Football: No relief for Robson

THAT WAS THE WEEKEND THAT WAS

Juan Pizzi's last-gasp winning goal at Deportivo la Coruna on Saturday evening is likely to bring only temporary respite for Barcelona's under-fire coach, Bobby Robson.

Despite their position in the Spanish table, Barcelona fans are unconvinced that Robson's side can end a two-season trophy drought, and have been angered by the club's policy of preferring foreign imports to local players.

Even after opening the season with 13 goals in as many games, a run of five matches without scoring has been enough to turn supporters against the Brazilian Ronaldo, not least after the 2-0 defeat at arch rivals Real Madrid, whose Croatian striker, Davor Suker, has overtaken Ronaldo in the scoring charts.

Anti-Robson graffiti has appeared on the walls of the Nou Camp, and there is likely to be more if the revered defender Miguel Angel Nadal leaves for the Premiership.

On top of that, poor old Bobby is even getting stick for his handling of press conferences.

Robson attempts to communicate, apparently, in a curious mix of English, Catalan, Spanish and Portuguese and has not been well received.

One television presenter recently asked any viewer who had understood what Robson was saying at a press conference to phone the station with a translation.