Bryan Robson: Qualification is a Realistic Expectation

Wednesday, 3rd March 2010 at 12:10pm

In the past 11 years, the Thailand national football team has been managed by three former England internationals.

In 1998, European Cup winning goal scorer Peter Withe who won 11 caps for his country took control of 'The War Elephants' and sat in the hot seat for four years.

Six years later, Peter Reid, who made 13 appearances for England, held the reigns for 12 months before heading back to England as assistant manager to Tony Pulis at Stoke City

Reid's replacement Bryan Robson is considered one of the finest players to have ever represented the Three Lions of England.

Having signed a four-year contract last month, Robson has been handed the task of leading the Thai national team to the 2011 Asian Cup, the 2012 London Olympics and the 2014 Brazil World Cup.

Born in Chester-le-Street in County Durham in 1957, Robson grew up supporting Newcastle United and watching his heroes at St James' Park convinced him he wanted to be a professional footballer.

At the tender age of 15, Robson left home and joined West Bromwich Albion on a two-year apprenticeship.

Three years later, he made his first team debut at the Hawthorns, but was in and out of the side - mainly through injury - until Ron Atkinson joined the club as manager and Robson became one of the first names on the team sheet.

At the age of 23, 'Captain Marvel' as he became known was selected to represent his country for the first time and just two years later, Robson made his first appearance as captain of England, a honor he would receive a further 64 times throughout his international career.

In 1981, his reputation as one of England's best players was confirmed when he joined Manchester United for a British record fee of 1.5 million pounds and was reunited with Ron Atkinson who had joined the Manchester club just a few months earlier.

During his time at Old Trafford, Robson won two league titles, three FA Cups and the European Cup Winners Cup.

His career was influenced by two of British football's greatest managers - Sir Alex Ferguson, his boss at United, and Sir Bobby Robson, then England manager.

At the end of his career at United, Robson joined Middlesborough in the northeast of England as player/manager and his spell at the club was a mixture of success and failure, something that has symptomatic of his managerial career.

In his first season at the club, they achieved promotion as champions to the Premier League, finishing a creditable 12th the following season.

A year later, Robson's 'Boro side reached the League and FA Cup finals, losing the former to Leicester City and the latter to Chelsea. To compound his misery further, Middlesborough were also relegated from the Premier League to complete a nightmare season.

The club returned to the top flight the next season and Robson would stay with the club until 2001. Between leaving Middlesborough and taking on the role of Thailand manager, he has had three further managerial positions at Bradford City, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United, all with limited success.

Robson's mediocre success as a manager has led many to question his appointment as manager of the national team, but the man himself feels he has much to offer as Daniel Ogunshakin discovered in a interview during the Red Bull Phuket Kata Group Cup.

Robson has been given the same brief as his predecessor - qualify for the upcoming major tournaments in 2011, 2012 and 2014 - something Robson believes is within their capabilities.

"I know everybody in Thailand is very passionate about football and also that the country has some very good players," he said.

"What I hope to achieve is to qualify for the major competitions and feel that is a realistic expectation.

"I've only been working with the players for a couple of weeks now, but we can improve together and hopefully in time achieve what we want to."

Like Reid, Robson is using a translator to speak to his players, but unlike the former manager, Robson wants to learn as much of the language as is possible and is aware of the difficulties he faces.

"I want to start to learn all the polite words - please, thank you, hello and so on - straightaway," he said.

"In terms of picking up the language, I've heard many people say it's difficult, but as time goes on hopefully I'll be able to pick quite a bit.

"Out of respect for the players and the media, I want to be able to communicate with them in their own language."

In order to achieve success, Robson is also committed to living in Thailand for the duration of his contract - again something Reid was never truly comfortable with.

"I will be based in Bangkok with the odd trip back to England, but my main stay will be in Bangkok," he said.

Just 12 months into a four-year contract, Reid was wooed by the bright lights of the Premier League. The appointment of yet another foreign manager has caused a number of people to voice concerns that Robson might do the same, a suggestion he is quick to refute.

"I always fancied an international manager's position and this is a great opportunity for me," Robson said.

"I hope to be able to bring some success to Thailand and I'm not looking any further forward than that."

"What I hope to achieve is to qualify for the major competitions and feel that is a realistic expectation. I've only been working with the players for a couple of weeks now, but we can improve together and hopefully in time achieve what we want to," Robson said.

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