Ailing Robson still an inspirational figure

THE FACE and body tell the distressing story of five agonising battles with cancer, but the sparkling eyes and infectious smile reveal a triumph for human spirit.

Bobby Robson can no longer walk without the aid of a stick as the cancer which he has fought, and beaten, four times before has returned with a vengeance. Yet he can still hold an audience in the palm of his hand. At 76, Robson knows time is not on his side.

A year ago, having been told by doctors he may only have a few months left to live, the man who took England to within a penalty shoot-out of the World Cup final in Italy in 1990, and was special consultant to the Republic of Ireland side managed by Steve Staunton, threw his energy behind a fund-raising scheme to create a new Cancer Trials Research Centre at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital.

The objective was to raise €567,668 in a year. That figure was surpassed in less than seven weeks as donations poured in. The sum raised now stands at more than €1.4 million and Robson, who officially opened the centre named in his honour yesterday, is showing no sign of stopping.

“It has been a great year, amazing, one of the most rewarding of my life and I have enjoyed every moment of it,” said Robson, having entertained a crowd, which included the England manager, Fabio Capello, who travelled to the north east to present a cheque for €85,150 from the English Football Association with a string of witty one-liners.

“I have met unforgettable people and come across so many sad stories. But through it all the goodness of people has shone through like a beacon. There have been days when I have been unwell and my disability has been a terrific blow. I have had operations which mean I am partially paralysed, but I always try to make sure it doesn’t affect me.

“I don’t want people to think of me as poorly. I want people to think of me as the same Bobby as I always have been. Cancer is a horrific disease, but at the same time cancer has shown me the best in people.

“It has given me a huge thrill, a real kick. It has been a tonic. When the money started coming in, and we could see the generosity of people it has stimulated me to do more and this has been the best therapy I could have. I feel humble, proud and honoured.”

He even managed to joke about his ongoing fight since he was diagnosed last March, saying: “I have had longer than a football League manager.”

His failure to win a trophy for his beloved Newcastle United is Robson’s one major regret as a manager but, with the cancer research centre, his legacy will carry far greater significance than a silver pot in a trophy cabinet at St James’ Park.

“It is difficult to compare achievements and this is a very different concept to football,” he said. “We are talking about saving lives not winning matches. But this is up there with anything I have achieved in the game. Football makes a huge difference to people in Newcastle and around, but what the people here will be doing is even more important than that.

“Football is about beating your opponent, this is about beating death.”

As a manager in his formative years at Ipswich Town, Robson once fought for authority in the dressingroom by trading blows with two of his players. He is, and always has been, a fighter, and, according to one of his former players, Alan Shearer, is an inspiration to everyone. Shearer said: “He is loved by everyone. You wouldn’t get a turnout like this for anyone else. You can see today, when he speaks, you listen. That was what his team talks were like. He is an inspiration, not just to me, to everybody else because of the way he has handled his life. I think this is his greatest legacy.

“I think anyone who played for him has a personal debt to him. I most certainly do. I wouldn’t have stayed at Newcastle if it wasn’t for him. He got me playing as well as I knew I could do; he got me smiling and enjoying life again.”