Alan Shearer says Sir Bobby Robson saved his Newcastle United career when he replaced Ruud Gullit on September 3rd 1999, but in reality, he did much more than that. The former England manager, a native of Langley Park, County Durham, swept in like a superhero after 50 years away from the North East of England, to save the Magpies, the club he supported as a boy, from themselves. It may be hard to believe now, with Newcastle trapped in a loveless marriage with current owner Mike Ashley, but trouble was brewing even before the London-born billionaire bought the club in 2007.
One crucial difference saved them then, though, and that was that at the heart of every decision made by the board, which was headed by Sir John Hall and Freddy Shepherd, was an ambition to make the club and the team better. That included replacing Gullit with Robson, after the Dutchman, who arrived on Tyneside with such as fanfare because of his reputation of attractive football, resigned after a terrible start to the 1999/2000 season, with the club in the relegation zone. His relationship with senior professionals like Shearer, Rob Lee and Duncan Ferguson best encapsulated his failure at Newcastle; he didn’t want his authority to be challenged and so refused Lee a squad number and dropped both Ferguson and Shearer for the Tyne-Wear Derby against Sunderland, which they lost 2-1. At that time, defeats to the Black Cats were hardly a regular occurrence but, looking back, that particular one was a blessing in disguise, ultimately bringing an end to Gullit’s reign, stopping Shearer leaving, in his own words, and paving the way for Robson.
By then, even though the season was just a matter of weeks old, Newcastle were on their knees; but Robson had the experience, knowledge and understanding to turn everything around, almost in an instant. As the warm, funny, brilliant man he had already proven himself to be, he was able to walk into St James’ Park and lift the spirts of everyone around him. At his unveiling as Gullit’s successor, having spent a large part of the last decade coaching the likes of Pep Guardiola, Ronaldo and Luis Figo at Barcelona, he cheekily said that Newcastle “pipped” the Catalans in terms of size, much to the joy of the fans and the local media. The adulation he received that day, with tens of thousands of people flocking to the stadium to catch a glimpse of him, showed that he was the perfect man to turn the dire situation on its head. If he, or anyone for that matter, was worried about Shearer’s confidence, which had been decimated by Gullit, he needn’t have been; in his first home game, Newcastle ran out 8-0 winners against fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday. Shearer netted five as the Magpies left the bottom three behind, finishing that campaign in 11th.
According to some of his former players at Newcastle, Robson’s recovery of the club over such a short period of time was down to his experience and exceptional man-management, rather than any tactical genius. As he did with Shearer, he made every player feel like the best in the world, even if he was telling them off or they came to him angry at the lack of minutes they were getting on the pitch.
Within three years, Robson had guided Newcastle back into the Champions League, rebuilding the team around Shearer by overloading the attack with pacy, young and hungry players like Laurent Robert, Craig Bellamy and Kieron Dyer, all of whom were every so slightly temperamental at best. They all saw him as a father, and though he is known the world over for his caring attitude and ability to see the best in anyone, he was ruthless, knowing exactly what he wanted and how he wanted to do it. The following campaign, after a fourth place finish in 2001/02, Newcastle became the last team to lose their first three Champions League group games, against Juventus, Feyenoord and Dynamo Kiev, and still progress. That is a record that still stands today; to achieve such a feat so soon after inheriting a mess the size as the one he did is incredible, and sums him up as a man.
All in all, Robson was at the helm at Newcastle for just over five years; he was sacked just a few weeks after his anniversary having made a poor start to the 2004/05 season which, while not on the scale of Gullit’s, fuelled reports that the players were not respecting his authority as he got older. Graeme Souness, a hard-nosed disciplinarian, came in, suggesting the board believed their were issues, and Robson walked away heartbroken, never to work again before he passed away aged 76 in 2009. Shepherd, who himself died in October last year, described the act of parting company with a legend like Robson, a North East icon and arguably the greatest all round English manager ever as “like shooting Bambi”. It has only become apparent in the 14 years since that decision just how poor it was.
Expectations were high once again after Newcastle finished third in the Premier League in 2003. Failure to qualify for the Champions League after losing to Partizan Belgrade in the group stage playoff the following August, and finishing fifth that season with a UEFA Cup semi-final defeat, was deemed unacceptable. Robson left with little acknowledgement of his role in the exceptional development of the club on and off the pitch in such a small amount of time, which also included growing the capacity of St James’ Park. After Kevin Keegan left in 1996 having almost won the league title, Newcastle dropped rapidly, and it took a man so special to help them rise again just as quickly, even if he didn’t complete the job and win that much-craved trophy.
Newcastle United could have had it all under Sir Bobby Robson, and they tossed him aside. Today, 19 years on from his arrival, they are still paying a heavy price for under-appreciating just how good a job he did, especially in his first few months and years at the helm.
