As promised previously, here's my favourite post from my former blog for the Boro Website detailing the end of the Bryan Robson Era and the start of the Steve McClaren one in typical DJ Stanley style:
*******
June 11, 2001
At a rain swept Teesside Airport
two figures are talking…
“Bryan, last night we said a great
many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I've done
a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you're getting on that
plane with Viv where you belong.”
“But, Steve, no, I... I...”
“Now, you've got to listen to me!
You have any idea what you'd have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine
chances out of ten, we'd both wind up in the First Division.”
“You're only saying this to make me go…”
“I'm saying it because it's true.
Inside of us, we both know you belong with Viv. You're part of his work, the
thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with
him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for
the rest of your life.”
“But what about us?”
“We'll always have Wembley. We
didn't have, we lost it until Tel came to Middlesbrough. But we got it back.”
“I said I would never leave
you...”
“And you never will. But I've got
a job to do, too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you
can't be any part of. Bryan, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take
much to see that the problems of three little people doesn’t amount to a hill
of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now,.. Here's
looking at you kid.”
Bryan forlornly walks through the
rain towards a waiting plane.
Out of the shadows a figure joins
Steve watching the retreating Robson. He pats him on the back, fully realising
how hard that was. Steve Gibson turns towards the man and smiles,
“Mr McLaren, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful
friendship.”
And so the
fully expected departure of the man who has been our manager for the last 7
years has finally happened. It was a more emotional event than I think any of
us imagined it would be, coming as it did so close to the funeral of John
Pickering. No matter what you thought about Bryan Robson at the end, I think
most people would admit to a feeling of regret. He had after all put so much
into the club, his effort could never be in question, unfortunately, his
ability and footballing judgement were.
I suppose
all there is left for us to do is thank him for his work and wish him all the
best for the future. Hopefully, if he uses his time away from the game
fruitfully, he will be able to come back as a manager better for the
experience, which will be one thing he has over most managers his age. Maybe
going for the FA ran Coaching courses. That would not be the great
embarrassment some would think. Gianluca Vialli successfully completed such a
course after being sacked by Chelsea, and is now taking a sensible rout back
into the limelight with a less full on job at Watford, but still however a
major team. Maybe Bryan should follow suit?
But now
onto all things Steve. Steve Gibson’s Riverside Revolution (if it still is
such…) now has a new figurehead in Stevey Macca Mac McLaren. Yeah, yeah,
there’s a lot of Brian Kidd jokes going around the press, but let’s remember
that his lord Imperial High Fergus wanted Macca to take over at Man U, not
Brian Kidd, who is a top line coach, but a slightly less than top line manager.
If Fergus thinks Steve is good enough for the job, then that’s a mighty fine
endorsement. He has been given similar encouragement by Super Sven, although
this may have something to do with the Swede trying to persuade Boro to let
Macca rejoin the England set up, something which I have a feeling was probably
part of his contract with Boro anyway.
Steve has a
big job on his hands when he starts after today’s expected official
announcement of his arrival. One of the first things on his list will be to
deal with the transfer request handed in by young Shaggy Campbell. The timing
seems a bit strange, as Andy must have known at the time that a new manager was
imminent. It seems that that he wants to leave no matter what Steve thinks of
him, without so much as a pre-season game or two to assess him. Andy’s form was
certainly somewhat hit and miss last season (especially in comparison to the
season prior) and he has fallen down the pecking order at the Riverside by some
way. Although we can expect to see the departures of Deane, Whelan and possibly
even Job, that would still leave the young lad behind Boksic, Ricard and Szili
Nemeth, not to mention Windass and Marinelli who can operate just as well up
front as they can in midfield. This is of course without any further signings
over the summer. So maybe Andy’s best chance to establish himself is away from
the Boro. With his pace he will be able to scare the daylights out of lower
division defenders and with more games under his belt, his confidence in front
of goal will surely grow. But, again, we must wait on Master McLaren.
Whether or
not our ability to bring in the really big names will be hampered with the
departure of Robson remains to be seen, but there again, Steve’s reputation
abroad will have been boosted greatly with Man U’s exploits in Europe in recent
years. Let us not forget that he was the coach of the best team in Europe only
2 years ago. I must admit that I’m
excited about the coming season (I always am, I never learn…) but probably this
more than any other recently. We have the infrastructure to match any in the
world and the resources that can only be bettered by the best teams. When we
are not being beaten match after match, we have some the best fans you are ever
likely to find and now it seems we have a manager who is universally accepted
as one of the best up and coming coaches in the game. Sounds tantalising
doesn’t it? We do have great players to go with it, a brilliant youth set up
and the ability to add to both. I think I predicted a few weeks ago that this
summer was going to be very interesting indeed. I don’t think I’m going to be
proven wrong. Roll on Stevey Mac and roll on August.
I can’t wait.
Have a good Week
Deej
COME ON BORO!
Stevey Mac’s Red and White Army!
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