Middlesbrough have
had a tumultuous history in the last couple of decades ... almost going
out of business, before moving to a new stadium and getting big money
backing to buy top players and fail in cup finals.
It all started
so differently. There are even disputes about how the club came
about. One story goes that they formed in a local gym at the
Albert Park Hotel, while a more prosaic tale tells that the club got
together over a tripe supper at the Corporation Hotel ... and from the
way the club progressed the latter might have more than a ring of truth
to it.
In their early
years, they won two Amateur Cups, one of which in 1898 was achieved
despite having to play the semi-final miles away from their home ground,
because of a smallpox outbreak in Cleveland at the time. Funnily
enough, illness hit the club again in 1997, when the club could not put
a side out to play Blackburn Rovers and lost three points. Three
points that lost them their place in the Premier League. Maybe it
was travelling that did it, as once they went four and a half years
without an away win (33 games).
Innovation is
not anything new to Boro. In 1902, they had the first half-time
scoreboard, which involved a man with some chalk, making lots of dots to
produce the latest scores for the crowd on a blackboard. Alf
Common was signed in 1905 for £1,000, a record at the time and you can
see that even then, Boro were throwing big money after common
players. Just a couple of years later, Brian Average was bought
for £1,500.
They really
came into their own in the late 20s, when in 1927, Middlesbrough took
the Second Division title, with George Camsell scoring 59 goals, among
them 8 hat-tricks, still a record. Unfortunately, they were
relegated straight away (another phenomenon that was to be repeated much
later), but won the championship the following year to get back to the
First Division.
With the gates
locked at Ayresome Park in 1985-86, the club looked like slipping out of
business. They had offered the use of the ground to Hartlepool
United, who were being forced to rebuild two of their stands, but Boro
ended up playing their first game of the season at Victoria Park, as it
was they who were without a ground !! But they were rescued by
forming a new company and then chairman Steve Gibson started pumping
lots of money from his personal fortune to fund a new ground at the
Riverside and also in buying big name players in the twilight of their
careers. Again, this helped and hindered their progress, because many of
the players were here only to line their pockets and left as soon as the
going got tough. That happened in a weird season, when in 1997
Boro lost in both major domestic cup finals and were relegated from the
Premiership, while still managing to fit in a defeat in the League Cup
final for the second year running. Echoing the 1927-29 years, they
bounced back with promotion straight away.
Now established
in the Premiership, Steve McClaren has taken over the reins from Bryan
Robson and Boro are seeking some stability rather than the roller-coaster
years of the late 90s. The achievement of winning a trophy at
Cardiff in 2004 by McClaren's side would have been welcomed by Robson,
who was known to enjoy taking part in the Carling Cup.
A 2006 UEFA Cup final loss was
a fitting finale to McClaren's time at Boro, where he left to take over
the England job, while former England international Gareth Southgate
took over the hot seat and struggled to match his predecessor's efforts
in the first season as manager, but as crowds became smaller and the
money injected by Chairman Steve Gibson similarly reduced, the managers
came and went as Boro were the only constant in staying in the
Championship.
After a couple of attempts,
Aitor Karanka, the former Real Madrid player, took Boro up as champions
and a new top flight era began.
Famous Players
: - Rocky Outcrops; Wilf Mannion; Ian Hoe Jnr.; Stuart Boam; John Craggs; Juninho;
Brian Clough; Malcolm "Bunny" Warren; Alf Common;
Famous Fans : - Bob
Mortimer (Comedian & Actor "Reeves & Mortimer",
"Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)"; Chris Kamara (Sky Sports
commentator); Chris Rea (Musician); David Shayler (Former MI5 spy); Jet
(Former star of "Gladiators"); Derek Thomson (Channel 4 Racing
presenter)
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