6th August 2000 - Robbie Mustoes well deserved testimonial

[erimus74]

A player no one outside of the Boro had heard of when Colin Todd paid Oxford United £375k for his signature back in 1990, but by, when he finally called it a day at the mighty Boro he was a massive name among Boro fans

I remember hearing we'd signed this player from Oxford so on arriving home from work I phoned the clubs hotline, thats what you did back then, no internet, to get an update on our latest arrival, Robbie who?
But it worked both ways, listening to his podcast, on hearing that the Boro were after him he had no idea where Middlesbrough actually was in the country, he had to look us up on the map

The biggest compliment I can give Robbie Mustoe from his time here:
When Bryan Robson came in RM, who may have been a bit unsure of his place, or time at the club, due to Robbo coming in as a player manager & hearing of the players he was going to attract to the club, was in his 4th season, but as Robbo found out, no matter how much money Robbo spent & no matter who he brought to our football club, Robbie was, IMHO, still one of the 1st names on the teamsheet each week

Robbie, wearing the No8 shirt, was registerred No602 when making his debut, along with debutants John Hendie & John Wark, at home to West Ham on the opening day of the 1990-91 season

After 11 seasons at the club, Robbie had clocked up 365 games, scoring 25 goals, had seen the lot, some top, top drawer goals among em, promotions, relegations, 1st ever PL with the Boro, cup finals, changing stadiums, his team not turning up for a league game, which to this day still annoys him
Robbie's time at the club was up & a well deserved testimonial at home to Borussia Dortmund, was the least deserved for his service to our football club

Team v Dortmund

Mark Crossley
Curtis Fleming
Keith O'Neill
Jason Gavin
Colin Cooper - Craig Harrison 46
Gary Pallister - Neil Maddison 73
Robbie Mustoe - Mark Summerbell 85
Paul Okon
Paul Ince - Alun Armstrong 46
Hamilton Ricard - Andy Campbell 46
Joseph Desire Job

New signings Paul Okon & Joseph-Desire Job both started while Christian Karembeu watched on from the stands.

In a very competitive match, which referee Jeff Winter did well to control, goals from Victor Ikpeba & an own goal from Jason Gavin saw Dortmund come away with a 2-0 victory

I was at Tranmere (3rd september 1990) for his 1st Boro goal, a league cup 2nd leg fixture & at Swindon (15th September 1990) his previous teams rivals, for his 1st away league goals, a brace in a 3-1 win

[tunstall]

Hell of a player

[borope]

Hes done well since he retired still pops up on US TV as a football pundit.

[Mike Peeler]

Yes, he is quite big on the pundit front over the pond. I often pick him up on some of the football links over the seasons. NBC i think he works for.


The engine is what I call him  - he must have been one the fittest footballers around at the time, not the silkiest of players but a real workhorse team player.