There’s a tendency to think of Sir Bobby Robson in the mould of old-time English managers.
Indeed, Jose Mourinho recently revealed that he’d occasionally run some of the training sessions as the legendary former England manager would plot his golf sessions. While that was probably a romantic memory rather than a dig of any sort given Mourinho’s obvious bond with the iconic Geordie, it does fit the mould of vintage coaches.
Considering how much more tactical the game is now, some managers back then might have been seen as motivators more than anything if they weren’t ideologists in the mould of Johan Cruyff, Rinus Michels or Helenio Herrera. Robson himself was never particularly noted for it.
Still, recent comments from Olivier Bernard during an interview with The Athletic suggest, even at the late stage of his storied career while managing Newcastle, Sir Bobby still had the tactical nous to make areas of his team a success.
”The gaffer said, ‘It’s OK, son, I’m sure you can play as a full-back…’ I’d never played there in my life and I didn’t think that’s where I’d spend most of my career”, he said when describing his positional journey from wanting to be a striker, to playing on the wing during his first year on Tyneside before finally ending up at left-back.
”But I loved playing for him and I love living here, so I stayed.
Bernard was part of a reasonably successful Toon team in that berth, too. Making the majority of his 141 appearances in black and white there, they finished in the top 5 between 2001 and 2004 (the bulk of the Frenchman’s initial spell) while frequently competing in the Champions League.
With Bernard featuring heavily throughout, it’s fair to say Robson got that call right as he brought Laurent Robert into the side too, giving the Magpies an added attacking thrust.
Perhaps not remembered for his tactical prowess but Sir Bobby Robson certainly knew what he was doing.