@jarkko - I have a sort-of-feeling that Wilf Mannion was the better player but I didn't see him live. Mannion visited one of the village pubs with George Hardwick for a charity "knock down the pile of coins" night (Ravanelli did the same on another occasion). When we spoke about Juninho, Mannion was very complimentary about him and said he was very impressed with how "balanced" he was on his feet. Mannion, Hardwick, Camsell and Juninho were obviously very fine footballers without necessarily, in my opinion, being in the Pele, Maradonna (I missed him out of my list earlier!!!) or di Stefano class.
Obviously my choice of England Test cricketers could have included Graham Gooch, John Edrich, David Gower, Peter May and Colin Cowdrey, it’s always a matter of choice, but one of my favourites was Tom Graveney who oozed class though not a great Test player.
No joy about former Boro players as Wikipedia only shows numbers of different positions they played. Even so where would one start? If it started in their amateur ranks number one would be a goalkeeper called Shearer (No christian name mentioned) but he only played the once and my records show that 175 players played for Boro in that period. However if records started in 1899 when Boro entered the Second Division of the Football League Colin Lincoln who made 50 appearances as Boro goalkeeper for 2 seasons might have been the obvious change, but by 2003 a further 11,887 players had played for Boro so I’m fairly confident that a record of former Boro players is not recorded anywhere and not worth pursuing anyway.
Now back to the Ashes cricket at Edgbaston where the last time I looked England had lost both openers cheaply during two rain breaks I’ve decided to watch a performance of CARMEN just outside the Sydney Opera House, not a bad alternative in the circumstances.
@ken - A relative of mine said all the really good music, the very best, was never the popular music. I suggested Carmen. He said "Well, apart from Carmen...".
Brilliant Graeme Souness completes swimming the English Channel at age 70! https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scotland-rangers-legend-graeme-souness-302637
Any guesses on who we get on opening fixture , I'm thinking a relegated team or promoted team?
Baddy McNair played the full 90 minutes for Northern Ireland on Friday evening in the defeat to Denmark.
Asked about injuries ahead of Monday's game, manager Michael O'Neill said: "We've got a doubt about Paddy McNair who sat out training today. Paddy has just had a bit of an Achilles injury and we've had to manage him through this week a little bit."
Whether McNair is able to play on Monday night for his country or not, he will be hoping that the Achilles issue doesn't prove a serious one ahead of pre-season. Boro players are due back for the start of summer preparations for the new season in the next week or so.
Lenihan, he too is on international duty with the Republic of Ireland currently and had a tough evening on Friday as his side lost 2-1 to Greece with the Boro vice-skipper playing the full 90 minutes. And looking to bounce back on Monday night against Gibraltar.
For some reasons, Marcus Forss was not chosen for the two Finland matches this weekend. Perhaps he has not properly recovered from the injury he had towards the end of April. No reason has been given for his absence.
Up the Boro!
Any guesses on who we get on opening fixture , I'm thinking a relegated team or promoted team?
We will know the fixtures on Thursday. My guess is Ipswich away or Sheffield Wednesday at home. Up the Boro!
Sorry for my typo mistake with Paddy McNair earlier. Or is he just Buddy?
I do have some difficulties with P and B. My mother language has the letter B only in the word banaani (banana) and some foreign family names.
But that is better than the letter C, that appers in none of the Finnish words. We use only K or S instead.
Boring as there is nothing happening at Boro tranfer wise now. Up the Boro!
My wife and I were lucky enough to see an open air Carmen in Sydney back in 2016 or 2017 and we enjoyed ot very much. Good voices and an excellent production. I don't know if you saw the same one. The Sydney Opera does an open air production through March and April every year.
utb
Any guesses on who we get on opening fixture , I'm thinking a relegated team or promoted team?
We will know the fixtures on Thursday. My guess is Ipswich away or Sheffield Wednesday at home. Up the Boro!
By coincidence, I was thinking Ipswich away as well and must admit that it isn't one that I would look forward to. Better to get away from the promotion fervour. I would prefer at home to Leicester or Leeds as they will have brand new teams.
UTB
@selwynoz. I don’t mind who our opponents are on the opening day of the season as long as I can watch the game live either on Riverside Live or Sky. CoB 😎
I suspect our first game will either be at home or away and I am certain our opponents will be one of Brum, Blackburn, BristolC, Cardiff, Coventry, H'field, Hull, Ipswich, Leeds, Leics, Millwall, Norwich, Plymouth, PNE, QPR, R'ham, SheffW, Soton, Stoke, S'land, Swansea, Watford or WBA... 🙄
@powmillnaemore. I suspect you might be right! 😂😂😎
I wrote yesterday, that Paddy McNair had been a doubt for Northern Ireland's clash with Kazakhstan.
Now Middlesbrough have received a boost ahead of the start of pre-season as Paddy McNair shook off an Achilles problem to play the full 90 minutes in Northern Ireland's defeat to Kazakhstan.
Looks like our Paddy won't be benched very easily.
Elsewhere, Lenihan was rested when Ireland played against Gibraltar in Dublin. Up the Boro!
Nothing new on the Boro front but Sunderland seem to be ahead of the game. If I remember Boro keep a lot to themselves and we end up guessing.
Who says cricket is boring?
We have just had 5 days of exciting attacking cricket by two committed teams who gave everything to a full house of spectators. The last 2-3 hours were epic and so tense as both teams were in the driving seat at different times. It was so cruel for England to lose but congratulations must go to Australia.
I am left with just three thoughts - why did Stokes declare the first innings ? I’ve always thought you aim to score as many runs as possible in the first innings and only declare if you get say 500 plus runs.
Why was the new ball not taken when available ? By keeping the old ball and keeping Root bowling he conceded 14 in his last over. This gave the Aussies added impetus and confidence at a crucial time.
Finally, why not give your most experienced bowler an over or two with the new ball?
I’m looking forward to the next Tests as a change to and rest from football - by the time football starts my enthusiasm will have returned. In the meantime, we’ll have lots of rumours who Boro will sign and let go which tends to be just talk and a bit irrelevant. I’m looking forward to actual signings and leavers.
Philip of Huddersfield
ps - forgot to say please feel free to move this to a cricket section.
@philip-of-huddersfield The number of extras we gave away didn’t help. I think the reluctance to take the new ball was because throughout the game it didn’t do anything until it was about 10 overs old. Until then it’s easier for the batters to get it to the boundary.
If only Stokes had been able to hang on to that catch.
I am probably in dreamland lol but Scott Mctominay is out of favour at Man U yet in the last four games for Scotland he has been immense, scoring again last night. Could MC pull off a loan deal. What an unbelievable signing that would be.
According to reports, Luton are interested in Paddy McNair.
https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/exclusive-luton-town-keen-on-middlesbrough-defender/
Come on BORO.
I would sell if the fee is right for BoroAccording to reports, Luton are interested in Paddy McNair.
https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/exclusive-luton-town-keen-on-middlesbrough-defender/
Come on BORO.
I thought McNair had his second best season in a Boro shirt last season (the previous season in Wilder's back three being his best). perhaps he has now accepted that he's a centre-half and focused on the task rather than pining for a midfield role in which he never quite convinced.
If Luton or anyone else are interested, obviously it comes down to the fee involved. I can well imagine that McNair, having been signed for around £5m under Pulis, will be one of the squad's higher earners at perhaps £20k-£25k per week. That's a lot for a Championship player who isn't a guaranteed starter. He's also entering the last year of his contract.
With all that in mind, I'd be tempted to sell for a bid that recoups our initial outlay, possibly even £1m less to be honest. I would expect there to be similar quality out there in the market for lower wages and a few years younger to boot.
it may also depend on whether Matt Clarke is fit. He has been a big loss as a left footed centre back with a very good track record across a number of clubs.
what is the insurance position on a case such as Clarke’s. Will MFC just be paying the wages of injured players or can they take out insurance against that?
utb
You got it Millwall at home. The return of Duncan Whatmore. Not a bad first game.
And we can start the annual debate which matches are derby matches and which are not. Boro do not have natural derbies as both Darlington and Hartlepool are non-league at the moment.
Of course Sunderland are the most obvious (with Newcastle , too but in the EPL now). But how about Leeds and other Yorkshire teams?
A local newspaper in Hull wrore today: "When Hull City will face Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough in big Yorkshire derbies?"
Does anyone consider Hull or any Sheffield teams derby opponents? I doubt it. I think only Sunderland will do for me as derby.
Up the Boro!
@mw-in-darwin also new Scottish center forward Kevin Nisbet.
You got it Millwall at home. The return of Duncan Whatmore. Not a bad first game.
Well. Someone had to get it right 🙄
To be fair I was really 45 times wrong and only one time right...
And we can start the annual debate which matches are derby matches and which are not. Boro do not have natural derbies as both Darlington and Hartlepool are non-league at the moment.
Of course Sunderland are the most obvious (with Newcastle , too but in the EPL now). But how about Leeds and other Yorkshire teams?
A local newspaper in Hull wrore today: "When Hull City will face Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough in big Yorkshire derbies?"
Does anyone consider Hull or any Sheffield teams derby opponents? I doubt it. I think only Sunderland will do for me as derby.
Up the Boro!
Big Boxing Day derby match away at Rotherham United and another big derby match on Easter Monday at home to the Owls.... 🤔
@powmillnaemore But they will be popular away days without travelling as much as say Plymouth away ...
Up the Boro!