Three Lions legend Peter Shilton pays tribute to former manager Sir Bobby Robson

Wednesday 31 Jul 2019
Former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton played under Sir Bobby Robson
Peter Shilton has paid tribute to Sir Bobby Robson, as the football world came together to remember the former England manager on the tenth anniversary of his death.

The former Three Lions goalkeeper played under Sir Bobby for the Three Lions, winning the majority of his record caps under the charge of the former Ipswich Town, Barcelona, Sporting Lisbon and Newcastle United manager.

"He was always a gentlemen, his teams always played good football and he wasn’t one of these people to have a chip on his shoulder, an ego," said Shilton.

"He was from the real grassroots of football and always remembered those roots, always respected the game and that’s the main reason people loved him. 

 

"You never hear people have a bad word for Bobby and that was the sort of fella he was."

Shilton was one of the mainstays of Robson’s England team during his spell in charge of the Three Lions.

That included famous games such as the semi-final defeat to West Germany in 1990 and the controversial reverse against Argentina in 1986, featuring Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal.

And the former Leicester City, Derby County and Nottingham Forest stopper said it was the way in which Robson reacted to that goal in Mexico which illustrated his class as a manager and a man.

"It was typical of Bobby, he just came in the dressing room after and said ‘It was handball, it was handball, wasn’t it? I can’t believe the referee hasn’t seen it," he revealed.

"I can’t remember if he went to have a word with the referee, but there was certainly no screaming and shouting, that was Bobby. He realised the game had finished and there was nothing he could do about it.

"I had eight years with him for England, starting after the World Cup in 1982 and finishing after the World Cup in 1990 - they were great times, especially with the semi-final in 1990."

There were also a few anecdotes from Shilton about Robson’s character and the way in which he worked with the players on the training pitch.

Shilton is still England's record cap holder with 125 appearances for the Three Lions

"He was like a coach-manager, whereas Brian Clough, Lawrie McMenemy, people I have played under, they were managers," he added. 

"They didn’t get involved in the coaching, but Bobby used to like joining in – he’d take the odd session but he had coaches around him. 

"He had the man-management skills as well and had tremendous respect. That was the main thing.

"He had the little things where he’d get players’ names wrong or forget things. 

"I remember one instance when he joined in training and borrowed Glenn Hoddle’s boots and started hobbling around after half an hour and had to finish. 

"They were a brand new pair of boots and he’d forgotten to take the paper out of the toe – little things like that the players used to love him for."

By Nicholas Veevers Content Manager - FA Owned Channels