Ahead of Sir Bobby Robson Day on Easter Monday, EADT editor-in-chief Terry Hunt, an Ipswich Town fan for 50 seasons, pays his own tribute to the great man.
Why do we love Sir Bobby Robson so much?
The easy answer is that he made dreams come true for so many football fans, whether they were supporters of Ipswich Town, Newcastle United, or a host of big-name European clubs.
Pretty much wherever he went, success and silverware followed. If you look at his CV, it makes impressive reading. On the international stage, he came so close to reaching the World Cup Final with England in 1990.
But the affection which just about everyone has for Sir Bobby goes way beyond footballing success. We can all point to managers who have won many more cups and league championships. We respect them, but we don’t love them.
The difference with Sir Bobby was his wonderful, warm personality. Whoever you were, whatever you wanted, he always had time for you. There are many stories of how willingly Sir Bobby gave of his time. His secretary at Ipswich Town, Pat Godbold, says she had to be very strict with him, to stop him agreeing to requests which would have taken him out to supporters’ events every night of the week.
I had good reason to be grateful to Sir Bobby’s generosity of spirit. In 1992, Ipswich had won the Second Division championship, to take their place in the new Premier League.
We were planning a supplement, and I had the job of getting some quotes from Sir Bobby, who was coaching Eindhoven in Holland. I called the club number, and asked to speak to Mr Robson. I waited, and waited. After what seemed an eternity, there was the sound of football boots, followed by: “Bobby Robson here, how can I help you, son?”
At the mention of Ipswich Town, Sir Bobby had left the training ground and got to the phone. After about 15 minutes, I began to feel guilty about taking him away from his players and was trying to end the call, but he was still in full flow, talking about Ipswich! Many people will tell similar stories. The purity of his love for the sport is another big reason why he is so widely revered.
At Ipswich Town he brought the club the longest sustained spell of success in its history. For the decade between 1972 and 1982, Ipswich were one of the major forces not only in English football, but also in Europe.
Only once in that time did the team finish outside the top six of the First Division (now the Premier League) – and that was in 1978, when Town won the FA Cup.
There were so many memorable European adventures, predominantly in the UEFA Cup, which Ipswich won in 1981. One of Sir Bobby’s biggest regrets was that Ipswich never won the First Division championship under his leadership. The closest they came was also in that memorable 1980-81 season, when they were unluckily pipped by Villa.
Just like Sir Alf Ramsey before him, Sir Bobby was head-hunted by England, and we Town fans said a sad but proud goodbye. Numerous footballing adventures followed for Sir Bobby, culminating in managing Newcastle United, his home town club.
Having fought and beaten cancer on a number of occasions, Sir Bobby set up his own foundation to help research and treatment. Since then, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation has surpassed its initial fund-raising target many times over, and the total stands at many millions.
Sadly, Sir Bobby lost his final battle with the disease in 2009. I’m not ashamed to say I shed a tear.
On Monday, on a special occasion, I look forward to both sets of fans paying tribute, with our shared song: “One Bobby Robson, there’s only one Bobby Robson…”
It wasn’t success from the off
Sir Bobby’s success at Portman Road didn’t happen overnight, and owes a great deal to the patience of club chairman John Cobbold. Many more trigger-happy chairman would have fired Robson before his glory years even started.
He famously had a dressing room fight with club skipper Bill Baxter and stalwart defender Tommy Carroll, and in his first two seasons Town struggled to stay in the First Division.
A low point came in September 1971, when Robson’s Ipswich were humiliated in the League Cup at Portman Road by a George Best inspired Manchester United. Large sections of the crowd called for Robson’s head.
Instead, the following morning, “Mr John” apologised to the young manager and gave him funds to buy Allan Hunter a vital part of the success which was to quickly follow. Within a year, Ipswich were one of the best teams in the country, and that would the case for the next decade.
An object lesson for football club chairmen everywhere?
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