Woodgate remaining positive as he seeks another victory

by Diasboro, posted in Uncategorized

Championship 2019-20: Weeks 5-6

Sat 31 Aug – 12:30: Bristol City v Boro

Werdermouth looks for signs of optimism ahead of the international break…

The Positivity Society have once again opted against holding their annual conference on Teesside this year, which I suspect was merely an oversight rather than concerns over attendance. While it’s not clear how many members the local branch has, one presumes they will not view the decision too negatively. Nevertheless, despite its well documented health benefits, the power of positive thinking is actively shunned by the Boro faithful. This is despite a recent scientific study showing that people with a more optimistic outlook actually live longer – to which those who specialise in avoiding a disposition that could be regarded as remotely sunny would no doubt retort “that will teach them.”

One man who is not yet experiencing the full positive vibe on Teesside is Jonathan Woodgate and after picking up just one win in his first five games it has left many giving self-confirmatory furtive glances at sealed gold envelopes standing on their respective mantelpieces that simply contain the hand-written phrase ‘I told you so’. Of course one-of-our-own etiquette demands these envelopes can’t be pushed to the fore to reveal their contents until at least after game ten – that would show indecent haste for the ‘give the lad a chance’ inner-voice that most have to battle against. Though to be fair, it doesn’t seem that the collective psychic ability of Teesside has been set a high bar for ascertaining their paranormal aptitude. Even one of Middlesbrough’s most famous sons, the late Paul Daniels, would regard such an illusion as unworthy of cranking up the dry-ice machine as he anticipated “you’re going to like the man in charge at Boro – though not a lot.”

Although, it’s still very early days in his tenure, the new head coach has not seen his players produce much in the way of the crazy high-energy entertaining football that was delivered in that season-opening fixture. While Woodgate remains philosophical over his team’s sanitised manifestation of his intended philosophy, it seems some Boro supporters always thought it was madness to have expected a novice coaching team could oversee a transition from no-frills functional football to a high-thrills expansive game – especially in the context of a considerably down-sized budget that made even bargains appear profligate.

Extravagant rumours that the boardroom panelling had been replaced with padding may have been far fetched, though a few wished those less-scientific men in white coats should have perhaps intervened to prevent the season descending into madness before it had begun. As to whether we should try to discover if Woodgate could still do the job while wearing a club-shop straitjacket is perhaps an experiment too far – though some would argue that since he’s already been trying to do the task with one hand tied behind his back, having both would offer only a slightly increased handicap.

From day one, the Nunthorpe number one has tried his best to say the right things to the Boro faithful as he declared that he had a vision of a way forward that could seemingly straddle the wild horses of ambition and aesthetics as they appeared to bolt in opposite directions. As Teesside prepared themselves to enjoy the ride, it was perhaps not only loyalties that were in danger of being split – though many worried that the chairman had handed the reigns to a novice rider who was not ready to be saddled with the expectations that came from the unbridled passion of the supporters.

While Woodgate was able to say all the right things before the season began, inevitably once games are played it becomes a different task as people seek explanation for what has come to pass. OK, he may have gone too soon with “it is what it is”, which shouldn’t necessarily be held against him, but it was surely a mistake to declare that Boro fans are like Scousers. Ok, before I add “Calm down, calm down” to those enraged among you at such a comparison, the context was in terms of ‘knowing’ football and what he was trying to achieve at Boro as he proclaimed of the supporters “They’re not stupid they know what the crack is [something Robbie must have told him] and what we’re working on, Middlesbrough fans know their football, they’re like the Scousers. People can’t pull wool over their eyes, they know what is happening so they will stay with us and they will be patient.” Whether patience is a virtue that the good folk of Teesside share with those on Merseyside remains to be seen – however, there was more than a suspicion of wool tugging over the summer by the club hierarchy but not everyone’s view was obscured by the yarns that were spun as the inevitable appointment of Woodgate loomed – perhaps it’s just the woolly thinking that is obstructing the vision of the club.

Whatever the merits of the summer appointment and the subsequent attempt at ameliorating the decision with the promise of a new brand of attacking football and a shift towards youth, it’s ultimately results or at the very least performances that signal that club are heading in the right direction. The absence of a coherent shape and understanding between players in recent games has left doubts on the terraces that the much vaunted philosophy is going to be delivered in time to give the season any real momentum. Indeed, there have been few signs that the high-press is still on the agenda and the less said about a shift to scoring more goals after the binary offerings since that Luton goal-fest, the better.

Clearly work needs to be done on the training pitch if this new template is to have any chance of success but that’s not easy during a Championship campaign that quickly becomes an attritional journey of recovery and preparation for the next opposition. Finding space to work on the pattern of play and building relationships and understanding among the players is going to be a difficult ask – especially if the coaching team are still unsure of exactly how to proceed as they experiment with who can best fit into each position or want to operate a squad rotation policy to keep everyone fresh or happy. I suspect the international break can’t come too soon for Woodgate as he tries to regroup and rediscover the high-energy performances that haven’t really been seen since the first blistering game-and-a-half of football.

Though what Woodgate has discovered is that it’s going to be much harder to change the risk-averse mindset of his more experienced players while also simultaneously channelling the raw enthusiasm of youth into a dynamic ball-playing team. He’s more than once declared that he has a thin squad, which most observers would agree is ill-equipped for the transition from the passive functional defeat-avoiding game-plan to the pro-active creative force that will sweep the opposition aside. The summer arrival of three low-key projects that even Sergio Leone would struggle to create an inspired box-office title from (possibly The Good value, the not Bad and the Untidy) hasn’t exactly increased competition for places. Boro are still lacking a splash of colour on the beigeness that still exists and it seems the new recruitment collective have already moved onto identifying their January Window targets.

While few will be anticipating they will be game-changers it’s been often quoted that a manager needs three transfer windows to shape their squad. However, it sounds more like a cliché adopted from the likes of Pep Guardiola, who can actively land significant targets that have the ability to impose themselves on games and add the missing ingredients. The reality for a hard-up Championship manager is that he’ll only be adding a vaguely alternative option to the mix – that’s if they can actually be persuaded to make the trek up to the frozen wilderness of Teesside in mid-winter. Many of the Boro faithful would argue that given the performance of our recruitment department, then perhaps thirty-three transfer windows rather than just the three is a more realistic period. In truth, three transfer windows will most likely see the club losing key players and needing to find adequate cheaper replacements. The three window rule is probably just another mechanism to buy time before being judged – especially as half of the managers rarely last to the fourth.

Despite the transfer window being closed for purchases, there’s still an opportunity to both ship out unwanted players and possibly sign so-called free agents. Reports emerged last week that Rudy Gestede was being targeted by Turkish champions Besiktas – plus they may even be prepared to pay money too! However, Woodgate seems determined to hold onto his third-choice striker as he has no other senior options in attack should injury beset either Assombalonga or Fletcher, who also can’t be expected to play in every Championship game – though that hardly sounds like a ringing endorsement for a player who has failed to make an impact in three years. It would surely make sense to offload one of the high-earners and possibly replace him with a free agent if his role is primarily one of cover.

Indeed, there has been much speculation of whether there are some free agents who could be added to the Boro squad – though talk of the getting the likes of former Swansea and Man City hitman Wilfried Boni may ultimately turn out to be an expensive option. City paid Swansea £28m for the striker five years ago but the 30-year old is now without a club and currently training with League Two Newport County to maintain his fitness – if only Woodgate knew someone with local connections to make a call to enquire over his availability. There are also some other famous forwards available, including Benteke (albeit Jonathan rather than Christian), Cissé (that’s Sekou not Djibril) and even Alves (thankfully Magno instead of Afonso). Still, if it’s a famous sounding name you’re after and you can’t quite afford Ronaldo then what about Reinaldo or possibly Reynaldo? Perhaps Boro should simply sign a striker for their alliterative qualities with free-agents Víctor Villa or Fernando Fernández offering a different class of names to fill the bench.

Sadly, I suspect we may need to wait until January before anyone arrives but at least Dael Fry should soon be set to return to the starting line-up after his appearance on the bench last weekend. It seems Fry has become the most important player at the club in his absence as the only credible option to bring the ball out of defence with out losing it just outside our own box. Having said that, Darren Randolph has made a late bid to become the go-to ball-playing central defender of choice after his recent exploits as a sweeper-keeper. Though despite young Dael’s obvious talent, it is perhaps stretching matters to presume he is the missing link that has so far prevented Woodgate’s philosophy from becoming reality – he will still eventually need somebody to pass the ball to if he succeeds in travelling 20 yards with the ball. Indeed, given the ambition it was an odd decision to drop Lewis Wing in favour of the less creative George Saville for Millwall’s visit – even if it was simply a reward to allow him to play against his former club. Surely, retaining the services of your playmaker and best passer of the ball should negate any sentimentality – even if his shooting has been below standard in recent weeks.

This week also gives a chance to watch some of the youngsters in the Caraboa Cup – OK, unfortunately not Boro’s following their meek exit against Crewe but Woodgate may at least spot someone to add to his January shopping list. Incidentally, Crewe were thrashed 6-1 at home by Villa’s second-string team so it may have been a convenient opportunity missed to risk more questions being asked. Instead, Boro have been given a whole week to prepare for the Saturday lunchtime trip to Bristol City before mulling over matters during the international break. Woodgate’s team is trundling along on a point a game and still flirting with the relegation zone, therefore any points brought back from Bristol would be welcome and it’s also perhaps a concern that three of the teams Boro have so far played (Luton, Brentford and Wigan) sit below them in the table.

This was never going to be an easy season for Boro and any manager appointed would require time to adjust to the new financial landscape at the club. Woodgate has started his career as a number one with a desire to play football, score goals and entertain in the process. Whether the reality of also needing points on the board will help or hinder that process is something that will become more apparent with time. The noises before the season began were that Boro could still compete for a play-off place but the summer business didn’t appear to make that look like a priority. Steve Gibson would surely not accept a struggle at the bottom end of the table if the club is carrying a similar wage bill to the one Karanka was given to win promotion.

The problems facing Woodgate and Keane are that they most likely don’t have the tools for what they are attempting to build. In the coming weeks they need to find a way to win games and avoid seeing the season quickly become one of damage limitation. I suspect their hopes that the Teesside public will be patient may be misplaced as that has been worn very thin after essentially two seasons of poor football and wasted parachute payments. Remaining positive may become increasingly harder for most Boro followers as that research mentioned previously also concluded that people were probably genetically disposed to be either optimists or pessimists – and we all know which gene is normally expressed in the DNA on Teesside!

274 thoughts on “Woodgate remaining positive as he seeks another victory”

  1. A fair appraisal by Werdermouth on Boro’s season so far and what might be in store in the future. Dare I say ‘it is what it is’. I have just posted my thoughts and memories of Bury FC,, but unfortunately on the previous discussion page if anyone’s interested.

    1. Thanks, Ken. I am also sad for Bury and Bolton.

      You did mention the Neville brothers being born at Bury. I must add that their mother worked 31 years as the club secretary in the club until recently. And their father was once a director athe club, too.

      As you, I do not have any personal connection to Bury, but feel very sad what has happened as I have been through the 1986 tragedy myself.

      Also lost my local football team here playing at the top division some ten years ago. It never recovered and we have an empty stadium to remind of that.

      So sad day for football today. At least we stiĺl have Boro. Up the Boro!

  2. Brilliant Werder. Best of the season so far for me. Your opening gag – “that will teach them” – was a good ‘un!

    Very much agree with the post in general, including the section on the returning Fry but particularly the “three windows” part. I think that particular cliché-in-waiting is missing the word “successful”. JW’s one window thus far was a qualified success I’d say.

    1. Cheers Andy, though I heard yesterday that most comedy is inspired by pessimism. Also, I guess a successful transfer window depends on what the objectives were before it started – Woodgate at one point said he was looking to bring in some experienced player – although Dijksteel was claimed to be his number one target. Selling Braithwaite was a plus but not acquiring another goal scorer seems to be a problem if Gestede is the only alternative.

  3. Tremendous writing. Werder. I smiled most wondering if anybody does know anyone having a Newport connection…..
    And as for life expectancy being related to how full you feel the glass is, well, I always thought it was chemicals and smog that shortened life expectancy by the lower reaches of the Tees…now I know otherwise!

    1. As we all secretly thought that the, young, ambitious, thrusting, full of fresh ideas on how to run a team let loose in the Championship, with lots of ideas picked up from the great teams he has played for. With a licence to cast off the battered time servers wasting the clubs reputation as they played safe (whether winning drawing or losing). Eager to pick the obvious young candidates ready willing and able to take the field and the game to the opposition. We were naturally disappointed to find that this particular young thruster in fact agreed with the dreaded Pulis that young Tav was not the answer to his problems, was happy to drop Wing (eh!!!) thought that we were all wrong about Gestede (a hidden gem yea!!!)
      We are forced to the conclusion that he was at least complicit in last seasons bewildering selections and tactics, therefore complicit in the six match losing run which ended any danger of promotion, and therefore a car crash waiting to happen.
      I do not think he will keep us waiting long.
      Sorry about the above, but that is what is unfolding before us.

      1. Tav was poor in pre-season by all accounts and failed to take the chances given to him. By general consensus, Wing has been a touch off-colour so far compared with last season (under the dreaded Pulis). Gestede? Well, we’re short of options up front – another generally accepted view.

        A lot of speculation in your post in my view. What is undeniable fact is that JW should never have sold Traore.

      1. Sorry Werder, my hear hear was meant to be a response to Len’s praise for your very funny and very appropriate article, but it somehow ended up here!

  6. Werder

    A good read, in true Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fashion, ‘If Gestede is the answer, what is the question?’

    He reminds me of a wasp, God put him on the earth but what for? I am sure he will play well in the right situation. Lets hope his international travels are a case of ‘Benin the Begin’

    Or not.

  7. Thanks Ian and hopefully Woodgate is not relying on the improbability drive of his players to improve results. btw I wonder if the former Real Madrid reserve team goalkeeper, Julio Iglesias would still fancy his chances against big Rudy?

    Incidentally, wasps serve one pretty good purpose from my perspective – they eat mosquitoes!

  8. The EFL and as an extension the premiership are totally to blame for many of the problems clubs are having. They are in fact stopping clubs trading hence not allowing them to reset their business on an ongoing basis.

    It goes back to the introduction of these stupid transfer windows, which were started in Italy and Spain to basically protect the interests of the Milans and Juventus, Madrid types etc, they would raid the regional clubs of their best players and then shut it down, Celtic have done it since.

    This has hamstrung clubs from buying and selling at the right time for them, a Bury could sell an asset to get by until the end of a season. I’m surprised this transfer window rule hasn’t been challenged in court.

  9. Werder

    Not many mosquitos in Derby even though we have a big pond – 12 foot square and five foot deep.

    Here is an interesting fact about wasps. They start being a problem in September onwards. This is because at that time they start feeding on dropped, rotting fruit and are actually drunk. A bit like a Saturday night in most towns.

    On another matter, I met up with a couple of Boro fans at Reading station after JP had gone home. At the time I did a weekly article for ComeonBoro and they asked about some of the nicknames I used. I called Julio Arca the Argentinean Land Crab. They asked where it came from, the obvious answer was that he scuttled from side to side. I did explain that it wasn’t chance, Cardisoma guanhumi is a crab that lives in coastal areas including Argentina as did Arca.

    It does not like living away from these areas which explains why Julio did better at the Riverside. Part of the problem is that f they move away from preferred environments then oxygen levels fall.

    1. Ian

      “We have a big pond – 12 foot square and five foot deep”

      That’s not a big pond, round here that’s just a typical pothole on Redcar Lane!

      1. My wife’s cousin had a large pear tree in her garden any as the pears dropped to the ground the wasps swarmed around like drunken dervishes in late summer making it almost impossible to go outside in the garden. She lives in a three storey house and the tree was as high as the house. Eventually it cost her £80 to have it removed.

  10. Werder a brilliant read thank you, taking me back to some of your earlier “laugh out loud” headliners.

    What are we going to do, or should I say, what is JW going to do to get sufficient points on the board to keep us up out of the sticky end. Looks like Mr Gibson has hidden himself away, spending his time making sure his new Country Hall is on target and up to speed, rather than his Football Team.

    I wonder what JW’s DNA shouts…….optimist or pessimist?
    May be a dose of realism may be in order.

      1. It’s that time of year again when we are in our rock pools during the warm sunny days and 👀 look up and see ….

        The eyeballs in the sky 🌌

        👀 👀 look 👀 👀

        That would be a great result for us !

        OFB

  13. I’ve just read Paul Edwards day by day report of the Headingley Test on the Yorkshire CCC website again. His description of not only the cricket but how each day began hours before the start of play, then reporting on what he viewed interspersed with past recollections of past famous feats at Headingley had me wishing that I had had the talent to be a sports journalist as a vocation. Then I re-read Werdermouth’s prologue yesterday to this week’s match at Bristol and Redcar Red’s reports of matches I’d missed during my holiday which confirmed that my boyhood dream of being a sports journalist could only have been a pipe dream. Sports journalism isn’t just a view of what is set before one on the field of play, but the embellishment of one’s opinions with wit and crypticness and the knack of keeping the reader interested in what one portrays. How I wished that I had had that talent and opportunity in my youth.

    I used to enjoy Cliff Mitchell’s reports of Boro’s matches, but he was no Neville Cardus, the doyen of sports reporters. But Werdermouth and Redcar Red are somewhere between Mitchell and Cardus, and as ‘amateurs ‘ are quite amazing, and we’re lucky to have both of them on this website as one might conceive that they could have been professional journalists. How much I enjoy their articles cannot be overstated, but I have to admit a touch of jealousy that I was unable to have the talent to be in their shoes. Keep it up lads, we all appreciate your input on this forum.

    2. Ken,
      I agree with every word you say about the wordsmiths on this blog eg RR/Werder/OFB/all our ex-pats and all the rest to many to mention. But I would put you up there with the best, your last blog about Bury was funny and sad at the same time and long may you reign.
      UTB

      1. borobrie
        Thanks for your praise, but I’m merely a historical statistician with the capacity to remember many sporting events that happened years ago. and one with a love of poetry and especially humorous verse which I’ve occasionally tried to replicate. However I fall well short of being a sports journalist or reporter, but I guess it’s each to one’s own.

        1. Ken
          We are of similar age but your memory and capacity to write as you do is remarkable, I am now looking up some of your links to humorous verse as it is something that has past me by. So thanks for that Ken.

    1. borobrie
      I always had the knack of writing verse. When I worked in Local Government and birthdays, weddings and retirements came up someone would ask me to write a few verses about them. I always started with the first 4 line verse, then the final 4 line verse before filling in the remaining 6 to 12 verses and depending on the total length it rarely took me over an hour to compile. I did a few using the names of bloggers on Diasboro and one on past Boro players, but it all started as an 18 year old about the pronunciation of Brian Clough’s name which was published in the Evening Gazette’s Sports Gazette and the only one I can still remember. I wrote it as one of my first contributions to this forum, and for anyone new to this forum I hope I’m not too self indulgent in repeating it here:-

      PRONOUNCE IT CLUFF
      When first Boro’s centre forward played,
      His name was not announced;
      Spectators knew how it was spelt,
      But not how ‘‘twas pronounced.

      “Tis easy to decide” quoth one,
      “He plays for Middlesbrough,
      And so I think if he were asked,
      He’d say his name is Clough”.

      “You could be right” his pal averred
      “I tend to think although
      He plays for finest team in all the League
      He’d say his name is Clough”.

      “That can’t be right” said one outside the ground,
      “But help me climb this bough.
      I need to get a better view
      Of the lad I know as Clough”.

      At last our hero got the ball;
      McLean had sent him through.
      His shot went straight between the posts;
      Some shouted “Great goal, Clough!”.

      The crowd began to roar like mad;
      It made some of them cough;
      Our hero’s colleagues shook his hand
      And said “A great goal, Clough!”.

      So as this rhyme comes to its end,
      I’m sure you’ve read enough.
      Perhaps you’ve guessed our hero’s name.
      It’s surely Brian Clough.

      As one can see it’s based on the different pronunciations of words ending in ‘ough’. How Jarkko and other foreigners make sense of the English language I’ll never know. Most languages have cedillas, accents and graves to help with the pronunciation of words, but English doesn’t except when copying foreign words brought into our language.

      OFB wrote rather flatteringly that I must be Boro’s Poet Laureate. Hardly that as many others such as Powmill naemore have responded in verse also. It’s no more than a knack I’ve always had, but hardly a talent. I do despair though when buying Christmas and Birthday cards at the lack of verse in some of them, and tend to write my own verses for special friends.

      2. Yes, Ken you are right about pronauncing. It becom3s easien the older i get and more experienced.

        My favourite is Gill and Gillingham. Where is the logic?

        PS. How do you pronaunce the last name of the young Boro left back, Patrick Reading? Like the team in championship or like in “reading a book”. I think you understand what I mean.

        Up the Boro!

      3. More of a knack you have precisely because you have talent I would say Ken.
        I enjoyed that read as much today as when you first shared it with us.

      4. Jarrko

        I would guess “Reading” as in the Football Club rather than the Book. Until he makes it in the first 11 consistently we probably won’t truly know. That said, I still hear a few variations on “Tavernier” from an emphasis on the French sounding ending of the name to an emphasis on the English Pub beginning of his surname, and even a hybrid blending of both.

  15. Thanks Werder for another very amusing preview. “The Good value, the not Bad and the Untidy” made me laugh and that is something hard to do when thinking of the 6 Boro matches so far. I didn’t go to the Millwall game and listening to Radio Tees and reading RR’s report confirmed that I made the right decision. (A few days earlier I was wondering if I should change my mind and checked the hotel prices but £126 room only was never going to be worth it.)
    I am finding it hard to keep to the 10 games rule before judging Woodgate but as my pre-season hope was only that we would avoid a relegation battle I can’t downgrade it much other than to hope we can avoid relegation. It does however seem to be a mistake that we have such an an inexperienced coaching team when the club’s finances have limited the players we could bring in but they all volunteered for their jobs. While the FFP rules may have restricted the club’s finances I don’t think we could have gone on indefinitely relying on SG to put millions into it. We seem to have lost several thousand supporters from our home games which will further impede the financial situation.

    1. What’s more Jarkko we even have words that are pronounced the same although spelt the same, such as to (towards), too (also) and two (the number). There are also surnames such as Mainwairing (pronounced Mannering) and the best of all Cholmondeley (pronounced Chumley). Colloquial accents also cause pronunciation problems such as Chop Gate in Bilsdale pronounced Shop Yat, and even weirder pronunciations of many Durham villages.

  16. Thanks David – the club’s financial situation is in many ways something they have created with their decisions over how they spent their money. I’m all in favour of FFP as as we’ve seen with Bolton and Bury, those making those decisions can’t always be relied on to act in their club’s interest. Steve Gibson may not have always spent the club’s income wisely but he at least takes personal responsibility for the consequences. The current market has been inflated by others creating loopholes and it may be difficult for Boro to compete if the Football League allow this to continue. In regard to attendance, this is the downside of supporters not believing the club are moving forward and are not going to be competing for promotion – transition doesn’t put bums on seats if expectations are also lowered in the meantime.

  17. Attendances are irrelevant in the Premiership and Clubs can afford to be dismissive of their fanbase sadly. For the EFL Clubs attendance is an important stream of income and attracting fans is one way to help with keeping things afloat. Blind Faith works for a minority but not for all. The sceptics, waverers and newbies all need to be enticed and entrapped to keep the cash coming in. At a guess we look to be about four thousand souls down from last season and it will either improve or dip further depending on what happens out on the pitch.

    With a Season Card the cost was around £18.25 a game with a free drink but the cheapest walk up price is £31 (£30 plus a £1 booking fee). For those who can afford it its not a deal breaker but that can be viewed as either a massive reason to get a Season Card or a massive reason for not going depending on perspective. If we were a Fulham or Chelsea then that chasm in pricing probably wouldn’t impact on many but this is Teesside, the capital of drugs, desperation, unemployment, food banks and destitute souls struggling to put money in their leccy meters.

    With that backdrop to the clubs catchment area attendances will drop probably more quickly than in other areas of the UK if the experience is a painful one. Fans want to be victorious, they want to see their side win even if it is by a spawny 95th minute OG to sicken the away fans. Poor results but great “entertainment” will drive fans away at those prices as much as Pulisball. As in life, it is all about balance.

      1. 5,000, I hadn’t realised that their attendances had dropped to that level. Very dark days in Bury but hopefully at least Bolton will come through it. It may be more viable and cost effective for them to relocate to Gigg Lane with that level of crowd as its only ten miles away and may even unite the fan base.

  18. Werder,

    Excellent review but positive thinking? Live longer? That would mean I/we having to put up with another twenty years of purgatory. They’re ‘avin’ a laff.

    Anyway, putting cynicism to one side this is a big test of Boro’s ambition and how Mr Woodgate wants them to play. If they share the points with Bristol City I’d be delighted. I don’t see it happening.

    As for the English Football League they seem to be more amateur than some of the club’s management, I think I heard someone say they weren’t fit for purpose.

    Brilliant review though, I don’t know how you and ace Reporter Redcar Red do it.

    UTB,

    John

    1. Many thanks John, though the existential question should be whether soulless football would necessarily need purgatory – I suspect much will depend on the purity of the philosophy and if it was divine or not. Still, the devil is in the detail…

  19. Redcar Red

    Catchment is an important issue, in the case of Lancashire they seem to have a lot of clubs clustered together north of the M62 corridor.

    I am sure Clive will put me right but those that spring to mind are Burnley, Blackburn Bolton, Bury, Wigan, Rochdale, Oldham, Accrington then a touch north Preston, Blackpool plus Fleetwood.

    Through in the large number of conference clubs then it is a battle to put bums on seats. The support will be very localised and the lure of the big teams down the road will be strong

    I always thought that whilst Darlo and Pools didn’t like each other but were Boro supporters. I dont think that is true, you can see it here in the East Midlands. people in Burton were Derby fans but also took an interest in the local team. Now there are generations who are Burton fans who dislike Derby

    2. Redcar Red
      Can one now add Salford to that group despite being part of Greater Manchester? Not to mention Morecambe and former Lancastrian league clubs such as Stockport and Southport.

  20. Ken

    I left Morecombe out because they are some distance away from the rest of Lancashire and to the north of Lancaster but a fair shout on them and the others.

    When you consider that the Tees Valley area including Darlo and Pools has probably around 450,000 people and supports Boro, Pools and Darlo it shows the problems for the Lancashire clubs to attract supports.

    We have leakage up to Toon and the Mackems plus some Dirties but there are so many clubs in the Lancashire area each sub area will support their local team or one the big boys down the M62 corridor.

  21. Ken, Ian

    You are both right as regards the Lancashire clubs. Morecambe get very small crowds anyway, and like Blackpool and Fleetwood (and Southport), is somewhat out on a limb geographically. But for those clubs in the more central belt, one of their biggest problems is having the 2 Manchester and the 2 Liverpool ‘giants’ all within easy driving distance. Bolton is just 15 miles from Manchester, for instance, and Bury and Oldham are closer still. Wigan is just 20 miles from Liverpool. They all do well to attract the crowds they do get.

    Having said that, Stockport County, languishing outside the EFL, but on the rise again now are getting sizeable crowds, despite being within a short bus or tram ride from both the Etihad and the Theatre of Screams.

    By the way, Werder, I posted a ‘hear hear’ above in response to Len’s praise of your very funny article. However, it attached itself to something entirely different, which rendered it meaningless!

    1. Clive

      Morecambe used to be a well run club under the Chairmanship of the Late Jim (Bullseye) Bowen who was a well known Comedian and game show host on Television.

      My younger sons friend, was a professional footballer nearing the end of his career and played for them for a few seasons. He and a team mate who both lived on Teesside, used to train with one of the local senior teams at home through the week then travel through to Morecambe for the game.

      The fans often don’t think of the workings of a club and how difficult it is to run a club if your players don’t train with their coaches or play with their team mates until match day. That unfortunately is how a lot of clubs operate with limited resources and money.

      OFB

  22. Rugby League club Salford Red Devils last night showed the solidarity of Lancashire friendship by offering free admission to season ticket holders of both Bury FC and Bolton Wanderers and will offer the same concession in their final home match against Hull Kingston Rovers. It would be nice if the two Manchester and Merseyside football giants made the same jesture for one of their next home matches or is that too impractical?

  23. Talk of attendances brings back Lambs club they can afford.

    At the time we regularly finished around 13th with the 13th highest attendance and 13th highest prize money. We didn’t get relegated because of lack of money but through mis management.

    That is what led to us returning to the Championship.

    1. Sad but true.

      You could argue that the mismanagement started some time before THAT summer though, with the permission McLaren was given to bulk his squad with highly paid 30-somethings on long contracts, for which we would recover nothing. The mismanaged downsizing was a reaction to the mismanaged upscaling if you like.

      “History repeating itself”, I hear the masses cry. Well, what’s left of the masses anyway.

  24. Andy R

    Schteve’s team didn’t like Tuesday nights in February at Blackburn – other wet and cold venues are available.

    The Gate experiment was meant to be Arsenal Lite with young, pacey players from the Academy.

    Instead, in came Dong Gook, Alves, Midough, Marlon King, Jason Euell, Shawky, Marcus Bent – I will stop there as it is becoming painful.

  25. Difficult to feel anything but pessimistic regarding the game tomorrow. We’re a long way short of where we want to be whilst Bristol City look a side still on a gradual upwards trajectory, winning their last three games.

    There’s always the hope that playing a more attacking side like Bristol City – especially at their ground where the onus is on them – will suit us as it arguably did against Luton, or that Bristol City will underestimate us given our start, or simply that this is the Championship and unexpected results are commonplace. However, in all honesty, those are flimsy reasons to be hopeful.

    I’d rather not predict a score. Gulp.

    1. I think one of two things will happen. We will either pull off a shock that nobody saw coming or get well and truly thumped. Its a very strange feeling having one of indifferent resignation to whatever happens and its still only August.

  26. I haven’t posted much the past few weeks as I’m still recovering from my recent holiday to James Cook, that tropical Island on Marton Road that provides assistance succour and recovery to all.

    The plight of Bury and Bolton Football Clubs show that all is not well in football and this was brought home to me today when I helped a professional football coach to write his cv for a new prospective job.

    I’m not going to name him, or the team he coaches as an assistant, but he has been there for quite a few years and football is a very precarious industry to work in at the moment,

    Lots of clubs are downsizing their coaching, physio and administrative staff and gates are dwindling, which is directly in no small part, to the Sky Red Button service.

    All of these coaches and other staff are working in football because they love the game and most are not particularly well paid.

    Us, as spectators tend to think of all those involved in the game as mega rich, but that is definitely not the case and I think time has come for the football authorities to ensure that the spread of money filters down through the leagues. This is so that all clubs can share in the development of football, before we are reduced to a one league monopoly where our own home team is not represented.

    OFB

    1. OFB,

      A really good post, thank you. I still think that what ails football spreads its tentacles from the very top as those ‘managers’ of the game through around the money trough. From World Cups and all of the ‘Blatteritis’ that goes with that circus, through EUEFA to the Premiership they are all improving the game worse. The people, not fans, who run football could solve or start solving the problem but they don’t care.

      Ah poor old Bury said the EFL in private, brief token period of hand wringing and forgotten about. I remember one chairman of a Lancashire club saying a few years ago the one week of Wayne Rooney’s salary would keep his club up and running for a year. That is ridiculous and obscene, I think the club was Morecambe but I can’t quite remember, it must be an age thing.

      The fact that the EFL allows ‘ground selling’ is quite unbeliveable, I think Don Henley in one of his song lyrics said something along the lines of ‘a man with a briefcase can steal more than a man with a gun’.

      The North and South divisions will return to help some but those small clubs at the far opposite ends of the country will still suffer.

      Sorry bloggers, mini-rant over. Now will Boro get any points today?

      Eyes in the sky. If we’re lucky.

      UTB,

      John

  27. OFB

    We hope you are soon fully recovered.

    A good post reminding us how fragile the current EFL set up is and the impact the lack of profitability within the game has on so many lives.

    Best of luck to your friend the coach and fingers crossed that he finds a new position soon. 😎

  28. I can actually see more football clubs going to the wall in the not too distant future. We may well find some clubs in the lower leagues going part time semi-professional, who knows. Would regional leagues broken down to North, Midlands and the South of say 20 clubs in each league help with a reduction in travelling and hotel expenses?
    On the bright side the Carabao Cup draw has thrown up some interesting ties for some of the minnows – Rochdale at Old Trafford, Grimsby or Macclesfield at Chelsea, the possibility of Oxford United and Colchester forfeiting ground advantage to play at West Ham and Spurs respectively where the two London clubs usually still almost produce capacity crowds for cup ties. Now that there are no replays, that might be a short term consideration for those two clubs especially Macclesfield.

  29. I think it was Jose Mourinho who put forward the idea of seeding in the league cup so that Premiership teams couldn’t be drawn together, that would give lower league clubs a better chance of landing a plum home tie.

      1. I would prefer that it is a normal draw but with the option to switch the game to a PL ground if that is more financially beneficial to a lower league club.

        If you don’t look after the roots then even the upper branches eventually wither and die.

        Sadly the likes of Bury and Bolton are, in my opinion, just the tip of an iceberg and I believe we are so close to the tipping point. I can see the resurrection of the old North & South leagues being not so far away.

        A sad indictment on those in charge who have overseen the current state of affairs whilst personally continuing to gorge themselves. 😎

        1. I would say the problems of Bury and Bolton were simply down to financial mismanagement by their owners – The former owner of Bury, Stewart Day, took out huge loans that were secured against their Gigg Lane stadium, which had an incredible annual interest rate of 138 percent. The deal was via a company based in Crosby called Capital Bridging Finance Solutions, which was then owed £3.7m. Capital then mortgaged Gigg Lane to a company based in Malta whose own lenders were eight companies registered in the tax haven of the British Virgin Islands. A Guardian investigation discovered that 40% of the actually money borrowed never even came to Bury but was paid as “introduction fees” to unnamed third parties.

          Stewart Day also signed players Bury could not afford by lending money from his property companies and then converting those millions into shares. But his company went into insolvency owing millions so he had no more money for Bury and the club’s wage bill was unsustainable by a huge amount. Then when Bury was sold for a £1 to Steve Dale, it was done without the Football League establishing whether he actually had the funds to meet the club’s ongoing financial commitments – clearly he didn’t and we’ve seen what has happened as a result with Bury having debts of £8m with no means of paying for them.

          Basically that’s what happens when either a club or a business (which clubs are essentially now) is financially mismanaged. In Bury’s case nobody was either prepared to hand over millions to people to had clearly been involved in exploiting the club or were prepared to throw away a lot of money to get the club back on track. I suspect if more money filtered down from the PL then the debts in such cases would just be bigger rather than avoided.

  30. OK, today is going to be hectic one with another crazy schedule to fit in starting with the Saturday shop and a bit of woodwork before a break for the Saturday game to watch a bit of Woodgate’s work. Straight after that it’s down to the lake I fear to make use of the last hot day of the heatwave (still over 30C) and then on to a BBQ party to celebrate Mrs Werder’s stepmother’s birthday (can you have a stepmother-in-law?).

    Anyway, not sure what to expect from today’s game – will Boro repeat the entertainment of their last TV game? Hopefully, most of the entertainment won’t be from Bristol as they continue their good form. Sounds like Woodgate doesn’t want to risk Fry or Friend before the international break, so we may see more or less an unchanged team with perhaps Johnson preferred over Browne.

    The Boro head coach is looking for team to perform in both halves rather than just one – though I’m still wondering which one he he had in mind after recent games. Boro will need a massive improvement on those if they are to get anything from this game but who knows if a week off will have recharged their batteries – they can afford to leave everything on the pitch with the international break coming up so I’m hopeful we’ll see energy.

    In the spirit of positive thinking, I’ll go for 2-2 with goals for Fletcher and McNair.

  31. We have my daughter and a friend here today. The intention is they will somehow get to Birmingham airport tomorrow to fly off for a Prosecco week.

    I will try to get to see the football but will certainly record it. I dont have high hopes of a result but points from unexpected sources are most welcome.

    1. Wasn’t sure about that reference so just Googled ‘Bristol Stool Chart’ and rather expectedly it’s nothing to to do with maritime seating arrangements! Anyway, it seems there are seven categories involved, which may or may not be a reference to the seven shades that are sometimes threatened to be beaten out of people…

  33. No matter how often we discuss the Manager/ coach,, his ideas, his abilities, his control over his players, moral, confidence, courage, drive, determination.
    Still, it comes back to the manager, get it wrong and the roof falls in, get it right, and all is sunshine and light.
    We can speak about “early days” until the cows come home, but it remains a truism that instant action is shown on a weekly basis to be the only reasonable action to take when there is any doubt whatsoever about the man in charge.
    All, repeat, all, the pleasant and reasonable bloggers on here, have got the number of this set up, as witness their complete lack of hope when facing any team away from home.
    This is a clear indication that, “there is something rotten in the state of Boro”, to misquote the bard.
    Las season there were several complete breakdowns of moral and behaviour away from home (the cuptie away to no hopers on a dreadful pitch and a dreadful night)
    No whitewash could hide the malaise at the heart of the club, the open defiance of the players when challenged about their sickening performance, the casual dismissal by the coaching staff, of their abject failure as professionals.
    We are now suffering the same errors repeated. Wing safely removed from the team, and as an added insult, blamed for not scoring more wonder goals (from our own half of course) Tav stopped in his tracks, by exclusion from the field of play.
    (I think someone said he is not playing well) when would that be?
    A price put on Fry by some idiot, ( that should help his sale go with a swing).
    The wonder that is Gestede getting on the field regularly so he will be ready to resume his career at the season end (since you ask, for Seaton Sluice, reserves of course)
    I think it might be time to act.

    1. I’d have to disagree again, Plato.

      The most successful manager in British football history, Alex Ferguson – needed time to get things right and he had serious resources, one or two excellent players already in his group and the ability to add players from June to March each year. More recently, Farke needed 14 months or so before he got Norwich going.

      That’s not at all to say that If we stick with JW we are guaranteed anything but we simply won’t know unless we give it a go. With a magnitude of the change it will surely take a minimum of 18 months.

  34. Ian, I record everything nowadays as I’m always nodding off in front of the tv, but rarely get over 5 hours sleep in bed. Last night’s Super League match took almost 3 hours to watch in the Smith household, finishing just short of midnight. Maybe I’m leaning on the grape too much. Had to replenish my wine rack this week with another 30 bottles as was down to my last couple of bottles. Got some quizzical looks in Aldi, with some folks asking if they could come to my party. I’m hopeful that that lot will see me through to Easter though,

  35. Team news is a big surprise. Fry and Dijksteel in. No Ayala or Friend even on the bench. Very attacking bench. What happens if Fry or Shotton are injured. Is it a triumph for the new attacking style or foolhardy bravado. Let’s hope that our future success starts here.

    Everything crossed. No idea as to the result.

    UTB

  37. Unless they’re all injured, I’m surprised that Wood or Stubbs haven’t made the bench. Everything crossed that Fry and his defensive mates get through the game.

  44. Andy, as good as we have been good at times going forward, however with the final ball being not quite good enough, we have been very open and poor at the back.

    Fry has not improved the defence over Ayala and was at fault not picking up Palmer. The two full backs are inexperienced at this level and it shows, certainly without sufficient support from Johnson and Fletcher.

    Wing is once again playing too deep and Saville on the bench is not going to add anything if he comes on. I feel for Woodgate.

  48. Well, a very predictable 2-2 draw 😉 Boro played well in parts but it’s still defending from crosses that is killing us. Still 22 attempts on goal versus 18 from Bristol lead to an entertaining game.

  49. A very good performance. Not bad for a bunch not set up to play 4-3-3 eh. Or against one of the better teams where apparently we would get hammered.

    If we can just sort out our defending, particularly on crosses / set pieces we will be looking good. Not entirely surprising we are struggling at the back considering the new signings and the shuffling around. A bit of consistency there will help.

    Thought Britt played very well, not his biggest fan at times but he put himself about well and was a good finish for the goal.

    1. Boro Phil
      Britt never looks 100 per cent determined, but this time he went for the far bottom corner and it worked, please keep that thought in your mind Britt.

  50. BoroPhil, I thought that was one of Britt best around games for sometime. Playing in a forward going system suits his style far more than the system under TP.

    However, as good a performance and entertaining to boot as it was, (so credit to JW there), defensively we where all over the place at the back. Fry was at fault for the first and although the commentary picked him at fault for the second, Shotton has to take some of the blame also.

    I thought the two full backs had good games going forward, especially Bola. But dear oh dear, the tracking back to protect them was at times non existent. Ayala or Friend are not going to improve that area when all CB’s are available so we will continue to leak goals playing as we are.

    Our most influential player for me is still Wing, yet playing as deep as he does at times, deeper than Clayton and picking up the bookings instead of him, robs us of even more creativity in the opponents half.

    But with so small a squad, JW has very limited choices. So how does he improve the defensive side to reconcile the situation brought about by his (welcome) but more open formation.

    All in all against the odds a good point, and playing to win right up to the end today,

  51. I would have taken a point at 12.30 so I will settle for that.

    Britt was not offside just in a different Parish!

    One for OFB. Is my it memory or in the past if the ball was played forward and it came off the defender he played you onside.

    There was some discussion on the box about whether he only became active once the ball came off the defender.

    Some positives out of the game.

    1. Ian

      In my day he would have been offside as soon as the ball was played forward

      Now they have the option of the player only being offside when he becomes active when running for the ball or playing it

      The fact that he was played on by another player is really irrelevant these day and in my opinion was off side

      But hey we’ve had so many decisions go against us it’s about time we got one !

      OFB

  52. I think one of the problems we have with this system is that the ‘wingers’ in the front 3 are tracking back to help out the full-backs. I’m not sure that is Johnson or particulary Fletcher’s strength.

  53. As Ian says, a good point away from home against a team who should be in or around the top six come the end of the season.

    A positive display going forward but not a very good all round team display as we conceded two very poor goals.

    If we can sort the defence out and build on this then we should at least be safe but need to start winning.

    BA look more of a threat than in the last couple of games and PM is getting better each game and was MOTM for me. 😎

  54. Been going through tough times of late, so wanted to apologise for my absence.

    Started work, in my spare time, on an alternative history of Middlesbrough managers, inspired mainly by the writings of John Waters, TSF and Michael Cox.

  55. One thing to bear in mind, the front six looks fairly settles but the defence isn’t .

    Whatever managers do with rotation it tends not to be the back 5, we have had injuries to contend with as well as trying to get the best mix.

    In my view, if JW keeps the same group together over a few matches we will tighten up.

    58% possession, 22 shots to 18, 10 corners to 6, away from home at a top 6 side is progress.

  56. From Dalyan, in Turkey.
    Thanks everyone for keeping me up to date. Didn’t see the the game but reading erratic reporting from the Gazette guys.
    My friend Ayala badly missed.
    Still a point that nobody thought we would get.

  57. Didn’t see the game, but as Ian says, I’d have taken a point beforehand.

    It sounds as if it was a decent and improved performance, perhaps with more positives than negatives. Am moving forward with cautious optimism.

  58. Not sure what result to expect today but pleasantly surprised at the attacking attitude of both teams . Both teams gave it a go and it could easily been 5-5..
    From a critical point of view perhaps JW should change tactics when leading with a few minutes to go in order to see the game out.
    All in all happy with a point and scoring two goals away from home.
    At least better than some of my friends here who are Huddersfield supporters whose team has forgotten how to win.
    Philip

  59. After a 3-3 spectacular in front of the cameras at Luton, could Boro deliver their usual TV entertainment in the lunchtime kick-off at Ashton Gate? It seems Woodgate is determined to entice the armchair supporters away from the red button and back to the Riverside. Though did the game push Redcar Red’s buttons? Here’s the view from hopefully not behind the sofa with his match report…

    https://diasboro.club/2019/08/31/bristol-city-2-2-boro/

  60. Thanks RR.

    A spot-on summary which was very much how I saw it. It was one of those games when supporters of both sides could find reasons why they should have won which probably makes a draw a reasonable outcome. For me, the most positive aspect was that for quite a lot of the game Bristol seemed to be the counter-attacking side with Boro setting the pattern. The big difference is that, even though the results aren’t there yet, this side does like as if they will score goals. The disappointment from this game was conceding two goals to absolutely free headers and Fry must take a chunk of the blame. Maybe a bit of match sharpness will help.

    Bola looks as if he could be a very good acquisition and Dijksteel also had a better game and got forward much more. I thought that Britt had by far his best game of the season, Shotton again proved that he is a very good defender and the team as a whole looked more comfortable. However, the thinness of the squad was emphasised when it came to substitutions. It was hard to pick someone to go and someone who, by coming on, would make a difference. I expected Browne to be given a go for 15-20 minutes but Saville was probably picked for his experience. He didn’t do much good or bad but maybe helped JW change the shape a bit.

    Anyway, a much more positive performance and I’m nit sure that I’d change the team even with everyone fit. Dijksteel/Howson is the main question mark.

    UTB

  61. Lots of positives, but still the fundamental flaws with the full backs. I don’t recall one attempt at a cross being blocked. Having three CB’s might well have prevented both of Bristol’s goals as the headers were from a central position. I think JW earned himself some breathing space today.

    One major positive was I think there was a lot more team spirit today and they refused to be out-muscled by the opposition.

    2. Yes, I agree that the goals conceded were very similar. Dijksteel totally forgot his man and the City winger had all the time in the world to center the bal for the second.

      Still the result was good against a top side away. During the Pulis era we did not see 22 shots and 6 on target. So much nicer to watch now.

      Three unbeaten and a home match next. I hope we see a win next as we need to start collecting more points.

      Up the Boro!

    3. Both goals were conceded in the area where a third CB would have been a useful addition. Woodgate also said he pushed Bola further up into the midfield area in the second half, to me that should have meant a back three with Dijksteel, Fry and Shotton or with Clayts dropping in between the two CB’s. I agreed with Woodgate’s logic but the execution of who was then alongside Shotton and Fry wasn’t totally clear. After yesterday convinced more than ever that four at the back is not the best set up with this squad.

  62. Redcar Red,

    A cheerful report, more optimistic anyway, and if the display was a bit of a ‘curates egg’ it was still a draw away at a team expected to be in the top six all season. The big question is will the International Break remove any momentum that Boro are building? Get that defence sorted and Boro may start to scare a few people.

    UTB,

    John

  63. A very good report and fair summary of the match thank you RR.

    The question now is, is this a one off or can we build on it. The game against Reading will tell us a lot. 😎

  64. Thanks again to Redcar Red for his report which puts the drivel spouted by the Gazette reporters to shame. All the blow by blow reporting has become hard to follow with even Anthony Vickers interjections an embarrassment and reminiscent of comics I used to read as a child. Really surprising from someone who used to be a respected reporter.
    The Hartlepool Mail blow by blow account of matches though brief, at least doesn’t report the match as if we are all children, but Redcar Red’s reports are on a different level and a real insight to what really happened, and especially for those who are unable to see or listen to the match.

    Now I’ve got that off my chest I must say that it was a very entertaining match, reminiscent of the 1960s where Boro scored plenty of goals but conceded plenty also. But things are slightly different now in that even the better sides in the Championship tend to lose more home matches, and the average teams win more away matches than in those years. This season already has seen Fulham and Leeds, the two clubs favourite for promotion this season, already lose at home and that is probably because away teams now defend better and able to soak up pressure then catch their opponents on the break.

    However watching yesterday’s match one probably wouldn’t be able to tell which was the home team and which was the away team. Both Boro and Bristol were more effective away from home last season than at home. That is not to say that they gained more points away than at home, but in the 1960s only the very top teams won more away games than they lost. Nowadays in my opinion talking of an away point being a good point is only backed up if a team has an outstanding home record as Boro did under Karanka in the Championship. Yesterday both teams defences were pretty poor, and as Neil Maddison mentioned, was due to zonal marking. Having been an outstanding defender himself, Jonathan Woodgate recognises that so to be effective will probably have to resort to playing three centre backs at some time in the future.

    As I mentioned earlier television has become soporific to me in my old age, and in a lull in the match early in the second half (before I had started on the wine, I might add) I started to lose concentration and suddenly wondered how Boro’s equaliser occurred. Then a few minutes later I must have temporarily dozed off awoken by the commentator says that Assombalonga was through on goal awakening just to see the ball enter the net. Now that slight aberration is no reflection on Boro’s performance which on the whole was excellent. So I can really sympathise with those who have been watching Boro under Pulis; I would have been comatose.

    Can’t sleep much in bed so I’m so tired most of the time. Is it all the drugs I’m taking, or just Anno Domini? But I should be thankful that I’m still living in my own home. The thought of living in an Old People’s home I don’t wish to contemplate, as in my more wide-awake moments I can still follow Boro and Cas. My knack is talking to my late wife as if she was still alive, knowing full well that I’m actually talking to myself. It seems to be the only way to stay awake, or alternatively writing blogs on Diasboro. It would appear that television is a sure way to cure insomnia whether Boro are playing or not, and that is why I record everything I wish to see so that I can rewind to the bits I’ve missed.

    Did yesterday’s match not really finish at 3pm? Just asking, like.

  65. RR

    Didn’t manage to see the game yesterday but listened to it on the radio

    Thanks for the report it filled in a lot of gaps for me and I’m pleased that McNair is showing consistency and mom performances now he’s being played in his rightful position

    Young Fry guilty for both goals unfortunately but understandable as he’s bound to be ring rusty

    Woodgate comments after the match much better than Pulis “ deserved a win – great performance- we’ll learn from mistakes – Dael kept nodding every ball in the box a class player.”

    Thanks Again

    OFB

  66. Great alternative report Redcar Red, putting some extra flesh on the bones of other flimsy reports.

    I am sure the overall result will give the squad added confidence, but can we take it into the match against Reading, when we really do need to win, Get some more points, especially at home and increase the confidence levels.

    It is a pity that JW is limited as to his team selections.

  68. What has happened to Ben Gibson? Not even on the bench yesterday for Burnley. Is he injured or on loan elsewhere?Seems a shame of a career going downhill.

    1. Ken

      He played in the mid week cup side who were beaten by Sunderland. Unfortunately his career has not really moved forward albeit injury played its part last season. 😎

  70. I think we can all be a bit guilty sometimes in slagging off players, without knowing all of the relevant happenings in a players life.

    I don’t know how Assombalonga ‘s wife’s pregnancy has been, it may well have been difficult for all we know. It would be perfectly understandable if his concentration may have been elsewhere at times, but following the birth of his child this week he looked a player transformed yesterday and was excellent in all departments. Food for possible thoughts in future perhaps?

  71. That’s better, a good result, we must stop allowing the opposition to grab a point after we go ahead with the end in sight, especially with an easy header front and centre of goal.
    Noted a golden opportunity with Wing front and centre of the box, and the man in possession opting to shoot, not just selfish but foolish in the extreme.
    Man City with the same situation (same result) an almighty row, public naming of the idiot who clearly failed in his duty, and would no doubt do so again,
    I think there is a lesson there for our manager, feelings must be hurt, the facts of football life must be spelled out. Or we will continue to promise but fail to deliver.

  72. I see that Lewis wing is being blamed for our problems at fullback, stop it, he should be more forward than he is, he is a sure source of goals if allowed near the box, and I do not mean wonder goals, I mean perfectly normal goals scored by entering the box with the ball at feet.
    Wonder goals are like treats for the fans, they happen when they happen, but we are wasting Wings ability if we spend our time waiting for fantasy goals

  73. Truthfully there seems to have been a “United effect” for Boro players going on for a while. Take a player, get some quality time or maybe his best years out of him, and sell him on for a good price.

    We got one good half season out of Reach, ditto Forshaw. Nice profits on both.

    Albert? Some good years and a profit. Ben Gibson? Ditto. Patrick Bamford? Two really good half seasons, one on loan, and a profit. Adama? Flashes of brilliance and a good half season. Big profit. Even Jordan Rhodes… promotion winning goals, profit.

    If you’re in a promotion team that almost guarantees you a good move. It is ruthlessly unsentimental but it is the nature of the beast.

  74. Thanks RR for a good read and Werder for the link (even though Boro didn’t win). I enjoyed the match and didn’t need to open my bottle of wine. Britt looked as offside as Fletcher was onside for the disallowed goal against Brentford so I am pleased to accept the good luck this time. Britt took his chance well.
    This time both goals conceded were from free central headers so maybe the problem is that we allow too many crosses though I used to think that happened during both TP’s and AK’s time. It may just be that we are going to be more open defensively down the wings but have more attacking chances. I agree with other comments that we need to get Wing further upfield both for his passing and shooting.

  76. Its only early yet in the Woodgate /Keane tennier but there are some positive signs going forward and that is the improved play of several players,
    Assombolongo, Fletcher, Johnson McNair,
    I can see Bola and Dyksteel with games getting better
    This may not result in winning enough games this season but more astute signings good coaching a functioning squad and there is some hope, the club finally after years of this that and the other has a plan?

  77. Plato, I have missed Wing being blamed for the faults with the defence. Who was laying the blame, Mr Woodgate?

    He is not a defender although he does put a tackle in. To his detriment playing deep he now has three bookings, tackles that Clayton should be making and the booking if a mistake is made.

    When Wing moved forward in the second half, Boro moved up a gear and pressed harder. He is wasted playing his current role.

    GHW…..I wonder if Saville has issues. London lad I believe with a London partner. I remember him saying in an interview the changes to his life and his partner having to adjust and find work.

  79. As promising as some aspects of the game on Saturday were, we should not get too carried away.

    There is a need for the squad to display consistency and a winning mentality. We are now three games unbeaten which is pleasing but we need to build upon it and turn draws into wins and show as well as scoring we can keep clean sheets.

    Once we sees these aspects as a norm rather than occasionally will I believe we have turned a corner and can start looking upwards rather than at what is below us. 😎

  80. Agree with that, KP. From the six leagues games so far we’ve perhaps had two and a half decent performances with some rubbish in and around it.

    Consistency is always the buzz word, especially in the Championship, and it won’t be easy with a younger squad and a new way of playing but there were some positive signs to take us through the International break.

    We won’t have too many with their national teams so there’s an opportunity to work on things. One of the tactical factors for JW to consider is how does he shore up that left hand side with Fletcher playing as a proxy striker drifting in and Wing being more attack minded on the left of the midfield three? Bola has some promise I think but he is exposed with the way we’re setting up.

    It does lend itself to a back three, Johnson maybe being the unlucky one given his solid start to the season, though I know others would leave Clayton out.

    Either way, a good performance and result against Reading and we can start to feel like progress is being made.

    1. I didn’t mention it in my report but I thought Clayton had probably his best game for a few seasons on Saturday. Cutting his hair off has had the opposite Biblical effect on him thankfully. As Ian I think said several posts up the front six or so are looking settled with probably just injuries, suspensions or loss of form disrupting them and allowing Browne or Tav etc. to grab their chance.

  81. Here in Derby they are rationalising their performances to the loss of the quality players on loan. .

    The manager has taken some flack about losing to Forest turning out a much weakened side. It is bad enough bowing out of a cup competition but doings it against bitter local rivals is a serious own goal.

  83. Having written what might well be an obituary of Bury FC today I’m doing the same not for a Football Club but for a Sports Stadium at Odsal which actually has a tenuous link with Teesside as you will see later. Bradford Bulls yesterday played there final Rugby League match there before a crowd of 7,531 far removed from the 24,020 who witnessed the highest Super League record that watched their local derby against Leeds in 1999. It has been Bradford’s home for 85 years.

    The last time I visited Odsal Stadium was for the Rugby League Championship Final when Leeds beat Castleford 16-14 a week after Cas had won their first Challenge Cup Final since the War. There were nearly 30,000 there in those pre-Super League days with an atmosphere much more raucous than I had experienced at Wembley, though I’ve never seen Cas win there in my 4 visits to Odsal.

    It was the biggest stadium in England where once in 1954 a crowd of 102,569 watched a Rugby Challenge Cup Final replay between Warrington and Halifax, which is still the highest attendance for a rugby match of either code in the Northern Hemisphere. It also held the record for a Speedway International of 47,050 in 1947 being the home of Bradford Dukes for whom Eaglescliffe born Gary Havelock rode for after starting his career as a 16 year old with Middlesbrough Bears. Gary of course because World Champion in 1992.

    The stadium is a bowl where one walks down to the pitch which is the reason for its unique atmosphere and is now partly owned by the Rugby League on lease from Bradford City Council and in serious need of repair. Will it ever be restored or is this its obituary?

    As for Bradford Bulls (formerly Northern) and their move out of the city to Dewsbury it’s a great shame. It’s almost like Arsenal moving to Brentford. Apparently Horsfall Stadium the home of Bradford Park Avenue FC is too small, and sharing with Bradford City at Valley Parade too costly for the Bulls. I really hope that I won’t be writing an obituary on Bradford Bulls in my lifetime not only for the sake of the people of Bradford, but for the sake of Rugby League also.

    1. I don’t know if you saw my post a week or so ago Ken alerting you to this. I am vary sad about this s as Bradford Northern were my introduction to Rugby League away back in the late 70s and have remained my (RL) team ever since, despite the silly Bulls rebranding that all the top teams went through.

      I attended quite a few matches there in my younger days, but it was always the matches against Leeds that meant the most.

      I had the pleasure to watch some of the game’s greats in a Northern shirt at Odsal, including Dave Redfearn, Jeff Grayshon and Ellery Hanley among others.

      Living in the West Riding at the time I also used to go along and watch Bradford City who played at Odsal for a period after the fire at Valley Parade.

      I understand that Bradford hope to develop a new, but much smaller, stadium back in the city. They have checked into the Tetley’s Stadium to stay with Dewsbury for up to two seasons. I do hope they will realise the plan to move back into Bradford, but it is sad it will not be in their spiritual home.

      1. Powmill-naemore
        Yes, I’ve just found your post, thank you.

        As an addendum I was a big fan of Middlesbrough Bears Speedway Club in the 1970s and 1980s when Gary Havelock made his debut. The Bears won the National League title in 1981 with the likes of Steve Wilcock, Martin Dixon, Mark Courtney and Gary. He was snapped up by Bradford Dukes who played in the Elite League, for the following season and then won the World Championship that year. He was still riding when the Bears were renamed Redcar Bears after relocating to Cargo Fleet but was involved in a horrific accident in 2012 with a broken arm, broken ribs and a broken collarbone forcing him to retire. He was a big Boro fan and paraded his World Championship Trophy at Ayresome Park later that year, but I can’t recall at which match.

  85. So it was the visibility issue. It makes sense, more sense than Malcolm sending us off to the purgatory of the Trinity Mirror groups website.

    You should stand in the corner for inflicting the horrors of the adverts and pop ups littering their sites.

    1. Ian, on the Trinity Mirror sites I find installing AdBlock on your browser makes them almost readable. I can accept that advertising is necessary but it needs to be in balance. At the moment their pages are overkilled with irrelevant nonsense and garbage which means any real advertising value is lost to those paying for it. Quality over quantity. The Gazette site still has us linked to Joe Bryan from Bristol City and that we have allegedly named our price for Bamford!

      Onto the kit debate itself I recall espousing a similar concern on a Boro away kit a few years back when we were being fed more guff about White Bands etc. at the time on how long it takes to decide and order new kits for the following season.

      The best teams move the ball about quickly and intuitively. A milliseconds thinking or looking time lessons the impact and with it accuracy and outright opportunity. If someone came to me as a Football Manager with a dull grey, charcoal or dark navy combo I would laugh in their face and tell them to shove it. Of course mere Managers would likely not be allowed that much control in their cap doffing Head Coach capacity.

      I know that Designers like to experiment and expand boundaries etc. and the Marketing People love the opportunity to sell more shirts but its about winning. In a Stadium picking out a teammates run from 20 or 30 yards away (made much worse by these new LED advertising boards) can be the difference between onside and offside or a goal or a misplaced pass. It may only be worth one or two points a season but how valuable for example would one or two points have been to Boro and Pulis last season just as one example?

  86. Can footballers use Safari on the pitch? Maybe it would help with our passing out of defence?

    On the browser, internet and sundry ads I rely on a basic instinct. I use my computer for work and personal issues. If providers cant give me a service with standard software on my computer then they can just accept I wont use them. It is no loss to me that I dont get useless content.

    Given the choice of suffering the rubbish and Gazette content or not getting their content I have made my decision. The answer is goodbye. If MFC hadn’t sorted my issue I would have done the same.

    It is up to the provider to provide, it is implicit in their offering.

  87. Andy Hinchcliffe is correct in stating that the style over substance whilst laudable will only appease the majority of fans if results don’t improve by Christmas. Meanwhile the Gazette reporters say it is too early to worry about that at the moment. I don’t particularly agree with opinions that Boro should have had more points because of refereeing decisions, missed penalties or poor defensive marking, etc. All clubs may also use these as excuses and claim that they should have secured more points.
    The fact is in life most of us still harbour grudges about things that happened in the past especially over football decisions. The term ‘if only’ is too frequently used, so is the term ‘it is what it is’ but the latter is more accurate as one can’t change what has already occurred. The answer though is to eradicate the bad habits that we have control over, and forget those that we can’t control. Not easy is it, but the only way to succeed in life generally.
    The concern for Boro though is that attendances have now dropped below the 20,000 mark and unfortunately will stay around that mark unless Boro start winning home matches. Fans will enjoy a more attractive way of playing, but for most its results that count. Just the humble opinion of someone in their ninth decade of life.

    1. I would much rather watch a 3-3 draw than a 0-0 but I’d much rather see a series of efficient binary 1-0 win’s than draws and defeats with the odd victory sprinkled in. When fans said they were sick of Pulis Football and wanted more entertainment it didn’t require an extreme knee jerk flip.

      The football under Pulis wasn’t dire and negative, it was much, much worse than that. Those two play off games against Villa were shameful and disgraceful. The total lack of appetite to even attempt to win games was bilious in the extreme culminating in missing out on the Play Offs let alone Automatic promotion. As a survival tactic it may just garner enough pints to cling on but when the challenge was promotion Pulis hadn’t an alternative more suitable plan. As a wily shrewd old Manager he disappointed on that score because surely he should have had enough acumen you would have thought to meet the challenge, clearly not sadly.

      In contrast Karanka’s football was positively dynamic and exciting which it definitely wasn’t but that was how dire things had become under TP. Losing and drawing games is a certainty to reduce attendances, I haven’t seen how many Season Cards we sold for tis year but I will guess its no more than 16,000 at very best. That will be the default fall back level as walk up prices are prohibitive for many and if the product doesn’t meet expectations the walk ups will walk away.

      At the end of last season it was clear that even Season Card holders stopped going, despite it already being paid for the thought of putting oneself through that dross simply didn’t appeal. In fairness to Woodgate he has tried and is trying to nullify that objection but mid table or worse will see that 16,000 become the norm very quickly and maybe even worse if draws and defeats keep stacking up.

      A point a game will probably see us one or two places above the drop spots. If that is how the season pans out then season Card sales for next season will drop like a brick and probably to nearer the 10,000 mark at very best. Many renewed in hope and subsequently felt duped, many like myself were not prepared to renew based on blind faith. There will be many more, in fact a lot more after what transpired this summer next season with a “born again cynic” mindset.

      Fast forward twelve months and if the above does transpire then Boro will like as not spend the next twenty or thirty years existing in the Championship and maybe the odd visit to League One with little money to spend and with the likelihood SG will have ran out of cash or just given up by then it may be even worse. Simply taking a season or three “out” to redevelop the mindset and thinking of the squad whilst assembling a new budget one is a dangerous farrago. Overheads from a business with a 34,000 seater stadium and diminishing income temporarily offset by unloading your best players will eventually smother the clubs very existence.

      Woodgate’s dream is very laudable but nobody remembers who finished third or fourth let alone seventeenth.

    2. KEN

      Sorry as an ex referee I don’t agree with your point about excuses for referee decisions as the goals and penalties we should have had were blatant and obvious mistakes by the officials

      Boro should have been 2 goals up at half time against Brentford if it hadn’t been for poor decisions by the assistant referee

      Millwall was should have had two clear penalties for hand ball

      The standard of refereeing in the Championship is now in my opinion at an all time low and action should be taken by the FA to improve the standards

      I have long felt that ex professional players who have been prematurely retired through injury should if fit enough be fast tracked as assistant referees then installed in the middle

      This would then retain their professional expertise and also provide an involvement in the game

      OFB

      1. OFB
        Maybe so, but my point is it’s done and in the past and there’s nothing we can do about it now. Be positive and only worry (too strong a word when talking about a football match in my opinion) about things that we can control.

      2. I always think that a simple alternative to VAR (and certainly by the looks of things at the moment a better option) is to have a retired Official wired up, sat in the stands who can have an overseeing view and pass on “observations” to assist those running about down below in the heat of things.

      3. I don’t think that negates what Ken is saying Bob.
        Yes we could have had more points had all the correct decisions have been made. However, so could every other team in the class have had more points if all the right decisions had been made in their matches.
        The impact of the quality of the officials in each match by and large evens itself out over the course of a season. We the supporters though, only ever remember the bad decisions that impact on our team. Did anyone in here really complain about JFH’s hand ball in Europe?

        Also agree with your idea that ex players could be fast tracked is a good one, but they would have to want to do that.

    1. Interesting that Owen says “I can’t deny their actions that day changed things for me” after he was jeered by the Magpie Fans whilst being carried off for being an injury prone waste of money yet he also said his heart had been on a return to Liverpool but the Newcastle offer was better and couldn’t be matched by the Reds.

      Double standards comes to mind, had he lowered his demands he possibly could have went back to Liverpool but instead he went somewhere he now admits he had no desire to be and took the cash for it. I wonder if his injury record would have been as bad at Liverpool. It is a classic example of due diligence when signing Players. Why are they coming to your Club and when they arrive what will they be prepared to give?

      Some will come for the cash but be prepared to give 100% and some will just bleed the Club dry with personal distractions and family interests elsewhere. For every Merson or Juninho there is a Valdes or a Braithwaite.

      1. Too right RR. Owen’s quotes only serve to show him up for what he is. He quite clearly didn’t have his heart set on resigning for Liverpool, he had his heart set on mammon. I might accept that he recognises he made a mistake all those years ago, but even that doesn’t detract that it was for the love of money he was playing his trade and not for the love of the game.

  89. Redcar red

    The problem with Merson was he turned in to Emerson and couldn’t leave quick enough when Villa called.

    TLF left when we were relegated but he did come back to help us lifet a trophy

    1. Agree with all that Ian which just highlights the mercenary nature of the game.

      Those two did give their all for most of the time when they were here and despite Merson’s demons (which I suspect the Club made worse by bringing in an individual with even greater “dependencies” which manifested just before his departure) he often carried us on his own in games.

      Again it comes down to due diligence, if you have a major player with a few dark places was it sensible to bring in an ageing over the hill washed up has been with more demons in his back catalogue than Peter Cushing and Vincent Price put together to create temptation?

      Merson on Gazza:

      “Bryan Robson put him in with me, Jimmy ‘Five Bellies’ and my brother. We all lived together”.

      “We used to play a game every day bar Friday. We’d get back from training. We’d give my brother and Jimmy a load of money to go and get some bottles of red wine.

      “We’d come back and put the red wine into these massive glass jugs then Gazza and my brother would sit on that seat and me and Jimmy would sit on this seat.

      “We wouldn’t do it on a Friday because we played Saturday. Load of money on the coffee table and then we’d start drinking red wine.

      “Every hour we’d pop a sleeping tablet and whoever fell asleep last picked the money off the table and went to bed.”

    1. If they can do this bit the rest is irrelevant: “Provide a best 11, in the club’s formation, of a list of players who can improve the team, supported by accurate information”

      How about, Messi, Ronaldo, Salah, Maguire, Kimmich, Alba, De Bruyne, Kante, Modric etc. etc…

      OK maybe not,

      maybe they mean the likes of Luther Wildin, Arthur Iontton, Macauley Bonne and Kane Vincent-Young?

      2. It would be hard to argue against that list since they’ve not mentioned anything about budget – though I suspect you’re itching to apply. My worry is the candidate with the best video editing skills will get the job rather than the one who has the best eye for a player!

      3. I beg RR to apply.

        Where is Gary Gill? If he has left the building, Ian could apply, too. He can wear old tracksuits and the name beside the room door can stay the same. Cost effective 😀.

        Up the Boro!

  92. This, from the same book…

    “There were no hard feelings between me and the gaffer. Robbo has been great about it ever since, we’ve stayed friends and we always talk whenever we see each other. It’s like nothing ever happened. He knew I’d done a job for him and helped the club to get promotion. I honestly think people underestimated Bryan Robson at that time.”

  93. I especially like the idea of scouting players all over the world.

    Rome, Paris, Barcelona, Munich, Madrid, Buenos Aires, Haverton Hill. The list is endless.

      1. KP

        I have a big plus on my CV. Because of my age I have a bus pass so can travel free!
        I also have a senior railcard.

        I must admit neither will help much to get to the Camp Nou

  94. Gazza was finished when he left Glasgow Rangers and was an embarrassment when at Boro. Old pals act again.
    Ref the advert for a new scout, what the hell is going on ?

    Again I have no faith whatsoever in Adrian Bevington. What does he actually do. Again old pals again springs to mind.

    Jobs for the boys. I detest . I had it at work for many years and said to myself what is going on. How did he get the job when there was more decent people out there prepared to work so much harder . I am afraid the club stinks at the moment. Sorry.

    1. Malcolm
      Football is full of laughs when you are sitting in a pub with friends, and your blog would provide a barrel of laughs, but it is true, the whole stupid story of Gazza could be guessed at as he trundled about the pitch, contributing nothing, causing mayhem, making us a laughing stock in the football World.
      I believe we have not changed.
      The same incomprehensible signings ( and selling)
      The same wilful picking of worthless players (and ignoring of great prospects)
      The same total lack of coaching in the basic, learn yeself soccer tactics.
      We still heave the ball over in the same old way (using our great attacking and scoring threat) I can only presume that it keeps him away from having a shot.
      We still have no idea how we might score from a free kick around the box.
      Does no one, anyone, ask to practice penalties and free kicks, (and corners)
      Does no one read that the great Ronaldo thinks nothing of having a hundred identical attempts at putting a free kick in the top corner, after training!
      As Garry player said ” the more I practice, the luckier I get”

  95. I am going to reinforce my efforts to get a recruitment role at MFC but I do have a major problem.

    If some one hasn’t played in a year and a half after cruciate injuries I will struggle to recommend them. If they have lived in Barcelona and the wife’s family lives there and they cant speak English never mind our version will they fit? The list goes on.

    Do you think that will affect my chances?

    1. You have clearly just ruled yourself out of the running Ian.

      Just because they are crocked, have a missus who thinks that living at Rockliffe means ten minutes from Teesside International with its hourly direct flights home to Barcelona and that the Winter weather up North never drops below 15 degrees shouldn’t rule them out.

      Anyway just bung them another £15K a week and its all sorted. The injuries will miraculously go away (at least until the ink dries) and the wifey will be happy with a few of those shoes with Boro red soles from the Avenue des Champs-Elinthorpé and of course those nice brown tartan Boroberry handbags from doggie market. All sorted see, this scouting malarkey is pretty straightforward.

      For some reason I’m reminded of Del Boy reflecting on his own football prowess; “I used to be a midfield dynamo, played like Paul Gascoigne. Boycie used to play like Bamber Gascoigne.”

      Maybe we actually did sign Del Boy all them years ago? Judging by Gazza’s performances it may have explained a few things, red wine aside.

  96. I have to admit to being a little bit disappointed with some of the negative comments regarding Paul Merson.

    This was a player who almost singlehandingly helped MFC to return to the Premiership. His effort and commitment cannot be overstated, I for one will be forever grateful for his 100% devotion to the cause. If some of the present playing staff could mirror his undoubted drive we wouldn’t be in the position we find ourselves today.

    1. I would go as far as to say he was possibly our best and most influential player of the Riverside era. Can you imagine if we could sign a younger version of Merson now!

    2. GHW
      Yes I too thought that Merson played as though he was still at Arsenal and anyone who thought that they could idle their afternoon away was in deep trouble with him.
      Great for us.
      Without knowing the intimate details of the Gazza nightmare, I half guessed them. Whoever signed him did us a serious disservice.
      I think it was his final appearance for us, when he made three attempts to get sent off, before the ref. put him (and us ) out of our misery.
      Overweight, scarlet faced, running into people, and kicking them!

  97. Good call RR.

    It’s interesting to speculate whether what we actually need is an old head to orchestrate the younger players. I can go back to Bobby Murdoch as maybe the greatest example. He came to Boro in the summer of 1973 and trained Graeme Souness and we all know what happened next.

    What made me think of him was watching Juan Mata at the weekend playing for ManU. everyone was going on about how at 31 he was no longer fast enough to play in the modern game and yet he looked tremendous on the ball. Can you imagine someone like him teaching Wing, McNair and the rest how a creative midfield should play.

    UTB

  99. Paul Merson didn’t want to come to Middlesbrough, but once here never failed to give 100%. At the season end he was knackered and I remember him saying that he was determined that Boro got automatic promotion as he wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of a possible further 3 games in the playoffs.

    For the record he started in all but one of Boro’s 46 League matches in the 1997/98 promotion season (excepting the 0-2 away defeat to Charlton in January), was substituted in 5 of them usually when the game was won, and scored 12 goals. He also played in 7 of Boro’s 8 Cup matches scoring a further 3 goals, substituted during extra time after 102 minutes in the League Cup Final against Chelsea, so over 4,700 minutes on the field of play. No wonder he was knackered.

  100. It all depends on the manner of the departure. And that goes in all walks of life. We tend not to mind if someone you don’t get on with, or a player who you’re not a fan of, leaves because we’re not directly affected ourselves. We may regret that we didn’t get to know them or, if they were a player, they didn’t fulfil their potential, but that will be pretty much it.

    How different it is when a friend or a player moves on at the very moment we don’t want to lose them. And here’s the thing – I don’t think it’s so much a case of “true colours” as of an idealised image of a friend or hero being shattered. They will still be around, but not as you knew them. That’s the hard part.

  102. I dont blame players leaving clubs, they all do at some point.

    One thing I remember about Merson going was that he had gone off for England duty and was sat in the chairman’s office at Villa. I dont think he was caught short and had to use their facilities on the way down.

    1. I think most of us on here have left or changed jobs at least once or indeed probably several times during our careers. Personally I always done things rather covertly until it suited me to play my hand in full view. Sometimes I actively sought a move and sometimes I was “approached” either directly or indirectly but regardless my allegiances weren’t questioned by 30,000 fans or plastered over tabloid back pages.

      To most Footballers the Club they are playing for is merely an employer and like ordinary employees some feel a sense of moral duty and some only look after themselves (and vice versa). The short term nature of footballers employability probably concentrates these things a little more.

      Which reminds me I still haven’t received that Scouting call……. obviously an oversight 🙂

      1. RR

        Whilst a young QS in the first few weeks of marriage and a hefty mortgage I once had 3 jobs in a week!
        Each one paying more money.

        I have alternated between working staff or contract throughout my career before finally settling down 8 years before I retired

        So I agree that to many footballers it’s just a job and play for the highest bidder and if someone like Livarsmanspur comes in for you then obviously they would jump at it.

        Remember Pally sitting in his agents car at the Tontine whilst Man U and Boro thrashed put a deal? He was a local lad but really it was like winning the lottery after being with a club that had been broke and having to wash their own kit and train in Albert Park.

        So I do understand that a short career leads to players moving on but I wish that Souness had stayed and led Boro to European Glory !

        OFB

  103. We do attach ourselves to certain players. I sense that we would have wanted Lee Sharpe to stay at United were we fans there, in 1996. Because he was a “smashing lad”… but… “a little too fond of the good life for the manager’s liking.” A good player too. Very useful. Versatile and devastating on his day. But “he just wasn’t hard enough, mentally, for what was becoming a much harder business.”

  104. I will make myself clear, I have no problems with players leaving clubs to further their careers.

    Merson and TLF gave good service when they were here and, as far as I am aware gave no problems at the club. The fact is they left the club to further their careers. Many of us no longer live in the Ceremonial County of North Yorkshire or County Durham because we moved away for work so cannot criticise those who did the same.

    Ziege, Emerson and Ramirez were a totally different kettle of fish. Of the three I have more sympathy with Emerson.

        1. GHW

          So allegedly

          Boro were pre season training in Southern Ireland and they were roused out of their beds at 5:30 am to go for a run down the beach

          They ran for a mile and Viv Anderson and Robbo ran off the beach and straight into a pub which they had arranged to be open.

          So as the story goes (or not) there began a mighty drinking session which resulted in Ziege being held on the floor with his mouth open whilst alcohol was forcibly poured down his throat. He then became blind drunk staggering all over the place.

          The next day he rang his agent to tell clubs about his release clause to get out of the club.

          So that’s how the story goes which as I say may or may not be true?

          OFB

      2. The club that holds the players registration always has the option of matching any offers made. If they choose not to, then the individual will move on. It’s a simple fact of life.

  106. I know you do not follow ice hockey as much as we do in Finland, but the inresting point is that they have a salary cap system in the NHL. So in the professional league played in the USA and Canada.

    I don’t know the details but if it can work in the States it should work in the UK and Europe. There is no point in paying £ 50 000 a week for a Champioship player. He would be happy to play for £ 20 000 a week, too.

    Or 100 000 a week or more in the PL. I know that there is more competion in football between different leagues in Europe. In ice hockey, the NHL salaries are higher than elsewhere except the Russian league KHL.

    So I do not know how a salary cap would work in Europe as the best players could change to a league where they do not have a cap. Also very difficult to see Man United or Real Madrid to support the idea.

    In my opinion the players should love to play football and notThey could earn more than the fans but only maximum ten times more than their fans. Or similar.

    The inflated money paid to the players are away from the game and football will suffer. Also the league comes more predectable as the gap between big and small clubs widens.

    In the NHL the players are moving without tranfer fees, too. For new yound players, the less successful clubs have an advance in signing new players and they try to keep all the clubs competitive.

    Just saying, like. Up the Boro!

  107. Talking of transfers, is there a transfer window for non-league clubs, and are there transfer fees payable? I’m not au fait with how these things work especially in the Northern League, but Thornaby FC who won promotion to the First Division last season scoring 98 goals in the process, have this season found themselves winless and bottom in the higher league having scored a mere 4 goals in their first 6 matches. I don’t know whether they lost players following promotion, but obviously needed to preserve their hard earned status so last Thursday swooped to sign Redcar Athletic’s top scorer Adam Preston two days before the Seasider’s inaugural participation in the FA Vase which they lost away to AFC Blackpool 1-2.

    Now Blackpool are only a mid-table team in the Lancashire League and one that unbeaten Redcar would have been expected to have won. This late swoop obviously had an adverse effect on Redcar’s performance, but may well derail the Seasider’s promotion prospects especially if there is in fact a transfer window. So it would appear that not only professional English League clubs like Boro are vulnerable to losing their best players in transfer windows at the 11th hour without the chance of finding replacements, but the same could happen to non-league clubs in the lower echelons.

    Whilst all the hype in the press is about the Premier League, one tends to ignore the grass roots of football. Isn’t it time that transfer windows were abolished in fairness to the minnows and in general for the good of the game? Just asking like.

  109. Another international break starts tonight and with nothing much happening at Old Trafford which tends to make me fall asleep I thought to myself what about composing another verse. I think the last one I did was many months ago about some Boro players, and having finished my historical adventure as far as possible to the end of the Steve McLaren years, perhaps I might attempt to recapitulate the history of Middlesbrough FC briefly in verse. I’ve no idea at the moment how this is going to end, but as Julie Andrews sang in the ‘Sound of Music’ let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. So here we go:-

    THE HISTORY OF MIDDLESBROUGH FC IN VERSE

    For fans on Diasboro
    I’d thought I’d write a verse
    Of the History of our local club
    For better or for worse.

    The name of Boro Football Club
    Was established long ago
    In fact in 1876
    For those who didn’t know.

    They joined the Northern League,
    T’was in 1889
    And won that League some five years later
    Which was considered rather fine.

    And it only took some six more years
    To win the Amateur Cup
    And by regaining it in ‘97
    They were surely on the up.

    For it took a mere three more years
    To join League Division 2
    In England’s Second tier
    In a ‘comp’ that was quite new.

    It only took some three more years
    To gain their first promotion,
    And some tremendous celebrations
    Did cause a large commotion.

    They reached the heights of the top three
    Just before the First World War
    With Georgie Elliott our top man
    As 30 goals he’d score.

    They stayed a First Division club
    For 18 happy seasons,
    And I’ve reported all those years before
    As I gave you the main reasons.

    From Alf Common, Stevie Bloomer,
    Andy Wilson, the brothers Carr,
    McClelland also with his many goals,
    But George Camsell was our star.

    As in the Second League we fell
    T’was sad to take the drop,
    But Camsell with his many goals
    Was the best man of the crop.

    Back in the First Division
    For some ten years once again,
    He was the best we ever had
    Thirteen years his total reign.

    Then along came a young Stockton lad;
    Mickey Fenton was his name.
    He scored so many hat tricks
    Which accounted for his fame.

    But a fair haired inside forward
    By the name of Wilfie Mannion
    Became the best I’ve ever seen;
    He really was a canny’un.

    The post war years saw record crowds
    As the ground was full more often,
    Though relegation fights became the norm
    And there’s no way that could soften——

    The blow of losing Wilfie
    As he didn’t wish to play
    In Second League in England,
    So he retired, called it a day.

    He did decide eventually though
    To play football down in Hull.
    The Humberside crowd enjoyed his tricks
    For he was still a major pull.

    But back to Boro in Division 2
    Rarely showing signs of winning———
    Promotion to the promised land
    As all their hopes were pinning———

    On another centre forward
    Who scored plenty goals, enough
    To please most of his many fans;
    His name was Brian Clough.

    But when he left for Sunderland
    Along came Peacock (Peach).
    He looked a sound replacement
    But promotion was out of reach.

    And Boro never reached League One
    Till 1974.
    Jack Charlton was the Manager
    As records broke galore.

    They won the League with games to spare
    By March at Luton Town
    And almost won Division One
    With the famous Ayresome sound.

    They finished 7th in that first year
    Though by March were in top three,
    But losing games in April
    Meant top spot was not to be.

    But jumping on to ‘86
    With liquidation on their range,
    It looked to be the end of them
    Till Steve Gibson made a change——-

    To how he and his consortium
    Might save our Football Club
    But with gates all locked at Ayresome Park,
    To play where was the rub.

    Our friends across the River Tees
    The ‘Pools to rescue came;
    They let us play at their home ground
    So that we could play our game.

    It was against a team from Stoke on Trent,
    Port Vale t’was team we saw
    And Boro now were on the field
    And thousands saw them draw.

    They quickly won promotion twice
    To return to top Division.
    Although with several ups and downs
    Steve Gibson had a vision.

    He wished to leave old Ayresome Park
    And with promotion on his mind
    He needed a new manager,
    Would that be hard to find?

    Len Lawrence, outgoing manager
    Had suggested one great name.
    That name was Bryan Robson
    A major doyen of the game.

    It’s approaching now our silver
    At the famous Riverside.
    Successes, there have been a lot,
    But failures we must abide.

    We’ve won our first big trophy
    Under wily Steve McLaren.
    Hands up to those of my age
    Who thought that it could happen!

    Or playing games in Europe
    And exciting comebacks too.
    But hail or shine it must be said
    That we’re Boro through and through.

    I’m not too happy with some of the scansions, but this is the longest project that I’ve attempted in verse and have just meandered along really. I suppose I could have continued right up to date, but after 32 verses it might have reached 50, and I didn’t want it become too boring. However I’ve found it cathartic away from the boredom of Steve Smith piling on the runs at Old Trafford in a Test Match seemingly well out of reach for England already.

  110. Jarkko

    I’m not sure I agree with a salary cap. However if one were to be imposed on the players, then the owners, board members and employees should also be capped on how much they can take out of a club. After all, it was the owner’s not the players who sank Blackpool, not the employees.

    1. Chris, I meant generally. Most clubs make no profit to the owner and the money goes out of the football.

      I think most clubs should make a small profit. I mean now players get mega money but clubs like Boro fire normal workers etc. And in some cases the stadiums are neglected. It is not healthy.

      And the big clubs widens the gap between them and Boro etc.

      Up the Boro!

  111. Football’s like work. Live in the moment, take each day as it comes and focus on doing your very best. Everything else – chemistry, synergy – will take care of itself.

    And when things work – try and, you know, lighten up and and enjoy the ride. You’ll be a lot happier.

  112. Jarkko

    one of us may be being naive. I imagine the first task any club owner sets himself is to arrange his own renumeration. Not just clubs as big as Man Utd, but also those the size of Bury and Bolton. And I can’t imagine Amer worked for free. The club may not make a profit, but the owners aren’t starving.

  114. Nothing will come of these investigations, too much egg on face for the EFL.
    Also with Aston Villa, remember Bournemouth and others.

    The so called “fines” and restrictions have not stopped QPR too much in their transfers.

    Best that could happen over the stadium sales will be to tighten / close the loop hole. Until the clubs find an alternative route.

  115. Jeff Stelling has just completed the first of his four marathon walks in four days from Glasgow. Today he’ll attempt another one from Cardiff, followed by one from Belfast and another from London all for prostate cancer research. I’ve now had aggressive prostate cancer for 10 years and Jeff’s charity walks have definitely helped in the research for drugs such as enzalutamide, a hormone drug which I’ve been taking for over a year now. The man’s a saint and if anyone deserves a knighthood it is him. Thanks Jeff, one of our own.

    1. Just read the news that a bunch of extremely wealthy football clubs are wanting to sign Woods (for washers)
      Let’s see how our heroic higher management politely tell them to go away in short sharp jerky movements.
      They will, of course tell us that it was out of their hands (for all sorts of reasons) the poor darlings, one pities them, so blind to any idea of running a football club. In particular, and in no particular order, buying cheap and selling dear.

      1. You appear to be complaining about the club doing something they haven’t even done yet. Being angry about something that might happen in the future is a sure fire way to be angry about everything.

    1. Emil
      Very definitely not.
      We should be saying to him, ” you are going to play in the first team, and then be sold to one of the giants as a top player on top money. That is your plan of campaign. And that is what will happen. You do not want to be playing for one of the bottom fishers in the Prem. Let them find their own players.

  120. Why would Burnley offer (reportably) 9 mil for Deal Fry who has some history, then after being rebuffed, think lets offer the same money for his deputy?

    I suppose he is 3/4 years younger.

    1. Pedro
      The giants will ruthlessly buy any player who emerges as one of the greats, because money is no object, the lesser clubs (but just as ambitious) simply cannot pay ” any price” (it is not within their business plan) these clubs, surprisingly, include Spurs, Arsenal, and even poor old Everton.
      But what they can do is attempt to asset strip the academies of any club asleep at the wheel.
      Hence the endless poaching which never ends and causes great anger amongst the fans.
      The reason that they wish to sign someone as young as woods is simple. All great players emerge at a very young age, so if you are looking to make a killing in the market, then your targets are ready made.

  122. The Wood story is probably more down to International Break boredom and a journalistic Chinese whisper rumour that has grown arms and legs. That the figure seems to be identical to the one rumoured to have been offered by Burnley to Boro but for a different players in the same position a few weeks back is probably not a coincidence.

    Premiership Club offers substantial figure for future up and coming young English CB, one journalist figures its Dael Fry and another one (probably from outside of the area) looks at Boro’s match day squad (bear in mind that Fry has been out injured for most of the season) see’s a young lad on the bench and with Woodgate’s squad and figures “ah! youngster who plays CB, highly thought off” etc. etc. etc…..

    However just considering for a moment that the rumour was true then in our current financial predicament should we cash in for what is serious money for the Championship with a future resale clause and reinvest in the side or just simply use it to keep the club afloat and avoid having to fall foul of Steve Gibson having to auction his undies for £70m to side step EFL FFP?

    Commercially considering that Wood isn’t even playing the miss (theoretically) would be minimal and the cash may plug a few accountancy holes that all EFL clubs have. Of course knowing Boro we would sign a hobbling donkey for £6.5m, feed it with a £1.5m a year contract in carrots for four years and then wonder where all the money went?

  123. As a follower of local football I wish to offer congratulations to some of our clubs on reaching the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup yesterday with Stockton Town winning 2-0 at Liversedge and Whitby Town 4-0 winners at Widnes. Northern League’s bottom club Thornaby managed a home draw with Ossett United, but pride of place must surely go to Marske United in earning a replay after drawing 1-1 at Scarborough. There’s still some way to go of course before the First Round Proper when the First and Second Division Championship Clubs enter.

    However I’m reminded of the original Stockton club drawing away to Notts County which included England’s centre forward Tommy Lawton in the Second Round Proper in 1947 and was thrilled to see the great man play in the replay at Ayresome Park which unfortunately Stockton lost 1-4, but a happy nostalgic memory all the same.

    In 1988 Guisborough Town also reached the First Round Proper and lost 0-1 at Ayresome Park before a crowd of almost 6,000 against two times winner of the FA Cup Bury. But the most recent record I can recall of one of our local teams reaching the First Round Proper was in 1996 when after holding Hull City to a goalless draw, Whitby Town lost the replay on Humberside 4-8 after extra time highlights of which can be found on YouTube.

  125. Well that’s the Ashes gone. I’ve always thought that Test Cricket to be boring, but there’s always the unlikelihood of strange happenings in Ashes series. Despite hardly a run being scored on the final hour’s play yesterday I was riveted to watch England’s tailenders correctness in their defence play, surely they couldn’t hold the Aussies at bay!

    Well it was not to be, but in all truth it would have been a travesty if Australia hadn’t retained the Ashes. What struck me though was the lack of the boorish behaviour we have come to expect from the Aussies in the past. Perhaps they have learned from the ball tampering over a year ago that the word ‘Sport’ means respect. After all the the term of ‘it’s not cricket’ used to be used for bad behaviour, and maybe this current series is showing that whilst grit and determination to win are admirable qualities, they are only fine if Cricket is played in the right spirit by both sides.

    Congratulations to Australia though, they have outplayed us in this series.

  126. Ken

    I have commented before on he much improved behaviour from the Australians in particular the panto villain David Warner.

    It will help that players from all nations play in the sundry competitions around the world but that was the same at the time of 3Mgate (other abrasive papers are available).

    If the improvement continues then the punishments meted out and subsequent rehabilitation were both justified.

    My only concern is the old saying of leopards never change their spots, if the Aussies continue performing will old habits return? It seemed to have its roots many years ago once the Aussies refused to mix after the days play.

    The current series shows that you can play hard, chunter a bit but still smile and chat after play.

  127. So the Daily Mirror quotes today Middlesbrough as the most deprived town in England. Would that stop players signing for the football club. Of course not.
    Again it is media frenzy . Recently I have been to Scarborough and that is really bad, drug addicts everywhere. People sleeping in doorways of well known shops.
    Now the here is the shock, part of a tour I was on, included 3 hours in Harrogate . Supposed to be one of the best towns in the country. Again I encountered many undesirable s flogging drugs outside Marks and Spencer’s and various other streets nearby. I felt unsafe. As we know outside of Middlesbrough we have great attractions and fabulous scenery. Remember Juninho and others savouring the trips to Whitby and enjoying a fish and chip day.
    Will the away supporters who travel to the Boro games think the the the town is deprived. I don’t think so.

    1. Every UK town and city High Street is full of empty shops, homeless and destitute individuals huddled in urine stenched doorways, their misery being routinely exploited by the drug fraternity. Its just one measure of how totally inept and incompetent our Politicians of all colours have been in supposedly “Managing” the Country. If they were a Board of Executives they would have been summarily dismissed with the Company bankrupt as a direct consequence.

      Harrogate is one of the more affluent areas of “the North” yet has almost as many empty shops as a Redcar, Blyth or Workington town centre. That it was tolerated for decades in unfashionable areas with blatant disregard has meant it has spread like a disease. The contagion is now out of control as highlighted by the same discarded dregs being “removed” from the streets of Windsor for fear of spoiling Wedding snaps.

      Drained Police resources allied to an inept, out of touch and ineffective Judicial system has fuelled the problem. Ofsted jack booting its way through the educational system, persecuting inner city schools and teachers. “Inspectors” rah rahing school blazers whilst conveniently ignoring deep rooted inequality and in doing so failing the very ones it was supposed to help. Simultaneously kicking those who are doing their best with what little they have in a thankless and quite often fruitless and dangerous task.

      Then throw in the root cause itself, the generational lack of opportunity for meaningful employment for a huge swathe of young people with mass employing Industries now wiped out with nothing to replace the black employment hole apart from a pathetic blip of short lived Call Centres. No hope, no future, no ambition and now no consequences are a perfect recipe for what unfolds on our High Streets and Housing Estates (no longer restricted to low income areas) on a daily and nightly basis.

      History is just repeating itself, whether it was the Black Plague or Leprosy, when it spreads it eventually engulfs everyone regardless of their perceived position of entitlement. Middlesbrough, Harrogate or Windsor are now all affected and afflicted by the same disease topped off by the rising levels of knife crime. The difference perhaps between Teessider’s and those other “nicer” areas is that we Smoggies know what we are and what we have whilst they are still blinkered and in denial.

      We are just a small town in Europe after all complete with all the problems that now brings but its all coming to a town near them very soon, very soon indeed. Clearly as First Class Passengers they are finding comfort in that they have first dibs on the life boats not realising that we are all on the same ship.

      That some sad individuals from a supposed left wing tabloid seek to deflect their own misery to glean pleasure that as bad as they now have it “look there’s a Northern Town that has it even worse than us” is a mark of their levels of intelligence and of course their moral gravitas. As the Manic Street Preachers once sang “If you tolerate this then your Children will be next” resonates.

      2. It’s almost as if they can wear it as some perverse kind of badge of honour. If they got Brexit off the front pages and highlighted the problem daily it would be more productive than a perennial headline.

      3. Excellent post RR, and just about sums up the “Road to Hell” that in varying degrees we are all on.

        The gutless Polictitions never looking at the reality of the long term solution and only ever thinking about the next General Election. Then always taking the least vote losing option and not the one that the future requires.

        Similarly the current headline grabbing resignation of our 240/290K a year Leader at James Cook. Thinks she has “done good” staying for 4 years when the average is 3. How the hell can you get a complex organisation on the continual improving right track if you change the Leader and course every few years?

    2. Malcolm
      The idiots writing their rubbish are the same idiots who live in London.
      That would be the place in which you can be killed at any moment, without any reason, but with deadly efficiency using a knife about a foot log with serrated edges,
      If the killers are in any doubt about you surviving then they are liable to hack off your head.
      Not rare instances,but on a daily basis, the Police arrest the perpetrator so he gets to stay alive.
      Perhaps they are trying to protect house prices, by keeping quiet about it, but it ain’t going away anytime soon.

  128. Somebody at MFC will have to have a word with Paddy McNair. If he continues having these good game for Boro and also “shines” for NI, then come January we will be offered possibly our money back on him.
    Too much for MFC to turn down?

  129. As England take on Kosovo tonight at Southampton I’ve been delving into the records to see how many full international matches have been played in Middlesbrough. The answer of course is 7, the last of which was England’s European Qualifying match against Slovakia in 2003 at the Riverside Stadium when Gareth Southgate played for England and Szilard Nemeth played for the visitors before a record crowd of exactly 35,000 with England winning 2-1. The other 6 matches were played at Ayresome Park, England drawing with Northern Ireland 1-1 in 1905, losing to the same side 0-3 in 1914, and beating Wales 2-1 in 1937, all three matches being in the Home Championship. The other 3 matches were of course in the 1966 World Cup when Ayresome Park became the home ground for North Korea in the group stages producing a 0-2 defeat to Russia, a 1-1 draw with Chile, and that memorable 1-0 win against Italy.

    However there have been 4 matches when the Football League played the Scottish League. Whilst not true International matches with caps awarded they were certainly prestigious representative matches. The first of these was in 1912 when Boro’s goalkeeper Tim Williamson was the sole player from Middlesbrough. He went on to play 564 times for the Boro, still the highest number of appearances for the club. The result was a 2-0 win for the Football League side before a crowd of 24,149.

    The next one was in 1950 also against the Scottish League, a precursor to the World Cup in Brazil. The team that afternoon was:-
    Bert Williams 24 caps
    Alf Ramsey 32 caps
    Johnny Aston 17 caps
    Billy Wright 105 caps
    Neil Franklin 27 caps
    Jimmy Dickinson 48 caps
    Johnny Hancocks 3 caps
    Wilf Mannion 26 caps
    Stan Mortensen 25 caps
    Eddie Bailey 9 caps
    Ray Langton 11 caps
    I nicked off school that Wednesday afternoon to watch that match which the Football League won 3-1 before a crowd of 39,352 but disappointed that neither Tom Finney (76 caps) nor Stanley Matthews (37 caps) played, both being late withdrawals. I recall that Wilf Mannion had a hand in all 3 goals for his team, 2 from Mortensen and the other from Bailey. George Young (53 caps) scored a late penalty for the Scottish League.
    Following that match it became customary for several seasons for the Football League to play matches against the Irish League (Northern Ireland) and the League of Ireland (Eire) although the Football League team was not always made up exclusively of English players; I seem to recall that Irishman Danny Blanchflower played for the Football League on one occasion.

    The next representative match at Ayresome Park against the Scottish League was a 2-0 win in 1968 before a crowd of 34,190 with the following team:-
    Alex Stepney 1 cap
    Keith Newton 27 caps
    Cyril Knowles 4 caps
    Nobby Stiles 28 caps
    Brian Labone 26 caps
    Bobby Moore 108 caps
    Alan Ball 72 caps
    Roger Hunt 34 caps
    Geoff Hurst 49 caps
    Bobby Charlton 106 caps
    Martin Peters 67 caps
    The goalscorers were Hunt and Newton with a 35 yard scorcher.

    The final representative match at Ayresome Park against the Scottish League was a 3-2 win in 1972 before a crowd of 19,996 with the following makeshift team due to FA Cup replays:-
    Ray Clemence 61 caps
    Chris Lawler 4 caps
    David Nish 5 caps
    Mike Doyle 5 caps
    Jeff Blockley 1 cap
    Bobby Moore 108 caps
    Emlyn Hughes 62 caps
    Tony Currie 17 caps
    Malcolm MacDonald 14 caps
    Geoff Hurst 49 caps
    Dave Wagstaffe 0 caps
    The goalscorers were Currie 2 and Doyle for the Football League, and Denis McQuade (no caps) and Colin Stein (21 caps for Scotland).
    Please note that the caps denoted are the players final number on retirement.
    I didn’t see those final 2 representative matches at Ayresome Park, nor the international match at the Riverside, but maybe some of you did and hopefully these statistics bring back nostalgic memories.

  131. Ken

    I saw a couple those matches, the 1968 Football League game and the 2003 qualifier at the Riverside. In 1968 I had been due to go with my Dad but he was in hospital following a major operation for Crohn’s disease. It was much more serious in those days before medical advances and it took several more operations and a couple of years to recover.

    He insisted I went so I took a school friend with me, we sat in the seats behind the goal.

    Elsewhere, it looks like our hopes for a bit more class from the Aussies took a bit of a hit as, during celebrations, Steve Smith mocked Leach by donning spectacles and repeatedly polishing them.

    The denial by sources close to the team that it was in reference to Chris Rogers seems fairly weak.

    Celebrate a well earned win and retaining the Ashes by all means but dont pick on another player as part of it.

    Form is temporary, a lack of class appears permanent.

  133. Steely

    I agree, in a previous post on the 9th of September that was my concern.

    As I said I have no problem with them having a good old celebration, even some well earned arrogance is fine but picking on a player and mocking him is a step too far.

  134. Ian
    You’re right. Mocking individuals is the ultimate but it seems to be part of their DNA and how they have the nerve to call us whingeing poms when they’ve made whingeing an art form is beyond belief.

    1. I repeat the story I was told by a South African rugby fan at Reading station following a meet up with JP (and a Boro win)

      ‘What is the difference between a jet engine and an Aussie?’

      ‘The engine stops whining when it lands in Sydney!’

  136. Having lived in Australia for more than 25 years, I have always viewed them as quite good losers but terrible winners. Not for them the self-deprecating smile and a comment as to how fortunate one was to come out on top.This is the inverse of most countries and makes them hard to cope with.

  137. I’m watching the 100th KLM Dutch Open Golf Championship from Amsterdam on Sky at the moment, and to celebrate its centenary the organisers have invited 100 year old Susan Hosang to challenge current US Ryder Cup player Patrick Read to a nearest to the hole challenge. Well obviously Reed won, but this grand old lady only took the game up when she was 70 years of age and was just a bit short of the green with her tee shot. I’m truly amazed that she could hit the ball as far as she did. She only looked about my age and I’d have probably needed a Zimmer frame just to stand on the tee in the gusty conditions. Apparently she still plays a few holes of golf at her local golf course.
    Well done dear, what an amazing feat.

    1. OFB,

      We all got overexcited about the celebrated ‘International Break’ and had to be sedated.

      Meanwhile we await the next Boro courtroom drama where Boro Sue the EFL, I can see it on Sky Atlantic before long. If the tabloids see ‘Litiginous’ mentioned they’ll think Boro have signed him.

      UTB,

      John

      1. John

        It’s a good job we haven’t anyone called Boris at the club isn’t it,

        Boris out. Boris is a crook, Boris tells lies , Boris is a robber, We don’t trust Boris !

        I think if I was called Boris I would change my name !

        Funnily enough since I went to school and played football I was always known as “Davo” now I watch my grandsons playing and it’s nice to hear them called “Davo” too it would appear some traditions still carry on.

        OFB

    2. I think its just a degree of footballing apathy during the International break. Specifically in the case of Boro I thinks its a bit of the break, a bit of an underwhelming summer coupled with an underwhelming start leaving everyone a just a bit magnolia. I’ve got to say that tomorrow’s game leaves me a bit flat whereas normally come Thursday I’m twitching and counting the hours down until Saturday comes around. I can’t even blame Pulis for it.

    3. Poor OFB feels he’s been neglected,
      ‘‘Where have the bloggers gone?” he asks.
      Could it be they’re on their hols
      Or maybe they have other tasks?

      Some probably still have work to do,
      As an income they still need,
      So it’s up to us retired folk
      To give this blog a lead.

      I know that you’re just recovering
      From a bout in hospital.
      But where’s those other interviews
      You promised us, old pal?

      So get your blooming finger out.
      You’ve had ‘nuff time for resting
      And release them soon as possible.
      OF COURSE I’M ONLY JESTING.

      Best wishes Bob, hope you’re feeling better.

  139. I noticed in the Gazette that Dowing said his second club is Spurs. As a kid we all had second clubs but I don’t know if that’s the case these days. I was at comprehensive school in Yeovil so I supported Yeovil as my local team and Spurs was my second team. This was mostly because of Pat Jennings but there was something about the team that appealed to me.

  140. Spurs were my second team as, in my opinion, they’ve always tried to play entertaining football. Since completing the double, they’ve not had the success that the other “elite” clubs have enjoyed but, for me, they’ve always been good to watch.

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