Former manager's son and oncologist explain the hidden pain he went through at Newcastle and the lasting impact his work has made
How Newcastle's 'unassuming' superstar Longstaff is fighting his way into England contentionFormer manager’s son and oncologist explain the hidden pain he went through at Newcastle and the lasting impact his work has made“It was a special, special time for him to be at Newcastle but people didn’t realise when all of this was going on just how unwell he had been, not even his players,” he says.
“As much as what he did in football I think that is part of the reason for this incredible legacy that he’s left behind. He was a fighter.” “That era was a team Dad was really proud of. It’s a team that would have gone on to be even better. Their bravery – there’s a lot of similarity with the team Eddie has now.”
This is the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre, a unit paid for almost in its entirety by the foundation launched by the ex-England manager after his oncologist, Professor Ruth Plummer, asked if he knew someone who could help raise the £500,000 needed to equip a centre dedicated to research of the disease.
“Sir Bobby used to joke I was the only oncologist in Newcastle who didn’t have a clue about football,” she says. And she’s not joking. She has met many of the game’s greats and “had to google 90 per cent of them”. Football and footballers get a bad press but I’ve met some lovely ones. They really do a lot that they don’t get credit for,” she says.
“Most of the patients say: ‘If it doesn’t help me, it might help in the future’. Sir Bobby was in that space. He was passionate about research.” Centre manager Chris Barron, a lifelong Newcastle fan, explains: “Having his name attached to the unit definitely changes things. Many who go on trials have the attitude that ‘Bobby wouldn’t have been involved in anything ropey’.”
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