As United aim to get the balance right in midfield, some older fans speak about the lack of genuine box-to-box performers, in general, due to the way the game has changed tactically over the years.
Robson was certainly a master of this art but accepts even his role changed under Sir Alex Ferguson, when he adopted a more cautious approach.
“As a player, you’ve got to work at being able to adapt to what the coach is asking for,” he explained. “With Ron Atkinson, I was, more or less, box to box all the time. Bobby Robson wanted me like that with England as well but, when Sir Alex came in, he wanted me to not get forward as much. You always try to mix your game up and get forward now and again but to sit in to try to protect Pally [Gary Pallister] and Brucey [Steve Bruce] too.
“He tried to get me playing that role, which wasn’t a problem for me. When I was in the youth-team at West Brom, I used to play centre-half anyway. I’m sure Ole is looking to get the right mix in the midfield area now whether it’s players who can pass well and defend well.”
