Tributes from current and former staff at Portman Road to Sir Bobby Robson, a football legend.
He was a top manager, not only of Ipswich but wherever he went after he left Portman Road in 1982, but he was much more than a manager to me. I lost my father when I was only 22 and Mr Robson was always there when I needed him. Even many years later I was still consulting him if I had a problem or needed some advice and he was always supportive. But it was his knowledge of the game, allied to his ability to bring out the best in his players, which set him apart from most of his contemporaries. He also loved to see youth team players come through the ranks. It made him extremely proud and when we met at his home this year he rhymed off the names of all the kids he turned into proper footballers. There are a lot of us who owe him a great deal.
JOHN WARK
Sir Bobby for me was the best manager there has ever been. What he did for the whole of football was absolutely magnificent. If you look at his record at Ipswich, it was incredible what he achieved. He was a very genuine man, very enthusiastic. He had a great charisma. He treated people fairly and his knowledge of the game was second to none. All round, he was a tremendous manager and a tremendous man. He was also a winner. Wherever he went - he was a winner.
GEORGE BURLEY
I feel privileged, not only to have known him so well as a friend and colleague, but also to have worked in tandem with him over a long and hugely enjoyable chapter of our respective careers.
MICK MILLS
Sir Bobby Robson is spoken of in glowing terms round Ipswich Town and what he achieved at this Club was fantastic. I didn't know him personally but the people at the Club that know him have always spoken very highly of him. I'm sure he will always be remembered fondly by the supporters here. He's a true football legend.
GARETH McAULEY
I was a player at Ipswich when Bobby took over. He walked through the door and was introduced to the playing staff by Mr John Cobbold and there was something that I really did feel was a bit special there straightaway. I don't know why. He had a little bit of charisma about him, you could tell that.
Bobby knew how to treat people, on and off the pitch. He had a lot of compassion about him did Bobby but he could be tough if he wanted to be as well. One of his greatest sayings was `don't take my friendliness for a weakness'.
CHARLIE WOODS
One of the keys to his success, in my opinion, was that he always found a balanced way of playing. He would have players that compliment each other in different areas, two central defenders that worked well together, two strikers that could play comfortably together, a back four that came together as a unit. In 1981, we had a side that all the pieces fitted together neatly. It was like putting a jigsaw together and he managed to do that throughout his career.
RUSSELL OSMAN
One of the most important jobs of a manager in any industry is man management and Mr R really had that quality in abundance. He worked so hard for the Club as well. Very often he would be in his office at 8.30 in the morning and not leave until gone eight at night. I was lucky enough to work for him as his personal secretary for many years after he left the Club and he was a great man to work with. Everyone loved Mr R.
PAT GODBOLD, Sir Bobby's secretary in his 13 years at Portman Road
All Town fans who were privileged to enjoy the success of Sir Bobby's teams at Portman Road owe him a huge gratitude. He gave our Club recognition throughout the world, a sense of pride, and achievements far beyond our size or status in the game. All managers since Sir Bobby, and all managers in the future, will be judged by his success. He has been so much a part of all our lives, and the inevitability of his death does little to reduce the pain that we feel today. It is with an immense feeling of loss, of sorrow, that I realise that in the future I will be thinking 'I wonder what Sir Bobby would have thought' rather than 'I wonder what Sir Bobby will be thinking'. The loss of Sir Bobby is really like the loss of a parent - life goes on, but you question a little bit of its purpose, and every success will feel a little lonely. Thank you, Sir Bobby.
LIZ EDWARDS, Chair of the ITFC Supporters Club
