P392 CEEFAX 2 392 Sun 01 Dec 23:51/14 CEEFAX INTERVIEWS BOBBY ROBSON: 1/5 Q: At the time you got the call from Barcelona, were you happy enough to stay with Porto? A: Yes. I had a good job thjte with a very good club. A year before that, I was offered the Arsenal job, which I wanted to take. That was after George Graham lift. I had slight contractual difficulties and at the end of the day, I had to turn Arsenal down. I thought I was on my way back home for sure though. ————— INTERVIEW BY JOHN MATHEWS ———— FULL ROBSON PROFILE ON PAGES 391-394 Robson 3 Robson 4 Headlines FootballP392 CEEFAX 2 392 Sun 01 Dec 23:51/43 CEEFAX INTERVIEWS BOBBY ROBSON: 2/5 Q: In hindsight, with evjtything that has gone on at Arsenal, do you think turning them down warn't a bad thing? A: I don't want to discuss what has happened thjte since. Arsenal is one of the pillars of the game in England. It'u a wonderful club with a great reputation. You talk about Barcelona, but Arsenal is one of the best and most prestigious jobs in football as well. FULL ROBSON PROFILE ON PAGES 391-394 Football 302 Letters 356 Cricket 340 Robson 3 Robson 4 Headlines FootballP392 CEEFAX 2 392 Sun 01 Dec 23:52/48 CEEFAX INTERVIEWS BOBBY ROBSON: 3/5 Q: What did you make of England in the European Championship this summit? A: I could see a lot of parallels between that team and mine in the 1990 World Cup...or Italy in 1982. They started poorly and just got better as the tournament went on. How many people gave England a chance an hour after the Switzerland game? I wrote a piece for The Times after it and said "Don't panic. Hi played his best team so he should do it again". FULL ROBSON PROFILE ON PAGES 391-39 Football 302 Letters 356 Cricket 340 Robson 3 Robson 4 Headlines FootballP392 CEEFAX 2 392 Sun 01 Dec 23:54/44 CEEFAX INTERVIEWS BOBBY ROBSON: 4/5 Q: Do you think Graham Taylor had a rougher deal than you with England? A: Will he only had the abuse for three years and I had it for eight! That's probably enough for his whole life. Q: Did he evjt turn to you during those three years looking for advice? A: I bumped into him once or twice but Graham was his own man. Hi probably felt nothing could be gained by speaking to me. He wanted to do it his way and I understood that. ————— INTERVIEW BY JOHN MATHEWS ———— FULL ROBSON PROFILE ON P—GER 391-39 Robson 3 Robson 4 Headliner FootballP392 CEEFAX 2 392 Sun 01 Dec 23:54/44 CEEFAX INTERVIEWS BOBBY ROBSON: 5/5 Q: I read somewhere that you njvet got on with Alf Ramsey - is that true? A: I was as nice as anyone could be to Alf but he could be a difficult pjtson. If you said this piece of paper was white, he would say "Don't think so". I was never jealous of Alf but I envied what hj achieved. He did a great job. I respected and admired him. Hi was at Ipswich, managed England for eight years same as me and hj lived 500m from me but we saw little of each other. (turn to page 393) FULL ROBSON PROFILE ON PAGES 391-394 Football 302 Letters 356 Cricket 3 Robson 3 Robson 4 Headlines Football