included a hat-trick against Turkey in 1984, and a strike afer just 27 seconds against France in the 1982 World Cup, which was the second-fastest goal of the tournament’s final stages.

In his final two seasons Robson started only 15 Premiership matches, but usually made a telling contribution when called upon and could hardly have ended his illustrious career on a more satisfying note than seeing United complete the coveted League and Cup Double in 1994.

An early recruit by England's new manager Terry Venables as coach and right-hand man, Robson was quickly snapped up on a lucrative contract by Middlesbrough when he

announced his impending exit from Old Trafford. After seven seasons there as manager in June 2001, and following a relegation battle, Robson left in June 2001.

He later resurfaced with his first club, West Bromwich Albion with whom he completed a remarkable escape from Premiership relegation in 2004/05 – becoming the first boss to lead a team bottom at Christmas to safety in the Premiership’s short history.

However, a year later the Baggies dropped down to the Championship. They were favourites to win promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt, but after taking only twelve points from their first