Rafa in for Forest star?

breadth of the country. They just want to be entertained and see their passion mirrored in the players who wear the famous colours.

Sir Bobby knew this – he was one of them, after all - and built a side full of flair, but with an element of steel to it.

By the end of the 2002 season, United had qualified for the Champions League, as the fans were taken on a journey which saw them do battle with the likes of Inter Milan and Juventus in a series of memorable nights.

And while players such as Shearer, Craig Bellamy, Kieron Dyer and Jermaine Jenas caught the headlines, there was never any doubt about who masterminded the transformation – it was always Sir Bobby.

His Press conferences were the stuff of legend, talking football for hours with anyone who was willing to listen – and there were plenty of volunteers. Stories abound of his characteristic mix-up with names – Dyer once famously thought he had been dropped because Sir Bobby kept referring to ‘Kevin’ in the teamtalk, but the players would run through brick walls for him, and the fans adored him.

But while his United side could entertain in the same vein as the Kevin Keegan-era team of the mid1990s, there is another, perhaps more significant reason why Sir Bobby was so loved.

He understood the club, the fans, the region – he appreciated the place the football team played in society.

In his autobiography, he famously wrote: “What is a club in any case? Not the buildings or the directors or the people who are paid to represent it.

“It’s not the television contracts, get-out clauses, marketing departments or executive boxes.

“It’s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city.

“It’s a small boy clambering up stadium steps for the very first time, gripping his father’s hand, gawping at that hallowed stretch of turf beneath him and, without being able to do a thing about it, falling in love.”

That is the reason why Sir Bobby is loved not only on Tyneside, but in Ipswich, in Barcelona, Lisbon, Eindhoven, and all over the footballing world.

It is why the charity set up in his name – the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation – continues to achieve so much.

It is why he will be remembered once more today at Portman Road, and why he will never be forgotten. NEWCASTLE United are expected to step up their chase for Nottingham Forest’s Ben Osborn, according to national reports.

The Magpies were linked to the 22-year-old midfielder back in January and it’s believed that Forest knocked back an enquiry.

The Sun now reports that United will go back for Osborn in the summer as they hope to be in a position to offer him Premier League football.

Osborn is Forest’s star man and the Reds will be keen to hold onto him if they survive the drop from the Championship. It’s also reported that United will move for him but will face competition from Swansea and Burnley.