Just read this on sportinglife, sad news as he does seem like a real gentlemen.

Former England manager Sir Bobby Robson has admitted he will lose his battle with lung cancer "sooner rather than later".

Robson has been battling a fifth bout of the illness and has accepted doctors' prognosis that he is unlikely to beat it.

Speaking to The Sun, he said: "I have accepted what they have told me and I am determined to make the most of what time I have left.

"I am going to die sooner rather than later. But then everyone has to go some time, and I have enjoyed every minute.

"I have been fortunate to survive this long. It is thanks to the doctors and their dedication."

Not much else to add is there?

No, there isn't. Class thing for him to say as well.

what a gent.

Yes Indeed. Top man, and a bastard of a way to go.

[sniff]

What class and grace.

I've just finished reading, "Provided you don't kiss me", literally minutes ago and Duncan Hamilton points out that Clough wouldn't have survived in the PRemier League and certainly wouldn't have flourished. I agree with him. Robson was a contemporary of Clough's and he did flourish in the modern game. A decent man and a very good manager.

I more or less gave up on Newcastle after they sacked Sir Bobby. The way they treated him was a disgrace.
The first Cup Final I saw was Ipswich in 1978 (30 years already!) I remember running into the kitchen and shouting to my mum "Ipswichs scored!"

Great man, a terrible shame.

I still have fond (vague) memories of the documentary about him. His sense of wonder at a simple door frame. Chin up, Sir Bob.

Very sad news, if expected and feared.

Sir Bobby Robson is a great man with enormous dignity.

That's really sad. His team was everything to me for so many of my formative years.

He created teams who made watching football a pleasure.

Always had time for the sad losers who hung around every home game getting autographs pre-game at Portman Road.

Looked after his former players and always available for advice if those who went into management called up.

I wonder what might have happened had the FA been gutsy enough to offer him a new deal before the 1990 World Cup instead of driving him into the arms of PSV.

Had the pleasure of his company at a post-match press conference at Loftus Road after a Fulham-Newcastle game. Informative, interesting answers (not the norm in these situations) and you felt you could happily have listened to him for hours and that he would have been happy to have obliged. Questions over, he stood up and, while journos and press minders jabbered and clattered about with equipment, he was incongruously donning his traditional outdoor garb with great serenity, adjusting his scarf like a sprightly pensioner in his own hallway just off to walk the dog for an hour.

Lovely bloke.

I think back to the pillorying he got prior to the 1990 World Cup - headlines like "Go! In The Name Of God, Go!" It's hard to fathom or recall what he did to deserve such treatment, but remembering what he actually did in that tournament, you can only salute the man's what-everyone-else-said; greatness and dignity.

or indeed to get thrown in the swimming pool at the end of the tournament, fully clothed by lineker et al who promptly left him there

I echo everything about him being a gentleman an having great dignity.
But lets not try and whitewash his tenure as England manager. By 1990 world cup he was seen as a bit of a buffoon, unable to get the best out of what was seen as a talented bunch of players. Barnes and Waddle could not reproduce anthing like thier club form. The team was overelient on Bryan Robson and he was unwilling to give the new talent of English football Paul Gasgoine a game as well as midfield scoring sensation David Platt.

There would have been uproar if he was offered a new contract pre Italia 90 when most people wanted him gone after Euro88.

Leaves a lump in the throat, that opening post does. To basically say what everyone else has, he always comes across as a genuinely lovely guy with loads of grace and dignity.

And it's fantastic to hear someone in his position saying something like this:

"I have been fortunate to survive this long. It is thanks to the doctors and their dedication."

...rather than saying it's all thanks to God or whatever.

What did the Hand of God ever do for him.

His appearance at the last (but one?) Sports Personality of the Year ceremony was incredibly moving. M'lovely wife, who had never heard of the guy, was instantly won over by his charm, and she's (hmm... usually) a pretty good judge of character.

I hope the last few months (and I say that optimistically) of his life are as free from pain as is possible given his condition.