Football 'Picasso' John Robertson honoured at funeral

Former Scotland, Nottingham Forest and Derby County winger John Robertson has been honoured by family, friends and former teammates at his funeral.

Once described by manager Brian Clough as "a Picasso of our game", Robertson was laid to rest on Friday, just over a month after he died at the age of 72.

More than 300 mourners attended the service in Stragglethorpe, Nottinghamshire, about four miles (6.4km) from Nottingham Forest's City Ground.

Robertson's coffin arrived at the crematorium shortly after 12:30 GMT inside a silver Rolls-Royce hearse that contained red rose floral tributes.

Among the mourners were Forest legends Viv Anderson, Des Walker, John McGovern, Stuart Pearce, Frank Clark and Gary Birtles.

Current Forest boss Sean Dyche and Nigel Clough, who played under his father Brian Clough at Forest, also paid their respects.

Former Nottingham Forest defender and manager Paul Hart told the BBC Robertson was a "great friend who was very funny and very intelligent".

"We're going to miss him," added Hart.

When asked if Robertson realised how much he meant to people on and off the pitch, Hart said: "I don't think he did.

"He was such a humble man. I think he knew he could play, but he wouldn't go around and tell people that. He was just a wonderful guy."

Gary Birtles, who spent 10 years at Forest, said he was an absolute genius and a "striker's delight".

"He was funny, loved his music and his jokes," added Birtles. "He was a genuine top bloke and there was no edge to him.

"You ask any player who is the best player they played with at Forest and they would say John.

"We saw him suffer over the years but he still came out and carried on telling his jokes. It was great to be around him."

Born in the Viewpark area of North Lanarkshire, Robertson played for Drumchapel Amateurs and Scotland at youth level before joining Forest in May 1970, making his debut later that year.

Having been on the transfer list before Clough's arrival in 1975, he became a key player, appearing in 243 consecutive games between December 1976 and December 1980.

Robertson scored the winner from the penalty spot in the 1978 League Cup final replay win over Liverpool.

He then scored the only goal as Nottingham Forest retained the European Cup by beating Hamburg in 1980, having delivered the cross from which Trevor Francis netted the winner the previous season against Malmö.

He was sold to Derby in 1983, a move which soured the relationship between Clough and his former assistant, Peter Taylor.

An early injury hampered Robertson's progress at the Rams and, despite rejoining Forest in 1985, he never again captured the same form and moved on to non-league Corby Town, Stamford and then Grantham Town.

For Scotland, he scored a winning goal against England in 1981 and netted against New Zealand at the 1982 World Cup.

He earned 28 caps for his country before going on to be assistant manager to former Forest team-mate Martin O'Neill with Wycombe Wanderers, Norwich City, Leicester City, Celtic and Aston Villa.

In 2015, Robertson topped a poll by the Nottingham Post newspaper of fans' all-time favourite Forest players.

Shortly after his death, Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis said the club would name a stand at the City Ground after Robertson as a "lasting recognition of his extraordinary contribution to our club".

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