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English Championship & Football League Thread

lloydy136

By lloydy136
in World Football

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Smoggy

Smoggy

Posted
Posted

This spirited Boro side can make dreams come true for the long-suffering legions of loyalists who will march to the Arch

 

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JS33866475.jpg
Tony Dorigo's free kick in 1990

Wembley: an iconic venue that has been central to the dreams of generations of Boro fans.

So often in the past we have been powerless as those dreams have turned into nightmares.

Tony Dorigo’s free-kick killer that spoiled our debut in 1990 (although you always remember your first time).

Emile Heskey’s stoppage time sickener after stroppy striker Ravanelli had briefly ignited emotions with our only goal at the Twin Towers;.

A cruel 43 second Roberto Di Matteo stunner that killed off our first ever FA Cup appearance before it had even begun and hammered in the final nail of a traumatic season.

And Chelsea again just 12 months later in the League Cup.

 

WA606321.jpgRoberto Di Matteo scores Chelsea goal in FA Cup Final 1997

 

The mystique of Wembley had so long taunted us and been so painfully unobtainable - then we finally got there it turned out to be a haunted hell-hole that laughed as it crushed our souls.

Now Boro have a chance for historic redemption.

On Monday Aitor Karanka’s well drilled unit have the chance to put those nightmares behind us and write their names in neon across our hearts.

This team have a chance to become eternal heroes and heal old wounds.

This spirited side can make dreams come true for the long-suffering legions of loyalists who will march to the Arch.

They can ignite a renewed red-hot pride and passion - and one hell of a party - on Teesside if they can finally make always the bridesmaid Boro winners at Wembley.

That would exorcise the ghosts of past disappointments on the big stage.

But beyond the short term sentiment and symbolism, powerful and joyous though that would be, there is a solid core of compelling financial necessity if victory.

Winning would and take us back to the promised land of Premier League.

Victory would be an epoch-shaping moment for Middlesbrough.

 

gibson-wembley.jpgSteve Gibson and Wembley

 

The pivotal play-off clash with Norwich is arguably the biggest and most important game in Boro’s modern history.

It is bigger than all the cup finals because the prize is bigger - and the risks of failure are far more frightening.

Losing in the previous cup finals hurt like hell but defeat didn’t fundamentally change the status of the club inside the game nor dramatically change the direction of travel.

Winning at Cardiff was fantastic and opened the doors to exotic European adventure and gave us a temporary high and feeling of invincibility and possibility. But it didn’t ultimately engineer a new future for the club.

But this one game has the ability to totally transform Boro.

The stakes are high. It is a winner-takes-all showdown with the eye-watering £100m prize of a place in the top flight.

We know exactly how hard it is to get to the play-offs after the sobering shock of six frustrating and fruitless campaigns.

Now we are in the final with a one-off shot. We must make it count before the landscape changes around us.

As an already bloated Premier League prepares to add a nought to the figures when the new TV deal kicks in, it could be now or never for Boro.

Steve Gibson has maxed out in pumping money into the club.

He has supported Boro to tune of £1m a month since the toxic shock of relegation and managed to make sure the club have always had the structure and resources to compete against sides still packed with financial muscle after their stint at the top.

But the already yawning gap between the Championship and the big boys may soon be unbridgeable.

Relegated clubs already come down beefed up by massive parachute payments that give them a huge strategic advantage. That reward for failure is about to be trebled.

In just a few year time it could be next to impossible for the likes of Boro to compete with the juggernauts who fall from the gravy train only to bounce back up unharmed on a airbag of cash.

This could be our last and best chance to claw back onto the top table. We must take it.

Enjoy Wembley, play your part in urging the team on to history.

COME ON BORO!

Feeling nervous today and not concentrating, **** I hope we can do it today :unsure:  :unsure: :unsure:  :unsure:  :unsure:  :unsure:  :unsure:  

 

I really don't think my heart could take penalties, that might just see me off.

Guest ZipGunBop

Guest ZipGunBop

Posted
Posted

Hope Boro get up.

 

It's been awhile, they belong in the top flight.

Smoggy

Smoggy

Posted
Posted

Hope Boro get up.

 

It's been awhile, they belong in the top flight.

 

Cheers Zip, if any club can find a way to loose a game like this it is Boro lol

Guest ZipGunBop

Guest ZipGunBop

Posted
Posted

 

Hope Boro get up.

It's been awhile, they belong in the top flight.

 

 

Cheers Zip, if any club can find a way to loose a game like this it is Boro lol

Preston North End won promotion to te championship last night. 9th time lucky.

 

It's a sign!

Wanderer74

Wanderer74

Posted
Posted

Come on Boro for tonight. Makes me remember this time last year, although it would be different on a Monday night lol.

ColdRock

ColdRock

Posted
Posted

Have to say I hated seeing them on the schedule, Pool always seem to get found out at Riverside. Kont of a place for an away team

lloydy136

lloydy136

Posted
  • Author
Posted

bad luck boro. happy for jonny howson but would much rather have seen your lot go up. see you back in here again next year.  :grouphug:

 

also welcome back to the ranks of the damned wanderer74

Guest ZipGunBop

Guest ZipGunBop

Posted
Posted

Hard luck Boro.

 

The same lads will win the league next season. They'll have the hunger now.

 

Manager is quality also.

Smoggy

Smoggy

Posted
Posted

Sigh..... I have had a slow morning today, come in to work a little later and went and had a coffee down near the Rocks to reflect on this and compose a response to that performance.....

 

I am just really sad for the supporters that went all that way to Wembley and parted with so much money. My old man who isn't getting any younger went down and I know he will have been devastated by that defeat, I know he will have been wearing his old mans scarf and he took a small flag that I took down in 1997as he would have wanted an item from his dad and one of my things with him. I was hoping that they would do it for him as he has been following the club through thin and thin for 60 years now, he deserved better and he deserves to see Middlesbrough win a game at Wembley in his life time, and yes this does make me very emotional thinking about that and I will admit to a tear in my eye more than once thinking about this.

 

Middlesbrough fans are not wealthy either, many on the forum say they will be going without a family holiday this year when the cost of this trip is factored in with their desire to save for a season ticket. A defeat like this hits a town like Middlesbrough harder than say Man U or Chelsea losing a final. Middlesbrough is a hard place to get on in life and this was a bright spark for the town and I know there will be a depressed atmosphere around the place this week, it is a community club for a small town and this is very hard to take.

 

I have seen Boro lose at Wembley 3 times before and I knew what the journey back to the NE would have been like, just feel very sorry for them as they shouted and sang for the team right until the end, they always give everything from the stands.

 

Congrats to Norwich, they were worthy winners on the day and perhaps the right 3 were promoted as Watford, Bournemouth and Norwich probably have been the best teams in the championship this season. Good to hear of Boro fans congratulation Norwich fans outside the stadium also, no trouble from what I hear. 

 

Thanks Zip for your comments about next year, but I feel that this was our chance. Many players will depart over the summer and we will face another season up against teams coming own from the EPL with parachute payments in their favour, that is a handicap to sides that have been down in the championship before a ball of the new season has been kicked. Every year you do not get promoted makes it that little bit harder. But with Steve Gibson as chairman there is always hope of a bright future I guess.

 

Feeling pretty flat today and tired also.

 

But a new generation of Boro fans will have been told what every young Boro fan is told by their Dad " SON, BORO WILL ALWAYS BREAK YOUR HEART"

Guest ZipGunBop

Guest ZipGunBop

Posted
Posted

In 06/07 we (Saints) finished in the playoff places 2 years after being relegated. (thanks Arry)

 

We lost the playoff semi on penalties to Derby, I'll never forget the scenes. Players dejected, overcome with grief, unable to even pick themselves up off the pitch.

 

What would follow was a nightmare.

 

We had just moved into a brand spanking new, purpose built premier league stadium (St Mary's) but with that loss, had no premier league cash to pay for it. Club went broke and into administration, relegated again, and would not return to the EPL for some 5 years later.

 

It won't take Boro that long I'm sure.

 

All the best for 15/16.

 

Stick solid, it seems like a long way away now, but they'll be back. Gotta lose one to win one brother.

Smoggy

Smoggy

Posted
Posted

In 06/07 we (Saints) finished in the playoff places 2 years after being relegated. (thanks Arry)

 

We lost the playoff semi on penalties to Derby, I'll never forget the scenes. Players dejected, overcome with grief, unable to even pick themselves up off the pitch.

 

What would follow was a nightmare.

 

We had just moved into a brand spanking new, purpose built premier league stadium (St Mary's) but with that loss, had no premier league cash to pay for it. Club went broke and into administration, relegated again, and would not return to the EPL for some 5 years later.

 

It won't take Boro that long I'm sure.

 

All the best for 15/16.

 

Stick solid, it seems like a long way away now, but they'll be back. Gotta lose one to win one brother.

:good: Cheers

Wanderer74

Wanderer74

Posted
Posted

Filled with so much excitement as I just saw a Fox Sports news article with a source from the BBC with Massimo Luongo set to join Queens Park Rangers.

 

I know who I'm getting on my jersey!

Smoggy

Smoggy

Posted
Posted (edited)

Filled with so much excitement as I just saw a Fox Sports news article with a source from the BBC with Massimo Luongo set to join Queens Park Rangers.

 

I know who I'm getting on my jersey!

 

I am going to be in London in December this year, hoping that coincides with either QPR, Fulham, Brentford or Charlton away. I hate Loftus road's away end mind, one of the worst views of a game in English football, been twice and both times a very obstructed view of the pitch. You guys need a new stadium badly, not good enough anymore I think.

Edited by WSWBoro
DCWSW

DCWSW

Posted
Posted

 

Filled with so much excitement as I just saw a Fox Sports news article with a source from the BBC with Massimo Luongo set to join Queens Park Rangers.

 

I know who I'm getting on my jersey!

 

I am going to be in London in December this year, hoping that coincides with either QPR, Fulham, Brentford or Charlton away. I hate Loftus road's away end mind, one of the worst views of a game in English football, been twice and both times a very obstructed view of the pitch. You guys need a new stadium badly, not good enough anymore I think.

 

258363F300000578-2947026-image-a-1_14235

 

:nono:

Smoggy

Smoggy

Posted
Posted

 

 

Filled with so much excitement as I just saw a Fox Sports news article with a source from the BBC with Massimo Luongo set to join Queens Park Rangers.

 

I know who I'm getting on my jersey!

 

I am going to be in London in December this year, hoping that coincides with either QPR, Fulham, Brentford or Charlton away. I hate Loftus road's away end mind, one of the worst views of a game in English football, been twice and both times a very obstructed view of the pitch. You guys need a new stadium badly, not good enough anymore I think.

 

258363F300000578-2947026-image-a-1_14235

 

:nono:

 

 

LOL, Yeah I think that was my seat :rofl:

Guest ZipGunBop

Guest ZipGunBop

Posted
Posted

I think it's excellent.

 

I wish parra was like that.

 

I hate it when clubs go out of their way to accommodate away fans.

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