Sorry for the intrusion lads but Kippers if you are reading this can you log in and drop me a PM mate?.

Speak soon buddy.
👍

3 days after we battered Arsenal 3-0 at Ayresome Park in a first division fixture Supermac was telling anyone & everyone, who wanted to listen, the Boro won't do that again in the upcoming 5th round FAC tie.
Well we did, we thumped them again, this time 4-1 with a David Mills hat trick, his 2nd of his career & the clubs 14th

Trouble throughtout the game

Pat Cuff
John Craggs
Terry Cooper
Graeme Souness - Tony McAndrew
Stuey Boam
Willie Maddren
Phil Boersma
David Mills
Peter Brine
Alf Wood
David Armstrong.

Attendance  - 35,208

Happy 75th birthday Alan Foggon, born in West Pelton on this day 23rd 1950 

Alan became Stan Andersons penultimate signing (Graeme Souness following Alan through the incoming door for Stans final signing) when paying Cardiff City £10k for his signature

25th November 1972 - Alan wore the No12 shirt when Stan Anderson named Foggon in the 1st team squad to face Swindon Town at Ayresome Park
When Alan replaced Eric McMordie in the 2nd half he was registered No492 Boro player to start a 1st team game
Unfortunately Boro went down 2-0

30th December 1972 - After 2 sub appearences, resulting in no goals for the Boro, Alan Foggon scored the only goal of the game on his full debut as the mighty Boro beat Oxford United at Ayresome Park
He went on to finish his 1st Boro season with an impressive 7 goals in 15 games, paing back the money & the concern laid out on him

1973/74 - Foggon became the top scorer with 19 goals in our fantastic  championship season & 1974/75 season with 16 goals

1975/76 he became a bit part player, scoring 3 goals in 18 games, 7 as sub & then in the summer of 76 was suprisingly sold to Man Utd for £27k, then to Sunderland without starting a game at Old Trafford

124 Boro appearences, 12 as sub, scoring 49 goals

Cracking player for us

Boro's talisman Heine Otto scores a last gasp equaliser at home to the Gunners in the FAC 5th round

When the draw was made for the FAC 5th round with Boro paired with Arsenal who were to travel to Ayresome Park, it was a totally different football world to the Boro back then, compared to the last time Arsenal came to Teesside for an FAC match & like last time, a 5th round match too

Back in 77 the mighty Boro were a 1st division force to be reckoned with, prior to the FAC match we thumped them 3-0 in a 1st division fixture only days before the cup match in front of 26k fans, then the cup match itself in 77, Boro again thumped the Gunners, winning 4-1 in front of 35k

Back to 1983 & reality, we find ourselves playing in front of an average attendances of 12k, fighting to stay in the 2nd division with the FAC proving to be a welcome distraction, our last league home win we beat Arsenal's rivals Chelsea 3-1 back in December
 
On limited resources big Mal is slowing turning our league fortunes around, though finding league results to wins is proving hard to come by

We got to this stage in the cup by, fortunately, beating non league Bishop Stortford over 2 games in the 3rd round.
1st division (now PL) Notts County we next up in the 4th round, beaten 2-0 at Ayresome Park, with a Kevin Bettie penalty (last FAC penalty scored at Ayresome Park) for his only Boro goal & a Ray Hankin strike, his only FAC Boro goal

Arsenal, who had knocked out Bolton & Leeds were big, big favourites to beat the Boro & progress to the 6th round
The gunners took the lead in the 2nd half when Graham Rix put the visitors one nil up, but Boro battled & battled to force an injury time equaliser when our talisman Heine Otto from a tight angel flicked the ball over Pat Jennings, gerrrriiiiinnnn there 1-1 & another cup replay

I was fortunate to meet to Boro legend Heine Otto following a tour of Ajaxs amazing stadium me & my wife walked round to their excellent training grond where Heine invited me & my wife in for a coffee & chat, he told me that goal against Pat Jennings was one of the highlights of his career

Big Mals team

Kelham O'Hanlon
Irving Nattrass
Tony Mowbray
Mick Baxter
Joe Bolton
Heine Otto
Darren Wood
Mick Kennedy
Paul Sugrue
Dave Currie
Stephen Bell
Sub
Garry Macdonald

A meeting of the Cricket club to keep fit during the winter months the Boro were formed & just over 12 months later our 1st ever football match v a rugby team, Tees Wanderers with goalscoror Jackson Ewbank, our 1st recorded goalscorer

Twice FA Amateur trophy winners, then joined the football league with our 1st ever league game, a 3-0 away defeat v Lincoln City back in 1899

I'm proud to call myself a Boro fan, my family & kids are all Boro fans, as will be my almost 4 years old & one month old granddaughters

Our dad took me & our Kev to Ayresome Park in late 1971, thank you dad

I'm luckily old enough to have witnessed our best ever team & manager in Jack Charlton's 1974 champions & Bruce Ricoh's Boro born again, never to be forgotten team of 86
40 Managers from John Robson to Michael Carrick

From our 1st ever league game & 1st name on the team sheet v Lincoln City ( who were the 1st team to complete a league double over us  in our football league season debut) back in 1899 goalkeeper, Edward George Smith to Kelechi Iheanch, we have used approx 1029 players throughout our history, including 121 loaned players fromStephen Pears to Mark Travers, 144 hat tricks, 4 goals in one game 40 times, 5 goals in one game 7 times & approx over 400 converted penalties

My favourite player of all time John Hickton, best ever player Graeme Souness, best ever defender, Willie Maddren (RIP) & many, many players, to many to mention, who have given us so much pleasure over the years

In all the years following the mighty Boro I've seen it all, fantastic players, some world class, some great teams, some not so, record attendances, lowest ever attendance, liquidation in 1986, promotions, relegation, Wembley, cup finals, points deducted, Europe, moving grounds, & finally, seeing the Boro lift a domestic trophy

As fans throughout we've laughed together, cried together, at times, as high as a mountain & at times, as low as a snakes belly, but would I change any of it, not on your nelly

Memories, memories & more memories

UTMB x





























skateboard companies

Boro battered the tigers 3-1 at their place

Normal service was resumed with goals from John Hickton, his 5th of the season, David Mills,7th of the season & Alan Foggon with 11th of the season

Following our longest winless run under big Jack, we had gone 3 games without a win, 2 league games Nottm Forest away losing 5-1 & Blackpool at home drawing 0-0 & knocked out of the FAC 1-0 at Wrexham, we needed to stop the rot & the Boro did that in fine style with a convincing away win & the start of 9 consecutive wins

This game also seen Bill Gates play his final game for the Boro, wearing the No12 shirt he replaced replaced Willie Maddren late in the 2nd half

Registered No421 when Bob Dennison handed Bill the No5 shirt for his debut on the 27th September 1961 away to Luton in a 3-2 defeat, Bill went on to play 328 games, scoring 12 goals

Big Jacks team.

Jim Platt
John Craggs
Frank Spraggon
Graeme Souness
Stuey Boam
Willie Maddren - Bill Gates
Peter Brine
David Mills
John Hickton
Alan Foggon
David Armstrong

Our iconic striker John Hicktons 6th league goal of the season & first goal since 4th November & 6 foot 2, eyes of blue Stuey Boam is after you, doubling his seasons account, got the goals to keep both points on Teesside as we won our 1st back to back home games this year & two consecutive home wins for the first time that season

Boro's temporary manager Harold Shepherdson, standing in following Stan Anderson resignation the month, steered the Boro to a 4th place league finish, too far away from runners up QPR but a massive improvement on the previous seasons 9th finish

A measly attendance of 8,511 down 2,000 from the previous home game

We were dumped in both the third round of the FAC & the league cup following a marathon of games v Spurs

League Cup

5th September - Boro 2 Wrexham 0 (John Neals team)
3rd October - Boro 1 Spurs 1
11th October Replay - Spurs 0 Boro 0 - AET (Spurs won the toss of the coin to play the 2nd replay at WHL & if another draw back to Ayresome Park - The good old days when football was finished right & proper nom matter how long it took)
30th October - Spurs 2 Boro 1 - AET

FAC

13th January Plymouth 1 Boro 0

No1 in the charts was probably the 1st group for me with this classic

Blackpool were the only team we failed to score past in that unbelievable season

Also the 3rd game on the bounce we failed to win
FAC 4th round January - Wrexham  away lost 1-0
2nd division Feb - Nottm Forest away lost 5-1
2nd division Feb - Blackpool home drew 0-0

Big Jacks team.

Jim Platt
John Craggs
Frank Spraggon
Graeme Souness
Stuey Boam
Willie Maddren
Bobby Murdoch - Malcolm Smith 2nd half sub
David Mills
John Hickton
Alan Foggon
David Armstrong

Boro lost this six pointer 2nd division fixture at home 1-0 to fellow relegation threatened Notts County in front of our lowest league attendance at Ayresome Park 3,364, excluding war years.

Standing in the holgate for the Notts County game was our new chairman Alf Duffield

The previous home game to Oldham, which we lost 2-1 in front 3,477, our lowest attendance at the time
To the Boro fans who are old enough & we're there that day, well done, great support
A goalless draw in our final home game of the season to Birmingham & 2-0 win at Shrewsbury was enough to secure our second division survival

Our league cup & FAC games were over at the first hurdle

League cup
Aug 29th First leg - Bradford City 2 Boro 0
Sep 4 Second leg - Boro 2 Bradford City 2

FAC
Jan 5th -  Boro 0 Darlington o
Jan 8th  - Darlington 2 Boro 1

Willie Maddren's team.
Kelham O'Hanlon
John Kay - 3rd loaned player - Loaned from Wimbledon
Paul Ward
Mick Buckley - final Boro game
Mick Saxby
Tony Mowbray
Tony McAndrew
David Mills
Alan Kernaghan - debut
Heine Otto
Dave Currie
Sub - Alan Roberts -  Replaced John Kay.