This Season
   
Biffas's Diary
    Premiership Table
    Match Reports
    Appearances
    Goal Scorers
    Goal Times
    Cautions
    Attendances
    Points and positions
    First Team Squad
    Reserves
    U19,
U18 & U17
    Travel

News
   
General
    Transfers
    Rumours List
    St. James'


Archives
  
Club History
    Articles
    Memories
    Video clips
    What happened to?
    1892-2000

Club Info
   
General
    Honours
    Records
    Kits

Robson Facts 

101 Things you may or may not know about 
Bobby Robson


(well it's actually 40, as the lad who wrote this was getting some severe grief off his wife....)

  1. The last time a Robson managed Ipswich team played a league game at St James’ Park, in February 1978, Town ran out 1-0 winners.
  2. Ipswich’s youth policy, the key to Robson’s success at Portman Road, was actually started by Newcastle legend Jackie Milburn, who managed Town between April 1963 and September 1964.
  3. The success of his youth policy is illustrated by his FA Cup winning side of 1978 which contained only three players bought from elsewhere.
  4. When Don Revie became England manager in 1974, Robson’s was offered the vacant Leeds position for 3 times his then Ipswich salary of £10,000, but declined.
  5. He was voted Sun Reader’s Manager of the Year at the end of the 1974/75 league campaign
  6. During the 1980-81 season, when Town were chasing a League, Cup and UEFA Cup treble, Robson called the Town fan’s "A bunch of Zombies" for failing to get behind the team at home game’s.
  7. When he was sacked as manager by Fulham in 1968 he became the 686th manager since WWII to be dismissed by a League Club.
  8. Robson would have joined Barcelona in 1981 but the Catalan’s refused to pay Ipswich £150,000 in compensation
  9. Between 1973 and 1982, Robson’s Ipswich side qualified for Europe 9 season’s out of 10.
  10. His first match in charge at Portman Road was a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park (18 January 1969)
  11. His last match in charge at Portman Road was a 2-1 home win against Spurs (17 May 1982)
  12. He turned down the position of Everton manager on three occasions in the Seventies.
  13. In 1969 he is ‘alleged’ to have had a punch-up with then Town captain Billy Baxter and received a black-eye for his troubles.
  14. Over his 13 year tenure in Suffolk he made a profit of £1.6 Million in the transfer market. Just 14 players were purchased (£1.0 M) but 45 were sold (£2.6 M)
  15. In 1981, then Sunderland chairman Tom Cowie offered to double Robson’s salary if he would move to Weerside. Wisely he declined.
  16. After Ipswich’s FA Cup 6th Round Tie at Millwall (1978) was held up due to rioting by home fans Robson was misquoted by Jimmy Hill on Match of the Day as saying "We Should Turn the Flame Throwers on Them !".
  17. He was capped 20 times by England
  18. Due to poor hearing he failed his National Service medical.
  19. He was Bell’s Manager of the Month on three occasions during the 1980-81 season.
  20. As a Town manager his league record against Sunderland was played 9, won 5, drawn 2, lost 2, which included a 4-1 trashing at Portman Road in March of 1981.
  21. His trophy haul at Ipswich included the FA Cup (1978), UEFA Cup (1981), Texaco Cup (1973) and the FA Youth Cup (1973 and 1975)
  22. The Division 1 Championship eluded him with Town finishing as runners-up in 81 and 82.
  23. His first car was a £200 second Morris Minor bought in 1958.
  24. He has managed just one game for another team against the Town. A pre-season friendly between Ipswich and FC Porto.
  25. As a Town manager his league record against Newcastle was played 18, won 9, drawn 4, lost 5.
  26. As a Town manager his league record against Middlesbrough was played 16, won 7, drawn 4, lost 5.
  27. Robson’s Ipswich played four cup games against Newcastle. In 1971 Town won an FA Cup 3rd Round Replay 2-1 at Portman Road after a 1-1 draw on Tyneside. Two years later Town won a Texaco Cup Semi-Final 2-1 on aggregate.
  28. At 15 he had a trial at Middlesboro, but was rejected
  29. Two years on Middlesboro offered him £4 a week to sign professional forms but he declined and joined Fulham instead.
  30. His first managerial appointment was with Vancouver Whitecaps in 1967
  31. Robson had an excellent rapport with Town’s meagre seventies away following and without fail would always appear outside the away ground before the game to hand out complimentary tickets
  32. As Fulham manager Robson bought a certain Malcolm MacDonald from Tonbridge for £1,000.
  33. Between his dismissal by Fulham and his appointment as Ipwich Manager, he was briefly employed as a scout by Chelsea.
  34. In the same period he was offered a similar position at Arsenal.
  35. George Best signed a one-match contract with Ipswich to appear in Robson’s testimonial game against an England XI in 1979.
  36. For his first England international appearance, against France in 1957, he was paid a £20 match fee.
  37. His managerial record at Ipswich, in all competitions, was played 709, won 316, drawn 173, lost 220.
  38. The conveyancing for Robson’s first house purchase was undertaken by FA Chairman Bert Millichip.
  39. Town’s highest scoring win under Robson was 7-0, against both West Brom and Southampton at home.
  40. Town’s worst defeat under Robson was a 7-0 beating at Sheffield United

101. ROBSON IS GOD !

 

Thanks to Ralph Morris

 


Page last updated 24 June, 2009