indeedido
Well-known member
There will be banter before the next match, but surely this "massive, massive" club must have really out shined our small town in Yorkshire; I mean it stands to reason doesn't it?
I'm 60, born in 1962. There's been 60 completed seasons in my life. Surely they've finished higher up the league pyramid loads more times. Not so. We've finished above them in 33 of those 60 years.
I go to the match with my Dad who is 86, born in 1936. There have been 79 completed seasons in his life. Surely "massive" have finished above us more in that time? Nope, little Boro have been above them in 42 of those seasons.
My lads were born in 95 and 97. Again Boro higher than "massive" more over their life times.
In fact, you have to be either: 94 years or older, or precisely 13, or 14 years old to have had the misfortune of seeing "massive" finish above Boro more seasons than not. It is a fact.
The truth is that Boro average finishing 24th in the league pyramid in my life, while "massive" average finishing 25th.
Yeah, but we've only ever made the numbers up in the top flight haven't we, "massive" must have had higher finishes?
Well, in our 24 top flight seasons in my life, we have finished in the top 10, just 4 times. Haway mind, "massive" have finished top 10 just 3 times in my life in their 29 top flight seasons, 6 of which were before I was aged 7.
They have finished 7th in the top flight twice, but so have we, and we've finished 9th twice too, whereas their next best is a solitary 10th
And amazingly in their 29 top flight seasons, they have finished in the bottom 6 18 times. Little Boro have finished bottom 6 in the top flight just 6 times. It is them that make the numbers up even when they are there.
Ah but, remember Stokoe and Montgomery and that FA Cup back in 1973. They must have a much better record in the FA Cup?
Nope, 29 times we've got further than them, whereas they've got further than us 19 times.
We lost our only final, while they've won and lost one.
We've made 2 further Semis to their 1 and 10 further QF's to their 4.
The League Cup must be better for them then, remember they're "massive".
Well nope again, we've gone further than them 27 times, versus their 21 times further than us.
We've made 3 finals and won 1, while they've lost their only 2 finals.
We've both lost a further 2 Semi Finals each, but we made 6 more QF's to their paltry 2.
Aye, but they're massive all over the world aren't they?
Well not in Europe, where they've had just 1 season in the Cup Winners Cup, playing just 4 fixtures and going out in the second round.
Whereas we have had 2 seasons in the UEFA Cup, playing 21 fixtures, progressing to the last 16 or better both times, before losing a major final.
So, you have to be over 94 to have seen them finish above us more in your lifetime, unless you are precisely 13 or 14 years old just now.
We've had more top 10 finishes in the top flight, whereas they are nearly always bottom 6 even when they are in the top flight, including collapsing out with 2 of the lowest 3 points tallies in top flight history.
They've had 5 seasons in the 3rd tier, all of them since our only 2.
We get much further in the FA Cup, much further in the League Cup and we have played 5 times more matches in Europe than them, having made a major final, rather than turning up and farting before being knocked out like "massive" did.
What is indisputable, is that in this 60 year old bloke's time, my Boro have done more than the "massive" club just up the road.
What about Head to Head then?
In my 60 years, we've played them in 25 league seasons, 50 league matches.
At Home, we've won 15, drawn 8 and lost just 2. We've scored 43 times and conceded just 20.
Up there, we've won 9, drawn 5 and lost 11, scoring 31 and conceding 38.
Overall we have a great league record against them, losing just 13 league matches in 50. Equivalent of 1.7 points per match for us, just 1.0 point for them. Just about promotion form if we played them every week.
We have met them in 9 Cup competitions, knocking them out 8 times. We've knocked them out of the FA Cup twice, the League Cup 4 times, the Anglo Scottish Cup and Texaco Cup. The only time they've knocked us out of any cup in my life was the FA Cup in 2012 under Mogga.
I've witnessed us win up there myself 6 times and lose at home to them just the 3 times they have won at our place in my lifetime in all competitions.
I NEVER fear playing them, always expect to win and never expect to lose. It usually works out that way.
I know this doesn't make us a big club, or a bigger club than them, but it does make you question why they think they are big, obviously bigger than us, let alone "massive".
Of course they have won another FA Cup back in 1937 and even a league title back in 1935/36, but you really have to be well over 90 to remember that.
Now they once were "massive", winning the top flight 5 times before World War One, but even then 3 of those were in the century BEFORE the last one.
I get that they don't care about us by comparison to Newcastle. I get that they have a bigger stadium. I get that they have averaged marginally bigger crowds, but that's it.
The simple facts are that we've done better than them for the last 60 years; all my life.
I expect that to still be the case when I finally pass.
I'm 60, born in 1962. There's been 60 completed seasons in my life. Surely they've finished higher up the league pyramid loads more times. Not so. We've finished above them in 33 of those 60 years.
I go to the match with my Dad who is 86, born in 1936. There have been 79 completed seasons in his life. Surely "massive" have finished above us more in that time? Nope, little Boro have been above them in 42 of those seasons.
My lads were born in 95 and 97. Again Boro higher than "massive" more over their life times.
In fact, you have to be either: 94 years or older, or precisely 13, or 14 years old to have had the misfortune of seeing "massive" finish above Boro more seasons than not. It is a fact.
The truth is that Boro average finishing 24th in the league pyramid in my life, while "massive" average finishing 25th.
Yeah, but we've only ever made the numbers up in the top flight haven't we, "massive" must have had higher finishes?
Well, in our 24 top flight seasons in my life, we have finished in the top 10, just 4 times. Haway mind, "massive" have finished top 10 just 3 times in my life in their 29 top flight seasons, 6 of which were before I was aged 7.
They have finished 7th in the top flight twice, but so have we, and we've finished 9th twice too, whereas their next best is a solitary 10th
And amazingly in their 29 top flight seasons, they have finished in the bottom 6 18 times. Little Boro have finished bottom 6 in the top flight just 6 times. It is them that make the numbers up even when they are there.
Ah but, remember Stokoe and Montgomery and that FA Cup back in 1973. They must have a much better record in the FA Cup?
Nope, 29 times we've got further than them, whereas they've got further than us 19 times.
We lost our only final, while they've won and lost one.
We've made 2 further Semis to their 1 and 10 further QF's to their 4.
The League Cup must be better for them then, remember they're "massive".
Well nope again, we've gone further than them 27 times, versus their 21 times further than us.
We've made 3 finals and won 1, while they've lost their only 2 finals.
We've both lost a further 2 Semi Finals each, but we made 6 more QF's to their paltry 2.
Aye, but they're massive all over the world aren't they?
Well not in Europe, where they've had just 1 season in the Cup Winners Cup, playing just 4 fixtures and going out in the second round.
Whereas we have had 2 seasons in the UEFA Cup, playing 21 fixtures, progressing to the last 16 or better both times, before losing a major final.
So, you have to be over 94 to have seen them finish above us more in your lifetime, unless you are precisely 13 or 14 years old just now.
We've had more top 10 finishes in the top flight, whereas they are nearly always bottom 6 even when they are in the top flight, including collapsing out with 2 of the lowest 3 points tallies in top flight history.
They've had 5 seasons in the 3rd tier, all of them since our only 2.
We get much further in the FA Cup, much further in the League Cup and we have played 5 times more matches in Europe than them, having made a major final, rather than turning up and farting before being knocked out like "massive" did.
What is indisputable, is that in this 60 year old bloke's time, my Boro have done more than the "massive" club just up the road.
What about Head to Head then?
In my 60 years, we've played them in 25 league seasons, 50 league matches.
At Home, we've won 15, drawn 8 and lost just 2. We've scored 43 times and conceded just 20.
Up there, we've won 9, drawn 5 and lost 11, scoring 31 and conceding 38.
Overall we have a great league record against them, losing just 13 league matches in 50. Equivalent of 1.7 points per match for us, just 1.0 point for them. Just about promotion form if we played them every week.
We have met them in 9 Cup competitions, knocking them out 8 times. We've knocked them out of the FA Cup twice, the League Cup 4 times, the Anglo Scottish Cup and Texaco Cup. The only time they've knocked us out of any cup in my life was the FA Cup in 2012 under Mogga.
I've witnessed us win up there myself 6 times and lose at home to them just the 3 times they have won at our place in my lifetime in all competitions.
I NEVER fear playing them, always expect to win and never expect to lose. It usually works out that way.
I know this doesn't make us a big club, or a bigger club than them, but it does make you question why they think they are big, obviously bigger than us, let alone "massive".
Of course they have won another FA Cup back in 1937 and even a league title back in 1935/36, but you really have to be well over 90 to remember that.
Now they once were "massive", winning the top flight 5 times before World War One, but even then 3 of those were in the century BEFORE the last one.
I get that they don't care about us by comparison to Newcastle. I get that they have a bigger stadium. I get that they have averaged marginally bigger crowds, but that's it.
The simple facts are that we've done better than them for the last 60 years; all my life.
I expect that to still be the case when I finally pass.
