Obituary to Sir Bobby Robson

 I was lucky enough to meet Sir Bobby Robson on two occasions, the   most memorable when he was sitting in the reception area before the team left their hotel in Tunis for their final 1990 World Cup warm up, a friendly match against Tunisia.

With my pal Stewart, we wished him all the best for both the Tunis match and the finals and I asked him how he thought  the team would do. His words were quite concise, "Lads he said, I think we'll do well but whatever we achieve, I'll still have this lot on my back" moving his eyes in the direction of the tabloid reporters.

It was clear that this was the make or break for the first England manager to face the intense media pressure that is so commonplace today. Not helped by a failure to qualify for the 1984 European Championships in France and a poor performance in the 1988 finals in West Germany I recall the pressure increased because of a draw in what was really nothing more than a meaningless kick about in Saudi Arabia later that same year. Overall I thought the results weren't bad but who am I to judge !

Sir Bobby was a plain speaking man but one who had so much time for others, returning our question with one of his own asking genuinely about our plans on how we were getting to Sardinia for the group stages and whether flying or by ferry, the cost and type of accommodation.

Talking for around five minutes really showed what a genuine down to earth gent Sir Bobby was especially when we brought up the subject of his Dad who we knew travelled down from Newcastle to Wembley for every England international, returning home on the overnight sleeper after the game. This journey done by a man well into his seventies, his passion  was clearly passed on to his son.

Following England was different then with fewer fans and players and manager who were so more approachable and to me there was no one more approachable than Sir Bobby Robson, godfather then to the travelling England fans 1982-1990. Thanks Bobby and God bless you.