Sir Bobby Robson quotes



"Hitler didn't tell us when he was going to send over those doodlebugs, did he?" - On why he was refusing to name his England team before a World Cup qualifer against Sweden in 1989.


"We're taking 22 players to Italy, sorry, to Spain... where are we, Jim?"
-On whether Paul Gascoigne should have gone to the 1998 World Cup……in France


"Daft as a brush"
- On Paul Gascoigne.


"When he was dribbling, he used to go through a minefield with his arms, a bit like you go through a supermarket"
- On Paul Gascoigne.


"What can I say about Peter Shilton? Peter Shilton is Peter Shilton, and he has been Peter Shilton since the year dot"


"Well, we got nine and you can't score more than that"


"The little lad jumped like a salmon and tackled like a ferret"
- On Paul Parker at the 1990 World Cup.


"We didn't underestimate them. They were a lot better than we thought"


"Look at those olive trees. They're two hundred years old - from before the time of Christ!"


"I played cricket for my local village. It was 40 overs per side, and the team that had the most runs won. It was that sort of football"


"They're two points behind us, so we're neck and neck"

"I'd say he's the best in Europe, if you put me on the fence"


"If we start counting our chickens before they hatch, they won't lay any eggs in the basket"


"I would have given my right arm to be a pianist"


"Their football was exceptionally good - and they played some good football"


"Eighteen months ago they [Sweden] were arguably one of the best three teams in Europe, and that would include Germany, Holland, Russia and anybody else if you like"


"He's very fast and if he gets a yard ahead of himself nobody will catch him"


"The first 90 minutes are the most important"


"In a year's time, he's a year older"


"Some of the goals were good, some of the goals were sceptical"


"Anything from 1-0 to 2-0 would be a nice result"


"Home advantage gives you an advantage"


"The margin is very marginal"


"If you're a painter, you don't get rich until you're dead. The same happens with managers. You're never appreciated until you're gone, and then people say: 'Oh, he was OK'. Just like Picasso"


"There will be a game where somebody scores more than Brazil and that might be the game that they lose"




Kevin Keegan quotes


'England can end the millennium as it started - as the greatest football nation in the world.'


'You're not just getting international football, you're getting world football'


'The 33 or 34-year-olds will be 36 or 37 by the time the next World Cup comes around, if they're not careful.'


'I want more from David Beckham. I want him to improve on perfection.'


'The Germans only have one player under 22, and he's 23'


'I'll never play at Wembley again, unless I play at Wembley again'


'England have the best fans in the world and Scotland's fans are second-to-none'


'Shaun Wright-Phillips has got a big heart. It's as big as him, which isn't very big, but it's bigger'


'Luis Figo is totally different to David Beckham, and vice versa'


'I don't think there's anyone bigger or smaller than Maradona.'


'The good news for Nigeria is that they're two-nil down very early in the game'


'There's a slight doubt about only one player, and that's Tony Adams, who definitely won't be playing tomorrow.'


'Argentina won't be at Euro 2000 because they're from South America.'


'He'll also be very dangerous from set-pieces. That means he'll be a threat from free-kicks and corners in the final third of the field.'


'They're the second best team in the world, and there's no higher praise than that.'


'We deserved to win this game after hammering them 0-0 in the first half'


'It's like a toaster, the ref's shirt pocket. Every time there's a tackle, up pops a yellow card.'


'The ref was vertically 15 yards away.'


'Goalkeepers aren't born today until they're in their late twenties or thirties.'


'They compare Steve McManaman to Steve Heighway and he's nothing like him, but I can see why - it's because he's a bit different'


'Despite his white boots, he has real pace...'


'You can't do better than go away from home and get a draw...'


'He can't speak Turkey, but you can tell he's delighted.'


'...using his strength. And that is his strength, his strength.'


'I'm not disappointed - just disappointed.'


'The tide is very much in our court now.'


'Chile have three options - they could win or they could lose.'


'I came to Nantes two years ago and it's much the same today, except that it's totally different.'


'The substitute is about to come on - he's a player who was left out of the starting line-up today.'


'That decision, for me, was almost certainly definitely wrong.'


'In some ways, cramp is worse than having a broken leg.'


'It's understandable that people are keeping one eye on the pot and another up the chimney.'


'It could be far worse for me if it was easy for me.'


'Football's always easier when you've got the ball'


'The tide is very much in our court now.'


'I've had an interest in racing all my life, or longer really.'


'We managed to wrong a few rights.'


'We are three games without defeat is another way of looking at it. But if we are honest we have taken two points from nine'


'You get bunches of players like you do bananas, though that is a bad comparison.'


'Not many teams will come to Arsenal and get anything, home or away'