In2views: Royston Vasey

by Diasboro, posted in Uncategorized

The latest in a series of profiles and interviews, Orginal Fat Bob gives his personal view on the life and career of a footballing guest before sitting down for a chat and asking a few questions. Our Diasboro special guest this week is Royston Vasey – aka Roy (chubby) Brown…

1. The Overview – the man and his career

It’s quite often a small world that a lot of Boro fans actually know each other in our indigenous community that fights above its weight. It’s part of that small town in Europe mentality, that when we meet up or work with people overseas, we find out that we have similar friends or acquaintances. Or, perhaps we know someone, who knows someone, who knows the personality that we talk to and features within our In2Views at Diasboro. For example, I know two people that Roy (Chubby Brown) has been associated with during his career. Firstly, I used to play keyboards in a band in the sixties and after we broke up, our lead guitarist and singer used to go on tour with Chubbs, acting as his Musical Director, playing and singing along with him on stage. My second contact is my own daughter in law, as her Uncle plays drums for the famous band Smokie. What has that got to do with Chubbs you may ask? Well, one of his best known songs is “Living Next Door to Alice (Who the F*** is Alice?)”, a cover version of “Living Next Door to Alice”, recorded with Smokie. The record spent 19 weeks in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 3 in August 1995?

Roy of course is well known at Boro matches and can often be seen in the East Stand, although beware, as there is one fan who looks like him and wears his duplicate stage costume. This consists of a flying helmet and goggles, a multi-coloured patchwork jacket and trousers, a white shirt, a red bow tie and brown moccasin slippers

Chubby Brown CropRoy can often be seen watching the Boro at the Riverside, although not to be confused with another fan who attends in his trademark gear

Our hero was born in Grangetown and he left home at the age of 14, and moved from job to job, at one point joining the Merchant Navy. He later found work as an entertainer in working men’s clubs during the 1960s. I remember him playing as a drummer in the local group Pipeline, along with his two cousins and a friend. He developed his comedy routine from behind the drums and stepped to the front like Phil Collins of Genesis fame did. He then formed a comedy act under the name “Alcock & Brown” and he also appeared on the UK television talent show New Faces in the 1970s, coming second to a Country & Western band.

When he started out professionally he became known as a “blue” comic and others have tried and failed to emulate him.

league-of-gentlemen-mainRoy had the accolade of having a town named after him when The League of Gentlemen created Royston Vasey with its famous local people

Today he is acknowledged as one of Britain’s finest comedians and this is recognised by his fellow comedians who created the TV series League of Gentlemen. The fictional town in the series is called “Royston Vasey” which is Roy’s real name. He actually appeared in the second series as the town’s mayor.

He has had a brush with serious illness and loves horses and was a co-owner of the racehorse Rasaman. In 2006, he released an autobiography entitled Common as Muck: (The Autobiography of Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown). In December 2011, he self-published a collection of memoirs from his life and career with Fast-Print Publishing called It’s Funny Being Me. Try and get yourself a copy and you are in for a treat. Here is Roy’s question and Answer session now.

2. The Interview – a quick chat

OFB: What was the first Boro match you remember going to see?

RV: It was Boro v Birmingham in the early 1960’s and I climbed the gate to get in!

OFB: Who was your favourite Boro player then and others that you watched at that time?

RV: I had a lot of favourite players, Haliday, Windass, Yeoman, Thompson, Peacock and of course Clough.

OFB: What has been your most memorable game, and best experience with the Boro fans?

RV: It has to be beating Oxford and going up to the 2nd division.

OFB: What was your worst game or experience and why?

RV: It was the Cup final against Chelsea, a lucky 35 yarder and we lost!!

OFB: Who was in your opinion the best manager that Boro have ever had and why?

RV: It’s the one and only Jack Charlton, what a character he was.

OFB: Which opposing team and which player did you fear Boro playing against?

RV: Newcastle and Supermac, Malcolm Macdonald.

OFB: Who is your current favourite Boro player and why?

RV: Its Ben Gibson, a great defender.

OFB: How do you think the match day has changed from the time that you started watching professional football to what t is like in the present day

RV: Players seen to have more time on the ball now, the quality of the pitches are so much better than what they used to be like and games are much faster.

OFB: If you could be a fly on the wall, is there any dressing room you would wish to eavesdrop on?

RV: It would be pointless to listen to them as they are all foreigners these days and I wouldn’t understand them! I would have loved to have listened to what Juninho said at half time though.

OFB: Who was the nicest person that you have met in football and why?

RV: It has to be Alan Peacock, a true gent and he loves the Boro.

OFB: Whereabouts do you live these days and are you really planning to retire??

RV: I live in East Harlsey, I’m 73 but I can’t afford to retire, have you seen the price of our season tickets? !!!

OFB: Whom have you made a lifelong friend through football?

RV: It’s a hard question to answer as I’m always away, but my friends include Graeme Souness, Craig Johnson and of course I was good friends with the late great Wilf Mannion.

OFB: Is it nice for you to think that you can act as an ambassador for Middlesbrough’s town, the Teesside area and its people?

RV: I tell everyone, and I mean everyone on the planet about the Boro. From Australia to New Zealand, China, South Africa in fact everywhere!!!!

OFB: Do you think that Tony Pulis is the manager that we have been waiting for and needed, to get us into the Premiership and stay there?

RV: He doesn’t like full backs who go forward. I’ve also noticed that he believes you should only mark your own territory, that’s why he’s bald!

OFB: Do you think we can still achieve promotion this year?

RV: No! we’ll be 9th according to the Chubby Bible (which was a prediction made in February when Boro were actually in 9th – OFB).

OFB: Finally, if you hadn’t had the career that you have had, what do you think you would have done as a profession?

RV: Gynaecologist ha ha !!!

OFB: A huge thank you Roy for taking the time to talk to Diasboro and all our readers, posters and bloggers.

RV: Cheers Chubbs.

228 thoughts on “In2views: Royston Vasey”

    1. Yes a shame to see our town club emulating the Boro and losing at Wembley.

      As a teenager I could not afford to watch Boro away games so used to watch Stockton instead. Still fondly remember the Newbould’s pork pies and Bovril at half time.

      BTW. Another interesting and informative article thank you OFB.

  2. Great interview – brought back alot of memories – I too played keyboards in a band in the late 60’s early 70’s. Wernt that good at it though.

    Youve found your calling OFB thats all I can say. Keep it up.

  3. I remember watching Alcock and Brown at Dorman’s Club.

    Many moons ago my ex brother in law opened a bingo hall in Richmond. He decided to book Chubb’s for the opening night. To say that the twin set and pearls brigade of Richmond weren’t quite ready for his “ earthy” routine would be putting it mildly.

    Hilarious! In every way you can imagine.

  4. OFB….Many thanks for that IN2VIEW.
    First time I saw Chubby was probably around the late sixties, 68/69?? in the Town Hall Crypt, wearing then an all white suit. A couple of years on I saw more of him locally when he included singing in his act and was at the time backed by friends of mine who had been original members in the Crawdadies and later Rivers Invitation. I remember one gig at a club on Burlam Road, possibly the Garden City Social, singing Rod Stewarts “sailing” and holding and waving a Boro scarf between his hands.

    Memories eh. What would we do without them!!

    1. Talking about the crawdaddies I knew Ken thwaites (keyboard) Alan Fearnley (lead guitar and also of the record shop on linthorpe road) and of course John McCoy

      I still see John McCoy he of the purple onion and Kirk fame quite often

      John is writing his autobiography and goes to the same creative writing group as me.

      He of course has more of a story to tell than I ever will.

      OFB

  6. I was a friend of Roys right from the mid sixties when I used to follow his band ‘ Pipeline ‘ with his cousins Dek Vasey on bass guitar and Lee Vasey on lead also the lead singer was Tony Morris. As Roy went into comedy playing working mens clubs the money was not very good. He struggled in those days. I worked with him a few times and booked Roy into pub / hotel at Skelton. Where he used to go down very well. It is a measure of the man who worked so hard that he ended up being a star.
    I was over the moon when Roy finally made it big time. No one deserved better than him. His act is an act because you will never meet a more polite and pleasant man.
    I hope he goes on for a long time yet. Thanks OFB for the great interview.

  8. I remember seeing a fan in Chubby Brown regalia at the Riverside in the main stand, I didn’t realise that was a Chubby Brown outfit because I had heard his stuff but never really seen him.

    How odd bearing in mind I was watching Boro before he was and have heard his work.

    OFB, where does he sit?

    Greta interview, as Werder alluded to, Boro fans writing for Boro fans. The Gazette should try it.

  9. Sorry Bob, but I’m probably in the minority here because I don’t find so called comedians who resort to what people today call ‘industrial’ language to get laughs funny in the least. He may be a different person off-stage to the character he portrays on-stage, but nonetheless obscene in my opinion.

    1. Ken

      All I can say is that he is a Teesside Icon and raises hundreds of thousands of pounds for cancer charities

      He is a really nice guy
      OFB

  11. Hi Ken , I understand your view but Roy was a very clean comedian when he first started as well as a great musician. He could have continued his career in that vein but he really was not making a great deal of money and had plenty of hard times. Things changed when he was performing at a men only function and his manager at the time told him that to make a good living he would be better playing in larger venues and use adult material. So that is what happened to make the star he is today.
    I am sure that some of us who have struggled in the past would have also grabbed that opportunity. I have been with Roy in the past when he has been insulted and called all sort of names and told he would never make it in the business. I am glad that he has risen above all of that and he is now successful. Roy also at every show raises money for James Cook cancer unit.

  12. Good read as ever, OFB. As I have never lived in the UK or Teesside for that matter, I am not so familiar with Chubby Brown as most. I know only him because he is from Teesside and a Boro fan.

    I have seen him a few times on Youtube but because of him speaking so quickly and informally, I miss about two jokes out of three. I admire him though and see he is very well liked by his audiences.

    So again very interesting to read about fellow Boro fans. Keep up the good work, OFB. We need to fil the gap before the World Cup starts. Unlike some, our family will try to watch every match on TV as always.

    I will be supporting Gareth Southgate’s team as I met him once as a Boro player. He was wearing just pants when we met in the Rockcliffe Park changing room after a training session. I suppose he will use a suit this time.

    Finland has never reached a major finals in football but still the World Cup is a big thing for me. Unlike the FA Cup, the WC (?) has not yet lost it magic even Mr Blatter and the FIFA have tried their ‘best’ to do so.

    As the the transfer window is already open for Boro, if there will be any activity on in-comings or out-comings, I hope someone will write a lead in here about the player for us others to comment. I will also try to write something during the close season – hope I will find the time.

    Up the Boro!

  14. Philip Tallentire has an article in the Gazette about Daniel Ayala and his 7 goals equalling the highest number scored by a Boro central defender. I believe Jack Charlton was one of the first centre half/central defender to be given license by Don Revie at Leeds United to encroach the opponents penalty area for set pieces to ‘make a nuisance of himself’ because of his 6 foot 3 inch height. Jack certainly did that putting his height to good effect with a career total of 76 goals for club and country. Whether that stemmed from watching the great John Charles I’m not sure, but the Welshman started his career as a centre half under manager Major Buckley during his first spell at Leeds.

    However John Charles whilst doing his National Service played as a centre forward for his army team, but when allowed to play for Leeds, he still continued playing as a centre half. After his demob the Leeds management decided to try him at centre forward and that’s the position where he spent most of the rest of his career. So it could be that Jack Charlton had ambitions to be a centre forward, who knows? But that might account for his wanting to use his height to the best advantage.

    I might just be speculating here, but I can’t recall centre halves in the 1950s ever leaving their own half of the field unless they took penalties. In fact Boro’s centre half in the 1950’s Bill Whitaker never did. However Leslie Compton (brother of the great England cricketer Denis) when playing for Arsenal did score 5 goals in his career, but he had also played as a centre forward too, so maybe I’m wrong.

    Incidentally as an aside, Leslie Compton kept wicket for Middlesex but never played cricket for England, but did win two football caps for which brother Denis never did excepting a dozen wartime internationals where caps were never awarded. I well remember the furore over Leslie being selected for his England debut, because at the age of 38 at the time he was, and still is, the oldest player to make an England debut since the Second World War.

  15. Thanks for another good in2views Bob. Your creative writing group is certainly having an effect.

    I’ve never met Chubby personally but know several people who have and they’ve told me he is an absolute gent and as nice a fella you would care to meet.

  16. As the transfer window is open now, I have mixed feeling about waiting for new signings at Boro. I hope as many as possible of the current players will stay. But also I know we weren’t good enough to go up last season.

    Also I would like to see some local chaps coming through the academy and win place in the side.

    Dael Fry has come through and should be a regular or at least a good debuty for Ayala. But we have supricingly few players now who has been through the academy. Only Ben Gibson and Stuart Downing are regulars who came through the ranks.

    I would like to see Marcus Tavarnier and Connor Ripley to be given a role next season. The best Ripley can hope for next season is a place on the bench as Randolph has been so good.

    I hope we keep Downing at least as a squad player. But we need to sign a ten year younger version of Stewie. Is Tarvanier able to take that role?

    The rest of the tranfer effort must go to keeping Gibson and especially buying quality to midfield. I don’t think there is anyone ready coming through the academy yet – especially so as Chapman was injured recently.

    I hope we can keep Besic but that looks unlikely as Everton will have a new manager who must want to see Besic first before selling him to anywhere.

    So it looks like we need to buy two midfielders as a minimum. And a couple of full-backs, too. So it will be busy close- season for TP. As well as trying to keep Ben and Adama Traore in here. If we lose these two players and buy two fullbacks and two midfielders, the amount of new players could easily be too high for my liking.

    Up the Boro!

    1. I don’t know whether we can hang on to Ben Gibson if we need to rebuild, or Traore for that matter. Ideally we keep both of them, but if Ben has International ambitions it wouldn’t be fair to hang on to him, and Dael Fry would be the ideal substitute. As for Traore that’ll be up to the player whether he wants Premier League football next season. I don’t think Downing will want to move, but after seeing out his contract may be given a coaching position.

  17. I see that we will have a few ex-manager visiting the Riverside next season. Mogga with Blackburn, Aitor with Forest and now Steve McClaren with his new club QPR.

    I think they were all reasonably successful managers and were above average (also Mogga?). I do not have anything bad in mind against any of them.

    Steve was our the most successful manager in our long history, Mogga started the process for Aitor that finished in the promotion after seven long years in the Championship.

    Up the Boro!

    2. Under the circumstances Bruce Rioch was Boros best manager. Never rated Mclaren. His tactics were very suspect in a lot of games and in particular our Euro final.He also had a lot of money available to him. If you look at his manangerial posts since leaving Boro, he has been sacked at most of them.

      1. I never
        Liked McClaren either but I must confess after meeting with him at a Boro social event that he came over as a nice guy.

        So that may explain why he keeps getting jobs he’s a chameleon and changes his coat to suit the meetings that he goes to!

        OFB

  18. I saw Chubby at a Young Farmers event in East Cleveland in the 70s. He did about a half hour set and was then on his way to a gig in Stockton. I certainly got the impression he worked hard.

    My missus made me a suit like his for fancy dress and I wore it at a festival in the Ribble Valley. It’s quite easy to fall into his character when I’m wearing it, which is worrying. At one point a young guy came up to me and told me I was his favourite racist. I hope he meant RCB and not me. I was mortified.

    There’s a photo here from a Campervan event: https://flic.kr/p/GRzQeZ

  19. I remember being told of an occasion when Roy was booked for the St Peter’s club south bank. I had never heard of him because he was just getting going in his new career as a blue comic.
    This is the story of what happened.
    Roy opened his show with this, looking at the large image of the Crucifixion on the back wall of the entertainment room, ” I see that you’ve caught the fellow who stole your T.V.”
    I believe he was paid off at once.

  21. The Media.

    All week we have been told that Mikel Arteta wa the new Arsenal Boss. He had the support of Arsene and all and sundry. Preferred by players and previous players and coaches.

    Now we find that the people who count have gone for someone else, ex PSG boss, Emery.

    I hope he doesn’t rub up somebody the wrong way. At least with our weather, wet and dry wont go amiss,

    🙂

  22. I’m sure most of us think that Boro’s midfielders don’t score enough goals, so I thought I’d do an exercise to see how midfielders/wing halves fared since the Second World War and some of my findings may surprise folks considering Boro were in the past a more free-scoring team than today’s side.

    Jimmy Gordon (1945/54) 4 goals in 253 appearances
    Harry Bell (1946/55) 10 goals in 315
    Tom Blenkinsopp (1948/53) 0 goals in 100
    #Bill Harris (1953/65) 72 goals in 378
    Ray Yeoman (1958/64) 3 goals in 227
    Billy Horner (1960/69) 12 goals in 213
    Frank Spraggon (1963/75) 3 goals in 326
    *Don Masson (1964/68) 7 goals in 61
    *Graeme Souness (1972/78) 27 goals in 214
    Tony McAndrew (1973/86) 18 goals in 353
    John Mahoney (1977/79) 2 goals in 90
    *Craig Johnston (1977/81) 16 goals in 70
    Irving Nattrass (1979/86) 2 goals in 215
    *Gary Hamilton (1982/89) 27 goals in 259
    Willie Falconer (1991/93) 10 goals in 53
    Robbie Mustoe (1990/2002) 25 goals in 365
    Phil Stamp (1993/2002) 8 goals in 102 + 52 as substitute
    Emerson (1996/98) only 4 goals in 41 appearances (a real surprise, although everyone was spectacular).

    Only those marked with an * could be considered having a reasonable return. However Bill Harris’s goalscoring contribution marked # was outstanding, though it did include 20 penalties.

    As I mentioned in a former blog centre halves rarely scored until the early 1960’s from the following players:-
    Mel Nurse (1962/66) 9 goals in 124 appearances
    Dickie Rooks (1965/69) 14 goals in 150
    Willie Maddren (1968/77) 21 goals in 351
    Stuart Boam (1971/79) 16 goals in 393
    Tony Mowbray (1982/92) 29 goals in 419
    Gary Pallister (1985/2001) only 7 goals in 249 appearances
    David Wheater (2004/11) 9 goals in 140

    Fullbacks hardly ever scored either – here are some examples:-
    George Hardwick (1937/50) 7 goals in 166 appearances
    Mike McNeil (1958/64) only 3 goals in 192
    Gordon Jones (1961/73) only 5 goals in 527
    Frank Spraggon (1963/75) only 3 goals in 326
    John Craggs (1971/82) 14 goals in 487 (the exception)
    Terry Cooper (1974/78) only 1 goal in 133

    Of course backs and halfbacks weren’t encouraged to join in attacks as we usually had two wingers and two inside forwards until the 1960’s who might be considered midfielders today. So perhaps we’re being over critical about the current backs and midfielders, but nevertheless what wouldn’t we give for a Frank Lampard or a Steven Gerrard!

  23. MFC announce the appointment of Adrian Bevington as Head of Recruitment Operations.

    Clearly has a wealth of experience in some high profile roles but not sure exactly what the requirements are in his new role and if it involves player recruitment? 😎🤔

    1. I think it’s a great appointment

      He knows a lot of people and worked for Aston Villa for a while so we’re all right now !

      The only thing that bugs me is we have been talking about him doing an In2Views and now I know why he’s been putting it off ! OFB

      1. I have met Adrian once a few years back. It was a Former Players Assosiation meeting at Boro. So he is a really keen Boro fan.

        Of course that has not much to do in being good in the work he will be doing. But at least a Boro through and through. Like Mogga.

        Family club. It could be a strength for Boro. UTB!

    2. More jobs for the old boys! Typical Boro, we never seem to move forwards, always revisiting the past and wonder why we get stuck in reverse.

      Good luck to the guy as I don’t know him from Adam but the “article” from the supposed No.1 news source for all things Boro is shall we say a bit weak and inconclusive. Is he in charge of recruiting Burger Flippers (no disrespect intended) or Gary Gill and his Excel files of Crocks and ageing Spaniards?

      Just add him to Woody, Stewy, Curtis etc. etc. etc……..

  24. As can be seen I worked past midnight before posting the previous blog, so time ran out to expand on the role of midfielders, and I only touched on their goal scoring (or lack of goal scoring) abilities. However until the 1960’s full backs and centre backs were classed as defenders. Full backs marked wingers, the centre half marked the opposing centre forward, and wing halves marked the opposing inside forwards who were the creative players. The system was fairly stereotyped, and pre-season matches at Boro usually consisted of the first team defence plus the reserve attack playing against the reserve defence plus the first team attack, then a second match where the proposed first team would play the reserve team. The whole formation was based primarily on numbers 2 to 6 defending, and numbers 7 to 11 attacking, so it’s perhaps not really surprising that numbers 2 to 6 didn’t score many goals. Apart from wingers the creative players were numbers 8 and 10, the inside forwards, who however were also along with the centre forward were the main goalscorers because it was also a rarity for wingers to score either.

    The conclusion therefore is that it’s very difficult to compare pre-sixties football with today’s, as most teams played the same system 2-3-5 whilst there have been, and still are, many varied systems today. Nevertheless it does make me wonder what would happen if a team decided to adopt a system using five forwards. Didn’t Steve McClaren use something similar out of desperation against FC Basel and Steau Bucharest? It seemed to work then didn’t it?

    1. Ken
      Interesting ( and surprising) roam around the midfield stats.
      Two points i would make.
      Bill Harris, his numbers are very good, but, I believe he racked up a long run as an inside forward.
      It was the usual story of everyday British league clubs, had a problem and stuck bill in the forward line, turned out he was quite good and was a regular scorer, quite classy as a matter of fact, It was in his last few seasons, so they took their time utilising his talents, which one presumed they were well aware of.
      Two.
      Souness, every Boro fan knew how good he was in front of goal, the reason his total is so high is that he played several times in the attacking midfielder role, and when he did, a hat trick was quite likely. ( that is not a joke by the way) he was without nerves when entering the box, intimidating the keeper, and with a rocket shot.
      After he had been sold to Liverpool, so unaware were they of his true class, that they started to make statements that they had improved him, quite funny really, because they used him once i think in the attacking role, being quite unaware of his deadly goal scoring talents.( i’m pretty sure he helped himself to a few goals on that occasion

  25. Adrian Bevington? Another unnecessary drain on the clubs coffers.

    The club need an experienced high profile scout with a record of discovering and identifying talent. Plus the ability to run the rule over possible transfer targets.

    1. It will be mainly organisation and managerial and he is very experienced.

      I’ve met him and listened to him speak at length and he is very impressive.

      We have been in contact for the past few weeks as I had identified him for an In2View but sadly that is now out of the window!

      Parnaby has left a big hole at the Academy and hopefully that is now filled

      OFB

  27. I have only just seen it in the gazette, so will be recycled from MFC. They do state however the Gary Gill will continue as Chief of Recruitment answering to Bevington as Head of Recruitment. Not sure what the difference is there.

    More to the point, considering the abysmal recruitment this last couple of seasons, is anybody leaving. Someone should be carrying the can for the monies wasted. although it will not be SG.

  29. Adrian will be an interesting appointment, how it works will be intriguing, having a Chief and Head of recruitment seems odd. Who carries the can?

    I wonder if TP was involved in any discussions.

  30. Manchester remember t❤️gether

    I’m moved to tears for those 22 mainly young people killed one year ago, especially the beautiful rendition of ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’ by the choir of young people in Manchester Cathedral and also the ethereal one minute silence at 2.30.

    Not only Manchester City United, but England United.

    Death, where is thy sting, where is thy victory?

    RIP

  31. Looking forward to the playoff final, keen to see just how well we played against Villa,( or not)
    I have an awful feeling that they parked the bus twice, to make themselves three million as the lucky losers.
    It will be difficult to block the goal at Wembly, as it’s such a big pitch, which means Terry could turn out to be a liability instead of a brick wall.
    We shall see.

  33. Thanks again for another good In2View. Like some others on here, Chubby Brown is not my cup of Lapsang Souchong, but good luck to him for finding his way to earn a crust as there are plenty who do appreciate his brand of humour. It would not do if we all were amused/entertained by just the same thing. There is space for all and as pointed out, the man does enormous good for charity.
    I’ve heard the one about the TV thief as well, didn’t realise it was himself… Sad if they did finish his gig early, above every thing else, you really have to not take yourself too seriously.

    How about doing an In2View with AV OFB?

    Bored of the closed season already…when are we due to start smashing the league again?

  34. Like others, I’m not sure about this new role for Bevington.
    Given their performance in recent years, GHW poses the real question: when is somebody going to leave the Recruitment department?

  35. The retained has been released and of the senior squad only Meijas and Cranie have been released, didn’t know any of the kids who have left but I wish them all the best for the future,

    My Exmil prediction is 2-1 to Fulham, first goal 24 minutes, I wont mind if OFB wins, well deserved after his interviews.

    As well as interviewing AV, Eric Paylor would be a great choice.

    Derby fans are not exactly pleased with Rowett’s dalliance with Stoke. Odd really as they have been grumbling about his way of playing football. He lives locally and has now managed Burton, Brum, Derby and Stoke. The Baggies, Villa, Forest and Leicester to go.

    When we yhink about his moves we should remember two things, he was unfairly sacked at Brum and he was the 6th manager in 3 years at Derby.

  37. What is the status of Dimi’s contract? I think it runs out about now. Is he released or what?

    Do you think Ripley is good enough to be a regular nr. two?

    Up the Boro!

    1. I think Dimi will be offered a coaching role admits recognised that he’s a good guy to have around and he makes a great moussaka!

      Don’t know if Ripley is ready but TP will look at him pre season

      I expect Boro to sign an experienced keeper as competition to Randolph

      OFB

  38. Stan Collymore thinks the Premier League needs Aston Villa and also other big city clubs such as Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and the two Sheffield clubs, probably instead of the likes of Bournemouth, Brighton, Burnley, Huddersfield and Watford. So what determines a big club? Is it population, or perhaps the size of stadia? Well if the latter was the criterion, none of Burnley, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Huddersfield Town, Watford or Wolves would qualify as they don’t play in the top 20 largest grounds, but as well as Collymore’s suggestions, the grounds of Coventry City, Derby County and Middlesbrough would qualify as they play in the top 20 largest stadia.

    Gary Rowett is reported to be the new Stoke City’s manager and is perceived to be joining a bigger club. However Derby County has a better historical record than Stoke City having won the original First Division League twice which Stoke City have never won. So should historical achievements be regarded as the criterion for the order of bigger clubs? If so, there are eight clubs currently outside the current Premier League who have won the original First Division League more than once. These include two current third tier clubs, Portsmouth and Sunderland.

    There are currently 60 clubs in the top four divisions who have tasted top tier football, and all but Bury since the Second World War. That’s a staggering two thirds of the current 92 clubs. Most of us will probably remember Carlisle United being promoted along with Jack Charlton’s Boro team, and also Notts County in the early 1980’s, but I can recall Brentford being relegated in 1947, Grimsby Town in 1948, Leyton Orient in 1963 and Northampton Town in 1966, who incidentally hold the record for the quickest rise and fall from grace having been promoted from the Fourth Division in 1961, promoted to the First Division in 1965, and then three relegations back to the Fourth Division in 1969.

    So the question is what makes a big club? I adapt the adage that a league table never lies, so in my opinion the clubs currently in the Premier League deserve to be there, and if say Reading, QPR or Boro get promoted next season, then they too will deserve to be there whether they have an inferior historical record than Aston Villa or any other club.

    1. I presume that in the case of Rowett and Stoke “big” will reference the size of their transfer budget, wage budget and his pay packet rather than any other measure. I can’t be bothered to check, but I would reckon that they attract roughly the same crowd, or potentially could, and that the only way that Stoke are “bigger” is in terms the terms mentioned above.

      For Rowett it is an opportunity to increase his salary and join a club that he should have a good shot of getting back to the PL in one attempt. Expect to see long balls fired in or up to Crouch, who will no doubt score a hattrick against Boro in full Captain Obvious Tactics mode.

      1. I don’t think Rangers could afford his train fare to Ibrox let alone Transfer fee and salary, Amateurish journalism from a Student’s bedroom.

  41. Harking back momentarily to MFC having a Pop again at the Gazette (yawns loudly) last week. Their announcement of Adrian Bevington rejoining the club is every bit as poor as the shoddy journalistic, speculative nonsense about Rangers interested in Britt. A one sentence announcement when it warranted detail, some detail, any detail in fact about a role that fans see as key to the future of the club and have been highly critical of in the past.

    When they launched the Club site in a blazing fanfare (having a dig at the Gazette in the process) they were proclaiming to be a real news site with up to date news on all things Boro. Its started off spluttering (not unlike the Gazette’s “Premium” laugh) and then has subsequently coughed, spluttered some more and is now virtually redundant. I honestly don’t directly reference the site unless via a third party news site linked to it.

  42. I see that the Gazette have speculated that Adama may be called up to train with the Spanish senior squad due to gaps caused by Real Madrid’s involvement in the Champions League final and therefore a shortage of Players.

    When I read it I smiled thinking wait for MFC to issue a statement that they wish to make it clear that the Gazette have published another misleading statement and that the “Senior” Spanish Squad is in fact full of youthful 20 and 30 somethings and not as implied by the Gazette’s yet again wildly inaccurate use of the word “Senior” as being over 65’s.

  44. Now that the Gazette office is just across from the Riverside I wonder if the office junior is sent over dressed in plain clothes to chat to the ticket office.

    I wonder if there is a journo sat on a blanket outside the main entrance (with a dog) pleading ‘give us a story mister’.

    The whole situation is a farce compounded by the poor quality of material from both sides, Gazette driven by MGN template of non journalism.

    Reading a Gazette article is like that fair ground game where the animals pop up out of random holes and you have to smack them with a hammer. Sadly, cant do the same with pop ups on the laptop

    Thank heavens for News Now.

      1. For all those Diasboro bloggers who live locally to Teesside they might be interested in this event
        A great night out *** Coming Soon *** An afternoon with Andy .Campbell football talk-in and Q & A with former @Boro and @CardiffCityFC Player @andycampbell32 special guests details / venue to be announced very soon .. please RT and help us get the crowd he deserves

    2. Had a message from Adrian Bevington this morning apologising for not now being able to do our Diasboro Interview after taking up his new position with Boro.

      He has promised that as soon as he can he will give one to us to let Diasboro know his views

      I’ve wished him all the best from Diasboro now he’s returned to his first love.

      You may remember that I pushed for him to return to the club last season as I felt he had something to offer MFC.

      I think we’re all interested to see what impact he will make and hope he does well

      OFB

  46. I see Sunderland have appointed Jack Ross, St Mirren, as their new manager, paying a massive £50,000 compensation to St Mirren. Sorry I don’t know much, or rather anything about him.

    SSN also report Adama Traore being called up to the training camp.

    Come on BORO.

  47. The appointment of Bevington is strange one,
    His roll could be ,through his contacts, looking at foreign leagues and possible targets, how do Celitic keep finding them?
    Contract negotiations , I’m sure he’s aware of how other clubs go about it? Speaking in cognito to agents etc, being involved with the FA I’m sure opens doors.
    It’s obvious the club as to do better ,the money wasted over the years as we know as been beyond head shaking.
    It’s obvious we need a total turn over of midfielders, Tomlin was the last one to give us some kind of skill ,above the plodder.

    2. On Sky transfer center at 1743 hrs

      ST MIRREN STATEMENT

      “St Mirren Football Club can confirm we received an approach from Sunderland AFC this afternoon for permission to speak to our manager Jack Ross. After agreeing to our terms we have reluctantly given them permission to speak to Jack about their vacant managers position.”

      Come on BORO.

      1. That sounds about right, I heard the comment about 4pm on Talksport that nothing had happened yet and that they would update us when they heard anything.

  49. See that the England manager has given his tenure a wonderful send off.
    First he selects a striker as captain,( still wet behind the ears) then he says that he told him weeks ago ( but not to tell anyone except his family)
    That must be good news for the rest of the squad.
    He will see a lot of the game whilst he is waiting for someone to give him the ball.
    His last big tournament was a personal disaster for him( and not much fun for us either, remember Iceland)
    General consensus was that he turned up unfit.
    Leaving out the Leicester striker was a big mistake, and looks like we will be getting a dose of the same this time around for Vardy.
    Foolish to commit to anyone at this stage, and as with all immature players, lake of form or fitness will lead to foolish selections.
    There is a reason why good teams are led by a mature defender, it does make sense.

    1. Or a young defender like Ben Gibson. A future England skipper I hope! We have
      had players as England International Captain ion the past. Even captaining the Great Britain team.

      I hope we keep Gibbo for another year as a captain. Up the Boro!

      1. Jarkko
        Your heart’s in the right place, but really, it’s time Ben set out on his journey to see how good he is.
        There is enormous money to be made by the first great central defender to stake his claim, the entire top group of teams are struggling along with pretend centre backs.( I know that Man City are having to persist with their great hero as he nears the end of his wonderful career)
        No true fan of the game should enjoy seeing promise denied, and we are risking a lot by stifling the rich promise of Fry.

  50. I get your point about defenders making the best captains, but I’ve never thought that captains have too much influence on a team’s performance. It’s usually the manager barking out orders from the touchline that has more influence, unlike cricket where the captain makes several decisions such as selection of the eleven, batting order, bowling changes, fielding positions, etc admittedly sometimes after consultation with his teammates.

    1. Ken
      Which brings us to the question?
      Why should any player be allowed to campaign for the captaincy, as Terry did ( shamefully in my opinion)
      Kane has certainly been hard at work recently, and it leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.
      The role was allegedly worth three million a year to you know who in sponsorship’s alone.
      What happens when he runs out of goals, are we going to be reluctant to drop him?

  51. Ex Boro player and HUFC manager Craig Harrison joined Bangor City tonight as manager. I had an In2View with Craig a few weeks ago and it is currently being written up for Diasboro

    A very interesting chat and a nice guy and very knowledgeable about the game

    OFB

    1. After this afternoons chat OFB I have just read Chubbys interview. Interesting how he also predicted 9th too. Pleased he bangs the Boro gong all over the world still. Enjoyed it. Well done again OFB, Davey

    1. The missing variables in that analysis for me is what position in the league did the team finish in and how far adrift of automatic promotion.
      That might tell us a bit more about why a team goes from strength to strength, or struggles the following season.

    2. Over 30 years of stats, from which the conclusion is reached that the problem lies in footballers’ and clubs’ tendency to over- analyse.

      Beyond satire. Joe Heller couldn’t have bettered it.

  53. Boro enter its 46th season this August as a second tier club in the Football League which initially was called the Second Division from its inception in 1892, then renamed First Division after the advent of the Premier League in 1992, and the Championship since 2004 up to the present time. During that period Boro has played a total of 1,924 league matches winning 809 of them, drawing 470, and losing 645, but the interesting thing is that during those 45 seasons Boro have scored 2,965 league goals, so sometime before Christmas should reach the landmark of goal number 3,000. When the fixtures are announced next month, perhaps we should run a sweepstake to speculate who will score the 3,000th goal and against which club.

    Overall Boro have been a Football League club for 108 seasons including 61 in the first tier and 2 in the third playing a total of 4,454 matches so will reach another landmark of 4,500 with the last league match of the new season. Up to now Boro have scored 6,545 league goals, so will in all probability record number 6,600 as well this season. We all know that John Hendrie scored the last league goal at Ayresome Park and that Craig Hignett scored the first league goal at the Riverside Stadium, but we now have three landmarks to look forward to next season:-
    1. The scorer of the 35th goal (number 3,000 in the second tier).
    2. The scorer of the 55th goal (number 6,600 in all league matches).
    3. The scorer of the last goal of the season (match number 4,500).
    Could that honour fall to the same player? Perhaps even a new signing? In any case it gives room for a number of competitions to be organised by some willing contributor to this forum.

    Now for some (un)interesting facts for bloggers to mull over:-

    Goal number 1,000 was scored by centre forward Andy Wilson on 3rd September 1921 in a 3-2 home win over West Bromwich Albion. He won 12 International caps for Scotland (13 goals) and scored 56 goals in 86 appearances for Boro. He suffered severe injuries to his left arm during the First World War and played most of his career with a protective glove covering his withered forearm and hand.

    Goal number 2,000 was scored by another Scottish International, centre half Bobby Baxter on 6th February 1934 in a 2-4 away defeat against Birmingham City. He won 3 Scottish International caps and scored 19 goals in 247 appearances for Boro. He was also a fine golfer, and his grandson once appeared on Roy Castle’s Record Breakers Show after scoring a hole-in-one as a junior at Eaglescliffe GC.

    Goal number 3,000 was scored by right winger Billy Day on 3rd April 1955 in a 1-2 away defeat against Rotherham United. Billy was a member of the famous Boro forward line which included Internationals Brian Clough, Alan Peacock and Eddie Holliday. He scored 18 goals in 120 appearances for Boro and later in life was an on-course bookmaker often seen at Redcar Racecourse. Billy sadly died aged 81 in January this year.

    Goal number 4,000 was scored by inside forward Eric McMordie on 12th April 1969 in another defeat, 2-3 at home to Bury. Eric was capped 21 times (3 goals) for Northern Ireland and scored 22 goals in 241 appearances for Boro, finishing his career with 47 appearances for Hartlepool United.

    Goal number 5,000 was scored by centre forward Bernie Slaven on 25th March 1989 in a 1-1 draw at Wimbledon (I wonder if Bernie is aware of that distinction). Although Scottish by birth, Bernie won 7 International caps for Republic of Ireland (1 goal) and is Boro’s 7th highest all time goalscorer with 118 goals in 307 appearances.

    Goal number 6,000 was scored by centre forward Afonso Alves from the penalty spot on 29th October 2008 in a 2-0 home win against Manchester City. Alves earned 8 International caps (1 goal) for Brazil and once scored 7 goals for Dutch club SC Heerenveen in a 9-0 win against Heracles Almelo and scored 45 goals in 39 appearances for the Dutch club. Unfortunately he only scored 10 goals in 42 appearances for Boro, and was considered an expensive flop.

    Finally goal number 6,500 was scored by Britt Assombalonga from the penalty spot on 19th November last year in a disastrous 1-2 away defeat against Leeds United. Will Britt be around to score Boro’s 3,000th Second tier goal, or even goal number 6,600 in all league matches? He could even conceivably score the last goal of the season in Boro’s 4,500th league match which might even be the match which ensures Boro’s promotion to the Premier League. Who knows? But we all await with anticipation for that outcome.

  54. I see the MFC news site has a one paragraph statement detailing the nature of Randolph’s injury and surgery and how long he will be out for.

    I’m guessing to make future news articles even shorter they will be dummed down to teenage text speak. LOL, ROFL!

    1. RR,

      Teenage text speak? ROFL? FFS what does that all mean… a step or two lower than ‘five things’ we should, ought to know about etc., etc., That’s when you realise, yet again, how good this blog is.

      UTB,

      John

    2. Haven’t heard about these kind of injuries to footballers before. I mean needing an op.

      Anyone estimating how long? I know difficult to say with ‘all’ this info. But should he be OK by the time players report back to Boro?

      Up the Boro!

      1. Jarkko
        Every word of the hand out screams “rupture” and I would go further and say a small one.

        The vast majority are small to very small, the sort of thing that lead the medical people to say ” get yourself off to some expensive holiday beach and hit the ray’s”

  55. RR
    I think they’re just trying to make it even harder for the Gazette to come up with Boro related news, other than rumour.
    Hopefully, they will, at some point, remember that fans like to know what’s happening and decide to keep us fully informed via Boro Pravda.

      1. Grovehillwallah
        How on earth can we even think about making money in the market if we buy 34 year olds. He is obviously crocked.
        What do you do if you are landed with a crock?
        You wait for him to tell you that he is fully fit ( I would guess about a season) then you avoid playing him, and try to get rid as quick as you like.
        I enjoyed watching him for Stoke? Very powerful, never say did, unafraid, a very important member of that Stoke team.
        He has played thirty five minutes of football in the last season.
        We should be looking for the twenty four year old version of him, because he would be a fixture in our team for the next ten years, ( he will be playing somewhere in the lower leagues, or abroad I shouldn’t doubt )

  58. I see our Manager is still supporting a local charity from his Stoke days. Good to see that he still supports such a deserving cause and that he hasn’t forgot their needs even though he has moved on. Perhaps a better measure of the man than being renowned for long balls and long throw ins despite being supported by Rory Delap 🙂

    https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/stoke-city-pulis-delap-charity-1602648

    Warning: As it appears to be a Trinity Mirror type site I suggest that you open it then go mow the lawn, put the bins out, come back in, have a bath, make a cuppa and then it might have just about finished loading. Hopefully you may even be able to scroll down and read the entire article before the next bank Holiday.

  59. No real transfer news yet. But I suppose that most of the players and managers are on holiday now. As is Tony Pulis, too.

    Interesting to how the window works now that it will close before the season starts.

    I hope we some new players arriving before the World Cup starts. But I doubt it.

    Up the Boro!

    1. I doubt that there will be any significant transfer activity until after the World Cup. Most Managers and Players are now either on Holiday or in Holiday mode with the above example of TP’s charity work evidence of that. Once the World Cup is over those Players involved will be looking forward to a break and rest before the Season starts again with Agents working overtime doing their best to earn a few Pounds where they can unsettling Players all over.

      My guess is that there will have been two lists at Boro with the Premiership one now shredded and the Championship one top of Gary Gill’s pile. The list will be presumably based on profiling techniques and statistics compiled by the Clubs statisticians based on what TP wants, who we can afford in principle, who we offload of course and where we need reinforcing. Hopefully TP will then run the rule over it, chuck it in the bin and bring out his own list telling them to get on with and stop larking about on laptops!

  61. Just seen some encouraging quotes from the Fuham ,manager.
    “it should be a good game between us and Aston Villa, although they are really a team of old crocks who should have no chance against us”
    So somebody agrees with me, because that is what i said on this blog some days ago.
    We missed a chance against the world when we played them, I reckon Traore up against Terry would have been no contest.

  62. Totally agree Plato.

    It was a great chance wasted by the managers safety first tactics. I was very happy (mostly) with the approach to games that TP took then he, imo, got it wrong. Over both legs which was the really disappointing thing.

    GHW

    Tyson Fury could mix it with championship defenders but I wouldn’t dream of signing him either.

  65. I can’t believe all the rubbish coming from the Gazette about Jon Walters….who the hell wants him, certainly not at Boro. He is 34 and way past it, last thing we need.

  66. I know this is flogging a dead horse, but, really? Come on, get organised, when one thinks of the rising young ( and slightly older) players desperately searching for their big break via an exposure to a higher level of football, it is beyond belief that we are trawling through over age re-treads from so-so teams who would be delighted to actually bank some money from an automatic free transfer.
    The sad thing for us supporters is that the rich clubs are brilliant at working the market like a concert pianist on speed. And there is no reason why our club should not do the same.
    But, there you are, keep doing what you did, and keep getting what you got.
    Until they embrace the concept of playing the market as a major part of running a club they will be on the losing end of every deal.

  68. Just a little poser for folks on this forum during a lull in the season. Dimi Konstantopoulos won one full International cap for Greece after he left Hartlepool United, but against which country?
    However he had won 9 caps for the Greek Under 21 team before signing for Hartlepool, but who was the player to win a full international cap whilst actually playing for Hartlepool and against which country?

  72. This afternoon Fulham deservedly clinched promotion after playing some pretty good and entertaining football for the most part of the season. It is probably the better result for Boro as well as Fulham would like as not have picked up where they left off next season had they missed out on promotion whereas Villa will have to look at their finances plus their geriatrics are another year older.

    Just watched Liverpool with their latest edition of Brad Jones. In fairness to Brad he never put in a performance as bad as that one tonight from Karius. That has to rank as so bad as to be Grobbelaresque in terms of being questionable. He certainly handed Madrid a Brucie bonus (two in fact). Shame to see Mo Salah being “removed” from the game by what looked to me like a very “professional” and cynical foul. What struck me however was that had that been us it would have been classed as the ultimate “Typical Boro” with their star striker taken out and then the comic in goal.

    Most important of all today was of course Dael Fry scoring for England under 21’s in Toulon against China, well done lad!

  73. EXMIL CHALLENGE PLAYOFF FINAL

    Congratulations to Ian Gill on winning the playoff final. As both predicted the same halftime and full time scores, it was all down to the time of the first goal. originalfatbob went for 17 minutes but Ian Gill predicted 24 minutes and as the first goal was 23 minutes both were very close but being 1 minute out Ian takes the promotion.

    Thanks for everyone who took part but I hope Boro make the challenge redundant next season by being clear in the automatic places.

    Come on BORO.

    1. It was a close content and on another day, fine margins etc.

      I saw little of the match, getting ready for a bbq.

      Sorry to OFB for nicking the final promotion place and especially thanks to Exmil for his work on the challenges.

  75. Watched the play off final highlights last night and the look on Terrys face at the end when he realised his £2 million bonus had disappeared was a picture.

    Looked a fairly entertaining game overall and on those highlights the best team deserved to go up.

    Few nasty challenges that would have been straight reds in a normal league game were only deemed yellow by the referee who as co commentator Mickey Grey put it was trying to keep it 11 v 11. Just enforce the laws and don’t let dangerous fouls go because you might think it will ruin the game.

    The worst foul of the game by Fredericks went unpunished as the refs view was obscured so no fault on his part on that one. The stamp on the staying upright challenged Grealish was clearly caught on camera so will the FA give Mr Fredericks a deserved 3 match ban to start next season with? I won’t hold my breath.

  76. I’m puzzled by the job titles of some of the Gazette reporters. I mean what does ‘Advanced Content Sport Writer’ mean? I know Dominic Shaw writes columns for the Gazette on football (principally Middlesbrough FC), but as we’re now into the summer sports season I’m unaware of his reporting on any of these sports. Meanwhile I’m not sure what Philip Tallentire’s title is, and it must be difficult for him to think what subject to write about next, but recycled transfer speculation from the daily nationals and articles on Hummel’s football kits doesn’t cut the mustard with me.

    We’re well into the cricket season but I don’t recall any articles on Yorkshire CCC, Durham CCC or even NY&SD cricket from either of them. We did hear mention of some Teesside successes in the Commonwealth Games, but no in-depth profiles or stories. I suppose it’s lucky for them that the FIFA World Cup will be starting next month, but what else will they have to write about? In my humble opinion a few recorded interviews with local sports heroes wouldn’t go amiss, but I’m not holding my breath in anticipation.

    1. May be the truth is Ken that there are too many journalists and too little football news. This ends up with irrelevant stories especially those with no current connections to the Boro.

      However with the severe downturn in paper sales, I am surprised that there has not been a further cull on the football side.

      Of course it does not help that the Gazette are now not close to the action. Remember those snipits that AV used to get from Mr Gibson. All gone now, just very little from MFC also.

  77. Had a look at Fulham players and where they came from as best as I could.

    Fonte @ 8 and Kamari @5 mil looked to best the most expensive at I think . Christie from Boro @ 3, although they did sell Aluko to Reading for 7.

    What was interesting was the number of loanees, 7 or 8 I believe. Average age around 23/24. Young and fit and athletic.

    Capable of quick forward inter-passing. In Sessegon, Cairney and Fredericks three very fast players that can cross the ball well. Mind you Kamara was no slouch and strong.

    Compare them with the Boro, Adama apart.

  78. Conspiracy theory warning.
    All playoff matches were taken by Prem. Refs.
    Were they based in and around the London area?
    Boro Villa match, Traore was taken out by 2-4 players throughout both legs, the ref was fine with that.
    villa Boro match Villa saved a desperate situation by the keeper committing a sending off offence ( automatic, nothing to do with the ref’s judgement, or lack of it)
    he decided that it was not necessary on this occasion, hhhm!
    Fulham villa match, Fulham decide to take out Villa’s star man( they were good judges, he was a bit too good for them) nothing complicated, he landed on him ( Or rather his leg) from a great height, all completed by a real old fashioned stamp, no danger of the ref missing it, it was a bit of a melee, the ref. Showed good sportsmanship by waving play on, it was too early in the game I reckon.
    Still. the same player repeated his feat pretty near the end,( same victim) and was sent off. Fulham did manage to hang on, so all was well.

    That must be eight London clubs in the Prem now.
    That is eight fewer away games than their rivals.
    An enormous saving in costs, travel, and plenty of help, should it be needed at the end of the season, ( a few surprise results when least expected)

  79. If Fulham had eight loanees? Then the entire system is finished, and should be scrapped.
    Who loaned the players to Fulham, were they London clubs?
    You see how an apparently sensible scheme can be perverted by a club owning lots of young players who cannot get a game.
    There are twenty perfectly good reasons why they should loan out their best to a London side, to keep a very poor team in the Prem.( three easy points, no away traveling, their players can be in their favourite boozer by eight on a Saturday
    To a Championship team, get them into the prem. Another away fixture crossed off the list, stop a team such as Carlisle creeping into the Prem. ( very long away trip, interfere with the players media jobs) just a thought, but they could loan their very worst youngster to such a team to ensure that it fails.

  80. Plato, I got the player stats off the internet and only went on what it showed. There are loanee limits I believe but do not know the rules.
    Wasn’t there an uproar the season before last’ and the rules were to be tightened.
    Kalas and Piazon were both down as Chelsea. Norwood as Brighton.

    1. The loan rules are that you can have up to eight loan players at atime but only five in the matchday squad. The info I found is that Fulham have six on loan and Ojo on loan from Liverpool was left out on Saturday.

  81. The first part of my poser was fairly easy to solve, and Redcar Red got the right answer that Dimi’s one and only full international cap was in a EUFA 2012 qualifying match against Malta whilst playing for Kerkyra FC.

    The second poser about Hartlepool United’s only international player appears to be much more difficult as it was in 1964 and most of you will probably never have heard of him. I’m sorry about that, but I tend to forget how young most bloggers are compared to an old fogey like me. However for those whose football experiences go back that far I’ve composed a little ‘riddle-me-ree’ to help you to find his name:-

    His first letter’s in PARIS but not found in ROME
    The second’s in MADDREN as well as in BOAM
    The third’s in BEN GIBSON but not in GEORGE FRIEND
    The fourth’s twice in GOALSCORER but not in DEFEND
    The fifth is in BOLTON but not in HULL CITY
    The sixth is in BARNSLEY which maybe’s a pity
    The last of his forename should be easy to find
    As it’s in three times in LEICESTER, so for this I’ve been kind.
    His surname starts in CARDIFF but not in SWANSEA
    The second’s in WATFORD but not in CHELSEA
    The third is in BRIGHTON but not in ‘THE TOON’
    The fourth’s in TRAORE but not found in DE ROON
    The fifth’s in THE BORO but not in NEWCASTLE
    The sixth’s twice in HIGNETT which should give you no hassle
    The last’s twice in YORK CITY so I’m sure that reveals
    That his surname’s the same as that ‘champ’ on two wheels.
    This man played at Roker when Cloughie did reign
    And his eleventh international was played against Spain.

    So for those who can remember the 1960’s, who is he?

      2. Well done! I guess it was a ‘chicken and the egg’ problem as Google only helps if one already knows the answer. Fortunately I remember Fogarty being interviewed on either Look North or TyneTees News at the time. If I remember correctly I think one of his passions was playing the guitar, but the main topic of the interview was his still being selected for the Republic of Ireland despite his transfer from Second Division Sunderland to Hartlepools United who had only just successfully applied for re-election to the Fourth Division after finishing bottom the season before. Needless to say that was the last time he played for his country after scoring 3 goals in his 11 appearances.

        After realising that few on this forum had probably heard of him, I tried to make it simpler with the ‘riddle-me-ree’. That sort of puzzle was particularly popular in my youth, a little bit like soduku crazes, etc today.

  82. So Mohammed Salah has a “sprained shoulder” Hmmmm, Gerry Byrne played with his arm in a sling during the 1965 Cup Final after breaking his collar bone in the 3 rd minute.

    1. Grove

      I’m reluctant to make excuses for what was done to Salah, it was not an accident, let’s get that straight, the slow mo catches it all in glorious colour, he had his arm in safe keeping and was not about to let go as he headed for the ground, followed by a full roll of his thirteen stone on Salah’s arm/ shoulder, what followed was inevitable.
      Let’s not forget that the keeper got the old ” elbow in the face” treatment,

  83. At least we now know the team playing in the Championship next season. But otherwise it has been very boring so far – even the transfer window is open already.

    Fortunately we have the fabulous OFB interviews to look forward to in the next few weeks.

    And the World Cup is only starting on the 14th of June. So that is nearly three weeks away! I am gonna watch most matches and will be on holiday for four weeks in July.

    So the next 13 days will be hard. I wish the World Cup would be here already. Up the Boro!

    2. Oh no Jarkko, not for me! I’m probably in the minority here, but I love the close season as without football dominating the Summer months, it helps to revitalise my passion for the game come August. It’s a case of familiarity bringing contempt, but each to his own I suppose.

    1. Jarkko
      The great Oscar Wilde once said that the only thing worse than being talked about was not being talked about. In a sort of perverse way I feel that now I have grown old, the only thing worse than watching football all the year round is not talking about football all the year round. So yes, I’m still lurking.

      1. Ken

        I’m talking to Doug Weatherall about a series of articles for him to reminisce about. The first one will be about Brian Clough. Are there any points of discussion you and the rest of our bloggers would like his opinion on?

        OFB

  85. Just read the planet football article about Chelsea loaners that GHW has shared above. Then I had a thought. If the premiership does come knocking atvourvdoor for Ben and Traore this summer, why don’t we let them go to a premium club, but on loan. I’m sure we could command a reasonable fee for the loan but keep hold of the players’ registrations so they can play with us in the premiership the season after next…

    1. OFB
      I was doing my National Service in Singapore at the time that the 1958 England World Cup squad was selected, and as a Boro fan felt so indignant that Derek Kevan, a Yorkshire lad playing for West Bromwich had been selected instead of Brian Clough. Of course I realise now that not having seen Kevan play I was probably biased. Kevan had quite a good scoring record with West Bromwich and they were a First Division side. Does Doug think that Kevan was a better centre forward than Brian or was it a case of Kevan playing for a higher ranked club?

      The other question would be the choice of the England manager post. Brian himself said his abrasive nature wouldn’t have gone down too well with the FA, but does Doug think he would have been successful if he’d been appointed?

  87. Well what an enjoyable but exhausting five days of sport this weekend. Through the wonderful aid of a TiVo box I’ve watched three Super League and six Championship Rugby League matches in the Summer Bash from Bloomfield Road the home of Blackpool FC. I must say that the ground and pitch that once hosted Stanley Matthews, Stanley Mortensen and Jimmy Armfield is a travesty. I recall three years ago Karanka being most concerned about the condition of the pitch before Boro played there and the pitch hasn’t improved since. The grass was tufty and the pitch uneven especially around one of the goal areas. There was one incident I have never witnessed before in a rugby match where a punted kick along the ground suddenly hit a bare patch and bounced up onto the crossbar and rebounded into an attacking players hands for him to touch down for a try under the posts. A football probably wouldn’t have done that, but the bounce of a spherical ball can be so unpredictable, but surely not to that extent. Anyway the standard of rugby was quite good and I enjoyed most of the matches.

    The PGA golf from Wentworth was very exciting for the first two days Rory McIlroy being almost faultless, exciting on the third day mainly because Rory was more fallible and together with excellent rounds from Alex Noren, Francisco Molinari and the resurgent Lee Westwood promised a close finish on the final day. Whether I was wilting during 29 hours of golf I don’t know, but the final day for me was a bit of an anticlimax with Molinari’s deserved victory never in doubt. He bogeyed the first hole on the first day, and that was his only bogey for the rest of the tournament.

    I didn’t watch any of the test match from Lord’s nor the football playoffs from Wembley nor did I record them (guess I didn’t miss much there), and don’t usually watch golf tournaments in America except for the majors, but on hearing that Justin Rose was playing such wonderful golf at Fort Worth, I recorded the final round and without knowing the final result I watched it this morning. He duly won and looked in imperious form for the US Open next month, but I like the excitement of close finishes in all sports and again, as at Wentworth, the final result was never in doubt.

    Surprisingly then that the most enjoyable sports action for me over the last five days was from the recording of Saturday night’s Czech Speedway Grand Prix from Prague which I have just finished watching. I say surprisingly because it was a defeat for our own Tai Woffinden. His racing was superb all night and had only dropped two points in his first six races. However in the final he was controversially boxed in on a bend by aggressive riding from the eventual winner Sweden’s Fredrik Lindgren who came from behind on the final bend to take the tape by inches over the Russian Patryk Dudek. Disappointing result but the most exciting sports event I’ve witnessed since Castleford’s Super League Semifinal Playoff win in extra time from a drop goal against St. Helens last season.

    As I said, I love exciting finishes and can take consolation from them even if my team or my favourite player or rider loses. That for me is what Sport is all about – excitement.

    1. Why would that be ofb…..does it mean Traore to be sold, if not can’t see the point.

      Also Bob could you ask DW what he thinks about the bias from the BBC Look North and Tyne Tees ref Middlesbrough nearly always being featured behind Newcastle and Sunderland.

      1. I’ve asked the question but you may remember that Doug was a mainstay of local TV reporting on a Friday and Monday about the big three (or Two!)

        OFB

      2. You ask the questions and here’s your answer

        I can speak only of my approach. News value of a story was always my litmus paper. Rarely could Boro, through crowd potential, top Newcastle and Sunderland, all things being equal, but, for quality of play, for instance, I still rate the Day, McLean, Clough, Peacock and Holliday forward line as one of the best I’ve seen.

        So a fair comment from Doug

        OFB

  90. Would have Adomah back in a shot. He’s played left wing all season. Traore on one wing Adomah on the other. Yes please!! Look at alberts stats compared to stewies it’s an absolute no brainer. Can’t see villa selling though unless they really in dire need of the cash. He was voted their player of the season.

    1. Have no faith in Downing, should be the first out the door but I very much doubt it. Seems to have some old pals act keeping him there.

    2. Villa spent more money on new players than Boro. I think they did the same in summer 2016 as our Gibbo did last summer. They tried to smash the league.

      I wouldn’t be surprised if Villa needs to sell some high earners this summer. I am afraid they need cut costs as their parashute payments are down to a bare minimum now, I suppose.

      Bearing the above in mind, this could be a reason why Pulis has hinted he won’t spend so much money now either. Perhaps it makes sense to have a plan B if we won’t go up next season.

      Up the Boro!

  92. Ken, I try to learn from your experience.

    I have the problem that I spend too much time on following football. I follow Boro very intensively during the winter when the season is on.

    Beside Boro, I do play football several times weekly. Especially in the summer time as football cannot be played outdoors in here from beginning of December unti April. We have too much snow and temperature below zero, hence our football season is in the summer.

    Yes, for me football is an all year around sport. I started playing footy again regularly when I was 35. We have regular leagues for “old boys” here in Scandinavia. Currently I play official league matches for the over 50 and over 55 year olds. This is my 23rd successive season – the only way I know I can keep myself fit.

    I do cycling and some golf with my wife, too. And some swimming in the winter time (before you ask, I do that in a swimming pool). Just to keep me in some sort of fitness level.

    Before I ušd to forgot the Boro for summer, but now it is difficult to get rid of the habbit of coming to this site before starting to work.

    And this year it is the World Cup. Yes, might be too much footy for this summer again. Up the Boro!

    1. Jarkko, I appreciate your views regarding football being a summer sport in Finland and the rest of Scandinavia. My comments about too much football were not intended as a criticism of your personal choice. However in England there are so many summer sports to enjoy on television for sports addicts like myself living alone in my dotage without the intrusion of more football. It’s just my personal choice, though I must admit I only watch those sports which I enjoy, so no tennis, horse racing, motor racing, snooker, boxing or Olympic sports for me.

      Years ago Football was my great passion, especially where the Boro were concerned. I rarely missed a home match, often watched Hartlepool or the local Redcar teams when Boro were playing away from home, loved the World Cup on TV from 1954 in Switzerland onwards, but sometimes habits and choices change. Apart from Match of the Day I rarely watch live football on TV unless the Boro or Pools are involved, but have always been, and still am, a lover of history and statistics of football right through the various leagues to the grassroots of non league football. Pleased to see that Stockton reached Wembley (sad about the result), great to see that Marske United and Redcar Athletic won their respective leagues and under the pyramid system have been promoted, and also that Harrogate Town will join Hartlepool and Gateshead in the National Conference League next season.

      However as far as watching sport, for me football (excepting the Boro and Pools) nowadays takes fifth place in my affections behind Rugby League (and not just Castleford Tigers), Golf, Grand Prix Speedway and Twenty/20 Cricket (not Test Match Cricket unless it’s against Australia). But I’m still an historical and statistical addict of Football, Rugby League and Golf, and all my statistics are in written form (not computerised) and are updated regularly.

      Finally as an aside, travel is another of my passions and having been lucky enough to have visited 64 countries, each ciountry, city, town and village is recorded in my Holiday Diary. I stayed in Helsinki for a few days some years ago, visited the national football stadium, had my photograph taken at the Sibelius statue (classical music and history of the World’s great composers being another passion of mine) and also took the hydrofoil to Tallin for a day’s excursion. I always fancied a trip around some of the many Finnish lakes, but never made it. A pity, but too late now as my deteriorating health precludes that.

      I admire your devotion to the Boro and your obvious love for Yorkshire and particularly Cleveland. I’m probably biased but I reckon we have the finest coastline and countryside in England. So I end with your trademark – Up the Boro!

      1. Ken, I said I try to learn. I know I follow Boro and football too much. This summer will be tough as the World Cup is here again. I used to go to most World Cup tournaments with my sisters and brothers (all five of them and their families) when it was still possible to get tickets. But that was about ten or fifteen years ago.

        I love Yorkshire but as you said our country is beautiful, too. In the eastern part, where my mother is from, there are towns and municipalities, where there are more than 50 % of the area lakes and rest is forest and some fields. There is officially 187 888 lakes that are bigger than 10 x 10 meters. Nice area especially in the summer time!

        Even I like Yorkshire, the coastal area around there is strange to me as you don’t have any islands! We are used to having small islands all over the coastal area. So it is very, very rare that you can see the horizon from the main land – and we have as much coastal area as England. I think we have 179 884 islands but again it depends how you count them. Some people say the archipelago in Finland is the nicest after Greece. Might be true in summer.

        Pity we did not know each other when you visited over here. I have yet to really explore your home town Redcar – it was too cold last April again to stop there as we took a bus from Boro to Whitby. I usually visit the area during the football season for some reason!

        Up the Boro!

  93. The usual updated travelogue produced by AV in the Gazette for Boro fans on the road next season? As the leading article states trips to Barnsley, Burton, Cardiff, Fulham, Sunderland and Wolves replaced by trips to Blackburn, Rotherham, Stoke, Swansea, West Bromwich and Wigan. Fair enough so far, but the analyses of matches against Ipswich and Preston not updated. Last matches at these two venues 2-0 win and 0-0 draw? Oh come on, those were the results of the previous encounters two seasons ago. I could have sworn they should have been amended to a 2-2 draw and a 3-2 win respectively. Doesn’t put AV or the Gazette in a good light does it? I suggest if an article is worth writing more attention to detail is required.

    1. That applies to most newspapers nowadays, Ken. Less people ns less time to write, I think. My local newspaper (printed version) have corrections from previous paper there every day. In the old days, say 10 to 20 years ago, there wer corrections only once or twice a year.

      Up the Boro!

  95. Ken

    In answer to your recent questions to Doug

    Quote “

    Make no mistake, Albion’s Derek Kevan was a good, strong forward, but Clough would still have been my preference. Walter Winterbottom clearly thought otherwise. Pick Clough enough and goals will come was always my belief.

    Of course, I believe the genius of Clough the manager would have brought success at any level. Never has the judgement of even the F.A. been so off the mark.

    Doug.

    Unquote “

    OFB

  96. Ken

    Thanks for the questions but what theme would you like to see ?

    So I can ask a series of questions on the same theme

    Other bloggers points are welcome

    OFB

    1. OFB
      A bit stumped there. The intriguing one though would be the truth behind the ‘round-robin’ allegedly signed by nine first-team players after several incidents of unrest in the changing room. If I remember correctly Brian was constantly annoyed with several of his team-mates who he alleged were betting against the team and ‘deliberately’ conceding goals, and that sometimes he came to blows with some of them. It was also allegedly suggested that he was jealous of Alan Peacock and that he sometimes barged Alan off the ball when a goalscoring opportunity arrived, but I must confess I never saw that happen and I’ve never heard Alan say a bad word about Brian although he was supposedly specific that he was the goalscorer and it was the duty of the team to remember that. Somehow I can’t totally go along with that rumour because I can’t recall his ever taking a penalty. Whether like George Camsell he once missed one so relinquished that duty I don’t know, but he appeared to be happy in letting Bill Harris have that task. I’d be very surprised if Alan Peacock, Billy Day or Eddie Holliday were signatories to that ‘round-robin’, I think it would be the defenders so ‘nine’ signatories seems an exaggeration to me. Whether Doug Weatherall can throw some light on that I don’t know as I would think that these sort of things would usually be kept in house. No doubt Alan Peacock would know the true story, but understandably wouldn’t want to spill the beans after all these years.

      However several players were subsequently convicted for deliberately throwing matches at that time. Apparently there was a lot of unrest in the changing room because of Brian’s supposed arrogance, with stories emanating that he influenced the manager Bob Dennison in team selections. As team captain he probably thought that that was his right, but it was rumoured at the time that that was the main reason for the ‘round-robin’ demanding he be stripped of the captaincy. I’m not sure of the immediate outcome of the ‘round-robin’, although I believe it was unsuccessful. In my opinion though I think the captain of a football should not be a centre forward/striker, but I thought that Dennison was too easygoing and I was surprised that his tenure lasted nine years – much too long in my opinion, especially for a team so talented in scoring goals but failing to gain promotion.

      It could be said that Brian’s manner in his 40 days as manager at Leeds was in character with what happened as captain at Middlesbrough, but who’s to say he was wrong? I’m certainly not, for he was the best striker I ever saw at Middlesbrough and that includes Mickey Fenton, Hasselbaink and Viduka. I’d certainly like to hear Doug Weatherall’s thoughts on that.

      2. Ken from DW

        The subject you raise isn’t the easiest to discuss because of the law of libel. We can’t slander or libel the dead, but not all the people you mention are dead.
        I certainly don’t recall Brian barging Alan Peacock or any colleague to score himself.
        In recent months I’ve been in ‘Peach’s” company and he spoke only with warmth and respect about Brian.
        I didn’t often see Mickey Fenton in action, but Brian was the finest Boro centre-forward I ever saw. Indeed, until Alan Shearer came along for Newcastle, Brian was always my number one among North-East No. 9s.

        OFB

      3. OFB
        Just to expand on the Brian Clough ‘round-robin’ saga, the match that appears to have resulted in that was the 0-5 defeat away to Leyton Orient on 31st October 1959. Brian Phillips was the centre half that day and he was either injured or dropped afterwards, because he only played four more times for Boro. He was subsequently transferred to Mansfield and banned following the 1964 betting scandal. Derek Wilkie played at centre half in the next two matches and I believe he got injured, so Alan Peacock took over at centre half for the next three matches before a replacement could be bought.

        I seem to remember that the ‘round-robin’ saga only came to light in late November after which Brian Clough received a rousing reception on the 5th December before the home match with Brighton during which he scored twice in a 4-1 victory. Ken Thomson was then bought from Stoke City and took over at centre half so that Alan Peacock could revert to his inside forward position. Thomson subsequently took over the captaincy the following season. It is however ironic that Thomson was also eventually implicated in the 1964 betting scandal and jailed for six months whereas Phillips was banned but, as far as I can recall, escaped imprisonment. Hopefully Doug Weatherall will be able to confirm and illuminate on my recollection of the events of that time.

        Maybe if David Pearce had been a writer at that time, his book “The Damned United” might have been merely a sequel to the happenings at Ayresome Park but under a different title.

  97. Hello all. A long bout of radio silence from me recently, primarily due to the dearth of football related action and my lack of reading transfer “rumours”. As I’ve sworn off the Evening Advertorial I’ve not yet found a similarly locally flavoured source of news which is ad-free. The MFC Pravda operation doesn’t entertain such silliness as transfer rumours, so I’m operating in a self-made black hole of news.

    I also assume that given there is a world cup on that rumours will be thin on the ground, even though I doubt we are in the market for much world-cup talent, and should anyone playing at the world cup prove themselves half-decent we will probably end up competing for their signature against an unfashionable bottom-half of the PL club (Huddersfield…) and will lose out. So, in a round about way I’m guessing we won’t see much happen until Russia lift the World Cup.

    I suspect that although TP is a crafty one, he will be fairly true to his spendthrift word and we will need to play a much better loan market game next season. Although, you would argue that Baker was a talent that a lot of Championship clubs would have liked to have had and we didn’t use him at all. Hopefully TP will bring the right loanees in and make proper use of them, instead of managing to cause the first known case of nostalgia for playing in the US Soccer League. (Poor old Jack).

    Would I have Albert back? Absolutely. Stick him on the left wing and we would have two very effective wingers providing the guile and balance we have been sorely missing. One things for sure – if I hear it anywhere, it will be on DiasBoro!

  98. Smoggy

    There is a website which collates all the stories about each club, it is called NewsNow, Sadly most the papers are afflicted by advertisements.

  100. The trouble with transfer stories is the everlasting oldie, the one which is launched by the club who wish to unload.
    Villa obviously have their eyes on some rising young !! Winger, and, not surprisingly would like to discount a big part of the fee by using some mug club ( that would be us) to take on their old model ( oh, I don’t know, about thirty I would say)
    That is caused by the interminable chat on here about how we love him.
    Never fall in love with any player, when sentiment takes the stage logic flies out the window.
    I remember one Boro manager, signing a player( made a bit of a name in a middling sort of way, Welch, always a bad sign)
    The manager told the fans that he had nursed a desire to sign this player for eight years.
    You guessed it, he turns up, the only thing missing was the gold watch chain across his gut.
    Overweight, always wore a massive support bandage on his right thigh, became the sole owner of four square yards of midfield, never moved from it , and was a complete waste of money( and of course he was going nowhere, until his contract was up.

      1. The Hartlepool Mail carries the same story probably from the same source, but like you I don’t take any notice of transfers speculation until such time as contracts are signed. Some fans are impatient for news when there isn’t really any to report on.

  102. Ken, it’s not being impatient for news, it’s informing people what they may not be able to see, such as our overseas posters and it is also reported on SSN transfer section. I know that does not mean it is true but they all agree that is MFC valuation of Traore.

    Come on BORO.

    1. What I do know is that Traore has an escape clause in his contract which is a lot lower than the £30m fees that were being bandied around a few weeks ago.

      Looks like his agent has being going around the Premiership clubs and telling them about the release clause

      I must admit that I was shocked when I found this out and hoped that he would stay for at least another season

      You can’t really blame the club as when he first arrived he didn’t look like a world beater of any description

      What you can say is that Tony Pulis has made him into a saleable asset.

      My view has always been of a player wants to move let him go. I only want players pulling on a shirt who want to play for the Boro

      OFB

      1. Easy to say (and I am possibly just dreaming here) but I think he should stay and play one more season under Tony Pulis. He should remember what happened to Bamford after one good whole season in the Championship.And BamBam was voted as the player of the season back then. Traore has had just about four good months.

        He is still young and should at least see until Christmas with Boro. I cannot see him getting any game time at Chelsea or the rest of top six. And why to join a team in the lower end of the PL? He is not a defender and I cannot see him shining n a team fighting against the drop.

        Well, the fee will be low and there will be a lot of potential takers. But is it the correct time to go now if he can play in every match at Boro now? He is not not yet ready as we saw against Villa in the play-offs. As OFB informed earlier, he likes the area and is a fans’ favourite as well as popular in the changing room.

        But I might be dreaming. The same applies to Ben I am afraid. Up the Boro!

  103. OFB, back to Chubbs for a minute, when we finished our league games on a Sunday morning, the first thing going around the changies was which workies club was he on at, we then made a dash for it. Sometimes showers were missed if we were running late and there was flakes of dried mud around whichever table we were sat at. After he’d cracked yet another beauty, I would always say to myself that I’d keep that one and tell the lads at work the following morning. The problem was, that the gags came that thick and fast that I could never remember a single one of them when he’s finished, I do remember my neck aching through laughter, though.

    Yes, his language was that of the work place and yes, that was used on a daily basis amongst the lads at work, same could be said when we were playing football but, that’s were it stayed. I never remember me dad or any of me uncles swearing in family gatherings, that was totally taboo, in fact I never heard them swear directly at all. Same applied to us, the next generation, swearing in front of women was forbidden and just didn’t, and still doesn’t feel right. My wife of 45 years has never heard me swear and neither have me three lads, the next generation, our three lads, have had the same principle hammered home. So as far as I’m concerned, if it’s used in the right place in front of the right people and it gets a laugh, then why not. Any way, Chubbies posters warn you before you buy a ticket, if you’re easily offended, then don’t come in (I was being polite there).

    Read the same thing on Traore on SSN, now I know that I’ve been away some twenty odd years, but I always thought that the M1 finished at Leeds. Has it moved further north to enable Traore to get up to Skunkland, or do the brains trust “darn sarf” not understand road layouts north of the Watford Gap?

    1. PPIP

      I agree the frequent use of industrial language seems more prevalent these days and women don’t seem to flinch when they hear someone swear in front of them

      On Chubb’s, Mrs OFB &I went to my eldest sons & his wife for a BBQ over the weekend. They had read the In2View (lurkers) and we had a chat about Chubb’s

      As I mentioned in the article my daughter in lave is the niece of Steve the Drummer in Smokie who made the record with Chubb’s (WTF Is Alice?)

      What I didn’t know is that her uncle Steve was the one who organised the record as he and Chubb’s go way back and ate the greatest of friends. She said that when the record was released, together with some of her friends they were armed with wads of money and instructed to go and buy every copy of the Chubb’s record they could find in the shops.

      Now if this was a ruse to stop it getting in the charts then it failed as it got to number 3 I think.

      She also said that my son was more keen to meet Chubb’s socially than her Uncle Steve so you can see what party skills and likes I have passed on to my family!

      It was a different In2View as let’s face it we don’t want the same footballers all the time (or do we?)

      OFB

  106. Just been preparing OFB’s latest offering for publication after another week of toil in yet more gardening leave – probably nothing like what our former managers and coaches have to endure as with record temperatures over here in Germany for the last six weeks or so, I’ve felt more like a Mexican farmer who’s lost his sombrero working the land – hopefully we’ll get a good crop of articles to harvest later in the year.

    I haven’t commented on the Chubby Brown in2view and he definitely sounds like a character – of course I know of him but must confess to have never seen his act – I think he was once described as Teesside’s answer to Bernard Manning, which may have stopped me actively seeking out his act. Though, I hadn’t realised it was him who did the cover of ‘Living next door to Alice’ as for some reason his version was very popular in Germany few years back and used to hear it a lot being played – who said Germans didn’t have a sense of humour?

    So many thanks to OFB for keeping Diasboro ticking over nicely during the summer – I’m enjoying my break from football to recharge the batteries with more physical work. Incidentally, caught by chance Nigel Kennedy playing Jimi Hendrix on TV the other night – amazing stuff even if he is a Villa fan. I’m hoping I’ll get a bit more time to perfect my version of Little Wing on the electric guitar at some point in the next few weeks for Werderstock…

    1. I was corporately entertained to a trip to the Munich Oktoberfest a few years ago and was struck by how many times the band in our vast tent played Living Next Door to Alice. They seemed to have a repertoire of lots of songs but there were about 5 or 6 which everyone joined in with – LNDTA was deffo one of them.

      It was a great trip although I may have one stein too many…

      2. I know I’m an old fogey but I’m not au fait with ‘contemporary’ music and had never heard of ‘Living next door to Alice’ so I’ve just googled on to YouTube and listened to a video recording of someone called Smokie (who I had never heard of either) giving a rendition of the song and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It had a nice foot tapping tune and words in the refrain that I imagine an audience could sing along to.
        I’ve used the word ‘contemporary’ which on reflection might raise a chuckle because ‘contemporary’ to me covers anything recorded in the last 20 to 30 years, so out of touch am I with not only music, but comedians, films, and some might say football as well. So be it.

        Apart from classical music and brass bands my taste in what used to be called ‘pop music’ in my day only stretches back to Neil Diamond and ABBA , and way before that to singers nobody on this forum will have heard of such as Ronnie Hilton, David Whitfield, Matt Munro and Ruby Murray, although coming to think of it, you might have heard of her if only for the fact that her name is still used as cockney slang for a curry.

        Now I doubt that any of you will believe this, but in the early 1950’s there used to be a league chart called the ‘Hit Parade’ where the popularity of new songs wasn’t decided by the sales of records, but by the sales of sheet music, and I used to buy musical scores of sheet music to play one-fingered on an old piano my parents owned. Eventually the British pop scene became Americanised especially on Radio Luxembourg (I trust you’ve heard of that) whereby artists renditions of songs then formed the top twenty hits (such as happens today I imagine) and recordings of songs such as ‘Memories are made of this’ appeared twice in the top ten at the same time. In fact Dean Martin’s recording headed the charts for a few weeks but was then superseded by Dave King’s recording.

        So there you have it. I’ve heard of singers such as Rihanna and Beyoncé, haven’t a clue what they sing, and wouldn’t recognise them if I saw a photograph of them. I love watching ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ but when I see the lineup I probably don’t recognise more than a couple of them. But if I hear an old Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra number I remember the words and as I’ve always had a good singing voice, I sing along with them.

        However it has to be said that I seem to live in a time warp, so as they say, maybe I should get out more.

  107. Well I waited for it, then looked for it and then directly searched for it but still couldn’t find it anywhere? Over 24 hours later and still nothing, not a jot or even a passing mention!

    What is it I sense you are all thinking? Well after the Yorkshire Post expose yesterday unsettling two of our most valuable assets and putting a price tag on them and in doing so insinuating that MFC will be receiving £40m on top of any parachute payments I felt sure that the scribe at MFC would have sharpened his assault Pencil. Null, nada, nil, niet, absolutely nothing in fact but they do a great treat in Father’s Day dinners at the Riverside apparently.

    Could someone perhaps explain to me why the Gazette get named and shamed for every disconnect, incorrect or even call it fake news article why other media outlets are ignored when equally incorrect, damning and commercially sensitive material gets printed and indeed broadcast nationally as a direct consequence the MFC scribe can’t find his pencil sharpener? Surely a “clarification” statement about the nonsense spouted from those a few miles away down the M1 🙂 is just as damaging as a Gazette article especially as it has now gone viral? Are SSN next to feel the wrath of the Riverside Press Mogul or do they only pick on someone they can effectively bully and ridicule? Maybe the money that SSN owners pump into those Parachute Payments gives them some sort of free pass or pardon?

    Assuming that for whatever reason £15m will be enough to catch Adama due to a Ziege type contract, broadcasting it as fact does smack as something far worse to me than an alleged error in calculating Premiership Parachute Payments. Especially when you consider those exact same figures were reported for other clubs in the same circumstances in unaffiliated media sources. Thats the problem with pettiness (sorry I meant accuracy), for it to be credible it has to be consistent and has to be seen to be even handed and professional. Still at least the £34.9m parachute payment and the £40m for the sale of those two players should build us an even better Championship smashing team again this season regardless if they are undervalued or indeed overvalued. Who knows, well apart from the Yorkshire Post who judging from the lack of a rebuttal clearly must do!

    1. RR

      I actually refrained from posting about the buyout clause some months ago as obviously it wasn’t in the best interests of the club or us as supporters

      Obviously Traore’s agent has been circulating details of his contract to all and sundry and the secret is out!

      OFB

  108. GHW

    A release clause is a problem if only one team comes looking for a player. If a few start fighting for him then there may be a bidding war.

    There may be just one bid.

  109. I suspect the release clause was based on him being sidelined at Villa and may have been a concern that under Karanka he could have disappeared too. Also given that we only signed him for £6m it would be likely that having a substantial release clause would have made it a pointless one – though the club look like they didn’t think through the ramifications of having to sell below market value if he was a success and sounds like they didn’t expect him to hit the heights he did.

    Hindsight is of course a wonderful thing but it wasn’t that long ago many would have been happy to just get their money back or bitten your hand off for £10m. Not sure if selling him cheap to Newcastle would exactly go down well and I’m sure many fans would rather give him away than see him in a black and white striped shirt.

    Incidentally, I suspect there will be no Gazette-style ‘correction’ on the MFC website if the release clause is true as it appears to be not ‘wildly’ exaggerated.

    1. Maybe not “wildly exaggerated” but it doesn’t help MFC’s negotiations with other clubs if they know we have £15m from Adama potentially blowing a hole in our pockets plus £25m supposedly if Ben goes when we are negotiating their replacements.

      No doubt another “Clarification” will be due as soon as the Gazette even mentions Transfers or wages.

      https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/mfc-clarifying-transfer-facts

    2. No doubt Newcastle want to sing him and paly him six or 12 months and sell again for profit. Is it that all they are interested as a club? Trophy virgins the lot. UTB!

  110. No doubt Newcastle want to sing him and paly him six or 12 months and sell again for profit. Is it that all they are interested as a club? Trophy virgins the lot. UTB!

  111. OK, as you may know OFB met up again with veteran north-east sports journalist Doug Weatherall and delved into his diaries to discuss his time spent following the career of the great Brian Clough. I’ve just posted up their first article together in what is planned to be a short series under the name Doug’s Diaries or in the words of OFB…

    Like the main character in Charles Dickens Oliver Twist, you’ve asked for more! So, acting as Mr. Bumble (OFB) you can have some more of this sumptuous fayre and we hope that you enjoy it.

    https://diasboro.club/2018/05/30/dougs-diaries-brian-clough/

  112. Well AV has run another “up-dated” story in today’s Gazette. A long article and he does not mention a figure, he leaves that to the readers to evaluate his worth.

    Given the current relationship between paper and MFC, AV is being careful and talks of a bidding war at best.

    Who knows, well apart from OFB.

  113. I think the £15M offered by Newcastle is obviously the ‘release clause’ minimum agreed between Traore’s agent and the MFC. At the time that sounded like a good figure and no blame should be attached to MFC for agreeing that amount. Many fans now think that double that amount would be his value today, but I think that is very much over inflated. For a player who has very limited positional sense I think £15M is a fair assessment of his current worth. I would be very surprised, but obviously delighted, if one of the top six clubs make an offer for him, but possibly a team such as Everton or Leicester might offer more than Newcastle. Obviously the final decision will be made by the player but if he has ambitions to have a regular place in a Premier League side, then Leicester or Everton would be a safer bet for the player – a reasonable chance of regular football with a club unlikely to be in a relegation scrap. However I think it would be unlikely that Boro could expect anything near £20M, but say the price rises to £17M, l reckon that’s not a bad profit for a player they cost about £6M.

    Ben Gibson is a different kettle of fish though, but I would nevertheless be surprised if a top six club would be interested in him either. The £18M supposedly offered by West Bromwich in the last close season might have been derisory at the time, but his form has certainly dipped since then, so perhaps somewhere around the £25M might be offered. Of course both players may wish to stay at the Boro, but I doubt it.

    1. I think GHW got it spot on when he said the the fee for the player will not exceed £15m if that is what the release clause is – the player (or more exact his agent) will choose the best deal being offered for his services and the buying club doesn’t need to outbid another club or persuade Boro to sell if the player can talk to them if they match that release figure. Though if the player or agent gets a cut of the transfer fee then it may possibly push the price up but it’s more likely that the money will go into wages and sign-on fees.

      So he will go for the release clause – Boro may have grounds to sue if the clause was confidential and his agent has publicised the figure – though in theory any club could just keep upping their offer until Boro have no choice but to allow talks. If Villa also have a cut built in then we may only make a few million profit in the end – which doesn’t sound like the best deal in the world but given we normally make a loss it would make a change…

  114. Sell
    Traore ,Ben, Braithwaite, Johnson, Fletcher ( if you can ), Gestede, Fabio, Friend, Howson,
    There’s about £60m ,right there, surely you can build a decent team with that?

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