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The Greatest Squad - Boro Edition (#16)


The Greatest Squad - Boro Edition (#16)  

26 members have voted

  1. 1. Boro's Best #16?

    • Bryan Robson
      6
    • Andy Townsend
      4
    • Joseph-Desiré Job
      13
    • Johnny Howson
      3

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  • Poll closed on 05/14/2020 at 11:00 AM

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#15 Winner - Ray Parlour

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Your #16 Contenders:

Bryan Robson
We all know how important he was as a manager. But even at 37 we saw glimpses of his talent when he started as Player-Manager. Robbo played 25 times in our promotion to the Prem in 94/95, and his leadership and governance the midfield were a key aspect to that success. He wore #16 on his final pricing, aged 39, covering for an injury crisis in defence as we lost 2-0 to Arsenal at Highbury in January 1997.

Andy Townsend
Signed in the summer of 97/98, Townsend was a rock at the centre of the Boro system which won us promotion back to the Premiership. His tactical awareness, reading of the game, and passing ability were crucial in that success. Although he'd lost his pace at 34, his work rate was incredible - and the link up play with Mersin and Hignett - later Gazza in the Prem - showed how important he was in bringing the best out of others. 

Joseph-Désire Job
Job started us on our way that hallowed night in Cardiff. The Cameroonian attacker signed from RC Lens for £3m, he struggled to hold down a regular starting place with injuries striking every time he had a run of form, but he was a player who always popped up with a goal when it mattered most. Quick, good at linking forward play - Job wad an important and reliable squad member who quietly went about his role whilst the likes of Boksic, Viduka, and Hasselbaink held the limelight. 

Johnny Howson
Not many real contenders for the number 16, but Howson has proven to be a vital, lifesaving cog in a stuttering Boro side. His versatility has been key to us getting through with such a thin squad both in terms of numbers and talent. Centre half, right back, midfield - he's done a good job in all. He's unlikely win, but he deserves a mention at least.

 

Voting closes at 12pm tomorrow. UTB!

 

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There's not a huge amount of quality on offer, here. I guess in terms of quality it would probably be between the first two who I never really seen play for us, it wasn't until a few years into following Boro that I even found out Robbo had played for us to begin with too. Certainly from what I saw of that promotion game the other day, Robbo looked keen and he was definitely a quality player all round throughout his career. Job was a useful player, not the best striker in the world but still managed to score one of the best goals the Riverside has seen against Sporting thanks to little Ricardo, as well as scoring one of the most important goals in Middlesbrough history. I really like Jonny Howson too, he's really grown on me during his time here, effort and experience often shines through.

I'm gonna change tact for this one though. I'm gonna go for Robson. Both him and Job will forever go down in Middlesbrough history and it has to be between those 2 for me because of that. But despite some of the bad times, people often comment on Robson's time at the Boro as special. Maybe more as a manager but the more I hear about him, the more I see it was as a player to begin with too.

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Job is the clear winner for me.

Robson was steady for us but he was well past his best by the time he played for us. He never let us down but he wasn't really brought here as a player. 

Townsend was good for us but another player who probably gave us steady 7/10 performances without setting the world slight. 

Howson isn't on the same level as the other 3 so it would have to be Job for me. He was good in the season that Geremi was here, he scored a few goals in the top flight, in Europe and and he obviously played a massive part in our first cup win.

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Voted Howson because despite scoring the first goal in the Carling Cup Final and THAT goal against Sporting Lisbon, I don't recall Job actually doing much for us.

Howson has been an absolute rock in midfield for us and doesn't get the credit he deserves, in all honesty.

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1 hour ago, smogsterking the Inspirati said:

It's a difficult choice as they generally all did a job for us. I'm going for Job solely on scoring the winner in the cup final and that goal vs Sporting.

Think Zenden's excellently executed penalty proved to be the winner but I get what you mean. He made a significant contribution to a big part of our recent history.

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12 minutes ago, Denzel Zanzibar said:

Voted Howson because despite scoring the first goal in the Carling Cup Final and THAT goal against Sporting Lisbon, I don't recall Job actually doing much for us.

Howson has been an absolute rock in midfield for us and doesn't get the credit he deserves, in all honesty.

I see where you are coming from. Looking at it purely from a footballing point of view, Howson has given us the best performances out the 4 players mentioned. I can see why people are also leaning towards Job, overall not as effective as Howson but that carling cup goal will live long in the memory.

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23 minutes ago, TLF10 said:

Think Zenden's excellently executed penalty proved to be the winner but I get what you mean. He made a significant contribution to a big part of our recent history.

That's true although he won the penalty as well. 

On Howson it was a toss up between him and Job. He has been quality for us but without a standout moment for us so far. I think it was the importance of his goal in our history that's what edged it.

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1 hour ago, Denzel Zanzibar said:

Voted Howson because despite scoring the first goal in the Carling Cup Final and THAT goal against Sporting Lisbon, I don't recall Job actually doing much for us.

Howson has been an absolute rock in midfield for us and doesn't get the credit he deserves, in all honesty.

He scored 19 goals for us, he scored one and had a hand in the second goal in our cup final win. I think Job did alright for us even if he wasn't always first choice. 

I don't get the Howson vote, I know he's a good team player, works hard and all that but we're comparing players here that have played well in the top flight. Howson has been a utility player in a struggling second tier team. 

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2 hours ago, estonpidge said:

Townsend, proper player!

 

1 hour ago, nunthorpered said:

Had to go Townsend too. Excellent player

Aye, seems he's another Boro midfielder who's been undervalued and underappreciated!  Was always a fan of Townsend, even before he came to Boro. 

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