This day 1986 - Middlesbrough Football Club went in to voluntary liquidation

[erimus74]

Where did it all go wrong!
We don't have to go back many years to know when the seeds were set for the club to face the darkest moment in our history
Will the history of the club that had stars such George Camsell, George Hardwick, Wilf mannion, Alf Common, Brian Clough, Alan Peacock, Willie Maddren, John Hickton, Graeme Souness, to name a few, be destined to the history books or will we live to fight another day to product more big names & games

Each manager, from Malcolm Allison to Bruce Rioch, played a major part in keeping our football clubs head above the water, though in the end the problems were to great & we dropped out of the second division for the second time in our history
Looking back, did relegation, followed by voluntary liquidation have to happen for us finally hit rock bottom & move forward, or was it the end of our struggles & club


When our dad started taking me & my younger brother to Ayresome Park back at the end of 1971 we seemed a good to very good second division club, decent crowds, good players & challenging at the top of the league season after season with good magic cup run thrown in, yet when the end was in sight typical Boro sort of reared its head & we finished out of the top two & the cups

Stan Anderson was the manager when I first started going, who in his own words took us as far as he could, with Harold Shepherdson, again, taking over as temp till the end of the season.
Big Jack followed Stan/Harold in to the hotseat & built, IMHO, the best team in my lifetime, then sadly in 1977 Jack decided 4 years was enough to manage any team & resigned. John Neal was that man, to fingers crossed, continue to take us forward, a very quiet spoken Geordie who had transformed Wrexham FC, the board agreed he was the man for us & he turned us from a strong defensive unit to a young, very exciting, talented team, we were so strong at home, yet struggled on their travels
The start of 1981 seemed as if we were on to something special, we enjoyed an FAC run that could/would/should have ended with our first visit to the famous twin tower, yet the season ended disappointing, our final win under John Neal we beat Ipswich Town at home on the penultimate match of the season, a win that handed Aston Villa the first division title, his final game as manager was at home to Liverpool, the same opponents & venue as his first league game as manager, with Boro losing this time 2-1. Sad news followed that John Neal had not only handed in his resignation, but worse, the board had actually accepted it
John Neal had decided enough was enough in fighting the board in keeping his talented, young squad together & recruit in the summer to build into a trophy challenging team, instead if dismantling it
We went from raking in money to eventually, over a few years, looking down into the abyss

Talking to fellow Boro fans who were around in that period they would tell you exactly when the troubles of the Boro started. In fact, you could trace our downward spiral started to the very night

7th March 1981 Boro were drawn at home against fellow first division opponents Wolves, in the FAC 6th round, we had already beaten 2-0 at home the previous November & in all honesty, were no match for the mighty Boro, unfortunately an almost sellout crowd had to watch as both teams fought out a 1-1 draw at Ayresome Park.  Boro had to travel to Molineux for the QF replay with the winners to face Spurs in the SF, IMO, still big favourites to win a place in our first ever FACSF
11th March 1981 the day the club's fortunes changed for the worst with the start of our decline the mighty Boro sadly, after extra time, were knocked out of the FAC QF, as the season came to end of another typical Boro season when so much was promised, the board decided to cash in & sell the clubs crown jewels, which sadly prompted manager John Neal to offer his resignation

In the summer of 1981 Bobby Murdoch became our 19th first team manager when he took over the reins from John Neal & after 8 comfortable seasons in the top flight, with the heart of the club ripped out apart from Talisman Heine Otto & the new recruits were not good enough & on that we more or less, faced relegation from the 29th August 1981
Boro continued to struggle with life in the second division & after 7 games with 2 draws & 5 defeats Bobby Murdoch was sacked, Harold Shepherdson became temporary manager until a successor was brought  & after 3 games that man was charismatic Malcolm Allison, a very good friend of Mike McCulloch who was director/ chairman at the time, for me, big Mal has to be given so much credit, keeping us in the division with such a small squad, he worked miracles to get us over the line, unfortunately, 18 months later he was dismissed, Jack Charlton came back as temp manager & performed another minor miracle, again, keeping us up for another season, after a short stint from big Jack who told the club I will stay for the remainder of the season then I'm off, he recommended to the board the late, great Willie Maddren to become our next manager, the board accepted & Willie became our 23rd manager
Willie made some excellent signings & looking back was probably the right man at the right time (the players he brought to the Boro played a massive part in the two years following liquidation) but results on the field still didn't improve, we were on a one way spiral & by February 1986 following a 3-1 home defeat by future Boro manager Lennie Lawrences Charlton Athletic sadly Willie was dismissed, one of Willie Maddrens best signings & final signing was Sir Bruce Rioch, who was appointed caretaker manager of the mighty Boro, unfortunately he couldn't halt the slide & after 14 games we were relegated at the beginning of May, come the 21st May news that shook every Boro fan 'liquidation' everything & everyone connected with MFC was in the balance

Over the following 4 seasons following relegation our crowds continued to drop, with a few crowds touching 3,000 plus, the Boro public were losing faith with the football club, any promising player sold to balance the books, fans were asked to help in the upgrade of the stadium, painting the stands etc,
it was certainly hard times back then
With all due respect, potential targets were signing for the Grimsby's, Notts County's & Oxford of this world, we just couldn't compete with the money they were offering (no disrespect to any of those teams mentioned, but the Boro were a far bigger club, but for how long???)


BUT WE SURVIVED

Though did we have a squad of players to hopefully compete & survive in the 3rd division, was this the end of our decline, or continually fighting against the dreaded drop?

What a Boro roller coaster of a summer that turned out to be, I was getting married later that summer, ironically one week after Boro were saved & all my thoughts were on the Boro surviving while also planning our wedding, excited one minute, down in the dumps the next, I just wanted us to survive more than anything & it hurt, it really did, we moan about the Boro today but it was awful back then, reading how we could be saved, only to read it's not looking too good & the end is close, heartbreaking, a crazy, crazy summer

What followed that awful/unforgettable summer of 86, apart from me getting married, was unbelievable, winning promotion & promotion again the following season, what a time to be a Boro player & fan back then, united fans & players, I can still remember going to xmas parties that the Boro held in the town or Linthorpe village the pub "In off the bar", sitting among players we idolised from the terraces

If you sat down & thought what the club has gone through since that dark day

Promotions & amazing seasons between 86-89, relegations
1st NE team in the 1st ever PL
Bryan Robson with millions to spend
New stadium
Brazilian player of the year in Juninho
Champions League winning goalscorer Ravanelli signing a couple of months after that goal
Finals in both the FAC & League cup
3 points docked resulting in relegation
2004 Carling cup winners, FA Youth cup winners
UEFA QF & Finalists – When we played in the UEFA cup final, we were 11 days short from that awful day to one of the biggest days in our history - 21st may 1986 - 10th May 2006

What an amazing journey, would I change any of it to follow the Man Utd's & Liverpool's of this world, not a chance, those days are what makes you a fan, I wouldn't change my memories of following the Boro for any other team

I started 86 joining ICI retiring this July
Married & still to this day, oh & my wife's birthday too

Our team, our club - We shall be - UTMB / ERIMUS

[erimus74]

[Johnny Thunder]

A very dark day.

[erimus74]

A very dark day.

Indeed