Beardsley – “It’s Bobby’s night, and nothing else should get in the way,”
Posted on July 26th, 2009 | 11 Comments |
‘Pedro’, a true Tyneside legend in his own right, and a man Bobby himself referred to as “my little gem” said:
“It’s Bobby’s night, and nothing else should get in the way,”
“I’m sure we’ll all get a great reception, but he is the man, just as he was the man back in 1990.
“I know the fans may want to have their say on Alan (Shearer) and the situation at Newcastle now, but even that mustn’t overshadow the point of the occasion – paying tribute to Bobby.”
Offering some fascinating insights into what was a great match which many thought of as the real World Cup final, the mighty Beardo added:
“It was a fantastic game which I look back on with pride and disappointment. It will live with a lot of people forever,”
“Inwardly, I was gutted afterwards – we came so close. But I was more gutted for Bobby.
“It was his last game with England. As a player, you got more chances, but he didn’t.
“If anyone deserved to get to the final – and one of the hardest things for us to bear was that we knew we would have been 90 per cent sure to win the final against Argentina – it was Bobby.
“The way he prepared us, organised us and inspired us was just fantastic, and for it to end like it did on penalties . . . well, it was the worst way.
“We hadn’t played brilliantly during the tournament, but we were outstanding that night and probably should have won it on chances created.
“But the Germans were superb in the shoot-out. Both sides knew that game was pretty much the World Cup final, but they were ice cool.
“I was obviously glad to be one of the three England scorers on penalties – but nobody really remembers that now. All they remember is Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle missing.
“I felt so much for them both. I was gutted, but they must have been 20 times worse.
“But the other thing that’s stayed with me ever since is how gracious the Germans were afterwards.
“Their attitude was sensational. I know it’s easier to act that way when you win, but I won’t ever forget the respect they showed us.”
On his titanic struggle with German defender (and subsequent Maradona nemesis), Guido Buchwald, who marked Beardsley mercilessly for the whole two hours of the epic encounter he said:
“I never used to swap shirts with players, but I did with Buchwald that night, because we’d had such a tough old battle,”
Of course, the respect for Sir Bobby in the region is immense, and rightly so in this writers opinion, but Beardsley is another North East legend who is carries the torch for dignity and pride in football.
Here’s hoping that both he, and of course, Sir Bobby have a wonderful evening!
NUFCBlog Author: workyticket
workyticket has written 1095 articles on this blog.
I agree with Pedro, as per my article.
It’s inevitable that the fans will make reference to Shearer and perhap to a lesser degree, to the current imcubent but hopefully, that won’t detract from a great evening.