On This Day (23rd July 1984): Sunderland hero Robson Pops off to Carlisle

Photo by Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Getty Images

You could be forgiven for thinking at thirty-eight years of age that most footballers would be hanging up their boots. Pop Robson, however, was still as fit as a well-tuned fiddle and still hitting the right note with fans and his managers.

Just two months earlier, he had scored one of our two goals in the last game of the season at Filbert Street. The two-nil victory secured our top-division status in a bizarre end to the season, which saw us finish thirteenth in the table, but we could have been

relegated going into the last game if results had conspired.

Pop’s goal at Leicester saw him take the record of being our oldest-ever scorer in the league at 38 years and 138 days old.

Pop had returned for his third spell at Sunderland in July 1983, joining Alan Durban’s backroom team as player/coach.

Whilst keen to develop a coaching role, Pop’s form on the training paddock was such that Durban brought him into his starting eleven in December 1983, where not only did he score within six minutes, he also inspired a three-goal rout of West Brom at Roker Park, along with two-goal Paul Bracewell.

Alan Durban was sacked by Chairman Tom Cowie and Pop stepped into the caretaker manager role for the hard-fought 2-2 draw at Roker Park against Arsenal on 3rd March 1984.

Len Ashurst was the man Cowie envisaged would turn Sunderland around and ‘Lenny’ quickly brought Pop into his match-day squad, either from the bench or as a starter.

In all, that season Pop made seven starts and a further six from the bench. Apart from his goals against West Brom and Leicester, he also scored in the crucial 2-1 victory against Everton at Roker Park.

With the season done and first-division safety assured, Pop was maybe anticipating finally hanging up his boots and getting stuck into his coaching career at his hometown club. He had been given some assurances by Len Ashurst that he was required for a place in his backroom team, but Ashurst changed his mind after being faced with stringent financial restrictions by Tom Cowie.

Ashurst wanted his own man (Frank Burrows) as his number two and, although he acknowledges in his autobiography Left-Back in Time, he did not like doing what he had done to Robson, he nonetheless left Pop searching for a new post. The delay in communicating the decision meant that Robson did not attend an interview for the vacant Crystal Palace manager’s post. (Steve Coppell was the beneficiary of Pop’s non-attendance).

Bob Stokoe was still manager of Carlisle in the summer of 1984 and, having employed Robson as player/coach in March 1981 (leading to promotion from the third division), Stokoe had little hesitation in signing him again on a free transfer.

Pop fairly quickly found himself in the manager’s role as Stokoe stepped down due to ill health.

Photo by MSI/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images

Robson went on to occupy a number and variety of football roles over the next three decades, including scout and coach at Manchester United and Assistant Coach, Community Officer and Director of Youth at Sunderland. Pop left Sunderland in 2004, but was enticed back to head up the club’s scouting network in July 2011. In April 2013, at Ellis Short’s behest, the entire scouting team was sacked.

I have some great memories of Pop. I can remember the first time I saw Pop play, he was wearing the black-and-white stripes of Newcastle and sportingly had looked on in admiration as Neil Martin buried a fantastic header into the back of Newcastle’s net on the way to a three-nil victory at St James’ Park. His first two spells with Sunderland saw promotion as champions in 1975/76 and promotion as runners-up in 1979/80. He was top scorer in both those seasons.

Pop Robson was born within a stone’s throw of Roker Park and his three separate spells with Sunderland saw him make 174 appearances and score 67 goals. He was a nippy, lively forward with a good assist record to complement his more than handy goals tally and gave excellent service in all of his three spells.

He is very active these days in supporting and fundraising for the Tynedale Hospice at Home service.

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