Please enjoy our tribute to Sir Bobby Robson one year after he sadly died. And thanks to our friends from Ipswich fan site http://www.twtd.co.uk/ for sending TOTT their memories of Sir Bobby as well.
The day Sir Bobby finally passed away was hugely emotional for me. He was the spitting image of my dad – so much so that they looked like brothers! – and I saw my own father deteriorate and pass away from cancer, just as Sir Bobby did.
However, the most emotional part of it all was seeing Sir Bobby on TV at St James’ Park for the England v Germany Italia ’90 re-match, and seeing my dad is Bobby’s eyes. They shared so much humility, bravery, strength and dignity.
When I saw Sir Bobby on TV that night, I’m not ashamed to say that I openly wept – not only for him, for my for my dad too. It finally allowed me to let my emotions out & I grieved for them both.
I miss them both every single day, and know they will be having a beer together somewhere and debating the football issues of the day. Both your spirits live on every single time I hear Local Hero. R.I.P. Sir Bobby. R.I.P. Dad. Both may be gone, but neither will ever be forgotten.
Matt (WeAreTheMags)
I had the honour to meet Sir Bobby a day before Toon match at Partizan Belgrade in the summer of 2003. I still don’t know how I got in there, I guess the security thought that I’m English because I had my Newcastle shirt on.
I wanted to get a photo of me and Bobby and asked him the second the press conference was done. There was a confusion as a friend who was supposed to take the photo decided that she wanted to be in the photo as well – when I already had my arm around Bobby.
Then he spoke to me: ‘You have to be more organized.’
The photo was taken, I said my thanks, and that was about it. I stayed for the training and got the chance to be photographed alongside Shearer who is my hero among others, but looking at it now, standing next to Sir Bobby has to be the highlight of that day.
‘You have to be more organized’ he said. And I try, Sir Bobby.
You will be fondly remembered among the true football fans in Serbia.
And you will always be my inspiration. Thank you.
Nenad Mijaljević
Met Sir Bobby after his book signing in Toon. One of the best days of my life. I was the last person in the queue, he’d had a long day and looked quite tired. His minders said we could have 5 minutes to chat before Sir Bobby had to leave. So we signed my book and we started talking about NUFC.
Halfway through the conversation I got the impression that he’d forgotten where he was and who I was because he gave me a confused look and somehow started off on one about golf and then told me about the biggest fish he’d ever caught. I just kept nodding and grinning like an oaf.
So he’s in the middle of telling me about the fish when one of the minders steps in and says ok I think it’s time to leave, so Sir Bobby wished me well in my career as a racing driver and shook my hand. I don’t where he got the racing career from; I never mentioned anything about racing.
Looking back at it now I think that might have been a self-deprecating joke from the man himself, realising he’d forgotten who I was.
Legend.
Hayrr X
A football legend and a gentleman.
In 1978 he personally arranged for my father and I to be sent Cup final tickets (without payment in advance) as we had not received the qualifying vouchers with the tickets for the semi final against WBA.
We met him outside Portman Road purely by chance and spoke with
im for a few minutes and he said ‘Leave it with me’
In a few days the tickets arrived much to our delight and it has to be said some surprise. I cannot imagine that happening today.
Roland Benneworth
You were an inspiration to all, someone for every man, woman and child to look up too You will always be remembered in our hearts as a caring man and a legend. You are missed by All
Ian and the Jack Clan
Robert William Robson.
Born in the heart of County Durham’s
Mining community, son of a miner.
A man destined to become
A true footballing legend, we will remember you.
We will remember you with affection
We will remember your smile
We will remember your triumphs
We will remember your dignity
And perhaps most of all
We will remember your immense courage.
An inspiration to so many
Our elder statesman of world football
And a man for all seasons.
God bless you our bonny lad.
John Oliver. (nettydoor on twitter)
Unfortunately I am not old enough to remember the great days when Sir Bobby managed Ipswich but have seen loads of video footage of the time he was in charge been and heard all the stories by my Grandad of what a great manager he was and also when he got the chance to meet him, what a great gentleman he was.
These days the term ‘Legend’ is used all too frequently and associated to people who did/have done far less but in the case of Sir Bobby he was truly a
egend not just to Ipswich Town but also to Newcastle and many others.
RIP Sir Bobby you are still greatly missed and always will be.
Craig Bishop
Bobby was Unique, loved by everyone, I was lucky to meet him at my first ever football match, Toon v Ipswich in a pre season game,
Forever remembered. RIP Sir Bobby. Toon and Town Legend.
Adam Cuthbert
Sir Bobby
A Football legend and a true gentleman
Steve Palmer
Ipswich Town Fan
Thanks for giving us Town fans a chance to add to the memory of a great manager which I had the pleasure to watch his side as a young boy.
From winning the FA cup in 1978 and the UEFA cup in 1981. He has gave me and the club so many highlights it`s hard to pick any out!
Just a huge thanks for what the legend did for my club adding us on the European map and giving the Division 1 as it was a chance to see the likes of Murhen, Butcher and Mariner to name a few!
He will live on for ever in my memory and that of my club
‘There`s only one Bobby Robson’ ringing around Portman road brings goosebumps to my skin even now at 41.
Kevin Wright
ITFC=Sir Bobby Robson RIP.
I was lucky enough to sit in on Sir Bobby`s first ever NUFC press conference, when I was doing my work experience on the sports desk of the Evening Chronicle.
He made such an effort with everyone, including me; asking my name and why I was there and what I wanted to be when I grew up! He started off with a typical Bobby-ism, telling the gathered crowd that being back as Newcastle was “the cream on top of the milk”. I`m sure we all knew what he meant!
That day will be stuck in my mind forever, due to his kindness, his sense of humour and his obvious love for the club and the people.
The day he died I was at Portman Road for a meeting, and the scenes there were as emotional as at Newcastle – the love for him spread across many towns, countries and football clubs, something I`m sure can`t be said for many others.
Helen Rudd
We won the League under Alf Ramsey?but Bobby Robson gave us more than trophies. He gave us Pride and a tradition of excellence to live up to.
Great players. Great matches. Joy and tears.
We used to sing ‘Walkin’ down the Portman Rd to see Bob Robson’s Aces’ for him, and he’d look up to the stands and smile.
Death didn’t beat Bobby Robson, he made him a Legend.
Tony Smith. Town supporter since 1961.
Sir Bobby.
You were the man who made watching Newcastle United exciting again. Your enthusiasm and passion for the game was inspiring.
Because of YOU I got to watch Newcastle play away from home in the Champions League. The memories of that trip alone have made following Newcastle all worthwhile.
I saw Shearer score twice in the San Siro, Rob Lee score a header at Wembley, Robert score the winner at Highbury and Bellamy score that dramatic winner in Feyenoord. And so much more on top.
All because of YOU.
Thankyou. I am forever grateful.
RIP Bobby – never forgotten
Ian Smith
Nearly a year on and you are still in my thoughts Sir Bobby, we as fans still remember you and always will.
Asprilla32
RIP Sir Bobby,
Gentleman doesnt seem a strong enough word to describe him
Rabit71
Sir Robert, i cant really add anything of note but im forever grateful for the short time you had at our club,im a very proud geordie but all the more after your association with the club, the way you held yourself in public as a proper gentlemen, loved by all fans.
There’s no fitting compliment i can bestow off the top of my head to what you have achieved in life but my lasting tribute to you is a cat we have, who we named after you. my surname is Robson also and the cat is called Bobby. Bobby Robson is alive and living in my life. The legacy lives on.
ToonNoMatterWot
Sir Bobby,
You were without a doubt the best newcastle manager since i started supporting the club and all of my best memories are from when you were in charge.
I still watch tribute videos on youtube and everyone of them puts a lump in my throat.
A true gentleman and i am proud to say you were manager of our club.
Cameron_nufc
Sir will never do you justice,you were much much more than that.
A man who would put everyone first and himself last, a top bloke who also happened to be a world class football manager.
Honoured to have had you at our club and you will never ever be forgotton.
RIP Legend.
Poisioned_monkey
Sir Bobby,
A year has passed and it has gone so quickly. Thank you for all the happy memories you gave me while you were at your beloved club. You are sadly missed by so many people.
Managers and men like you are hard to come by in this day and age. Will always remember you.
Mountie
RIP Sir, a man who had great feelings at Newcastle united…
Sree123
Not just a Mans man but a Fans man. The nations Grandad.
Gone but never forgotten.
LMM
Sir Bobby,
A man who’s death united not only englands football players, managers and fans, but people involved in the game around the world.
What you did for our club in your tenure as manager showed just how far this club can go if managed well.
You were simply one of a kind, a world class manager, a true gentleman and a man who fought for his life right until the very end, and leave behind a legacy that others can only dream of aspiring to.
Toon_Demon
When this world sadly lost you, Heaven Utd gained it’s greatest and most likeable manager.
bowburnmag
RIP Sir Bobby, Not only for the enjoyment you brought back to the Toon fans but the two world cup campaigns as England Manager. Your loyalty to Club, Fans, Players and most of all Football was legendry
GASP65
RIP Sir Bobby, in my opinion you were our best manager in recent years. thank you so much for the beautiful memories. which, just like you – will never be forgotten.
RZA
I’m too young to remember the glory years at Portman Road under Sir Bobby, but I was fortunate enough to meet him at a book signing a few years before his sad passing.
In the few minutes I was speaking to him, he showed just what a gent he was. I asked him to sign two books, but with a dedication in the second in German (Frohe Weinachten, which means Happy Christmas). He asked me how an Ipswich fan had ended up in Germany and then he wanted me to teach him how to say it properly and even took the piece of paper I’d written it on with him.
He just had the all too rare gift of making anyone he spoke to feel like the most important person in the world and I was lucky enough to experience that for a few minutes. A legend in the game, a true great and a perfect gentleman, still much missed.
Simon Thorpe, Ipswich
As a young toon fan, the early days for me was the Sir Bobby era. I can’t believe it’s been a year. My #1, always in my heart.
Blairbuchanan
To put in words what one man did for football is very hard to do; and to sum up his potentially greater achievements through charity and giving is perhaps even harder.
So how about I use a select few words to describe a man who gave so much to so many both on and off the field:
Kind, persistent, charitable, honourable, supportive, dedicated, motivating, respectful, gracious, victorious, legend.
Ben Morling, Ipswich Fan
Inspiration
What else is there to say about a man who was a inspiration to everyone a true legend and is sorely missed RIP Sir Bobby Robson!
Derek Jones
To say that Sir Bobby Robson was a legend amongst so many Ipswich Town
upporters is an underestimation. Sir Bobby was considered as far more
han a legend.
Although Ipswich had already tasted success under the management of Sir
lf Ramsey and won the Football League (when of course the Premier League was a mere figment of some over-eager corporate bosses
magination) the years after Sir Alf had left to successfully take charge of England were lean times at Ipswich. We were relegated from League Division One under your very own Wor Jackie Milburn, but finally regained our top flight status only for our then manager Bill McGarry to
eave for a supposedly more fashionable club in Wolves. This heralded the arrival of a young Bobby Robson.
He didn’t have an easy time of it, physically and psychologically he had
o get the better of some resistant pros (think Clough at Leeds)and success eluded him for a few seasons until his hard work, eye for a player, undoubted talent and man-management skills bore fruit.
Under Robson we enjoyed fourteen seasons in the top flight, won the UEFA Cup and FA Cup were runners up in the league and semi-finalists in the cup, all on a shoestring. Whilst Clough and Forest were splashing out a million pounds on Trevor Francis, we got Paul Mariner for a quarter of that fee. Robson bought just fourteen players in those fourteen seasons, but what players, Paul Cooper, Frans Thijssen, Arnold Muhren, David
ohnson all his buys became stars, and I think all but one of his signings became internationals. But his real talent was nurturing youth.
An FA Youth Cup winning side was merely a taster for a youth system that gave football Kevin Beattie, John Wark, Terry Butcher, Eric Gates, George Burley, Alan Brazil. He even found time to pass on players who
rialled at Ipswich but did not (at the time) take his fancy, players
ike Gazza and Ruud Gullit.
But it was the football. Oh the joyous flowing football, that was the product. Football that was breathtaking to watch, seeing Manchester United players trip over themselves as our midfield played little
riangles around them, seeing Cruyff so humbled at Portman Road he went into the corner with the ball to do some tricks.
The season we won the UEFA Cup we made the cream of Europe look ordinary, we beat League Champions Aston Villa no less than three times the season they won the league. Liverpool would score freely against many teams but parked the bus against us. The shame was that Robson never won the Football League title.
Ipswich never had a big squad and had a very settled squad so no big names sat on the subs bench, had we had players in reserve as we had in the first XI we would have undoubtedly have won everything, the
eague, the European Cup, the Cup Winners Cup and the League Cup.
Under Robson we always expected to win, whoever the opposition, but without arrogance, we are no big time charlies, not a big club by any means.
When he left for the England job, we were sad, but also glad. Eventually so were England. When he returned to manage Newcastle, there was some part of me that secretly wanted him to win the Premier League with Newcastle, until the head took over and I laughed it off.
One of the finest managers in the business gave his all to every team he managed and his midas touch brought magic to so many stadia and fans. He launched so many careers and mentored so many many players.
But while he was undoubtedly a son of Newcastle, he was so much more here in Suffolk, Son, Father, Uncle, Grandad and for many a God.
Whether any manager at Ipswich will gain such unequivocal respect amongst our
ans is doubtful, he gained it because he earned it and for that we love and cherish his memory.
Sir Bobby Robson RIP
CaughtInTheBrambles of Section 6
Sir Bobby,
You are a legend.
I am from a later generation but know from the stories, the pictures and the way you conducted yourself as to why you are, and will always be held in such high regard throughout football and by our two great clubs.
Your legend will live on for time to come and we are all the richer for it.
One Robby Robson, there’s only one Bobby Robson, one Bobby Robson…
Mark Wright, on behalf of all your friends at Ipswich Town FC
Always in our thoughts. RIP Sir Bob
Braith1952
One of my fondest memories of Bobby was from the BBC documentary, ‘Just call me Bobby’ when Bobby was showing Gary Lineker around SJP, and how proud Bobby was of the place, and in particular the quality of the door frames! I later found out from John Oliver that that door frame was the door to the broom cupboard!
Wherever he went people loved him for his kind heart, go to PSV, Porto, Barcelona or Sporting and mention Mr Robson and see the reaction you get, no one in football had or will have a bad word to say about him.
A few years back my Dad was in a accident where he got quite badly burnt, I called NUFC, and asked for a get well soon card to cheer him up, he never got one, but what he did get was a hand written letter from Bobby, what a fantastic man.
I will never forget the day he died, I’m not too big to admit that I shed a tear that day, the memories he gave me and my father will last forever.
I made a 500 mile round trip to come to SJP to leave a shirt and flowers and to sign the book of condolence, the week after he died, not many people would make you want to do that.
Whenever I’m at SJP, or any ground around the country watching NUFC, or even at home watching them on the TV, and I hear the chant, ‘There’s only 1 Bobby Robson’ it still brings a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye, a fantastic man, a credit to NUFC, sorely missed by all in football.
‘There’s only 1 Bobby Robson’
Thank you Bobby, sleep well
James Fotheringham
I hope the Toon Army and Team done you proud last season and continue to do so for seasons to come.
1 year on and still greatly missed.
HWTL
Luke @dozstar Doswell
The flag flies low
For a death to show
A legend he was
His time to go
Not only he won
The greatest challenge of them all
He won the fans
And he walked tall
The flag flies low
Maybe this is just
Mourning a man
And the clubs latest bust
The last he saw
Relegation
The last he knew
Degradation
The flag flies low
But for how long
Loose no more
Go out with a throng
Turn it round
For the people who love
Show them all
And the man above
The flag flies low
so do it for him
those who love
so go and win
By Stephen Mannion
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