Remembering Sir Bobby

I have always had a soft spot for Sir Bobby Robson. I always find him to be a person with dignity and that particular trait is lacking nowadays amongst football managers. I used to hate Newcastle United, but Sir Bobby made it alright to root for them every now and then ...

A couple of evenings back, I stumbled across a new released documentary on his managerial journey, leading up to the his retirement and his finals days, ravaged with the effect of cancer. It was called “Bobby Robson - More Than a Manager”, still playing on Netflix. Still even then, he carried himself well, commanding respect.

The substantial chunk of the story revolved around his year as the manager of Barcelona. Despite bringing them 3 trophies in that solitary season, he was axed in favour of the younger Louis van Gaal. It was a time when the original Ronaldo was his main striker, Pep Guardiola was his Captain and Jose Mourinho was his assistant. A sad day when he found out that he was being shown the door to go upstairs. He did not hang around too long, returning to his hometown soon after.

I remembered in 2009 when he was present at his charity match being wheeled in on a chair, looking very frail. He died five later and still seeing him was an absolute joy.

Bless the man and it is almost 10 years since he is gone. I don’t believe any managers held a grudge against him .... Rest in peace Sir Bobby .