Sir Bobby 'was a stickler for being late'
Sir Bobby Robson "was probably the fairest man I have ever met in football," says NUFC host Justin Lockwood.
In the latest episode of the BBC Radio Newcastle's Total Sport podcast, the radio commentator shares personal anecdotes about the late Magpies boss.
"You could upset him one week, then the following week it would be forgotten and it would be a blank piece of paper again," said Lockwood on Sir Bobby's personality.
"He was just an incredible man. Despite his stature, what he achieved in football and how revered he is across the world, he would still recognise that he was trying to apply his trade in a really tough environment.
"He was a stickler for being late though!
"This one particular day, I was driving home and his PA rang me. It was when Pele came over for an art exhibition at Newcastle University - basically, there was an incredible exhibition with all this artwork of Pele.
"So I had Pele in my car in the morning, as we ferried him around the north east, and then I had Sir Bobby Robson in my car in the afternoon. To cut a long story short, Bobby's PA said: 'You know where the exhibition is - can you take Bobby?' I was on my way home. I think I had picked my wife up at the airport!
"Anyway, he threw his bag in my boot, he sat in and he was brilliant from start to finish, but he was a stickler for being late.
"As we were pulling into the university, the traffic was really busy. There was this guy trying to park in front of us and Sir Bobby had put the window down on his side. This guy was in, out, in, out and he couldn't get this parallel park right. I could see Sir Bobby getting uncomfortable and he was asking: 'What's happening?!'
"He made me stop alongside this man, who had eventually parked into this spaceafter what seemed like an eternity. [Sir Bobby] put his head out of the window and said: 'One out of 10 son, one out of 10!'
"This guy did a double-take, as if to sort of go: 'Oh my god, that is Bobby Robson criticising my parking'. That was a very interesting day."
Listen to the Newcastle United Total Sport podcast on BBC Sounds
