68 Facts About Sir Bobby Robson

Sir Robert William Robson was an English footballer and football manager.

Sir Bobby Robson's career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town.

Sir Bobby Robson made 20 appearances for England, scoring four goals.

Sir Bobby Robson was created a Knight Bachelor in 2002, was inducted as a member of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003, and was the honorary president of Ipswich Town.

Bobby Robson was born in Sacriston, County Durham, the fourth of five sons of Philip and Lilian Robson.

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When he was a few months old, Sir Bobby Robson's family moved to the nearby village of Langley Park where his father was a coal miner.

Sir Bobby Robson described Jackie Milburn and Len Shackleton as his childhood heroes.

Sir Bobby Robson attended Langley Park primary school and then Waterhouses secondary modern school, after failing his eleven-plus but the headmaster did not allow the school football team to join a league.

Sir Bobby Robson played football whenever he possibly could but left school aged 15 to start work as an electrician's apprentice for the National Coal Board in the Langley Park colliery.

Sir Bobby Robson had partial deafness in one ear, which rendered him ineligible to be called up for national service.

Sir Bobby Robson spent the day working at the Festival of Britain site and trained three nights a week at Fulham.

In 1950, Sir Bobby Robson made his first-team debut for Fulham, recently promoted to the First Division, in a match against Sheffield Wednesday.

Sir Bobby Robson was to be player-manager in their inaugural 1968 season in the North American Soccer League and believed it "was a chance too good to miss".

Sir Bobby Robson began scouting and holding tryout camps for the new team in the Fall of 1967.

Sir Bobby Robson was dissatisfied by this situation and when, in January 1968, Fulham offered him a contract as their manager, he accepted the position at Craven Cottage.

However, Sir Bobby Robson was selected for the 1958 FIFA World Cup squad, ahead of Nat Lofthouse and Stanley Matthews, but returned from host nation Sweden disappointed after England were defeated by the Soviet Union in a group play-off match.

Sir Bobby Robson was selected for the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile, but an injury to his ankle sustained in a pre-tournament friendly against a Chilean club side ruled him out of most of the tournament.

Sir Bobby Robson obtained coaching qualifications during his second spell at Fulham, and coached Oxford University A FC Robson made his debut as a manager in January 1968 at his former club Fulham, against Macclesfield Town, then in the Cheshire County League, in the third round of the FA Cup.

Sir Bobby Robson discovered he had been sacked not from the club itself, but from the headline "Robson sacked" on an Evening Standard placard outside Putney station.

Sir Bobby Robson moved on to Ipswich Town in 1969 and it was there that he established his reputation as a successful manager, supported by the club chairman John Cobbold and then later by his brother Patrick Cobbold.

About that team, Sir Bobby Robson said: "We played with two strikers, no wingers, Eric Gates sitting off the front two, two semi-wide midfield players in Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen and Johnny Wark sitting in the holding role".

Sir Bobby Robson's imports included Dutch players Frans Thijssen and Arnold Muhren.

Sir Bobby Robson "was not a tactical genius" but he "showed a talent for developing new players, with his good interpersonal skills, caring attitude, hard work and enthusiasm helping them to achieve their best".

In 2002, in recognition of his achievements with the club, a life-size statue of Sir Bobby Robson was unveiled opposite the Cobbold Stand of Ipswich Town's ground, Portman Road.

On 7 July 2006, Sir Bobby Robson was named as honorary president of Ipswich Town Football Club, the first since Lady Blanche Cobbold who had died in 1987.

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On 21 September 1983, Sir Bobby Robson suffered his only loss in the 28 qualifying matches he was to undertake as England manager.

The resignation was rejected by FA chairman Bert Millichip, and Sir Bobby Robson went on to lead the England team to qualify for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

England began the competition poorly and captain Bryan Sir Bobby Robson was injured with a recurrence of a dislocated shoulder.

Bobby Robson changed the team's tactics for the final match of the first round, selecting Peter Beardsley ahead of Mark Hateley as a striking partner for Gary Lineker.

Sir Bobby Robson led England without conceding a goal through the six-match qualification for the 1990 World Cup where they were one of six seeded teams.

Sir Bobby Robson described the move as "a culture shock" but felt "a sense of adventure".

Sir Bobby Robson became frustrated with the Brazilian's work ethic, although admitted "in some matches he would be scintillating".

Sir Bobby Robson arranged showdown talks with Romario, with Frank Arnesen, Sir Bobby Robson's assistant, acting as a translator.

Sir Bobby Robson moved to Sporting CP in July 1992, where his Portuguese interpreter was a young Jose Mourinho, future Porto, Chelsea, Internazionale, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Roma manager.

Sir Bobby Robson guided the club to a third-place finish in his first season in charge while admitting the club was in "a terrible state".

Sir Bobby Robson described the club's president as a "loose cannon" who frequently signed players without Robson's consent.

Sir Bobby Robson was sacked in December 1993 with the club sitting at the top of the league table.

Sir Bobby Robson subsequently appointed Villas-Boas to work in the Porto observation department and helped him gain his UEFA "C" coaching badge in Scotland, despite him technically being ineligible as he was aged 17.

Porto were in a poor state when Sir Bobby Robson arrived and the average attendance had dwindled to 10,000.

Sir Bobby Robson took over in July 1996, where again his assistant was Mourinho; Sir Bobby Robson had made Mourinho's move with him to the Camp Nou a condition of his employment.

One of the key decisions Sir Bobby Robson made during his brief tenure at Barcelona was the US$19.

PSV missed out on the league title, finishing third behind Feyenoord and Willem II, but Sir Bobby Robson still led the club to victory in the Johan Cruyff Shield and qualification for the UEFA Champions League on the last day of the season.

In late 2000, following the resignation of ex-Magpies boss Kevin Keegan as England manager, the FA asked Newcastle club chairman Freddy Shepherd to permit Sir Bobby Robson to take over in a part-time caretaker capacity, but the request was refused.

Sir Bobby Robson held the Newcastle post until 30 August 2004, when he was dismissed by Freddy Shepherd, after a poor start to the Premier League season and alleged discontent in the dressing room.

Sir Bobby Robson's dismissal followed publication of his off the record observation of his disappointment that only 5,000 fans stayed to see the traditional lap of honour made by the players at St James' Park at the end of the previous season.

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Sir Bobby Robson criticised Shepherd and the club's deputy chairman Douglas Hall, for their focus on the first team and St James' Park, causing them to neglect less glamorous issues, such as the training ground, youth development and talent scouts.

On 7 June 2005, Sir Bobby Robson declined the invitation to become director of football of Heart of Midlothian because he wanted to stay in the Newcastle area.

On 13 January 2006, Steve Staunton was appointed manager of the Republic of Ireland national team, with Sir Bobby Robson named in a support role as "international football consultant".

Sir Bobby Robson stepped down from his role of consultant on 17 November 2007 following the nation's final match in their unsuccessful qualifying campaign for Euro 2008.

Sir Bobby Robson was a former vice president of the League Managers Association, a non-executive role.

Sir Bobby Robson met Elsie Gray on a trip back to his parents' home in Langley Park.

Sir Bobby Robson had several operations and in 2006 was operated on for a brain tumour.

On 17 October 2006, it was revealed that Sir Bobby Robson had been given the all-clear and was set to see out his contract as consultant to the Irish team.

Sir Bobby Robson revealed on 7 May 2007 he had been diagnosed with cancer for the fifth time.

Sir Bobby Robson presented the trophy to the victorious captain, Sol Campbell.

Sir Bobby Robson made a number of product endorsements, including an appearance in Carlsberg's "Best Pub Side" television commercial.

Sir Bobby Robson acted as a pundit for ITV during the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.

Sir Bobby Robson defeated bowel cancer in 1992, a malignant melanoma in 1995, and a tumour in his right lung and a brain tumour, both in 2006.

On 31 July 2009, Sir Bobby Robson died of lung cancer at his home in County Durham, aged 76, after a long battle with the disease.

Sir Bobby Robson was a wonderful man and will be deeply missed by everybody in the country.

Sir Bobby Robson was survived by his wife and their three sons: Andrew, Paul and Mark.

Sir Bobby Robson was awarded a number of honours for his contributions to football.

In 2002, the 69-year-old Sir Bobby Robson was awarded the freedom of Newcastle upon Tyne and the UEFA President's Award for "services to football".

Sir Bobby Robson was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003 in recognition of his impact as a manager.

On 9 December 2007, Sir Bobby Robson was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year show in recognition of "his contribution as both player and manager in a career spanning more than half a century".

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On 5 May 2008, during the 30th anniversary celebrations of Ipswich Town's 1978 FA Cup win, Sir Bobby Robson was granted the Freedom of Ipswich by the Lady Mayor.

In December 2009, Sir Bobby Robson was posthumously awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award, for the "gentlemanly qualities he showed throughout his career as a player and coach".

In March 2011, the East Coast train operating company named one of its Class 91 electric locomotives Sir Bobby Robson, unveiled at Newcastle station by his widow Elsie and Alan Shearer.