So sorry to hear your news, Bob. Watching the Boro as the season reaches its climax isn't the best for the heart, but I hope you enjoy it and then can look forward to a Summer of relaxed and gentle recovery. With all good wishes.
That is an evening that is well and truly beyond the limits of parental duty, Werder.
I'd advise against heckling. You and the missus will stand out anyway and will no doubt be the subjects of a great deal of slack-jawed and bovine curiosity from the local Hamburgers.
Plug up your ears, keep a low profile and get away early
Sending my thanks to Werder for his awesome opener.
Sending my very best wishes to Bob.
And sending my latest insights to all of you - in the aftermath of hearing about the sudden and devastating passing of Alex Manninger.
I still remember the first time I saw Manninger in action - in a cup tie against Boro at the Riverside. There was little doubt about his technical quality but there also seemed to be an enormous keenness to make an impression while he had the chance to - back-up outfield players can go a long time without getting an opportunity, back-up goalkeepers can go even longer still, so it's understandable.
I definitely don't recall him having a great deal to do in the first half, and much of that had to do with how far ahead Arsenal were of Boro in class. A steady diet of second tier football had, presumably, left us much less prepared for opposition at the very top tier, and they were 2-0 up in twenty minutes. When we pulled a goal back, through Paul Merson, of course, Manninger was very far off his line - one can assume that his eagerness to be part of the match had only increased - but when Arsenal had to batten down the hatches and hold on, as their then great defence was accustomed to doing, he visibly grew in confidence and made a couple of vital saves.
As it turned out, his contribution to Arsene Wenger's first double in English football would be more than vital, it would be priceless. By the time March went by, he'd kept a succession of clean sheets and had been named the Premier League Player Of The Month. However, David Seaman got fit again and Wenger displayed the distasteful ruthlessness which is admittedly the hallmark of many a successful manager, dropping an in-form Manninger and restoring Seaman straight to the starting XI.
I sadly don't think Manninger showed such form for Arsenal again. Nonetheless, from reflecting on his moment, I was reminded about the joy and pain, the pros and cons of being the stand-in, the back-up, to the more established names - while also being reminded of the need to be prepared to really grab your chance with both hands when it comes. His contribution to Arsenal, that season, echoed how I felt about Sammy Silvera and Delano Burgzorg directly after our memorable victory at West Brom this season - whatever their place in the pecking order was and however much they played, did they or didn't they step up when their team really needed them to?
@werdermouth - you are certainly taking parental responsibility very seriously indeed! The really heavy metal stuff is too much for me, can’t hear the lyrics and it is just shouting to me. AC/DC is just about my limit.
I think you need to try and educate your son into something else!! Luckily my kids never got into the heavy stuff although the first gig my daughter wanted to go to was The Darkness.
Dont forget the earplugs, don’t get arrested or converted to the fundamental Christianity that is prevalent in the USA.
This is a post from an Ipswich facebook page called Tractor Guy.
@original-fat-bob good to hear from you, sorry to hear your ongoing health issues. I hope you will be fitvenough to get along to at least one more game this season, butvif not you will at least havevthevfull close season to get fit again.
My April is extremely busy and I will struggle to find time to do much preparation to write anything substantive for the Watford game, but if no one else could step into the nreach I will write a quick something to post after the Sheffield W game.
All the best OFB with your steady recovery - let's hope Boro can give you lift in the coming games!
Survived the Christian Metal gig and managed to get a decent spot on a balcony near the back of the venue (also near the bar) though wasn't as loud as feared and I'd probably put them more rock than metal - plus the frontman only mentioned Jesus once and thankfully not the second coming in his new orange messiah incarnation over the pond.
At one point they sang a song called 'Sick of it' with the line 'raise your hands if you're sick of it' - where everyone duly followed - although I feel the intention of my raised hand was not fully acknowledged as they continued. The singer then spoke about how music is a great help for people with suicidal tendencies - I wouldn't say he was looking directly at me on the balcony as I leaned over the railings but maybe I didn't look as overly happy as those around me.
Anyway, overall it wasn't too bad and they played well and put on a good performance without any indication that they were a Christian rock band with any agenda - my son viewed half of the gig through his phone as he videoed his favourite tracks and persuaded Mrs Werder to part with some cash for an overpriced merched hoodie - which I continued in going beyond parental responsibilities by washing and leaving to dry so he could wear it for school this morning
Perhaps some tracks for Boro among their playlist... Surviving the Game, Back from the Dead, Victorious, Undefeated and Rise - but hopefully not Sick of it...
@powmillnaemore I will cover OFB’s Watford game if you prefer.
I am going to be travelling so will also have limited time, but I will put something together as my first preview on here.
Could you give me some advice as best to post it. I have tried uploading items in the past and failed. Otherwise I will just have to write in the box. I normally use Google on my Laptop which I will use for this.
Also get well soon OFB. Just seen the remarkable figures from MFC. Over 19000 Easrl Bird ST’s sold. I hope they are not telling porky pies
@mw-in-darwin Thanks for sharing that one. Sounds like Ipswich fans have a similar view to some Boro fans although I guess it is the same club wide. The joys of being a football supporter I guess.
Still not sure what the outcome will be on Sunday - I do know that there will be a lot of anxious supporters either watching, listening, following via the BBC or in the case of some, hiding behind the sofa!
The traveling Boro supporters will be ready for a sleep come 12 after an early start in the morning although full respect to those that do make the trip down - Google says 4 hours 21 minutes so with stops and a buggeration factor, a 5 am start?
UTB
@werdermouth Glad you survived and it wasn’t as bad as feared. You weren’t persuaded to go into the mosh pit then?!!
@pedro - A very surprising number indeed - maybe there is more optimism than we thought about our chances?
Hilarious, Werder. You had the entire Masterman household in stitches. Glad to hear that you at least managed to get high for the evening
Great spot MW. Thanks for posting such a literate and well argued post that is highly encouraging from our point of view. I just hope to heaven that he is right
Great spot MW. Thanks for posting such a literate and well argued post that is highly encouraging from our point of view. I just hope to heaven that he is right
We all should perhaps listen to the tracks from the band that Weder saw - their Christian songs may help us believe that Boro can Rise!
Boro yesterday revealed season ticket sales for the 2026/27 season have passed 19,000, which is the most in the early bird period for more than a decade.
Nico to an increase in the numbers. Up the Boro!
Good afternoon, friends of the DiasBoro.
I'll admit that the Ipswich fan's post took me by surprise in many a way - in terms of points, in terms of games played and in terms of squad depth, I would argue that they are better placed than any of their second place rivals and therefore are better positioned to put it right than we are. It leads me onto my next insight.
PLAN B - "B" TEAMS, BAMFORD AND BACK-UP PLANS
Memories are still fresh of how a certain Spaniard attained what will likely remain, for now, our best results of the century in any division, and often came a fine margin - a missed chance, a defensive mistake, a "more suitable" signing - away from achieving more, yet what seemed to be unjustified debates about his way of doing things raged on. Even as he kept winning games with one up front, the desire for two was still favoured.
This brings us to three "B" teams - Burnley, Brighton and Brentford. The feeling that they had shown much more fairness, decency and open-mindedness to their set-ups, although we don't know that for sure, than we had. And the belief that all three were rewarded with promotion for simply maintaining their belief, keeping calm and dealing with bad times which happen to any club at any time anyway.
But they are Burnley, Brighton and Brentford - not Boro. None of them have had the same prolonged stay in the Premier League that we have had, and therefore, expectations are likely lower there. We were, as another fan once put it, utterly spoiled between 1994 and 2008, and I still ponder if we are, or can be, entirely in tune with the realities of what I'll call a New Boro.
Right now, it seems hugely unreasonable and downright unfair to be downbeat about a season where we're near the top of the table, we've often played great football, we've had good attendances at home, we have a manager who visibly loves his job and we still have a chance of going up. Arguments that repeated opportunities to cement a top two place have not been taken are valid, but the level of dismay? It doesn't seem right.
Yet I get it. I get the frustration. And I also get the feelings of those who believe that a third spell for Patrick Bamford would have provided the goals to get us over the line. Arguments that Bamford is now in his thirties, that he's injury prone, that he might not have been content to be a mere "back-up" option, that we're not the same club we were in 2015 or 2018, that you can't keep "living in the past" and that the wages and fee may have been a little much for a short-term option are all valid, especially when the club's current strategy appears to be a sound one of buying younger players with potential and later making a profit.
But I also thought of the primary players behind our "Fuchsian Fillips" - Uwe Fuchs, Marco Branca and Jordan Rhodes. In the longer-term, Jan Aage Fjortoft, Hamilton Ricard and Alvaro Negredo would be the go-to front men, but there is more to a signing than just the football - if the club either splashes out on or makes a loan move for a proven forward who is eager to succeed, whatever his age or suitability for the manager's system, it sends out a message to the fans that the promotion bid is being taken seriously. That's exactly what signing Branca did, for sure - it gave everyone a massive lift, along with Bryan Robson putting him straight into the starting line-up when he'd barely arrived at the club. Never mind that the player "wasn't ready" - the impact was immediate and what we were looking for. It was a gamble, sure, but it paid off.
And I think that's what people are missing. Not necessarily ambition, but a clear sign of ambition that an accomplished striker spells out. I feel for Jeremy Sarmiento, I really do - he's a proven promotion winner with Ipswich and Burnley! - but he's not inspiring fans like Bamford may well have. Particularly since Bamford is associated with that magical spell of hope that grew in early 2015 - who doesn't remember his marvellous goals against Millwall, Derby and Ipswich, and how happy they made us?
That said.
I've learned over the years that a head coach proves that he is a good head coach by making the most of the resources he has available, while a lesser head coach, though not necessarily a poor one, will always need more money, more players, or more money to buy players.
As enjoyable as the majority of 2014-16 was, many, perhaps too many, players were signed and a lot of money was spent. There was an absence of sound foundations to build upon following our most recent season in the Premier League, which perhaps exacerbated itself with one too many signings in the Garry Monk era.
The current set-up, which kind of took shape from Chris Wilder onwards, could perhaps be criticised for a lack of ambition. But I would instead suggest that now we have a plan which doesn't simply involve splashing cash on players that we think will do the business. We do appear to look for players who fit the plan, and aren't a regressive step back for the sake of short-term gain.
Furthermore, we aren't over-extending our finances, at least not in a way I know of. I understand that some would prefer that, once in a while, a huge wad of cash is stumped up to inspire an instant change. But, as the signings of Finley Munroe, Leo Castledine and Sarmiento indicate, we have both sound foundations and the future very much in mind. It seems to be about finding the right people for the job in hand and standing by them even through bad times.
I think this demonstrates our back-up plan - a preparedness to continue clearly demonstrable progress whatever league we are in or whoever the head coach is. To be open, as Wilson from Home Improvement might say had he been a football fan, to other foundational and managerial avenues no matter what - as we were, and we had to be, when Rob Edwards suddenly departed.
EXMIL CHALLENGE 2026 - Part 3 - Final Reminder
With 7 hours remaining to submit their Part 3 predictions, the following are yet to post:
Forever Dormo, werdermouth and Powmill Naemore.
Come on BORO.
The Guardian’s thoughts on the promotion race:
EXMIL CHALLENGE 2026 - Part 3
I am pleased to report everyone submitted their Part 3 predictions in on time, nobody predicting that Boro will finish outside of the top 6 👍.
Come on BORO.
Werder what a great intro - topical funny and relevant. Your writing is so fresh and full of energy.
Bob I am sorry to hear of your continued health struggle. I do hope you feel better soon. Good health is our most precious gift, without it life is hard. Hopefully the posts on this blog let you know you are part of a community who share your interests, appreciate your comments and views, and also value you and your wit and wisdom.
UTB
Chris
And so "Frank Lampard's Coventry City" clinches promotion to the Prem courtesy of an equaliser scored six minutes before the final whistle at Blackburn... 🙁 Plenty of media coverage, needless to say ("return after 25 years"). Would that have been the case, had it been Boro? Somehow I doubt it. 🙁
In truth Coventry were already up as only Millwall could’ve forced them out of the top two on goal difference if they didn’t win another point. But since they had +33 goal difference over the Lions it was only an extremely remote mathematical possibility.
Thanks for that excellent Match
I say, let Coventry enjoy their moment and let's focus on ours. We know that were we in their shoes, we'd want to make the most of it.
Here's another insight for you all.
(P) LUCK OF THE IRISH
Reflecting on Jack Charlton's Ireland reign has reminded me that all a team's got to do to keep in contention for the big prize is stay in the mix, no matter how unlikely it looks that they'll actually attain it. A rough start to the Euro '88 qualifying campaign, with five points from five games (and this was in the days of two points for a win and 'keepers being allowed to pick up a backpass) seemed to have thrown Ireland off course but the right fixtures fell for them at the right time - the home and away games against Luxembourg. Never mind that the wins weren't all that convincing, they got them, and the momentum was right when Bulgaria came to Dublin and left with nothing. Even so, Bulgaria, who had a 100% home record, needed only a point at home to Scotland to secure their qualification - but the most unlikely thing happened. Gary Mackay, in one of just four appearances for his country, scored his only international goal with just four minutes on the clock. Bulgaria 0, Scotland 1, and Ireland were going to Euro '88 - it's a story I never tire of telling.
It was another rough start for Ireland in the Italia 90 qualifiers. Draws in Belfast and in Budapest along with a 2-0 loss in Seville left them winless and goalless. But, again, the right breaks came at the right time - by the time 1989 came around, so too did four consecutive home fixtures and four wins out of four, starting with a Michel own goal in a 1-0 win over Spain. More convincing wins over Malta, Hungary and Northern Ireland followed, effectively sealing qualification, though a late Hungarian goal against Spain in Budapest held off the celebrations a bit. Still, Jack remained calm - in his words, Hungary would still have to go to Seville and win by five or six and Ireland would have to lose in Malta. Neither happened - Ireland won comfortably, 2-0, with John Aldridge - Ireland's Cristhian Stuani - getting off the mark internationally, and Spain thrashed Hungary.
Euro 92 was a different story. A great start this time, with an Aldridge hat-trick helping the team to a 5-0 win over Turkey in Dublin, but a trio of draws followed - two 1-1s against England and a 0-0 home draw vs Poland. A win in Poland would have been a huge step towards qualification, but a 3-1 lead turned into a 3-3 draw. The silver lining was that the Poles stayed in contention and therefore, logically, were more likely to be tougher opposition for England when they came to Poland. (We've learned it can work the other way too, though - Scotland, after all, had little to play for when they gave Ireland a helping hand in 1987, and neither did Ipswich when their 2-0 win over Sunderland in 1998 handed promotion right back to us.) Ireland did the business in Turkey, buoyed by news of England losing 1-0 in Poland... but Jack was to have his world turned by the sight of Mick McCarthy's "three (foot) long" face.
"You haven't heard, then. Gary Lineker has just gone and scored for England - we're out."
A blow. But the Irish team could still pick themselves up for the USA 94 qualifiers. Two draws against Denmark, a very well earned point that could easily have been a win in Seville and doubles over Lithuania, Latvia and Albania, along with a 3-0 home win over Northern Ireland, set them up nicely to secure qualification with one game in hand by the time they faced Spain as well. The loss of their Hayden Hackney, Andy Townsend (both have been key figures in battling for promotion for Boro, both have been captains, both have worn the No 7 shirt - coincidence?) didn't help, but the right result was still possible - until their Typical Boro moment, a classic "wasn't in the script" three goal burst from the Spaniards in the first half, put paid to that.
Although we didn't know it at the time, John Sheridan's second half consolation would be so much more - it would keep Ireland's goal difference closer to Denmark's, meaning that even if Denmark only lost by a single goal in Spain, a draw in Belfast would be enough for Ireland. Except they were facing a Northern Ireland side who really weren't going to lie down, and with just over fifteen minutes to go Jimmy Quinn hit a stunning volley into the back of the net. As things stood, Ireland were going out - except it was time for another fringe man to suddenly really step up when his team needed to. The late Alan McLoughlin, with his stunning strike just minutes after Quinn's goal. All while, in Seville, Spain had been reduced to ten men early on with Andoni Zubizarreta's sending off, his replacement Santiago Canizares was delivering a tremendous performance in his place, and future Boro trialist Jose Bakero had clearly impeded Peter Schmeichel while a corner found its way to Fernando Hierro for a header into the Danish net. Bakero would say years later that "of course" he made a foul, and Schmeichel reached the conclusion, at the time, that the referee had regretted sending off Zubizaretta "and started to give the Spanish a few favours".
Ireland tried to seal their qualification for sure with a win, but couldn't. 1-1 it finished. They celebrated nonetheless, believing, mistakenly, that Spain had won and they had qualified. But then Jack discovered Spain and Denmark were still playing. Did he want to watch it? Of course he didn't. But he was then asked to look again and saw that the game had, indeed, finished. A team who scored only four goals in nine games at the World Cup under Big Jack achieved qualification by scoring more goals than Denmark. It really was the tightest of finishes. And proof, if proof were needed, how pressure tells at the very end.
Euro 96 was one qualifying campaign too many for a tired and aging team. A perfect start of three wins out of three with eleven goals scored started to fizzle away in 1995 with a home draw against Northern Ireland. A hard fought win over Portugal, perhaps Jack's last great home win with Ireland, ought to have brought back the momentum, but then came that draw in Liechtenstein. One win in four after that with ten goals leaked, yet Ireland somehow survived to the play-off match with Holland, who won it easily, 2-0.
Even so, Jack's team had remained in contention right until the end, every single time - and this Boro team will gain immense credit by doing the same.
Thanking "Weirder" for the Match Preview (above) might have sounded unfriendly, maybe even downright rude. Instead it was a typo and my fat fingers apologise. I also failed to spot it before sending the post in! I will NEVER get the hang of this interwebby thing.