JUST for a moment, the grand old man of football, himself a hero to thousands for generations, seemed like a star-struck teenager.

As 68-year-old Newcastle United manager Bobby Robson launched Heroes - an exclusive club made up of the Magpies' stars of yesteryear - he told of the moment he met one of its most illustrious members.

"I was manager at Ipswich and I got a call from the lady downstairs. She said it was somebody called Albert Stubbins," the Newcastle boss recalled.

"I thought, well, there's only one. He came up and I said, 'Are you THE Albert Stubbins of Newcastle United - you're my hero'.

"The thing was, he had been in trepidation of calling me for a newspaper article."

Robson had an audience of seasoned hacks and ex-footballers in the palm of his hand as he told the tale.

Among them was ex-Newcastle players such as 77-year-old former half-back Charlie Crowe, a man who worked for a builders merchant at the same time as he played in the legendary 1950s Newcastle side, alongside Jackie Milburn. There was a touching moment when Robson put his arm around Crowe and posed for photographers.

Even a former Newcastle rival was there. Bobby Kerr, a 1973 FA Cup hero with Sunderland and a name to raise the eyebrows of United fans, was there to support the launch and catch up with a few friends.

He said: "I never played for Newcastle, but I enjoyed playing against them all right."

Also enjoying the moment was Peter Beardsley, who said Heroes would be for every former player, even if he played just one game.

"Just one game and you are a hero as far as we are concerned," he said.

A prime mover in setting up Heroes was former Newcastle captain Mick Martin. He said that, as a member of the Manchester United former players' association, he thought it was high time the black-and-whites had a club of their own.

The player reeled off some of the names of the 300 members of Heroes with pride.

They would be the makings of a team to beat the world: Albert Stubbins, Bob Stokoe, Bryan "Pop" Robson, Malcolm McDonald, Peter Beardsley, Alan Shoulder - Heroes all.

As long as you're not a Sunderland fan, that is.