BRYAN ROBSON is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players to wear the Three Lions across his chest.

Given the 'Captain Marvel' moniker by the tabloid press for his all-action displays, Robson is fondly remembered as an inspirational captain of both club and country, whose presence lifted team-mates and intimidated opponents.

At his peak, he was acknowledged as one of the most complete midfield players in the world, winning 90 caps for England, 65 as captain.

But in his early days as a schoolboy footballer and apprentice at West Brom, many felt he might not make the grade.

Robson, by his own admission, says it was touch and go whether he was going to be offered a professional contract by the Baggies' boss Don Howe because he wasn't physically big or strong enough.

But the club spotted the potential and concocted some painful and disgusting methods to build up his wiry frame.

"I was a little more than 5ft 6in and six-and-a-half stone wet through at the age of 15," he reflected. "They insisted I went on a special diet. In the morning I had to drink a lethal concoction of raw eggs, sherry, sugar and a pint of milk. In the evening the plate would be piled high with loads of boiled potatoes, although I'm sure there was other stuff put in there.

"I also had to drink a pint of Guinness. They told me it was good for me but it tasted awful. I had to keep telling myself it would be worth it."

And so it was. Robson grew, was offered a £28-a-week professional contract - and £250 signing on fee - and quickly established himself in the reserve side before eventually making the leap into the first team.

But it was nearly all over before it had started when Robson was hit by a series of career-threatening injuries.

"I suffered three broken legs in seven months," Robson remembered. "I got plenty of sympathy from the club and the fans but I was aware people were beginning to ask whether I was too injury prone to make it."

Remarkably, Robson made a full recovery and managed to establish himself as one of the first division's most consistent performers.

After becoming disillusioned at West Brom's lack of ambition, Robson joined his former boss Ron Atkinson at Old Trafford for a then record British transfer fee of £1.5m.

United fans will be surprised to find that he almost joined their fierce rivals Liverpool.

"Some reports linked me with Arsenal but that was never a possibility," said Robson.

"I couldn't have lived in London. Liverpool was a different matter. If they had matched United's offer to Albion, I would have probably gone to Anfield. I know United supporters won't like to hear me admit that, but at the time I didn't have the affection for United that I have now and Liverpool were a fantastic team. It would have been great to play with Dalglish, Rush and Hansen.

"In the event, Liverpool weren't prepared to compete with United. I was told they wouldn't go higher than £1m."

Robson's move to Old Trafford cemented the combative midfielder's place in Ron Greenwood's England team.

But it was his form in the blue and white of West Brom, which won him his first cap against the Republic of Ireland in 1980.

Robson missed the cut to go to Italy for the 1980 European Championships with questions over his fitness, but it wouldn't be long before he made his mark on the international stage.

By the time England spluttered their way to the 1982 finals in Spain Robson had emerged on the world stage.

And it would be an understatement to say he enjoyed the tournament.

"It was particularly good for me. I scored twice in our opening fixture, a 3-1 win against France, the first coming after 27 seconds," said Robson, who scored his first goal on the international stage in the embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Norway in qualifying.

It was officially the quickest goal in World Cup history and remained so until Turkey's Hakan Sukur scored after 10.8 seconds against South Korea 20 years later.

Greenwood's side comfortably beat Czechoslovakia (2-0) and Kuwait (1-0) to qualify for the second stage, only to draw against eventual finalists West Germany (0-0) and Spain (0-0) and go out, unbeaten.

Robson believes had Kevin Keegan been fit for the tournament then England would have brought the trophy back to Blighty. Keegan only managed a 20-minute cameo as a substitute against Spain.

With Wayne Rooney's current situation being likened to that of Keegan's 24 years ago, Robson added: "Looking back, I think that even though Trevor Francis and Paul Mariner did well for us up front, Kevin, who was European Footballer of the Year, might have given us that little bit extra to score a goal."

Robson was happy with his first World Cup but little did he realise his following two World Cups, in Mexico (86) and Italy (90), would be cut short by shoulder and Achilles injuries.

Italia 90 was the World Cup when Paul Gascoigne announced himself to the footballing nation.

"He'd embarrassed me playing for Newcastle (in a 2-1 defeat at St James' Park) against United and I was glad to have him on my side," reflected the current West Brom boss.

"He was sensational and you could see it coming in the warm-up friendlies. He was just a naturally gifted footballer. When I talk about the Diego Maradonas of that top category, I have Gazza in the group just below.

"He never progressed to the next stage because of his injuries. Despite that he was still able to play at a fantastic standard. Very few are blessed with that gift. He was also a great trainer. He worked hard because he had a passion for the game and wanted to be a winner.

"It would have been outrageous if England had got through to the final and Gazza had missed it, but that was the scenario facing him after he got booked against the Germans."

Robson won only three more caps after England's march to the semi-finals of the competition, after Graham Taylor made it clear he was preparing for the future. At 33 he was deemed surplus to requirements.

The Red Devils' skipper found himself in similar circumstances at Old Trafford four years later and called time on his 13-year career in the North-West with three FA Cup winners medals, a Cup Winners' Cup triumph and two Premier League titles.

A fresh challenge lay ahead as he chose to cut his managerial teeth at an unfashionable Division One club called Middlesbrough.

Now, Boro are one of the most attractive clubs in the Premiership. Steve McClaren may have won the club its first major trophy and led them to a UEFA Cup final but Robson was the catalyst and sowed the early seeds of their success.

In his first season, Robson took Boro back into the Premiership and by the end of his time had led the team to three cup finals, lived through one relegation and two promotions.

He oversaw the move to a new stadium, but his seven turbulent years on Teesside ended in a cloud.

"We had the usual turnover of players before the 2000-01 season, but I honestly thought we'd cracked it that year," admitted Robson.

"We brought in Alen Boksic, Christian Karembeu, Ugo Ehiogu, Joseph-Desire Job and Paul Okon.

"Our first match was away to Coventry and we won 3-1. The new players bedded in well. Boksic scored twice and Job got the other. I remember thinking to myself 'we've got a real team here'."

But Boro were hit by injuries and only picked up one point from nine games from mid-October to Christmas, and were bottom of the league at the turn of the year.

Robson felt the club needed a fresh voice and brought in former England boss Terry Venables to help out.

They both managed to turn around the club's ailing fortunes and survive another year in the Premiership.

But the Boro crowd and club's hierarchy felt it was all Venables' doing.

"Looking back, I obviously cut my own throat, but when I made the decision to bring in Terry my only concern was the future of the club," said Robson, who was actually subjected to a chorus of boos on his final game in charge before he was sacked, while El Tel was given a hero's send off.

"Towards the end of the season I could see I put myself in a difficult situation. I had undermined my own position. Would we have stayed up if Terry hadn't joined us? It's a hypothetical question and nobody knows the answer. What angered me was the way I lost my job."

Robson went on the end-of-season trip to Singapore with the club's hierarchy and had heard whispers while he was there that Steve McClaren was going to be installed as boss.

At first, chairman Steve Gibson had denied this was the case but, after a word with chief executive Keith Lamb when they got back from the tour, Robson was called to the Riverside for a meeting to be told he was no longer in charge.

Robson recalled: "I told Steve I'd got absolutely no problem with that but I did ask him the question at the airport about Steve McClaren, and he said it wasn't true.

"He'd been having conversations with Steve McClaren and couldn't tell me to my face?"

Gibson apologised, stating it was difficult to tell Robson after all they had been through.

"I was annoyed with him for a time but now it's water under the bridge," he said.

"Overall, my time at Boro was good and that's why I don't bear any grudges.

"The past is the past and we're friends again.

"Steve did what he thought was right for the club. These things happen in the game and you have to be big enough to face that."

Robbo, My Autobiography, is published by Hodder & Stroughton at £18.99

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