Family of Posh legend Tommy Robson thank community after ‘outpouring of love’

Tommy passed away, aged 76, on Thursday (October 8) after a battle with Motor Neurone Disease.

He was born in Gateshead and played for Northampton Town, Chelsea and Newcastle before signing for Peterborough in 1968 for a fee of £20,000.

He quickly became a popular figure across the city and ended up playing a club record 559 times for Posh, scoring 128 goals. He later dedicated much of his working life to the city and was awarded the freedom of the city earlier this year.

Since his death, tributes have flooded in from across the country. His children, Ian and Anita, say that this love has been a great source of comfort to them in this difficult time.

Ian said: “Seeing the outpouring of love has been a great source of comfort and has really helped me.

“It was amazing that the first game after his passing was Northampton vs Posh. Both clubs paid tribute at the game, which was great, we’ve been overwhelmed by the support.

“From an early age I leanred you had to share dad. He meant so much to a lot of people and, in fact a lot of the messages I’ve been receiving are from people that aren’t really interested in the football side.

“The club has been fantastic, we’ve been talking about tributes and we’re going to the game on Saturday. I had a very nice message from Darragh, which was a nice touch. We’ve talked about what we can do when the time is right, obviously covid has put a spanner in the works and plans have been put on hold.

“He was involved in the club in various capacities for such a long time. He loved speaking and hosting the sponsors, he could tell a story or two. He really loved the city.

“We’ve also been in touch with the council about receiving his scroll from when he was awarded freedom of the city. That will be a really proud moment because not many people get that, he had an awful lot of love for the city and clearly the people loved him.

“Before the funeral, we’re going to be passing over Town Bridge and pulling into the ground, where the cortége will stop for a while so friends and family can pay their respects to Tommy, as we can only have to at the crematorium.”

Anita added: “To hold your dad’s hand and to watch him pass away was the most heartbreaking thing. 
“Everybody has been so great though. I always knew he was a special man but to realise he was special to everyone up and down the country has been absolutely amazing. It really has blown me away.”

“It’s so many people, I went into the local supermarket and I’ve got people telling me they heard about dad and how sorry they are. You don’t always realise how big he was because he was just my dad.

“It’s absolutely amazing, I’ve had so many emails from people, including Newcastle, Chelsea and Northampton. They don’t know me, they just know dad and feel they have to get in touch and tell me how much of a wonderful man he was and how sad they are about him passing. It’s been overwhelming, every aspect has absolutely floored me.

“The club has been great. I speak to Darragh quite often and he was the first to send his condolences. When dad wasn’t very well, they did a video get well message, with Bary Fry, Darragh and everyone at the club, which was very nice, they can’t do enough for us. It’s going to be one big celebration of his life when everyone can meet up again.

“We could have packed out the cathedral times over with the people that would have come. So we decided, just as a little touch, on taking him into the ground on his final journey, for everyone to say goodbye to such a great man, who did so much.”

“It’s been brilliant that, at such a sad time, people have come together to remember dad. I just want all the fans to get out on the day of the funeral and give him a big round of applause.”

Tommy’s funeral takes place on Friday October 30. The cortége will arrive at the Weston Homes Stadium at around 2:45pm to give fans a chance to pay their respects, before heading to the crematorium for the service at 3:30pm.