marvin 301 694 Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 A SCENE: It's Saturday 30th September in the year 1995. Mobile phones are the size of bricks. The Cellnet Riverside Stadium still smells new and the corners in the North West and South West don't exist yet. 29,462 football fans pack in to the stadium to watch the defending Champions of the Premier League play Bryan Robson's Mighty Boro. It's so long ago, both teams were only allowed to name three substitutes. At some point, I think I recall it being the first half, Super Jan Fjortoft finds himself face to face with Blackburn Rovers goal keeper Tim Flowers in the 18 yard box. In what appears to be an aggressive confrontation, the situation is diffused as both players kiss each other on the lips. (Fjortoft would later describe Flowers as the best kisser he ever played against.) I was sitting in the North East corner for this game, my first at the Cellnet. And when we'd beaten them 2-0, thanks to a goal each from the Midget Gems: Barmby and Hignett, 14 year old me leaves the stadium convinced we could win actually the Premier League... WHO: The Mighty Boro v Blackburn Rovers WHAT: Fixture 38 in the 2023/24 rollercoaster season WHERE: The Cellnet Riverside Stadium WHEN: 15:00 Saturday March 15th 2024 WHY: To go on an unbeaten run, you have to win every game... alorotom: In somewhat of a surprise turn of events, we managed to beat Birmingham City on Tuesday night thanks to a solitary wonder strike from former Brum loanee Riley McGree. In a game that once again demonstrated the developing maturity of Michael Carrick as a manager, Boro managed the game well and held on to at the one goal lead despite the late attacking substitutions made by Mark Venus. Boro have now won three on the bounce! Against Blackburn Rovers, Boro once again face a team below us in the league. A few weeks ago, this game would have had defeat written all over it. Blackburn have lost one of their previous five games with four draws. Their last game a late draw with Plymouth Argyle thanks to a Sammie Smodics goal. That fella seems his the new Jordan Rhodes, having banged in 21 goals this season, he tops the goalscoring chart. aikon: In the 43 games since we faced Blackburn Rovers at the Cellnet in 1995, we've won 11, drawn 14 and been defeated on 18 occasions. Having said that, >here< you will find one bold prediction of a 20-0 win to us by one disgruntled Rovers fan. Whereas if you click >here< and have a read, you'll appreciate Steve Gibson a whole load of a lot more. gnusmas: Can (will) we win again? Will we see another "sensible" performance? Line up prediction? Who is your favourite player to represent both clubs and why isn't it Rudi Gestede? UTB 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammy legend 919 943 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I think we will start with the same line up , it's worked 3 games in a row. Yes 2-1win, Latte Lath and Carke. Maybe Finch on the bench instead of Gilbert. My favourite player who played for us both is Ripper. Tremendous for us and he helped them win the league. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downsouth 6,733 36.2k Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Tricky team Blackburn not had the most favourable results at home against them. However for our home form to mirror our away form we need to get another win second of 2024 would be great especially with the IB coming up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estonpidge 1,561 6.1k Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 has to be Rippers! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeaCider24 13,964 18.6k Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 It's my stag do tomorrow. *** knows what I'm doing, I might be at the match, I might be tied up on the beach in Skinningrove. 3 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smogzilla 8,543 6.6k Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 3 minutes ago, TeaCider24 said: It's my stag do tomorrow. *** knows what I'm doing, I might be at the match, I might be tied up on the beach in Skinningrove. Congrats, hope you enjoy your day (regardless of the match!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnglianRed 6,496 15.8k Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 (edited) Great post, as usual, Marvin. Just puzzled about the backwards mobile names...whats the deal with those? Can (will) we win again? Can we win again? Certainly. Will we win again? After our recent performances I'd be disappointed if we didn't. Just checked the table and was somewhat shocked to find Blackburn have the worst defensive record in the league (after the long-since doomed Rotherham). If we can't score against that lot, there's something wrong! Rovers seem to have a knack of salvaging draws lately and a point wouldn't be the worst result, but this feels like a game where we should be looking for 3. Will we see another "sensible" performance? I feel a lot will depend on how Blackburn set up. Given their recent results I have a feeling they will be fairly defensive and it might end up being another QPR-type performance where we start out slow but grow into the game and carve out some good chances as it goes on. Line up prediction? Again, I think Carrick will want to make as few changes as possible, now that we seem to have found a system that works. Our bench isn't that strong and I couldn't see him tinkering much beyond maybe bringing Azaz in for McGree, Barlaser for Howson or Silvera for ELL, if they need resting. Who is your favourite player to represent both clubs and why isn't it Rudi Gestede? Has to be Stuart Ripley. Do you really need to ask why not Rudi? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnglianRed 6,496 15.8k Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 (edited) 23 minutes ago, TeaCider24 said: It's my stag do tomorrow. *** knows what I'm doing, I might be at the match, I might be tied up on the beach in Skinningrove. Or if your mates get really creative, possibly on a ferry to Rotterdam... 😁 Anyway, congrats and hope your big day goes well and that you don't have to explain yourself to the police at any point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeaCider24 13,964 18.6k Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 5 minutes ago, AnglianRed said: Or if your mates get really creative, possibly on a ferry to Rotterdam... 😁 Anyway, congrats and hope your big day goes well and that you don't have to explain yourself to the police at any point. I'll have plenty of time to recover, the wedding's not for another 4 months, haha. Must be a reason it's now, but it felt rude to ask. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin 301 694 Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 14 minutes ago, AnglianRed said: Great post, as usual, Marvin. Just puzzled about the backwards mobile names...whats the deal with those? Cheers AR, It was a vague link to the Cellnet sponsorship! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcar Rioja 6,772 6.6k Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 1 hour ago, TeaCider24 said: It's my stag do tomorrow. *** knows what I'm doing, I might be at the match, I might be tied up on the beach in Skinningrove. We stand with the good people of Skinningrove at this dark moment in their history! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smogzilla 8,543 6.6k Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Lovely place, Skinningrove, as long as you just look at the beach and don't turn around... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcar Rioja 6,772 6.6k Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Can (will) we win again? I think we need to stick with keeping it tighter at the back and grind out results. Effectiveness over entertainment at this stage of the season. Will we see another "sensible" performance? Have to, the alternative is to try and go backwards to go forwards and doesn't bear thinking about just yet. Things can be tested and tweaked during the IB but right now pragmatism is the order of the day. In all honesty I'd even keep it this way until the end of the season and then reset. As confidence and belief grows players will be more proactive and willing to try things so over time we will become more swashbuckling and entertaining, wins tend to have that effect. As it was nerves and belief were so shredded that a 5 yard pass was terrifying. Line up prediction? Same again, fitness and fatigue permitting. I am a little concerned however about how some of the Subs haven't been as effective as we may have hoped for and seem to be playing within themselves. I'd like to see the real Greenwood, Azaz and Silvera if given a chance. Who is your favourite player to represent both clubs and why isn't it Rudi Gestede? Can I jump the gun 5 months into the future and say Sammie Szmodics? Other than that Rippers or, albeit briefly, Shay Given. Best if I don't comment on Gestede but he lingers on in my memory in much the same way Yakubu against Wigan does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denzel Zanzibar 7,315 14.3k Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Normally a team below us at home would be a guaranteed 3 points to the visitors but I have a feeling we'll beat Blackburn, they're going through a sticky patch at the moment and confidence is low so i'll say same team as against Birmingham but we'll win 2-0. Oh and Stuart Ripley, obviously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiseAgainst 4,084 3.5k Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 (edited) Can (will) we win again? We can. Will we? I think this might be a Desmond. Will we see another "sensible" performance? I do hope so. If it ain't broke... Line up prediction? Hopefully unchanged. Ayling was my MotM midweek, so I'd be quite happy to see him in the team again if we're staying with the 532 formation, which I suspect we will. Who is your favourite player to represent both clubs and why isn't it Rudi Gestede? Shay Given. I always liked him, even when he was a skunk, and he's one of the best keepers we've ever had. As for Rudy, he epitomised everything wrong with our club in that PL season.A bad player with a bad history with us, signed in a January panic by a failing regime and trusted to do something he can't - score consistently. A genuine one in ten striker. We've had worse players turn out for us over the decades (cough*Connolly*cough), but few failed quite as spectacularly. That headed miss is perhaps the worst I've ever seen from a Boro player, in a field with some stiff competition. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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