Ayersome Days

Or should that be Awesome Days.....

Is it just me or does anyone else who used to go to watch the Boro back then feel that the acheivements (oh alright there weren't that many) of 100 years have been swept under the carpet by the current marketing extravaganza? (hahaha, Lamby and Marketing Extravaganza, I nearly wet myself when I thought about that).

All those years ago, like pre Riverside, sorry to all the late comers but we had a history before the Riverside you know, we used to have a laugh at the match. A couple of pints in the Yella Rose or the Albert Park, before running like mad to get in before they played... pick your tune here kiddies, the Hansa, The Powergame, or even that F*cking bugle. Grabbing a program, and then after liquidation a copy of FMTTM, forcing your way through the crowd (mmm, sometimes) to get to your favourite spot. For me that was the girder to the left of the goal as you looked down from the mighty Holgate. I was first taken there when I was about ten, by my Dad, he had a bunch of work mates who used to stand there, the Cleveland Transit boys - they were all bus drivers, and they certainly opened my little ears to a few new phrases I can tell you.

As I grew up and the crowds grew thinner there developed a new crowd of people standing in that area, and although I don't remember the names of the blokes I watched the game with, I can remember every one of them as if it was yesterday. The old bloke with the flat cap, the speccy lad, who was the sole member of the Alan Kernaghan fan club, the ex bus drivers, the pie muncher, he really did arrive with one every week and invariably sprayed it over most of the lads in front whenever something wasn't to his pleasure, which was most of the time as I recall. It was like a little family, we watched we worried and we celebrated or comiserated at the final whistle.

Before the Holgate my old fella would only take me in the Boys end, but that soon stopped after a particularly interesting Derby match with Sunderland, when the fighting spilled past the East End into the boys end and we only saw about half of the match, before moving round the ground at the behest of the stewards, ah the good old days.

I have tried to get videos, dvds, etc over the years that show anything pre Riverside and its not an easy thing to do, I would love to see some footage from games like the 7-2 battering of Chelsea, circa 1980, or the game against Liverpool when big Billy Ashcroft scored from about 35 yards, I suspect that was '79, but can't be sure.

I also want to see footage of Brucey's Babe's. I have argued with some that the football played by that team was some of the best I have ever seen, two touch, pass and move, always looking to attack, obviously some disagree, it would be nice to be able to put some of that in perspective but it seems that history has vanished from the back catalogue at MFC.

On the subject of Brucey's Babe's, some of the recent publications from the club brought a smile to my face, reading recollections from the team in "Class of 86"certainly brought a smile to my face, some of them remember it like I do.