The Guardian had a good interview with Shearer last Saturday, a good report of our Arsenal match and today they have the following included in an article about Henry and his antics.

'Someon would be doing Henry and wenger a big favour by directing their attention away from the mistakes, actual or imagined, made by Poll towards the post-match interviews given by Bobby Robson.............."you've got to learn to lose" said Robson.......a 68 year old Geordie who knows not only the exhilaration of winning league championships in Holland, Spain and Portugal and capturing the UEFA cup and FA cup with a small-town team, but also the bitterness of being sacked from his first managerial job after only a few months and of losing a world cup semi-final in a penalty shoot out. Robson in other words has been to a summit which Wneger, for all his French championship, his Japanese cup and his English league and cup double, has barely glimpsed.'

'When Wenger has taken over a big club in the dreadful state in which Newcastle United found itself in when Robson was summonsed 2 years ago, and has wasted no time in taking to the top of the table, then his views might give evidence of a more balanced outlook'

I know it's a long posting but worth a read. Brought a tear to my eye!

-- Anonymous, December 20, 2001

Answers

No English manager has ever won the Premiership and Bobby Robson will tell you a hundred times that no English manager will win it this season either.

But if they do - and most of us Premiership neutrals hope so, and not out of any misplaced patriotism - it will probably be won by the greatest living English football manager. Which would be rather nice.

Newcastle United are top of the table and, despite Robson's protestations, have considerably more chance of staying there than the likes of Bolton and Everton - who enjoyed short, dizzy spells at the summit earlier in this very odd campaign.

Newcastle do not have a Thierry Henry or Michael Owen up front, they do not have a Roy Keane or Steven Gerrard in midfield and they most certainly do not have a Sami Hyypia or Rio Ferdinand in defence.

They do have a Shay Given in goal (which has proved handy) but their biggest asset is a 68-year-old man who has achieved great things over many years in football management and in almost every gig he's had.

For all the jokes about Werther's Originals, senile dementia, Uncle Bobby and 'I remember the days when you could leave your front door open...', Robson has proved at Newcastle that he has lost none of the guile and passion that has brought him consistent success over the last 30 years in football management.

We're sure he would like us to gloss over his ten-month reign at Fulham as the follies of a young man and concentrate instead on a 13- year tenure at Ipswich that began in 1969 and reaped a FA Cup win, UEFA Cup glory and a very good stab at the league title.

Then came England. Failing to qualify for the 1984 European Championship finals was not the best of starts and the least said about the same tournament four years later the better, but England's performances in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups were easily the best since 1966, when I believe the lads may have done something particularly special.

Back-to-back Dutch titles with PSV Eindhoven, Portuguese titles with Porto, Cup Winners' Cup triumph with Barcelona and a hard-working, difficult but successful return to PSV have been the post-England highlights of a career which has only been seriously blighted at Sporting Lisbon, where he was controversially sacked.

But for all that silverware won in four different countries, the real test is on Tyneside.

To expect him to deliver the Premiership title would be a tad optimistic but if Robson leads his beloved hometown club to within a whisker of true success then he will have achieved perhaps the greatest and most satisfying single thing of his career.

And who on earth would begrudge the greatest living English manager that

-- Anonymous, December 20, 2001

Where did that article come from Dougal?

-- Anonymous, December 20, 2001

As Jonno would no doubt remind us, "Bobby Robson walks on water". :-)

-- Anonymous, December 20, 2001

I find all the adulation Bobby Robson's getting interesting, because ultimately it indicates that most journos/pundits still don't rate our players that highly. The seem to be asking themsleves 'how the hell are Newcastle top?' and coming up with the answer - 'it must be Bobby Robson'. I'm sure they're right to an extent, but it belittles the ability we have within the side. This season so far has shown the weakness of having large squads of unquestionably talented stars who think reputation is enough to win them games. Hopefully we have a squad of players in the process of forming their reputations.

-- Anonymous, December 21, 2001

Paul, it's because we haven't bought "names" and they don't watch us to know that Andy O'Brien is ace and that Laurent, on form is breathtaking.

-- Anonymous, December 21, 2001