Why don’t the likes of Andy Townsend ( parlour ince) never get mentioned as ex Boro players in all time boro XI

I remember leaving the ground after a league cup semi final and Andy Townsend was walking over the Harold Shepherdson bridge by himself.He definitely wasn't working in the media that night he was strolling along chatting to fans.So he must of had some affection for us if he visited the game as a fan.Great player wish we'd had him in his prime.
 
I agree with you on the playing field with Townsend but can't agree that he's got fond memories of his time here. I have only ever heard him skip over his time here and put it down as a jolly with Gazza. I am more than willing to stand corrected though.

I agree with the Merson comments but he single handly dragged us back into the Premier.

I never get the negativity surrounding Parlour.

Im only basing it on what others have said to be fair and that podcast someone shared.

I always take issue with the idea Merson single handedly dragged us up. He was exceptional, true. But this was a side including the likes of Branca, Armstrong, Mustoe, Emerson, Festa, Pearson, Hignett, Schwarzer (and Townsend of course).

I just don't think it's true and is actually a bit disrespectful to those other players, all of whom were excellent that year.
 
Give me a model pro who puts in the level of performance Townsend did, but has no affinity to the club over someone like Braithwaite or Kai Kamara who talk about how much they supposedly love it here, but are patchy at best and then start angling for moves away.

Not sure Kamara was angling for a move, he just wasn't up to the standards we needed from a striker and so was shifted out.
 
Im only basing it on what others have said to be fair and that podcast someone shared.

I always take issue with the idea Merson single handedly dragged us up. He was exceptional, true. But this was a side including the likes of Branca, Armstrong, Mustoe, Emerson, Festa, Pearson, Hignett, Schwarzer (and Townsend of course).

I just don't think it's true and is actually a bit disrespectful to those other players, all of whom were excellent that year.
I see your point and obviously, it is a team game but I take you back to the Sheff Utd game when Merson was outstanding. Some of the performances that season were the difference between us getting promoted. You could take the majority of the players you mention out of the team and replace them with another and the team would have still flowed. Remove Merson and we became a shadow of ourselves.

I think that is the reason many of us use the concept of him dragging us up single handedly. Without the others around him, it could not have happened.
 
Not sure Kamara was angling for a move, he just wasn't up to the standards we needed from a striker and so was shifted out.
Didn't he throw a bit of a wobbler on social media or something? I think he'd already dropped down the pecking order by then, but it accelerated him leaving I think. Can't remember exactly what happened, but I'm sure there was some "drama" involved.
 
Didn't he throw a bit of a wobbler on social media or something? I think he'd already dropped down the pecking order by then, but it accelerated him leaving I think. Can't remember exactly what happened, but I'm sure there was some "drama" involved.

Cant remember to be honest, but I always thought he was pretty happy with his social media posts but just good enough, but I could be completely wrong.
 
Wasn't Kamara driving up to sign for us and heard Leeds had shown interest in him and turned around and signed for them - or is that just a rumour?

As for Townsend, he played in some great games for us but it was strictly business with him. How can you ever expect a man to be loyal who played for the Republic of Ireland with a broad southern accent? I've never heard him say a good word about us.
Hi Norman, glad to see you back posting

I think the player in question was Gordon Stracham leaving Man Utd & after speaking to us signed for Leeds
 
Im only basing it on what others have said to be fair and that podcast someone shared.

I always take issue with the idea Merson single handedly dragged us up. He was exceptional, true. But this was a side including the likes of Branca, Armstrong, Mustoe, Emerson, Festa, Pearson, Hignett, Schwarzer (and Townsend of course).

I just don't think it's true and is actually a bit disrespectful to those other players, all of whom were excellent that year.
When merson left the team achieved their highest premier league finish under Robson. A team reliant on him would have been relegated.

Kamara got malaria and said the club didn't do enough to help him.
 
Just noticed this thread, what a strange opening post. Yes of course I think of Townsend as an ex Boro player, he was a very good professional for us and I've never heard him say anything other than positive things about the club.
 
It is a strange thread, of course he is. I wouldn't say I particularly warmed to him as a person, good pro, did his job, led the team, but he never really seemed to show any warm to the club and area IIRC. At the time I had the impression that he knew this was his career winding down, and this was below his usual level as a club, and it was just a job. But saying that I think he was still professional about it, never didn't put the effort in, and didn't slag the area off either.

On reflection, he was a stabilising and professional character for a couple of years which is probably what we needed after a couple of mad and at times unprofessional years, with the whole 3 points, Ravanelli fighting, Robson too close to the players etc.
 
Without looking it up - AT played a coulle of season for us didn't he including the promotion season. Often came to do TV punditry when we played in Europe. I think he was from the Kent area originally.

So I do regard him as ex-Boro player.
 
That is a mental take. Townsend wasn’t fit to lace Townsends boots. Ince was brilliant for us at the top level. Townsend was decent in the second tier.
The accepted view is that Ince was class and merson was head and shoulders above everyone else.

The reality is that Townsend's Boro got the highest league placing under robbo with 51 points, despite losing the supposed god of the team merson. The following season Boro added juninho, Ince and ziege. Such world cup winning titans of the international game should have blown townsends efforts out of the water. Yet they got one more point and finished lower than the legendary Townsend team. The season after they lost ziege and added boksic and ehiogu and scored a measley 44 points.

The only logical conclusion that can be drawn from this is that Andy Townsend rather than Ince juninho and merson deserves to be lionised as the true Boro hero of the late 90s and early noughties.

There should be four statues in the Riverside carpark. Mannion, Hardwick, camsell and Townsend.

**Dean Gordon was good also.

As an interesting aside I would subscribe much of inces reputation down to him doing a lot of pointing. Stick a bloke on a football pitch who does lots of pointing and before long everyone will be in agreement that here is a man that knows his onions. I'd go so far as to say that if Liz truss had done a bit more pointing she would still be in number ten today. Many people think that good leadership is through setting a good example, keeping a clear head and making bold decisions. It isn't. It's about pointing. Shouting helps also, but it's mainly pointing.
 
Talking about Merson a Sunderland fan told me a funny story. Apparently he was on holiday in Spain and he went and bought a morning paper,when he came back his face was tripping him up.His wife says what's a matter with you he says the Boros only gone and bought Merson he would of been great for us,thats them up.
 
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