Farewell to a Footballing Legend

I'm not a fan of posting on forums to say "RIP" to someone, or changing a Facebook status to mourn someone you've never met - and I'm certainly not a fan of bloody Twitter.

But today, you can't help but be moved by the passing of Sir Bobby Robson. Aged 76, we all knew he was dying, and we all knew it would come sooner rather than later, but the news still brings a lump to the throat.

The Bobby Robson you remember best depends on the your age. The oldest will remember the player who made his way to management at Fulham and, if memory serves, found out that he had been sacked by reading it on a newspaper billboard.

Those of a certain age will think of Ipswich, the unfancied, unfashionable club who won the FA Cup, had a stab at winning the league and then won the UEFA Cup under his tutelage.

Then you have my era and those just around it who will remember him as the man who took England to within an unfortunate deflection of the World Cup final in 1990. Before that, only Diego Maradona's Hand of God goal halted England's charge four years earlier, and although the less said about Euro 88 the better, Italia 90 still holds a strong place in my heart.

After that, Sir Bobby headed abroad and PSV, Sporting Lisbona and Barcelona all had the advantage of his sublime skills, before, in 1999, he finally got his dream job and took over at Newcastle. He never brought them huge success to the Magpies, but when you look at where they are now, it's hard to say that he didn't do a good job.

Having left Newcastle, he was finished as a manager but he remained in the public eye and was probably still one of football's best-loved characters - not least for THAT Shola Ameobi/Carl Cort story.

Sir Bobby was a great man, a kind man and one that will surely be missed. You can only presume that God needed a new manager for his football team earlier this morning... And, I bet their fortunes will improve straightaway.

RIP Sir Bobby.

* Blog post by BFF member Jon