On this day in 1978, Micky Burns was the star of the show as Boro stuck seven goals past Chelsea. And Micky scored four!
I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was listening to BBC World Service like every Saturday. Just couldn't believe the score 7-1 and a Boro player scoring FOUR.
My favourite player of the time was Terry Cochrane but I also idolised Micky Burns. It just blew my mind out that we had such a player. Later, when Micky was pictured on an issue of Shoot!, I naturally put the picture on my bedroom wall.
I just wonder if a Boro player has scored four goals in a league match ever since 1978?
Read more about the Chelsea match: https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/onthisday-in-1978-burns-on-fire-and-boro-in-seventh-heaven
Happy days. Up the Boro!
@ken: With the Aussies at 221-2 with two balls left on Day 1, I think the tide has receded some distance in terms of the likelihood of an England win. Still possible, of course, but not likely.
@jarkko Terry Cochrane lived opposite one of my school friends, those were the days when footballers lived in normal houses on estates
@paulinboro Yes, Terry Cochrane was also the first Boro player I ever met. Had a cuppa with him in 1980.
What a team we had in the match versus Chelsea. Tiny Stan Cummins was in fire. Anthony Vickers shared a link to the match highlight. Really enjoyd that. Up the Boro!
Jarrko
No Boro player has scored 4 goals in a LEAGUE match since Mickey Burns, although Craig Hignett scored 4 all in first half in a 6-0 first leg win of a League Cup match against Brighton in September 1993 as did Fabrizio Ravanelli in a League Cup match in September 1996 in a 7-0 win against Hereford. I take it that you made a misprint in the Chelsea match as it finished 7-2 after the Pensioners had scored first. I still have a VHS recording of that match as it was on Match of the Day.
Of course before Mickey Burns 4 goals it wasn’t uncommon for Boro players to score 4 goals in a match. The list includes Billy Pease, Micky Fenton, Wilf Mannion, Charlie Wayman and John Hickton, Alan Peacock twice, with George Camsell and Brian Clough each several times, but only 4 players have scored 5 goals in a match for Boro - Andy Wilson 1923, George Camsell 1926 and 1935, Ralph Birkett 1935 and Brian Clough 1958.
What would we give now for any of those goalscorers today!
Spurs have had another match postponed, that’s 4 in succession. I expect several more over the Christmas and New Year. It might be the bigger the stadium, the higher the risk. Everyone, and I mean everyone should be wearing a mask. I would stop away fans from travelling to matches certainly over the Christmas period. It’s clear to me that these types of viruses are here to stay for several years yet.
@ken Yes, it was a 7-2 win as you said. But the tiny Cummins was excellent. Many other famous players were in that line up, too.
Yes, I meant in league matches I remembered the Ravanelli four versus Hereford. Hignett's archievments were forgotten by me, though.
So, 43 years and counting. In 1978 I knew it was rare, but I hope to see something similar one day. During the Wilder days we have in front of us, perhaps? I hope so.
Up the Boro!
I have a feeling this might be the last match for Boro (and other league clubs) for a while. I could always be wrong about this, but with messages being leaked from the medical experts on Sage, and the fact that a meeting is planned today (by Zoom?) which may involve the devolved administrations, there is a feeling that, immediately after Christmas Day, the drawbridge will be raised.
It has the sort of feeling we experienced just as the Cheltenham Festival was starting, and the last Champions League cup tie with Liverpool at home (which they lost) in the Spring of 2020 when Covid infections were on the rise - with plenty of commentators saying afterwards that those events should have been closed down.
I have been "humming and ha-ing" over whether to go to the Bournemouth game which kicks off early at 12.30pm in order to be shown on SkyTV. Obviously many other games have been already postponed, both in the Premier League and the Championship but I think Boro's game will go ahead.
There will, of course, be these new Covid arrangements on arrival, with people having to show their Covid Pass or an email or message confirming their negative LFT result (or a paper copy of these) which must inevitably cause some delays before the turnstiles. And it is the Saturday game nearest to Christmas which may mean some people will have been dragged off to do Christmas shopping. But, with it being live on Sky, and with many people no doubt taking the view it might be better for them to shield at home rather than go into a substantial gathering of people, I suspect the crowd will be several thousands down on the figure the club might have anticipated for this fixture in a "normal" year.
So, we go to the game with hope. Always dangerous....
There's a sense of foreboding about the entire football programme and I do wonder if they'll hold off with the bad news until Boxing Day. As for this game it has draw all over it for me and I'm sure Bournemouth would be happy with a point.
I'll go for 2-2 whilst quietly hoping that Boro get a bit more from the game...
Stay safe everyone,
UTB,
John
East access into the ground. Certainly looks like the crowd will be, in real terms, 3 or 4K down.
Quite foggy and cold.
Looks like Bola is the Covid absent then. Let's see how Taylor performs and whether we can contain Solanke
A good start from Boro but Bournemouth looked the better side as the game progressed. Lumley’s clearances a concern for me and the Cherries could and should be 3-1 up at half-time.
Tavernier poor first half and definitley need a new goalkeeper in January!
After a bright opening with Jones having the beating of his man and Watmore full of running, Boro should have taken the lead.
A sweet move between Crooks, Jones and Watmore ended with Crooks firing against the keeper from close range.
From then on Bournemouth took control and should have been well in front courtesy of some suicidal passing at the back by Lumley, Djicksteel and Howson. Three gilt-edged chances were squandered by the Bournemouth strikers.
Boro bounced back towards the interval with a deflected Djidksteel shot bringing an outstanding save from their keeper.
Not much in it then, but if Boro run out of steam later in the game we may be glad of a point.
Jones, Crooks and Watmore all taking the eye for Boro, with Taylor making a solid debut. Sporar invisible and Tav quiet.
Tavernier poor first half and definitley need a new goalkeeper in January!
Malcolm,
I guess with Stewart Downing and Jonathan Woodgate long gone you’ve found your next victim! 😉
Seriously though, he’s a 22yr old lad trying his heart out but in a bad spell. We should be supporting him through it.
@lenmasterman A win is a win. Could have made it two in the final minutes. An excellent result for the mighty Boro.
We will be going up. Up the Boro!
Quite enjoyed the match, it could have been 3-3 some poor misses
In the end Boro were worthy winners. Bournemouth and Fulham though are still my favourites for automatic promotion.
Bournemouth's fans were faced with a 636-mile round trip for the lunchtime kick-off, with supporters' coaches having left the Vitality Stadium at 03:00 GMT.
Dear me. SKY must love the pain coused to the fans.
Up the Boro!
A good win against a side odds-on to be in the Premier League next season.
A fortunate penalty, in my view, with the ref buying Jones's dive in the penalty area. The lad did the right thing getting himself between the ball and the man, but the slight touch was not enough to bring him down and the case for Jones looking for the penalty was clinched by the final theatrical dive. He might equally well have been booked.
The visitors should have had a red card themselves in the first half. When Cahill hacked down Watmore in full flight, it was a nasty foul, rather than a routine trip or pull-back, and with the ball 10 yards away the centre-back should have had a straight red. That Hernandez should receive a similar punishment (correctly) for taking off his shirt only compounded the injustice.
Against expectations Boro were the better team in the second half. Sporar livened up, Hernandez (playing for a contract?) contributed more as a late sub than he has in all of the time he has been here, and had Tav not spurned a late chance the win would have been a comfortable one.
An unexpected highlight for me was a 3 or 4 minute period in the second half in which we kept the ball with some skilful passing before finishing it off with a well worked chance.
Jones was my M-o-M closely followed by Crooks and Watmore. Paddy played well, Taylor made a solid debut and Fry held Solanke. Djikesteel looked vulnerable defensively, but was positive in going forward. Lumley made a vital save to preserve the three points without ever looking like a No.1 keeper. Tav has all of the talents, but seems content at the moment to be a bit-part contributor.
Slapdash passing at the back could have had us three down by half-time, and we would have been telling a very different story. In Shakespearean terms what could have been a major tragedy turned out to be all's well that ends well. A warm winter's tale to give us something positive to hope for in these chilly times
Onwards and, hopefully, upwards.
@lenmasterman. Excellent summary, thanks Len. I agree, onwards and hopefully upwards. 😎
I think every Boro supporter would have taken that result after all a win is a win. Watching there are still rough edges and sharp corners but I think that Mr Wilder and his team are doing a great job with the squad. My positive side says that Boro can only get better as they play with the style and geometry that the manager demands. I do believe there is a lot more to come and some astute additions and variations on the theme that is developing are going to make the rest of the season even more interesting.
Well done Boro. Stay safe everyone.
UTB,
John
An interesting story on Football Focus today which many of you may have missed. B
I missed the first 10 minutes but this seemed to be a game of three halves. We seem to have started like a house on fire then Bournemouth got a hold of us. For about 30 minutes it was a game of both teams trying to play the same way but Bournemouth had years of practice while we are still learning. Better finishing and we could have gone in at half-time 2-0 down.
We didn't and, credit to us, we pinned them back again and got a slightly soft penalty. Bournemouth looked like a team struggling with their own demons and with better finishing we could have won the game 3-0.
We are still a work in progress but one thing that Wilder has made clear is that he expects the players to trust the system. His subs again were about fresh legs rather than changing the dynamics.
Hernandez had the best game I've seen him have for us. Jones is probably our most exciting player since Traore; we're also getting better at getting the ball to him so he can move on to it. Taylor had a quietly competent debut. We are struggling to mount a threat down the left to match Jones on the right.
We do struggle down the left due to a lack of natural left-footers. Tav tends to dwell on the ball sometimes; I think he's trying to do too much. That said, I don't think Payero is the answer: he's right-footed and would imbalance the team on the left. Shame that (presumably) Lea Siliki is the one who had a positive Covid test; with AfCon coming up as well I think we'll be saying goodbye if we can. On paper Lea Siliki is a perfect fit for the attacking left-sided midfielder in Wilderball.
For a team in transition we are starting to pick up really good results and playing some really good football at times. A successful January window and we could be mounting a serious challenge for the top 6. We're still outsiders but the teams just above us will be starting to worry now.
Thanks Len a great report I suppose the game this afternoon was “ As You Like It”
OFB
OFB
I think there was a foul on Jones that resulted as a penalty. So the referee got that correct - it was a foul.
But a VAR could have made it a free kick just outside of the penalty box. So we were a bit lucky in there but all credit to Jones for keeping himself between the ball and the defender. And slowing down his speed to get the faul and penalty.
But we played well against one of the top teams. Good teams need luck and we rode our luck in the first half when we gave the ball away at the back a few times. Credit to the Cherries for their press up topat the time.
Happy days. Let's enjoy the ride now. Up the Boro!
CW has done a brilliant job in the few weeks he has been here. The players have taken on board his methods very quickly and that has shown in recent games and especially today, so all credit to them. I believe the passion for the club from every one in the new regime has increased dramatically which then passes on to the supporters who now believe at last they have a manager who actually knows what he is doing. With added players in January the future is looking bright for MFC and fans after a few dismal years. Let's hope that Covid doesn't interupt our momentum in the short term. Stay safe everyone.
I watched today’s game at home. My wife is vulnerable and asked me not to go this time, given her understandable anxiety about the Covid situation currently.
i enjoyed the game. I particularly enjoyed Boro’s second half showing, which I thought was tremendous. Defensively we were excellent, but we also created a number of chances with some slick and impressive forward movement. We might have scored three or four more - and should certainly have had at least one. I did think it was a penalty. The ref might have blown for the first (lighter) touch just outside the box, but Jones definitely received a strong push in the back as he ran into the penalty area. His forward momentum might have unbalanced him, admittedly, but I think the Bournemouth defender knew he’d fouled the lad - there were few protests from the men in green.
Suddenly, we’re on a roll. One goal conceded in 4 games. Ten points from twelve. We are in with a real chance of mounting a sustained play-off challenge. Let’s hope Wilder is aware of our habitually poor record post-Christmas and has plans in place to counteract it, even before it happens!