Flashback/On this Day Erimus74 & McMordie

[Duvel 947]

5 hours ago, RiseAgainst said:

Wish we'd signed more players like Mustoe over the years. Unglamorous and often unheralded, but a key part of any successful team. How we could use his talents now. He'd probably still be more effective than some of our midfielders.

He was a far better player than what we've currently got at the club. 

[estonpidge 308]

what we could do with a Mustoe and Higgy now

 

[McMordie 20]

(Apologies to Erimus for referencing matches he's previously referred to - we haven't played on 7 August very often!)

August 7th 1971

Boro 4 Hibernian 2  (Yes, Erimus - Hibs again!)

Boro looked in fine fettle a week ahead of the 1971/72 season as they swept aside Hibernian more comfortably than the scoreline suggests. New signings Stuart Boam and Nobby Stiles appeared to be settling in well. Boam bought more presence to the defence, albeit looking hesitant at times, while Stiles used his experience to control the game from the middle of the park before coming off at half time. He said that he had done so partly to give someone else a run out and partly to have a look at the team from a trainer's perspective and that having done so he had a feeling that it wouldn't be too long before he was playing at Old Trafford again. As it turned out, he was right, but only because Boro drew Manchester United in the FA Cup later in the season.

Against Hibs, Boro were 4-0 up by the interval as Hibs' young goalkeeper, who was only playing because their new first choice keeper's international clearance papers hadn't arrived, was regularly left stranded by his statuesque defence. John Hickton helped himself to a hat trick and Joe Laidlaw chipped in with another.

Hickton got the first after just two minutes with a glancing header from a free kick from wide on the left. It was 2-0 after five minutes after a goalmouth mix up allowed Laidlaw to score off the post. Laidlaw turned provider after 20 minutes, crossing from the right for Hickton to head home, and Big John completed his hat trick on 35 minutes with another simple header.

Boro relaxed in the second half, allowing Hibs to make the score more respectable with two quick headed goals of their own. The first came from Joe Baker after 52 minutes, with second half substitute Hazel adding the second on 58 minutes. All in all though, a good performance by Boro. They now had a midweek friendly with Benfica to look forward to (which famously brought back together Stiles and Eusebio) and then it was all set for the opening league fixture at Portsmouth. (This is Boro we're talking about - you know what happened next).

 

In the news - 2800 shipyard workers at Swan Hunter voted by just 45 votes to remain on strike after the latest pay offer fell 25p a week below their demands, two brothers were rescued off the North Sea coast after cutting the roof off their van and paddling out to sea on it (yes, really), the crew of Apollo 15 splashed down safely in the Pacific and three soldiers were shot during rioting in Belfast.

Top of the charts - Get it On by T Rex.

[McMordie 20]

In the newspaper report  for this game the Boro team is given as:

 

Williams, Woodham, Jones, Stiles. Spraggon, Boam, Downing, Mills, Hickton, Vincent, Laidlaw.  Subs - Gates, McMordie, Stone.

Williams and Woodham mean nothing to me. I assume that Williams is a misprint and that it was actually Whigham (especially as David Mills is also referred to as Hills) but does anyone remember Woodham?

 

Hibs' team was - Price, Brownlie, McKewan, Stanton, Black. Blackley, Stevenson, Hamilton, Baker, Cropley, Duncan.  Subs - Pringle, O'Rourke, Graham.

A future Boro player in there!

[Old Codger 681]

don't see Willie Maddren's name....fairly sure he was in the team though

[McMordie 20]

August 7th 1976

Boro 2 Hull City 0

A comfortable start to Boro's defence of the Anglo Scottish Cup, despite this being their fourth game in five days after playing three friendlies in Finland during the week. Two 19 year olds starred for Boro. Ian Bailey looked composed at left back, while former Peterlee Grammar School boy Graeme Hedley created both goals and came close to scoring twice himself on his debut.

Less encouraging was the news that Graham Souness had handed in a transfer request. Although it had been immediately turned down he was quoted as saying that he intended to see his desire to leave through to the very end, amid speculation that he already had his next club lined up. Of course, his move away from Ayresome Park never materialised and he went on to play a further 700 games for Boro, leading us to our European Cup Final success in 1984. (Ok, I made that up - he was indeed off to Liverpool).

The game almost had a premature end as the referee stopped play in the first half and threatened to take the players off because someone was disrupting play by blowing a whistle on the Holgate End. After a loudspeaker appeal the phantom whistled desisted.

Boro dominated the first half but were thwarted by missed chances and some fine saves by Hull keeper Jeff Wealands but they finally broke the deadlock on 64 minutes as wantaway Souness stabbed the ball home from close range. The lead was doubled six minutes later when Phil Boersma cracked home a spectacular first time shot. Next up in Boro's quest for back to back ASC triumphs - a midweek trip to Sheffield United.

 

In the news - Prime Minister Jim Callaghan announced that struggling Britain may need to seek a further loan from the International Monetary Fund, there were riots in Soweto and Port Elizabeth in South Africa, 51 year old comedian Charlie Drake announced his engagement to an 18 year old can can dancer from his seaside show and a report suggested that changes to the climate may be causing Britain's summers to become warmer permanently (this was the long, hot, dry summer of 1976).

Top of the charts - Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee.

 

 

[Erimus74 254]

19 hours ago, McMordie said:

(Apologies to Erimus for referencing matches he's previously referred to - we haven't played on 7 August very often!)

August 7th 1971

Boro 4 Hibernian 2  (Yes, Erimus - Hibs again!)

Boro looked in fine fettle a week ahead of the 1971/72 season as they swept aside Hibernian more comfortably than the scoreline suggests. New signings Stuart Boam and Nobby Stiles appeared to be settling in well. Boam bought more presence to the defence, albeit looking hesitant at times, while Stiles used his experience to control the game from the middle of the park before coming off at half time. He said that he had done so partly to give someone else a run out and partly to have a look at the team from a trainer's perspective and that having done so he had a feeling that it wouldn't be too long before he was playing at Old Trafford again. As it turned out, he was right, but only because Boro drew Manchester United in the FA Cup later in the season.

Against Hibs, Boro were 4-0 up by the interval as Hibs' young goalkeeper, who was only playing because their new first choice keeper's international clearance papers hadn't arrived, was regularly left stranded by his statuesque defence. John Hickton helped himself to a hat trick and Joe Laidlaw chipped in with another.

Hickton got the first after just two minutes with a glancing header from a free kick from wide on the left. It was 2-0 after five minutes after a goalmouth mix up allowed Laidlaw to score off the post. Laidlaw turned provider after 20 minutes, crossing from the right for Hickton to head home, and Big John completed his hat trick on 35 minutes with another simple header.

Boro relaxed in the second half, allowing Hibs to make the score more respectable with two quick headed goals of their own. The first came from Joe Baker after 52 minutes, with second half substitute Hazel adding the second on 58 minutes. All in all though, a good performance by Boro. They now had a midweek friendly with Benfica to look forward to (which famously brought back together Stiles and Eusebio) and then it was all set for the opening league fixture at Portsmouth. (This is Boro we're talking about - you know what happened next).

 

In the news - 2800 shipyard workers at Swan Hunter voted by just 45 votes to remain on strike after the latest pay offer fell 25p a week below their demands, two brothers were rescued off the North Sea coast after cutting the roof off their van and paddling out to sea on it (yes, really), the crew of Apollo 15 splashed down safely in the Pacific and three soldiers were shot during rioting in Belfast.

Top of the charts - Get it On by T Rex.

Don't apologise McMordie these are excellent match report posts, I did ask the question mind, why did we play Hibs in a lot of pre-season friendlies, seems more than any other team

[Erimus74 254]

18 hours ago, Old Codger said:

don't see Willie Maddren's name....fairly sure he was in the team though

The Boro team was

Willie Whigham - Jim Platt

Willie Maddren

Gordon Jones - Mike Allen

Nobby Stiles - Bill Gates

Stuey Boam

Frank Spraggon

Derek Downing

David Mills

John Hickton

Jonny Vincent

Joe Laidlaw - Eric McMordie

[Erimus74 254]

Also this day 1987 & what a team we put out, for a North Riding cup final

 

[McMordie 20]

August 8th 1970

Mansfield Town 3 Middlesbrough 0

A 3-0 defeat to Third Division opposition might not sound like the ideal result a week before the start of the new season but this is a classic case of the scoreline only telling part of the story. This was actually Boro's second pre-season friendly within 24 hours and Friday evening had brought a wholly more encouraging 3-1 home win against Bill Shankley's First Division Liverpool.

The star of the show under the Friday night lights was18 year old David Mills. Selected ahead of Derrick Downing he contributed two goals and an all round impressive performance. 

Boro went ahead on 19 minutes. Hickton played a defence splitting pass through to Laidlaw who beat Liverpool keeper Lawrence at the near post. Liverpool's 40th minute equaliser came in controversial circumstances. Defender Larry Lloyd, who Liverpool had recently signed as a replacement for ageing Anfield hero Ron Yeats, appeared to handle in the box but as referee Pat Parteidge ignored Boro protests, Liverpool swept up the field and Smith and Hughes set up Bob Graham to score.

Liverpool had plenty of possession in the second half but lacked a cutting edge, with their ponderous build up play allowing Boro to get men behind the ball but they did come close to scoring after 76 minutes, as the game turned in a way that atoned for Liverpool's equaliser. Peter Thompsom rattled the post at one end and as Hickton chased the long clearance he collided with the onrushing Liverpool keeper, with the ball running free to Mills for an easy finish.

Boro wrapped up the win three minutes from time when Hickton crossed from the left for Mills to blast home, sending most of the 13120 crowd home happy (assuming all 13120 didn't immediately set off for Mansfield).

So to Field Mill on Saturday and Boro's Friday exertions meant a game with several substitutions. The general feeling was that the 3-0 defeat showed that while Mills had shone against Liverpool, some of the other youngsters weren't quite ready to step up. In particular, after a goalless first half, Boro's defence looked much less secure after Whigham and Jones were replaced by Platt and Myton and they duly found themselves 3-0 down within 15 minutes of the restart. Sutton gave the Stags the lead, Roberts doubled the advantage and then Frank Spraggon put through his own net.

Next up, 1970/71 season opener at Carlisle United with Hugh McIlmoyle in a race against injury to take his place.

 

In the news - The North East was hit by its biggest earthquake for 40 years, Newcastle United were struggling to reach an agreement with their Newcastle City Council landlords and were facing the real possibility of having to leave St James' Park when their 90 year lease expired in the November, five people died at the Swedish Grand Prix when cars crashed into spectators and there was a dramatic gun battle on the Tyne Ferry (for a scene in the filming of Get Carter).

Top of the charts - The Wonder of You by Elvis Presley. 

[Old Codger 681]

Myton never seemed to recover from his debut....had plenty of talent, but crowd were never off his back...think he ended up at Kettering or some place like that...another lad who drifted away like Burluraux, Webb, Moody, Charlton and Creamer 

[McMordie 20]

I hadn't realised until I was researching some of these reports that Harry Charlton was actually at Boro for 8 years.

[Old Codger 681]

Yes...he was around for a while...if he was about now, they would probably have bulked him up in the gym, but he just couldn't cope with the hatchet men that the game had then...ended up at Darlo, like most of our lads  

[Erimus74 254]

This day 1982 & starting life in the 2nd division with grim times to come the board had an open day to entice the fans to Ayresome Park 

[Erimus74 254]

9 hours ago, McMordie said:

I hadn't realised until I was researching some of these reports that Harry Charlton was actually at Boro for 8 years.

Harry played 10 first team games, plus 2 as sub, between 1970 -1975, making his debut at home to Watford in a 2-2 draw on the 31st October 1970 with his final 2 appearences he deputised for Bobby Murdoch when wearing the No7 shirt, away to Arseanal on the 30th November in a 2-0 defeat with his fianl appearence at home to Man Utd in the league cup 5th round, the game ended 0-0, this was also Peter Creamer, deputising for John Craggs, final Boro appearance

He went on loan to Hartlepools in january 1976 & signed for Chesterfield in March 1976