Everybody Round My House for a Parmo!

Spencer Phil

Description

Everybody Round My House for a Parmo! is the story of the most successful era in Middlesbrough FC's history, as told by those who experienced it. From Marinelli to Mendieta and Vidmar to Viduka, this 'small town in Europe' went from relegation fodder to cup-winners on the cusp of European glory in the space of just three short seasons, between 2003 and 2006. But while results on the pitch were memorable, they mean nothing without the backstory of how such heights were reached. Told with the help of players, club staff and local media at the heart of the journey, this is the inside story of how Steve McClaren transformed the Teessiders' fortunes while encountering more than a few hiccups along the way - including a failed drug test and even a manager getting hit by an angry fan's season ticket! It's one of modern football's greatest fairy tales, but even the greatest successes come with their fair share of struggles.

Sujets

• Condado de Yorkshire (Reino Unido)
• Yorkshire

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 16 mai 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781801502689
• Langue: English

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2022
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Phil Spencer, 2022
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Any oversight will be rectified in future editions at the earliest opportunity by the publisher.
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A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 9781801503686
eBook ISBN 9781801502689
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Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. One Stevie Gibson
2. A Fresh Face at the Helm
3. Two Notable Arrivals
4. A Shaky Start
5. A Smart Finish to Sink the Seagulls
6. An Autumn Built on Solid Foundations
7. The Gunners Gauntlet
8. An Acrimonious Return
9. A Riverside Night to Remember
10. Playing for a Place in the History Books
11. Seven Days to Shape Destiny
12. A Historic Day
13. Post-Cup Final Blues
14. The Future s Bright, the Future s Boro
15. A Point to Prove
16. A Five-Star Summer
17. Farewell, Little Fella
18. Goals, Goals and More Goals
19. A Small Town in Europe
20. Two Matches, One Big Statement
21. Rubbing Shoulders with Europe s Elite
22. The Real Deal
23. Back Down to Earth with a Bang
24. Winter Blues
25. Cut-Throat European Nights
26. A Nine-Horse Race
27. Schwarzer the Saviour
28. No Rest for the Wicked
29. Spinning Plates
30. Middlesbrough: The Cup Team
31. Middlesbrough s Man of Mystery
32. Winter is Coming
33. Singing the Blues
34. The Italian Job
35. England Calling
36. An Unlikely Hero
37. A Platform to Succeed
38. A Make-or-Break Week
39. A Stake to the Heart of Dracula s Boys
40. You Don t Turn Down the England Job
41. A Game Too Far
42. The End of an Era
2003/04 Statistics
2004/05 Statistics
2005/06 Statistics
Bibliography
Photos
Foreword
by Bernie Slaven
AT MIDDLESBROUGH, I had many partnerships: with Gary Rowell, Archie Stephens, Lee Turnbull, Peter Davenport, Andy Payton, Ian Baird and Paul Wilkinson. However my greatest partnership of all wasn t on the park but off it, and that was with Ali Brownlee.
Ali helped me greatly as I adapted to life on the airwaves. He was kind, caring and helpful. He was biased, blinkered and at times deluded. He was an entertainer, very professional, a fantastic human being, charitable, likeable and the greatest commentator Boro will ever have. His passion ran through his veins and seeped from his pores.
As a duo we were blessed. We commentated through Boro s golden years: five cup finals including our first major trophy, the League Cup, and the UEFA Cup Final in Eindhoven. During a ten-year stint as a duo, we commentated on 500 games. We also enjoyed two years of European football, and flying around Europe following our beloved team was a dream. In 2006 we travelled to New York City to pick up a Gold Radio Award at the New York Radio Festival for our successful shows throughout those European adventures.
Unfortunately, despite being in our pomp, a few months later the football club and Century FM could not agree a deal for live coverage of Middlesbrough matches and we lost the commentary. Ali eventually joined the local BBC station, BBC Tees, which had been handed the commentary rights and, incredibly, the BBC has continued to commentate on Boro games since that day with no competition.
Some of Ali s phrases will live forever. Everybody round my house for a parmo ; Mark Schwarzer, the greatest Australian since Ned Kelly ; Juninho shines like a diamond on the banks of the River Tees ; they were all completely off the cuff.
If there is a heaven, which I believe there is, Ali will certainly be among the chosen few there.
Acknowledgements
AS AN idea born out of lockdown, writing this book has been a genuine pleasure and there are plenty of people that I need to thank. First and foremost, I want to thank my wife Katie for her unwavering support during the writing process and for her exquisite proofreading skills, which I hope will spare me plenty of embarrassment down the line. I love you and our gorgeous, but slightly mischievous, cocker spaniel George very much.
My parents, Moira and Matthew, deserve great credit for making the decision to move to Teesside when I was just four - a move that was the first step in my relationship with Middlesbrough FC. As well as many other things, the fact that they accompanied me to the Riverside Stadium when neither were really that bothered is testament to their selfless nature and shows that they would do anything for their kids, no matter how painful!
Thanks also go to my brother Nick, his wife Sarah and daughter Lorelei, as well as family friends Mary and Lenny, who played a significant role in sparking my interest in Boro. Also, thanks to Matt and Judith for their support and dog-sitting services during the interview stage of the writing process, something that sounds trivial but with a cocker spaniel who insisted on showing his face on every Zoom interview, it certainly made the process a touch easier!
There have been many people who have helped in the writing of this book, and I want to thank you all.
Most notably, I want to say a huge thanks to Franck Queudrue, Bill Beswick, Dave Allan, Michael McGeary, Eric Paylor, Anthony Vickers, Phil Tallentire, Dr Tosh Warwick and Robert Nichols, who have offered valuable time and insight into their experiences with Middlesbrough FC, as well as Bernie Slaven, for his glowing foreword in tribute to Boro legend Alastair Brownlee.
Everyone associated with Middlesbrough has their own memories of Ali. For me, Ali played a huge role in my love of Middlesbrough and of sports media. After listening to his colourful commentary on the radio I was fortunate enough to meet him on several occasions over the years. My first meeting with Ali was in primary school when he generously offered his time to travel to Yarm to be interviewed for our school newspaper. At the age of ten, this was my first interviewing gig. I interviewed him once again while at Sunderland University for a radio documentary that I presented and produced about Middlesbrough FC, another example of how accommodating and happy to help he was despite how busy he was in his role with BBC Tees.
I d never claim to know Ali well on a personal level, but from my own experiences and from those who did have that relationship with him, it s clear to see that my perception of him was completely accurate. Warm, charismatic, helpful and passionate, Ali Brownlee is a Middlesbrough legend and this book documenting the club s journey from Cardiff to Eindhoven is a tribute to him. From me and every other supporter of Middlesbrough over the years, thank you, Ali.
Introduction
EVERY FOOTBALL fan can pinpoint the moment when they fell in love with the game. That love could have been born from one match, one moment, one team or one player. Growing up in Yarm, a north Yorkshire town around 20 minutes from Middlesbrough, the average classroom was filled with the usual group of glory supporters - Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle United and even one or two Hartlepool or Darlington fans.
For many children, though, Teesside was a one-club area. In the 1990s it was easy to fall in love with Middlesbrough Football Club and what they were doing. Boys and girls alike would always want to emulate their heroes when playing street football, with jumpers for goalposts, but when Bryan Robson took charge as the club s manager the kids in the area had a new-found smorgasbord of stars from around the world to pick from. Paul Gascoigne, Paul Merson and Marco Branca were all eye-catching signings in the late 90s, but it was Craig Hignett, Nick Barmby, Emerson, Fabrizio Ravenelli and a certain pint-sized Brazilian called Juninho who became idols for so many in the area. After all, how could you not fall in love with football when these sublime players rock up to play on your doorstep?
Football back then was nowhere near as expensive as it is in the current era yet buying a matchday ticket or a season ticket was still a massive expense for an average family. During those years, my own experiences of watching Middlesbrough involved going to cut-price reserve-team matches at the Riverside Stadium, going to a friend s house to watch games on satellite TV or, if I was lucky, being offered a free ticket by our family friends, Mary and Lenny, when they couldn t attend. This certainly isn t a story of hardship, but there s no doubt that this delayed gratification of seeing Middlesbrough play meant that I would appreciate the experience that was just around the corner that little bit more.
Since the age of 13, I d been working as a newspaper delivery boy, posting copies of the Evening Gazette through the doors of Yarm s residents and soaking up the extensive Middlesbrough coverage put forward by Eric Paylor, Phil Tallentire, Anthony Vickers and the rest of the sports team at the local newspaper. At the end of the 2002/03 season I decided that it was time to test my parents once more with the proposal of a season ticket. I was so desperate that I almost resorted to making a PowerPoint presentation, armed with the pros and cons of the purchase as I gave them the hard sell - thankfully, my persistence finally paid off.
I was SO excited. I was going to be able to watch every minute of Middlesbroug