Source: SKY_Sports
Tributes to Sir Bobby
The world of football has been paying tribute to Sir Bobby Robson, who has died at the age of 76.
Robson was one of the most highly-regarded English managers of all time, making a name for himself in charge of Ipswich Town before spending eight years in charge of the England national team.
After taking England to the semi-final of the World Cup in 1990 he enjoyed spells in charge of many of Europe's leading clubs including PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, FC Porto and Barcelona - before returning to England in 1999 to take charge at his hometown club, Newcastle United.
It was confirmed on Friday morning that Robson had lost his battle against cancer and the great and the good of the football world were quick to pay their respects to a football legend.
The likes of Don Howe, Jack Charlton, Terry McDermott, Ray Clemence, Ray Wilkins and Glenn Hoddle all spoke to Sky Sports News and Sky News to give us their thoughts and their memories, while reaction poured in from famous faces all across the world.
You can read some of those memories below and you can leave your own tributes to Sir Bobby Robson by clicking HERE.
Don Howe (Robson's assistant manager with England) "It is a sad day, and although we knew he was ill it still comes as a shock to the system. I have known him since the 50's when he got transferred from Fulham up to West Brom and we just gelled together. He was a standard man, whatever he talked about or did he wanted to do the best he could possibly do.
When you got to know Bobby and the way he conducted himself, you could always sense his discipline and his standards.
Everyone remembers Maradona and the 'Hand of God' and the huge outcry over that, but Sir Bobby always kept his calm. You can imagine what the dressing room was like with all the players upset that the referee had not seen the hand - Bobby just kept his cool all the way through it. He accepted that sometimes you get a decision from a referee that you have to just take.
Sometimes you don't get the run of the ball - he always presented himself spot on and was first class.
He loved the game and when he got the England job he made a great success of it - we did not win anything but we got close.
He mixed well with the players but at the same time he never hesitated to show them that he was the boss. If he had to sort them out then he sorted them out. He wanted good football being played and wanted the players to have good discipline on and off the pitch."
Jack Charlton (lifelong friend and fellow manager)
He was a man dedicated to getting to know what other teams were like and he always used to be at football matches and I used to go to football matches. We just used to bump into each other, say hello, 'how's your mother doing?', that kind of thing. Geordie lads always stick together.
He got the England job, which tells you how well he'd done. But my memory of Bob will always be when they lost to Germany in that penalty shoot-out and they put a camera on him and he just looked at it and shook his head. He never caused any aggravation, he never said bad things about the players, he was just very good with people.
I've got fond memories of Bob. I've got a picture here I was going to get him to sign for me, but I kept forgetting to take it with me - I wish I had now. But he was a good lad and a good friend of mine and it was a bit of a blow this morning - but it was expected.
Terry McDermott (former Newcastle and England footballer)
"It's devastating really. Everyone knew it was coming - the people that saw him last weekend in the charity game could see he wasn't well, but it shows the courage of the man to turn up in front of 33,000 people and get the send-off he deserved. He was a fantastic football person.
He really built a smalltown club into one came very, very close to winning the championship in the eighties. He was a fantastic football person and although everyone knew he was in trouble, it's still a shock to everybody. Everybody remembers him for being a nice person but what a great football person as well. He'll be badly missed, not just in Newcastle but by football people all over England.
His honesty shone through. If you're a manager and you show players trust and honesty, you will get it back and he certainly had that in abundance. Everywhere he was, not just in England but abroad as well, everybody loved it. He was one of those guys you couldn't fail to like."
Ray Clemence (played under Robson for England, 1982-84)
"It really is a sad day for football and football people. Our hearts got out to Elsie and Bobby's family. I was privileged enough to be out in Portugal three or four weeks ago for his charity golf tournament and sat at his table at the gala dinner and Bobby was fantastic.
Obviously he looked very ill, but he was determined to travel out to Portugal for his charity tournament and help the Portuguese orphanage that he had raised so much money for. It was a special weekend and it was lovely to be around him; he was a special person as everyone has said.
His honesty and enthusiasm for the game as a player and then a manager was there, right up to the very end. Whenever he spoke about football, even as ill as he was, his enthusiasm shone through; how he loved the game, cared for the game and wanted people to do well for the game."
Glenn Hoddle (played under Robson for England, 1982-88)
"It's very sad for everyone and our feelings go out to Bobby's family and obviously for everyone in football, it's a very, very sad day.
Playing under him, he was a very endearing man and you endeared yourself to him. He was quite a comical man - not knowingly sometimes - and a wonderful football man. You could see the respect the players gave him, around the world. The respect was worldwide.
He was a very open and honest person. He was somebody that would talk to you, come up and tell you if you were playing well, indifferent, or if you were being left out of the team. He was one of those guys who you really did take to. You had respect for him and what he'd done in football but also off the pitch. He was a very charming man, but also a winner and to get that chemistry is very difficult - but Bobby had it in abundance."
Ray Wilkins (played under Robson for England, 1982-86)
"I'm absolutely devastated. He was an absolute gentleman and you don't come across too many people like Bobby in this world. I'm sure the whole football world will be devastated as well, he was a smashing guy and lived his life with humility.
He was fantastic to play under, just a laugh minute, but extremely serious when it came down to the real business. Everyone had the utmost respect for him.
I'll always remember when I spoke to Albert Ferrer after he came to Chelsea about Bobby when he was manager of Barcelona. He said the players just wanted to run a bit further for him and I think that just sums him up."
Warren Barton (played under Robson for Newcastle, 1999-01)
"Hopefully his legacy will continue because he was magnificent. He was the best manager I had in terms of the whole package. His enthusiasm, his desire to do well, he was black and white through and through.
He was a great footballer too and he always used to remind us in training. He represented his country 20 times, played for numerous clubs and we had a terrific time when he came to Newcastle.
He got them into the Champions League and look where they are now. So it's a testament to him. He was a great man, a great person and he will be sorely missed."
Chris Hughton (current Newcastle manager)
"The turnout that he had on Sunday for his game at St James' Park personified the feeling for him. It was a wonderful crowd and you could see the admiration from everybody that was there. It was a good game to attend, but they were there for Sir Bobby. It speaks volumes for him, the turnout that he had on that day.
As somebody who has been up here for a brief time, I instantly recognise what Sir Bobby meant to the area and more so to this football club where he is an absolute legend and an idol. As a younger coach over the years I was always in awe of Bobby because of the enthusiasm that he had - but also the respect that he had for the job he'd done. He was a very, very special man.
Up until recently he attended every single game. He knows what difficulties there are here, but there is no bigger supporter of this football club than Sir Bobby Robson. He was that right up until the last moments."
Steve McClaren (former England head coach)
"To be so successful and to be loved by everybody, well that is special and that says something about the man. The game will be worse for Sir Bobby Robson leaving us. I think the key thing from him was the passion for the game - when I saw him two months ago that passion was still there, he was still sharp and talking about football so enthusiastically.
When you start out in any career, you look at role models and you say I would love to have a career like him. When you look at his career, well ever coach will hope they have a career like him. He always gave me great advice and upon leaving the England job he advised me to go over to Holland - it was the best advice I have ever had.
He gave so much to football in the North East - that is where are rivalry began and our friendship began when I was the manager of Middlesbrough and we had many tussles. Nine times out of ten I came out on the wrong side. Managing footballers is the most challenging job in the world and to do what he did and to be so successful and still have the respect and admiration of great players, well that for me says it all."
Freddy Shepherd (appointed Robson at Newcastle)
"He was the elder statesman of world football. No matter where he went in the world - we went to China and we had a crowd of three thousand waiting for his autograph. He was always recognised.
He was too crafty for me, I could not play him but he certainly knew how to play me - 99 times out of a hundred he got what he wanted. Letting him go; it was a board decision and I had to carry out what the board decided. It was very sad day for me and although I had to do it I never really fell out with him.
We kept in touch and were great friends. He was football, and he had time for everyone."
Peter Reid (played under Robson for England, 1985-88)
"It's a very sad day for English football and obviously my sympathies go out to Bobby's family. First of all he was a very warm man. If you can be a nice person and football manager, he was that nice person. He had a tremendous knowledge of the game and his enthusiasm was second to none.
Even when I was managing up at Sunderland not so long ago and he was the rival manager at Newcastle at a ripe old age, he was still like a young man. He was always a gentleman, in victory and defeat, and it's a really sad day for English football.
He got a few names wrong, but he always got his message across.
Tactically he was very astute and from my point of view, playing under him and managing against him, he was just a really nice human being, a nice man. I am due home next week, so hopefully I can make the funeral; it would be nice to pay my respects to Sir Bobby."
Roger Osborne (played under Robson for Ipswich, 1973-81)
"Simply he was a workaholic. He would turn up at Ipswich at 9am and leave at 1am the next morning. He did that for 12-13 years, he was always at the club.
It was quite easy for him to tell me I was dropped because he was forever dropping me. We had a small squad at the time and it was very close knit. He got it like that and players who tended to play for him tended to do it for 10-11 years - we had testimonial after testimonial.
He came from Fulham where he was unfortunately sacked but he was a very determined young man. Everybody at Ipswich just took to Bobby and they loved him down this part of the country. We had the 30th year anniversary of the FA Cup final last year and Bobby came down for that. We went around the town in an open-top bus and we did say at the time that the crowds had not come to see us, they came to see Bobby."
Gary Lineker (played under Robson for England, 1984-90)
"I was deeply saddened to hear of Bobby Robson's death. He was a great football man. He had a tremendous enthusiasm and passion for football and life and continued to retain this right to the last days of his life.
He will be deeply missed by everyone, especially those who played for him. I have the fondest memories of playing for him at two World Cups.
In recent years he undertook a great deal of work for his cancer charity and raised the profile considerably in addition to the monies raised."
Jimmy Hill (played with Robson for Fulham)
"I remember him as a young man of 19-20 who was outstanding for his age and he was playing inside right for the Fulham team. I was playing that position before the manager realised that Bobby was old enough to play for the first team. I got pushed back to a midfield position which was my first introduction to him as a player
As a young man he appeared quiet and very well behaved but as he grew older and moved up in the game, his talent made him special and he had to grow up very quickly - he was a personality as well as a player. It was his pace that made him special - if someone put through a through ball he was onto it and he was a brilliant shot.
As a manager, he was bright enough to have learned from those who he had played with to make things happen. He was extremely clever and enthusiastic which rubbed off onto his team. In those days you would take on every new idea or conception that came along. You would say yes because you were so thrilled to being on the football ladder. With his talent, well everybody wanted him."
Sir John Hall (Newcastle chairman, 1992-97)
"We all knew that this day was going to come as we've seen him fight this illness over the last few years.
He fought it all the way and he launched himself into the cancer charities and he never let the illness get on top of him, but unfortunately the day of his death has come and it's a sad day.
Looking at him as a person he was tremendous man. He was honest he had integrity and he inspired. He was always so approachable and he never turned anyone away, he was a man of the people."
Rob Lee (Played under Robson for Newcastle, 1999-2002 )
"We knew him by reputation, but until you actually meet the man and you work with him you don't realise not just what a great manager he was, but also what a lovely person he was. He was just fun to be around and I enjoyed my time under him immensely.
He could give a bit of stick out, he could have a go at players when he needed to but he could also put his arm around players and he looked after his players, especially the younger ones.
He could do both - he could give you a rocket and he could also put his arm around you. In that respect he was probably a perfect manager. His record throughout his career proved that.
He'll be missed not just by the people of Newcastle - he came from there and he loved the North East - but all over the world. He's been at big clubs throughout his career and he was successful wherever he went. Obviously he had a very successful time as England manager as well and he was loved all over the country."
Kieron Dyer (Played under Robson for Newcastle, 1999-2004 )
"I only found out five minutes before the game (against Beijing Guoan) that he'd passed away, but they wanted me to play and I'm glad I did. It didn hit home (during the minute's silence) that he was gone and I think back home instead of a minute's silence, I would like to see a minute's applause to celebrate what he brought to the game of football.
He was a wonderful man and when I was at Newcastle he took a real shine to me with the Ipswich connection and was like a father to me.
When we were at Newcastle, we had a squad of 25 players and everyone was happy; in today's football with the multi-millionaire primadonnas that's very hard to do. He was a fighter, he beat cancer numerous times and I thought he would do it again - but unfortunately it wasn't to be."
Lee Clark (former Newcastle midfielder)
"It's a very sad day for football and a very sad day for the country, because he was respected in all walks of life throughout the nation.
I knew Sir Bobby well in my time at Newcastle United, I also came across him at times when I was in the England squads and he was always a fantastic man.
He was so knowledgeable and so enthusiastic about football and that lasted until his very last day. He would love to talk about the game and his passion for football was unbelievable."
John Barnes (played under Robson for England, 1983-90)
"Bobby's so effervescent. If he'd beaten cancer - and I understand he was never going to - but it wouldn't have surprised us because he was such a lively person, a larger than life character and a fighter. These things happen and it's just terrible.
I owe him so much. My England career is all down to Bobby Robson and not just that, it's the way he was as a human being. More important than the way he was as a football manager was the way he was as a human being, he was just a thoroughly decent human being and he will be sorely missed.
"He will be well remembered for everything he has achieved and much from my perspective - and a lot of the players who played with him - he will be a much bigger loss from a personal point of view. He was everybody's favourite great uncle, he was such a loveable man."
Terry Butcher (played under Robson for Ipswich and England)
"Everybody came to love him within the England team because of his manner and the way he got to know people. He made you feel special, he made you feel 10ft tall and you wanted to play for him.
I think a lot of players all over the world - international quality players - loved him for what he was. He was a genuine, honest guy who loved his football and could talk all night and all day about football. He loved it so much."
Graham Taylor (succeeded Robson as England manager)
"I'll always remember Bobby as a gentleman. We all know about his achievements in football and they are there for everybody to see, but the Bobby Robson that I will remember will be Bobby Robson the gentleman.
I first met Bobby in the very early '70s when I was a young manager at Lincoln City. I met him at a coaching course at Lilleshall and he invited me to go and spend a day with him at Ipswich to see what he was doing.
For a manager to do that for a young manager was something and you don't get that too often today, so I owe Bobby Robson a lot."
Sven Goran Eriksson (longtime friend and former England manager)
"First of all he was beyond football a great man, one of the kindest people I ever met. He helped me a great deal when I was a young coach and I visited him in Ipswich. He took me, an unknown coach from Sweden, down into the dug-out and
explained the tactics.
The year after Ipswich won the UEFA Cup, my team Gothenburg won it and he came and presented the trophy to me. When I became coach of England I called him many times and he was always generous with his advice and helpful.
It seems he was as friendly to everybody as he was to me. In fact for me, he was the special one."
