Football is in mourning today after one of its remaining gentleman, Sir Bobby Robson, passed away this morning aged 76. The former Albion and Fulham player and Ipswich, England and Newcastle manager finally lost his battle against cancer after fighting the disease for a number of years.
Sir Bobby joined Albion in 1956 from Fulham for a then record fee of £25,000 and went on to make 257 appearances at The Hawthorns scoring 61 times. Six years later Robson rejoined his previous club after a row over wages. The inside forward also made 20 appearances for his country and featured in the 1958 World Cup Finals.
After his playing career Robson went on to carve himself a fantastic managerial career starting at Fulham and ending at Newcastle United. In between he managed on the continent at PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, Porto and Barcelona while taking England to a World Cup semi-final in 1990.
“Bobby was a wonderful man. He was very honest, he was very sincere and he never missed a chance to help somebody,” former team-mate and Albion captain Graham Williams said.
“He was a great man, a great player and an exceptional manager. I roomed with Bobby back at Albion and he was brilliant. He was a major part of my education in football.
“Just being in the same room as Bobby was an amazing experience for someone like me, who was a young lad making his way in the game.
“Bobby was a senior professional, having signed from Fulham, and he was like a professor to me.
“He taught me so much about how to play football, and about how to conduct yourself as a footballer off the field.”