen. Not many like him left in the game. RIP