Mackem board in meltdown!!

I don't think prestige players are important. Actually I'd take more pride in an achievement with no-names than the same achievement with big names.

But we've had the better of it; we;ve had European adventures, cup finals and of course a cup win. They've had a cup win too of course, but I don't think winning it offsets the embarrasment of playing in it.
 
Frozen Horse said:
I don't think prestige players are important. Actually I'd take more pride in an achievement with no-names than the same achievement with big names.
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I get what you are saying, It's more a sign of a clubs status and ambitions that it can attract those kind of players. Sunderland have never signing players in that stratosphere. Those players listed above Philips was a lower league signing, Quinn was old and the other two were youth players. Who are sunderlands marque signings over the years?
 
BoroMart said:
Philips was an exciting player, but holding midfielders and target men don't set the pulses racing and keepers rarely do. Not saying they weren't good players, they were, but not the kind you pay money to go see.
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They were a good side to watch for a short period, you've got a very short memory.

As for marquee signings, well ours got us to the same level as they were at.
 
GazC_MFC said:
Defoe and bent
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Both decent finishers but overpaid for Bent Defoe was supposed to be winding his career down. Good signings for them, but not convinced they were bums on seats signings or the same level as Viduka or Juninho
 
BoroMart said:
european final and a cup?
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You're now sounding like the Mackems I've known for so long, the FA Cup was thrown at me more times than enough despite us having a far better side.

They were a better side than us for that short period, and they played good football, without marquee signings.
 
BoroMart said:
Both decent finishers but overpaid for Bent Defoe was supposed to be winding his career down. Good signings for them, but not convinced they were bums on seats signings or the same level as Viduka or Juninho
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You asked for marquee signings, both were
 
Corcaigh_the_Cat said:
You're now sounding like the Mackems I've known for so long, the FA Cup was thrown at me more times than enough despite us having a far better side.

They were a better side than us for that short period, and they played good football, without marquee signings.
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facts is facts mate, we shouldn't be ashamed that we've been better than them.

They had 2 seasons 00-01 and 01-02 where they were a better side than us, other than that they have been whipping boys. You can claim in the league their highs equal our highs, fair enough. But over the period we are talking their lows are way below our lows with two appalling relegations from the prem 15 and 19 points, some near misses, and two relegations to the third tier, oh and now it's looking like 3 failed third tier promotion attempts.

In the cups, our highs are better than their highs with a win a uefa cup final and another bunch of finals and semis.

Two decent seasons 20 years ago doesn't really change that. Yes we are a mediocre prem, fairly good champ side, but the mackems would be on the up to reach those standards in the last 70 years.
 
Frozen Horse said:
What makes us better than them for me is our head to head record since I've been following Boro.
I find it hard to care about anything before that, but we've beaten them 17 times since 1989, the first match I recall, and they've beaten us only 9 times.
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agreed and where we come in the league ladder compared to them.

Weve been above them 5 seasons running.

35 years since 1986 they've only finished above us 13 times out of 35
 
GazC_MFC said:
You asked for marquee signings, both were
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Defoe was 33 when he signed for them, not what I'd call a 'marquee' signing (no more so than us signing John Wark was).

Bent was an England international and it was a club record fee, but I don't think its quite in the same league as Hasselbaink, Viduka, Ravanelli, Boksic.

In the 30+ years I've been watching football I've only really been 'envious' of Sunderland during the Quinn/Phillips era where I think they came 7th twice in a row, shortly after which we won a cup and got to a European final while they got relegated.
 
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Frozen Horse said:
What makes us better than them for me is our head to head record since I've been following Boro.
I find it hard to care about anything before that, but we've beaten them 17 times since 1989, the first match I recall, and they've beaten us only 9 times.
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It goes back further than that too. We pretty much dominated them in meetings gong back to the early 1980s. In my 42 years of following Boro, we're well ahead in wins over them.

Not sure how we faired against them in the 1970's (before my time), but we had a really good team for most of that decade, I'd guess we bested them then too. Maybe @Erimus74 knows the score.
 
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