It is five years today that the former Ipswich Town, Newcastle United and England manager Sir Bobby Robson sadly passed away, after losing his long fight with cancer.
John Carver and Bobby Robson while at Newcastle
Lady Elsie Robson has given a (very) long interview on the FA site today, and has talked about her husband.
Here’s some of what Lady Elsie has said:
“It was difficult, very difficult for us all, for the family especially, and I suppose you just get through it.” “You don’t sort of understand until much, much later what it all meant.”
“The public responded in such a compassionate way and I think it was something they needed as well at that time. It was wonderful to go and see the spread of flowers and tributes and memorabilia left at St James’ Park.”
“And, I think I’ve said this before, for eleven days at that time it didn’t rain, which is unusual in Newcastle, even in August.” “We didn’t have a spot of rain so after that time, someone asked me what we should do with it all, that we really needed to make some decisions.”
“So we decided to clear it all and the shirts were laundered, boxed up and stored until they were transported to various parts of Africa. “
“It was remarkable the outpouring of grief. It was something I think the football public needed at the time, as well as us. We needed it.” “We learned a long time ago to share him in life and we sort of shared him in death as well. That was something which was part of it all and you deal with it.”
“That was a great thing for Bob, that he had the charity,” “It gave him a function and a goal to lead his life in that way.” “He was very, very committed to the charity.”
“In fact, I think he was more committed to it than he had ever been, or he felt he was achieving more in a helpful way than he had been as a famous person in his own profession.”
“He was always a fighter, right throughout his life. He always wanted to achieve. That never left him and with the charity that was very much the case. He wanted to fight on. He had an aim in life and that carried him through really.”
“I suppose it gave him less time to focus on his own illness. We would drive out daily, or certainly two or three times a week, to various happenings in the area and that gave him a kind of a lifeline.”
“He met with a great team at the hospitals in Newcastle. That inspired him. He had the time. Although he was ill, he still had those last few months, the time, that maybe other people who would still be busy with their working life wouldn’t’ have.”
“As a football manager you’re probably faced with dealing with problems for your whole working life. You solve one little problem and then another one crops up, and then another one and then another one.”
“And I think he missed all of that in retirement. Well, he never did retire basically. But it kept him going. That’s what he enjoyed.” “He was a very unselfish person.”
“He really left an amazing legacy.” “I’m extremely proud of it. I never thought we’d achieve what we’ve achieved, but it just keeps going on and on.”
“We all admire him so much and miss him, of course, because he was such a larger than life man. In the best way possible, he had to be obeyed! Five years. A long time.”
Sir Bobby took over Newcastle in late August of 1999, and saved us that first season from relegation, after we were second bottom of the league after seven games when he took over from Dutchman Ruud Gullit.
Sheffield Wednesday were bottom at the time, and in his first game as Newcastle manager at St. James Park, Bobby talked about how important the game was and that it was a 6 pointer.
Newcastle were 5-0 up at half time and won the game 8-0, with a certain Alan Shearer scoring five goals – and it showed how Bobby could always inspire his players into playing at the very top of their game.
And in the last three seasons of his five year reign at his home town club, we finished in 4th, 3rd and 5th place in the Premier League.
Bobby was a tremendous manager – and maybe the best manager England has ever produced, but more than that – he was a man who was loved throughout the football world – and still is.
And Bobby Robson continues to be an inspiration to this Newcastle United web site.
If you would like to make a donation to Bobby’s foundation you can do so here.
You can also send a check to:
Sir Bobby Robson Foundation,
Charitable Funds Office,
Peacock Hall,
Royal Victoria Infirmary,
Newcastle upon Tyne
UK
Thanks.
118 comments so far
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:10 AM
Comment #1Best manager we have ever had RIP
Re-post:
Anyone on Spotify?
Try listening to Fact-Fiction / Silverflame (Mash-Up)
…maybe it’s just nostalgia for me
OneAlanShearer
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:14 AM
Comment #2True gentleman. Sadly missed but never forgotten. RIP Sir Bobby.
beermonkey
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:15 AM
Comment #3a true gent
jesper
no heard nothing on Aarons and willo thing is strange dunno whats going on there maybe he picked up a knock out there
if we were going to use obatan he would have gone on the nz tour lets not panic yet
Our Toon
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:16 AM
Comment #4A great man and a excellent manager
Repost! !
Read through some on the comments from yesterday, when did toon fans become accountants? I’ve never known anything like it.
Lukaku isn’t worth this or that we’ll his goals ensured Everton got around £20m+ in league placing and for cup runs, he’s signed for 5 years so I think he is well worth £28m. How scared have we become as fans of big transfer fees haha….sheep is how I’d describe us, the club spin PR and we take the drivel spouted and regurgitate the s*** to all others!! Why can’t we buy someone for £20m? What’s happened to the revenue generated over last 24 mths?
Lilongwe Geordie
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:17 AM
Comment #5More than just a great manager, a great man to boot. RIP Bobby. Thoughts with Lady Elsie today, must be a very difficult day for her.
On that, it would be fitting if the club were able to organise a friendly match every year in his memory at SJP against one of his former sides. Funds from ticket sales and the like going to his foundation.
Rainrix
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:17 AM
Comment #6Jesper… Tbh i’ve always imagined ibiza looking like spongebob, walking around wearing a shirt and tie but completing the look with shorts. It’s how i’d do business in a hot place 🙂
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:19 AM
Comment #7Talk about irony!
http://www.themag.co.uk/the-mag-articles/mike-ashley-promises-smash-rivals-bits-dont-co-operate/?
Rainrix
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:20 AM
Comment #8Lil…. Thats a great idea actually. Imagine having a club like barca back at SJP. That would be a pre season sell out i guarantee 🙂
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:21 AM
Comment #9Rainrix….that would just be awkward if Obertan retired there then – two Spongebobs occupying the same place at the same time! can that even be done 😀 lol
Lilongwe Geordie
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:24 AM
Comment #10Our Toon,
If Lukaku fires in the goals for them over the next 2 or three years, £28million will be a snip. Not to mention the fact his value will appreciate and they could sell him for far more after a couple of successful seasons. Would have been superb up here.
Still, he isn’t coming, and I’m struggling to see where we join terms of striker now. I think we have what we will have, barring a departure or 2 and a cut price bargain.
Do AC Milan still have Niang? Would it be worth swapping for HBA? Another petulant brat who hasn’t lived up to expectations, but we scouted him for a while. Right up our alley that sort of thing!
beermonkey
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:24 AM
Comment #11Lilongwe
some1 posted on here a while ago a pre season tourney of all his old clubs
I am sure it would go down a storm
Lilongwe Geordie
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:26 AM
Comment #12Rainrix,
Yeah, imagine if instead of playing Sheff Wed last night we were playing Barca, Sporting etc tonight instead. The emotion and excitement of a night like that is what football is about – and all in a good cause.
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:26 AM
Comment #13Beer/Rainrix…I found this, but apparently they couldn’t find a picture of Spongebob 😉
http://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/newcastle-united/gabriel-obertan-told-his-future-lies-away-from-newcastle-1-6759362
beermonkey
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:28 AM
Comment #14jesper
just read the mag article its not going to be long before sports direct is on the shirts
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:30 AM
Comment #15beer…deep down I think we all know that 🙁
Lilongwe Geordie
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:31 AM
Comment #16Beer,
All we need after SD on the shirts is to change the strips to red and blue. Obviously not for Sports Directs benefit. Mike would be helping us remember our heritage and the 2 clubs who merged to become Newcastle United. One wore a predominantly red top, one wore predominantly blue. Beautiful that Mike is keeping the clubs history alive.
baloo
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:32 AM
Comment #17He may be gone but never forgotten.RIP Sir Bobby this might be a little late for you but worth doing in the future maybe.
http://www.bikeforbobby.com/
beermonkey
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:38 AM
Comment #18Lilongwe
if he thought he could do it and not cause riots he would but I wouldn’t put it past him when he does get his logo on the shits give it a year and he will try,
didn’t tan at Cardiff change there colour from blue to red
tequilamag
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:39 AM
Comment #19Not sure SD would be allowed to be a “paid ” sponsor as it would be seen as being a breach of FFP. Note the Mansours do not directly sponsor their own club though they get round this by getting close associates to sponsor Man City way above the market value,
Rainrix
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:39 AM
Comment #20Jesper…. He’ll be lurking about somewhere as he always is 🙂
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:39 AM
Comment #21Can someone translate this tweet for into common English, cause I read it a bit different than the author of this article:
http://www.nufcfans.co.uk/2014/07/ukraine-bound-alan-pardew-closes-door-hatem-ben-arfas-newcastle-career/?
Even my translator agrees with me 😀
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:42 AM
Comment #22tequila…the SD signs are plastered all over SJP already without playing a single dime…taking up advertisement space worth money (money any other company would have to pay)
How do you explain that?
beermonkey
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:43 AM
Comment #23tequilamag
he wont pay for the privilege of being on the shirts
Our Toon
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:44 AM
Comment #24LG
I was just surprised to find fans blasting Everton for signing Lukaku, he’s apparently over priced, someone even said he’s not as good as Remy or Pea as he’s not skillful and doesn’t have pace, Pea and Remy are very different type of strikers to Lukaku.
I think we need to sign a big beast of a CF, Benteke looks like the last one left for me as Hernandez will probs end up at Ath Madrid. Niang seems to have lost his way at Milan, Perez is also a world beater now, people comparing him to a young Torres or Suarez after he scored last night in a friendly. What concerned me the most was that it took 5 5mins to get our 1st shot on target, symptoms of last year will remain
tequilamag
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:45 AM
Comment #25As long as no money is changing hands it does not affect FFP.
Lilongwe Geordie
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:46 AM
Comment #26Tequila,
He doesn’t own SD, he is a majority shareholder. It wouldn’t be seen as a conflict of interests as in a normal organisation he couldn’t make that decision alone. In reality he makes all decisions.
Anyway, as long as the FFP auditors view it as a competitive package or less, then it wouldn’t matter. The issue would only become a problem if he paid over the odds for it. I think we can all agree that it would be unlikely for him to pay, let alone over pay.
Lilongwe Geordie
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:51 AM
Comment #27Our Toon,
I think people have been blasted by financial prudence by the cub for so long that it has worked its way into the mindset. I don’t care if the club spends 0 or 40million on a player, as long as the player does the business for us.
Perez is like Torres/Suarez in the fact his first language is Spanish. After that comparisons are tenuous at best. But he did score against the mighty Sheffield Wednesday…. In a similar fashion, last season after the Liverpool game at home, Dummet was a top class left back. Fast forward 2/3 months, championship at best became the prevailing opinion. Was there not an NUFC hashtag a couple of years back saying #letsgetcarriedaway? Looks like we are again!
ilovetoon8788
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:51 AM
Comment #28Just imagine with our current players what sir Bobby would achieve..
estechco
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:53 AM
Comment #29> Try listening to Fact-Fiction / Silverflame (Mash-Up)
Jepser – Yeah, I quite like that!
Rotonda heights
Jul 31, 2014 at 11:01 AM
Comment #30Never be another SBR . God bless that man. Stood for everything right in the game
Our toon,
I think we just got burned paying extortionate fees out on the likes of Owen, Luque, Boumsong etc so naturally we as fans are a little bit more cautious about wasting money on mercenary injury prone duds.
Not saying Lukaku is one of those at all but Everton have Martinez and European football to attract Lukaku. We don’t and don’t.
I quite like the clever and shrewd signings we make. But for example if we got P.E.A for 13M then that to me would be a smarter deal than throwing everything in with Lukaku, good as he is.
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Jul 31, 2014 at 11:01 AM
Comment #31Paying nothing for the association of Newcastle United and capitalizing on it is nothing but “ambush marketing”…of some sort (I am not a lawyer)
…can’t even believe it’s legal (from a competitors point of view?)
estechco…isn’t it 😀 There’s an entire EP called Side Effects. Check it out.
estechco
Jul 31, 2014 at 11:05 AM
Comment #32jesper – I am doing
tequilamag
Jul 31, 2014 at 11:06 AM
Comment #33Lilo not my field but what I have been told by people who are more savvy about this sort of thing. Bottom line is we are not going to see SD on Newcastle shirts.
Lilongwe Geordie
Jul 31, 2014 at 11:11 AM
Comment #34Tequila,
No offence, but you have been misinformed. Just need to look at Stole City, owned by the Coates family who also own shirt sponsors, Bet365.
Sliema
Jul 31, 2014 at 11:12 AM
Comment #35SD would be very slightly better than Wonga imo… Or, maybe it wouldn’t.
Either way they’re both pretty terrible!
tequilamag
Jul 31, 2014 at 11:15 AM
Comment #36Sliema can only hope that companies like Wonga are regulated out of business.
Our Toon
Jul 31, 2014 at 11:19 AM
Comment #37LG
I remember a certain Alex Mathie scoring a wonder goal, hailed as KK as a new gem he found on his doorstep, we just need to take a breather and not put pressure on the younger lad, he will be very hit and miss this season but the most important thing is that he actually learns something and develops his game.
Rotonda
Yes we have been bitten by them transfers but didn’t we break the record for Shearer? We can continuously keep penny pinching until we get players on the cheap after a couple of years but to me that’s not progress, instead we’ve wasted years to get someone cheaply when they were need 24mths ago. Some prices are ridiculous but at times we should be the going rate, Bony being another example.
We penny pinch whilst the rest spend more and more and more. Don’t get me wrong we could buy a player for £2m or £20m I couldn’t care less but I do expect when we are short in an area of the squad that the club spend on a player who is a good fit, in my eyes this is Benteke or Bony type of forward. I’m still surprised Ba went to Besiktas to £4.7m absolute steal for what he’ll bring to them maybe we could have moved in on him.
Remy and Pea look very similar to Riviere, they play in a certain way and don’t bring the height, strength required to play with their back to goal. That’s my opinion
outsidethebox
Jul 31, 2014 at 11:25 AM
Comment #38spurs after eric dier ….would like to think toon could try for younis kaboul …nearing end of contract…
tequilamag
Jul 31, 2014 at 11:26 AM
Comment #39Lilo well spotted. I stand corrected.
Slank
Jul 31, 2014 at 11:36 AM
Comment #40I do think that there could be a problem if Sports Direct paid Newcastle United (but in reality Mike Ashley) for sponsorship.
Being a publicly traded company there may be rules and regs, legal and/or City, that prevent a company paying one of its directors by means of sponsorship. It would certainly attract the attention of the pension funds that are shareholders of Sports Direct.