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Sir Bobby Robson, who died yesterday, aged 76, was a man of whom bad words were last said so long ago that they have long been forgotten. The former England manager held iconic status among the Geordie faithful, but reaction from across the globe yesterday told of a man cherished across and beyond the world of football. Politicians, royalty and cancer specialists joined footballers past and present to pay tribute to Sir Bobby, a man whose enthusiasm for life and passion for football knew no bounds. Flags flew at half mast at the clubs he played for or managed. Floral shrines carpeted stadiums in Newcastle and Ipswich, where he first gained fame as a manager. Gordon Brown described a man “who epitomised everything that is great about football in this country”; Prince William, the Football Association president, spoke of his “deep sadness”, and José Mourinho talked of a man “who will never die”. Related Links Ex-England manager Sir Bobby Robson dies at 76 Sir Bobby Robson: the Times obituary Paul Gascoigne, whose tears became the defining image of the most important match of Sir Bobby’s career, said his former manager was “like a second father” to him. Sir Bobby, a lifelong Newcastle fan who stood as a child to worship from the terraces at St James’ Park, said his father would have been even more proud of him managing “the Toon” than he was when he got the England job. When Sir Bobby was sacked in 2004, two years after he was knighted, the Newcastle chairman, Freddie Shepherd, acknowledged that he would be remembered as the man who “shot Bambi”. There is already talk of naming a stand at the stadium after Sir Bobby. By 5pm, more than 5,000 people had filed into the ground to pay their respects. Many more were expected during the evening and the gates will be opened today and tomorrow, from 9am to 5pm. Small boys clutched their parents’ hands, moody teenagers stood in silence. Two elderly women slowly made the uphill ascent to the stadium on mobility scooters. They placed shirts, scarves, flowers, cards, banners and photographs behind the goal at the Leazes End. The messages spoke of a “Geordie Hero”, the “Pride of Newcastle”, a “perfect gentleman” and “one of the greatest ambassadors football has ever known”. The word used most was “legend”. It was not only a day for Newcastle to remember. There were England scarves aplenty, together with the shirts of Ipswich, Barcelona, Leeds United, Swindon Town, Berwick Rangers, Wigan Athletic and Middlesbrough. It was even possible for a young fan wearing the red shirt of Sunderland, Newcastle’s bitter rivals, to walk untroubled through the crowd to leave his own card. At 3.10pm, the Newcastle first team squad walked to the centre circle, to observe a minute’s silence. A wreath of white lilies was laid by the only three players left at the club from Sir Bobby’s time as manager. As the silence came to an end, the hundreds of fans inside the ground applauded before a chant of “There’s only one Bobby Robson” echoed around the stadium. More than 1,200 people have signed a book of condolence in the foyer of the main stand next to a bronze statue of Sir Bobby. His death at his home in Co Durham, after a long fight against cancer, came as no great surprise to the 35,000 fans who saw the frail, wheelchair-bound Sir Bobby at St James’ Park last Sunday. They were there for a friendly match, in which the former players of England and Germany replayed their 1990 World Cup semi-final. This time, England won. The match was held to raise money for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, which was set up in March last year and has already raised more than £1.3 million for a specialist cancer detection centre in Newcastle. Sir Bobby was given a guard of honour at the match and shook hands with every player. Friends said yesterday that he had been determined to live until the match was played. Of all the tributes paid yesterday to a man who never forgot his humble roots and always had time for a word with the lowliest of fans, the words of James Paterson carried particular resonance. Mr Paterson, a former security guard at Newcastle’s training ground, remembered a day when it was “hammering with rain”. “The players drove in and then Sir Bobby did too. Five minutes later he came out with a great big umbrella, put his arm around me and said, ‘There you go son, that’ll keep you dry’ and then he walked back into the training centre, soaking wet.”