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Watching it again now in ITV4.
One thing over rides the whole thing for me. What an absolute gem of a man Bobby Robson was.
One of the best characters i’ve ever seen in football.
Wonderful guy.
the "Special one" credits Robson with teaching him everything he knows about football.
And that wonderful rag The Sun had him as turnip head when England lost to Sweden at 1992 Euros Front page spread. That paper really is the pits.
Robson was an incredibly decent man who truly loved football from what I can gather and to a lesser extent third party stories from people who met him.
I am sure he would have had his moments, especially with the National side ,but the honesty always was there.
It is easy to build up someone who has died into something they are not but it appears that he was universally liked and respected not only in football but outside of the game.
I think that was Graham Taylor, another thoroughly decent man slaughtered by the English press. I’d just moved to London when Italia 90 was on, I found myself wanting England to do well so that Bobby Robson could show them up for the arrogant fools they are. Being a classy guy he never rose to their baiting, just went on to become one of Europe’s most sought after managers.
I only buy a paper on a Saturday morning, mainly for Brian Reade’s column in the Daily Mirror but I always make it my duty to grab a few Daily Mirrors and put them in front of The Suns on their rack and a few Guardians in front of the Daily Mails, childish I know but if it confuses a few of those who take those publications I’m a happy man
I disagree, it was the officials who missed the handball in Maradona’s case, they should be getting the flak. Similar situation last Monday, I don’t think many can recall the Morecambe ‘keeper’s name with the punching incident or the player who ‘dived’ for their pen but, quite correctly in my opinion, we all pilloried Bobby Madley for his ineptness. You may as well label nearly everyone who’s played the game a cheat, we’ve all tried to hoodwink a ref and I doubt we’ve held our hands up if we’ve succeeded. I’m sure when I played I’ve had goals allowed when I knew for sure I’d got away with a foul but own up and tell the ref, no chance, as well as myself taking the advantage of a dodgy decision the bollocking from team mates and coaches if I didn’t would, I reckon, be justified.
The Bobby Robson documentary on Netflix is well worth a watch, probably one of the best football documentaries you’ll see. It covers a lot of his time at Barcelona. The respect he had off the likes of Ronaldo and Guardiola is immense.
Personally, I think the biggest mistake of Robson’s managerial career, was his loyalty to Shilton. I think England could have won Italia 90 with a better keeper and the way he was out jumped by Maradona in 86 cost England dear.
I remember it all well. Shilton was also at fault for the West Germans goal, reacting too slow.
Beasant had played two friendlies and only about four top flight seasons, and never in Europe. Expecting him to be the difference between fourth and first place in the world cup is a bit much imo.
I'd forgotten that Beasant was only in the squad due to Seaman getting an injury, but he was just as inexperienced at the time.
England had a good record for keepers over many years. Maybe 90 came at a bit of a lull.
That why I wrote ‘nearly everyone’ but if you trawled through footage of every Lineker goal, and there were plenty, you’ll find one or two dodgy ones that he gladly accepted. Footballers, whether pro or parks, have got to accept every advantage as you can bet your balls there’ll be ones that go against you as well. Can you imagine Thierry Henry telling the ref that he handled before that goal against Ireland? And as for Joe Jordan piping up ‘I cannot tell a lie ref, it was I that handled the ball’ in front of thousands of hyper Jocks at Anfield in ‘77. Imagine being such a gentleman like Lineker that you’d miss a penalty in his final game not to upset Sir Bobby Charlton
Maradona got hacked down at every opportunity in that game ....and Terry Butcher even said he should have smashed Maradona on the halfway line for the greatest World Cup goal ever scored.
All would be classed at cheating by the letter of the rules.
Can you imagine the Sun’s headlines had, say, Gascoigne scored such a goal against Argentina? You can picture the headline ‘Gazza Hands It To The Argies’, the English would have been creaming their pants over it for years with not a whiff of the cheat word. The English media have milked the ‘Maradona is a cheat’ thing for years and many have fallen for it. Does anyone remember Peter Crouch scoring against Trinidad & Tobago in a group game in 2006? He yanked the dreadlocks of the defender to prevent him challenging for the ball in the air.....all good fun though according the English press.