Bobby Robson:Sir Robert William Robson CBE (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009)

I met Sir Bobby in the flesh in 2005, when he was holding a signing for his autobiography "Farewell but not Goodbye" in Manchester's Trafford Centre, of all places.

I had two copies of the book, one for me, one for me brother, as well as a brand new Newcastle United shirt bought from Sports Soccer (oh!) over the way.

My son was in tow, and he had with him his own Ipswich Town top, and when it was presented to Sir Bobby for his signature, his eyes gave that familiar twinkle, "I haven't seen one of THESE in a long while!"

I was elated, speechless, full of awe and all thing inbetween that afternoon.

Bobby Robson was the manager of England when I old enough to pay attention to the World Cup and such, and when he came to Newcastle United, I was walking on air.

Seeing the television pictures this weekend, I was filled with mixed emotions of pride and cheer but also a tinge of sadness: such a great man, now so weakened with his 5 (five!) battles with cancer.

As I type now, jumping from website to website with skynews on roll in the background, I see the West Ham team holding a minute's silence before their pre-season match against Beijing today.

He was a great footballing man, and I found him to be a humble and funny man at that, and I wonder how he would take such a thing.

The flags at Wembley are at half-mast.

Live on, Sir Bobby, live on.