Flashback/On this Day Erimus74 & McMordie

[Tractors Stopping By 88]

I did a feature on here about the Chesterfield game some years back that's probably hidden away in archives somewhere.     Thoughts of their captain Sean Dyche and your then Nigel Pearson in the run up to the game and reaction as it played out.      Didn't know today was the anniversary of the event until seeing some replies before logging out.

Is it really 27 years, that's just absurd.    Can remember it all like yesterday, one of the best games a neutral can be involved in and then some.     They went 2 - 0 ahead and were then behind  3 - 2 before some Spireites (?) player scored at the very end to save it.    Even now looking back, it was surreal.

Today there'd be no replay, not sure there'd be extra time either.     Back then before corporate greed and sponsorship really dug it's claws in the F.A. Cup was fun to watch and it held intrigue and suspense but it's just not the same any more.     Even to this day I wanted Boro to win against Chelsea in the Final.

Must have been a crazy season for all involved up there with players like Juninho, Ravanelli and Emerson and Bryan Robson as manager - reaching both domestic Cup Finals in the same year but at the same time relegated out of the top league by the final game.     I don't support the club obviously but would imagine it to be the most memorable in the clubs history.    Probably not for all the right reasons, but memories and feelings you just can't overlook or that stay forever.       The League Cup win and European Run you had was great but 1997 just stands out for me as Middlesbrough's season and a half.      Incredible involvement for the fans it must have been.  

 

[Denzel Zanzibar 6,972]

96/97 was just an absolutely mad time to be a Boro fan. Signing Ravanelli and Emerson was obviously a huge coup (particularly the former, although a lot of people do forget Emerson had just won Portuguese player of the year) but the team became so unbalanced it was ridiculous.

No need to replace an aging defence, we'll just score more goals than the opposition. Which worked great, until it didn't. Emerson going AWOL after 4 months caused a whole manner of problems, on the pitch and in the dressing room.

We finally went some way to fixing the defence by bringing in Festa and Schwarzer in January but by then we were seriously struggling and as we all know, the 3 points debacle finished us off.

While epic, with the benefit of hindsight both cup runs were a massive distraction and if we'd just focussed on the league we might have survived. I don't think i'd have changed anything though as going to Wembley for the Coca Cola Cup final is still one of the most memorable days of my life.

[Erimus74 3,072]

1 hour ago, Denzel Zanzibar said:

96/97 was just an absolutely mad time to be a Boro fan. Signing Ravanelli and Emerson was obviously a huge coup (particularly the former, although a lot of people do forget Emerson had just won Portuguese player of the year) but the team became so unbalanced it was ridiculous.

No need to replace an aging defence, we'll just score more goals than the opposition. Which worked great, until it didn't. Emerson going AWOL after 4 months caused a whole manner of problems, on the pitch and in the dressing room.

We finally went some way to fixing the defence by bringing in Festa and Schwarzer in January but by then we were seriously struggling and as we all know, the 3 points debacle finished us off.

While epic, with the benefit of hindsight both cup runs were a massive distraction and if we'd just focussed on the league we might have survived. I don't think i'd have changed anything though as going to Wembley for the Coca Cola Cup final is still one of the most memorable days of my life.

Yep, agree with all that

Once in a lifetime season

[Erimus74 3,072]

14th April 1984

Middlesbrough 1 Cambridge United 1

A team we have faced 7 times in our history yet not once beat

Our talisman of those days Heine Otto scoring our goal

Kelham O'Hanlon 

Irving Nattrass 

Tony Mowbray 

Mick Baxter 

Paul Ward

Darren Wood 

Gary Hamilton

Heine Otto

Mick Kennedy 

Paul Sugrue

Stephen Bell - David Currie

Attached is the match ticket & a few black & white photos of players from those days  

 

[Erimus74 3,072]

15th April 1905

Our first league win on this day when we travelled to Blackburn Rovers for a first division match

A brace from Charles Hewitt his 3rd Boro goal to date in our 2-0 away win & after beating Blackburn at home earlier in the season & recording our first ever top flight league double

John Robson in his final season as Boro manager seen his team finish 15th, our lowest top flight finish to date

[Erimus74 3,072]

16th April 1921

Our first league win on this day came away at Man Utd when a George Elliott goal was enough to bring both points back to the Boro

This was George Elliotts 26th & final goal of the season & revenge after losing our previous game (9th) 4-2 at home to Man Utd

Boro won only one of their remaining 4 games, drawing the other 3 as we finished in our 4th highest top flight finish of 8th. 5 places higher & 6 points better than the previous season 

Although we finished higher than the previous season, other than George Elliott Boro goalscorers were thin on the ground, with the rest of our league goals spread out between the following

Alonzo 'Jerry' Poulton 2nd best goalscorer with 5 goals.

John 'Jack' Carr with 4.

Rob Pender & Tommy Urwin with 3 a piece

A number of other players on 2's  & 1's

Jimmy Howie, our 6th different manager, had done a cracking in his 12 months as manager

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 02:32 AM by Erimus74

[Erimus74 3,072]

The morning after the night before 

27 years ago we sadly trudged out of Hillsborough after suffering a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat at the hands of Leicester City in a cruel cup final extra time defeat

Losing the league cup final at Hillsborough was so painful, but what made it worse, as we silently made our  way back to our cars/buses to get home when our thoughts would instantly drift back to what should have been, back to the first game at wembley when we were just 90 odd seconds away from winning the trophy outright at wembley a week, or so earlier

After a goaless 90 minutes Rav put us infront & what looked like the winning goal, when we celebrated I dont think I've ever heard a bigger roar

When Rav scored I was visions of buying a 12x12 foot photo of the goal, getting it signed & framed & mounted pride of place in my Boro loft, our first wembley cup final goal was going to become our trophy winning goal & for me sitting alongside our 1975 Anglo Scottish triumph, but sadly it wasnt to be

Then with time ticking by Boro had a throwin, within what seemed like seconds later, the ball was nestled in the back of our next & a replay to our already exhaustd season of continous games was to be arranged in an already busy schedule 

The wembley cup final was 12 months away from the football league deciding on penalties being the outcome after extra time if there were no winners

Attachements showing match report with front & back pages from the Evening Gazette 😞😩

[Hammy legend 685]

The replay,  I think, would have been penalties at the end of extra time and Emerson should have equalised Claridge's goal to get us there.

[Erimus74 3,072]

6 hours ago, Hammy legend said:

The replay,  I think, would have been penalties at the end of extra time and Emerson should have equalised Claridge's goal to get us there.

Enerson should have done better in the first game in extra time when leading 1-0 when running in on goal he weakly put his shot wide, could & should have put us 2-0 up & game over 😞

[Changing Times 12,343]

18 hours ago, Erimus74 said:

The morning after the night before 

27 years ago we sadly trudged out of Hillsborough after suffering a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat at the hands of Leicester City in a cruel cup final extra time defeat

Losing the league cup final at Hillsborough was so painful, but what made it worse, as we silently made our  way back to our cars/buses to get home when our thoughts would instantly drift back to what should have been, back to the first game at wembley when we were just 90 odd seconds away from winning the trophy outright at wembley a week, or so earlier

That might well be the most gutted I've ever been after a game.  Should have realised it wasn't going to be our night with all of the traffic problems getting to Sheffield.  Even though the kick off was delayed there were still loads of us who missed the first half.  I think there were Boro fans stopping off in pubs after parking up miles away from the ground so they could just watch it there.  Very quiet drive back, I can remember it as if it was yesterday 😞