|
|
ROBBO'S RETURN 8-11-04
At the moment, it looks almost certain that when we play West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, it will be their new manager's very first game, something which will certainly give the match a little extra spice. If the expected appointment goes ahead, better make that an industrial sized shipment of spice because some of the bookies have now stopped taking bets on who that manager will be.
I remember the 'tributes' pouring in when Robbo left the Boro in 2001 and one of the less vitriolic messages stated that Robbo had done a hell of a lot for the Boro and that his part in our rebirth and subsequent progression should never be forgotten. The same writer went on to say that he would like to see Robbo return to The Riverside with a new team and that if that was ever to happen, he should be afforded the respect that his name on Teesside and in the game in general deserves. I agree with that and although he won't be bringing a team to The Riverside just yet, unless something out of the ordinary happens and ruins my prediction of this appointment - and therefore this week's column - then Bryan Robson's first game as manager of West Bromwich Albion will be against Boro on Sunday.
You can slag Robbo all you want but to expand on some words from the very latest Packwolf's Howl - available within this site - Robbo helped to lay the foundations of what we now have and the fact is that at the turn of the century, he was our most successful manager ever. We had never played a Wembley Cup Final before the Robbo years and then suddenly, we get three in two years. We would never have attracted the big names that we did in the late nineties without Robbo, as it is common knowledge that they all came to play for us because of him.
OK, so not everything went totally according to plan and some days, we wondered when the next disaster would strike but the bottom line is that without Robbo's previous six years at the helm, Steve McClaren's task would have been a lot more difficult than it has been.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that Robbo's reign was in itself successful but he did put us on the map and he did make us a viable proposition to the calibre of player that we needed to attract in order to reach the next level.
Reputations are not always enough grounds to go on when formulating an opinion about a person's character and for all Robbo's dour and characterless image, this adage seems to ring true. I recently read a piece by someone who had met him whilst he was in situ as Boro boss and the article said that Robbo exuded personality and charisma and that you couldn't help but be swept up in his enthusiasm.
People can often learn well from their professional mistakes and I do not think that it is too late for Bryan Robson to become a manager of the same calibre that his formidable name holds. It would not at all surprise me if Robbo did climb to the very top of the management game and I for one would be delighted if that turned out to be the case.
Having said that, during his Boro reign, there was quite a few occasions when I wanted him out as I wondered why a team such as ours would consistently embarrass themselves, week after week after week. I did not ever really believe that he was the man to take us to where we wanted to be but the six years that he spent with us are now part of Teesside footballing folklore and will remain ingrained in our memories forever. Do you ever foresee a time when we stop talking about those crazy days, whatever we achieve in the future?
Bryan Robson has got nothing to lose as a manager now as if he doesn't succeed in this role, then that will almost certainly be curtains for him at the top level. So what better appointment could a very unsettled West Brom make than a manager desperate to once again prove himself?
So when we go to The Hawthorns on Sunday and start baiting Robbo in the home team dugout, just think about this. If asked in the mid nineties whether we would have settled for the success that we craved in just over a decade preceded by six years of the most exciting times that the club had ever known, we may well have taken it.
Robbo will need all the luck in the world at West Brom and whilst I hope he gets a pasting in his first game, I would like to see him take off from there and fulfil his potential as a manager. Good luck Bryan and thanks for the helping to put us on the map.
Until next week...
BACK TO STEVE G INDEX
|
|
|
|
