In 35 years or so. A first in this issue for Boro v Norwich City.
A First for Roofus the Boro Dog
- Thread starter fmttmadmin
- Start date
Centralscrutinizer
Well-known member
It's all about how Roofus visits the countryside and gets shot by a sheep farmer 
NorthumberlandBoro
Well-known member
Just keep him away from the Geordie Basset.
r00fie1
Well-known member
[Phillip Tallentire - 2018]
Remembering "Mad Dog" Pogatetz: Minis, masks & bleeding for the Boro cause.
Fans love a trier and few players appeared to try harder than Emanuel ‘Mad Dog’ Pogatetz both on and off the pitch.
The popular Austrian became something of a Middlesbrough cult hero thanks to his full-bloodied approach and off-field assimilation into Teesside society.
He officially signed his first Boro contract 13 years ago on July 1, 2005, and with Middlesbrough currently in Austria, it seems as good a time as any to identify the reasons why Pogi proved so popular.
Pogi wasn’t a typical footballer
Footballers love a flashy motor. For proof, just take a look at any major stadium car park on a matchday.
And who can blame them? Who wouldn’t have a top of the range motor if they could afford one?
Pogatetz, however, preferred something more modest - and no doubt easier to park - than a huge 4x4 off-roader.
There was a time when the Austrian defender commuted to and from training at Rockliffe Park in a Mini.
Emanuel Pogatetz takes part in a signing session
And, to pass the time while he drove down the A19 and along the A66, he no doubt slipped a heavy metal CD into the player.
Back in 2007, Pogi wrote a pre-season diary exclusively for The Gazette and he made a point of touching on his musical preferences.
He wrote: “I like metal and that’s a problem because at home my children don’t like my music. For that reason I tend to listen to metal and hard rock when I go to training in my car or in the changing room if the lads allow me. I get some stick off the boys as you would expect.”
Pogi embraced the North-east lifestyle
Not all players arriving from abroad enjoy the English way of life, but Pogi certainly did.
He joined Boro from Bayer Leverkusen and soon put down roots in the region with his young family.
“When I get time off I like to travel around the area with my wife Mirjam and our little girl.
“We both love the countryside and the North-east is nearly all green. I know where the nice restaurants are, I’m getting used to the town and I feel part of it.
“I have friends at the club and friends around the town so it feels like home. If we have time on weekends we travel and we’ve visited loads of places.
Emanuel Pogatetz
“We’ve settled in and my daughter’s going to nursery and she’s started speaking English now. She’s starting to get a Teesside accent now and I like that.
“Everything is enjoyable - I really like being here.”
Pogi bled for the Boro cause - literally
It was uncanny how many times Pogi seemed to end up bruised and bloodied in a Boro shirt.
Yes he put himself about a bit, but so do many other players and they seem to avoid similar injuries.
Pogi admitted during his time at Boro that he may have had skin that was susceptible to cuts.
In his Austrian diary, he wrote: “I ended up with stitches in a cut on my eyebrow after one session. I had an accidental clash of heads with David Wheater and I don’t know what’s wrong with my skin but every time I seem to get cut. Defenders have to put up with that though.”
Emanuel Pogatetz
Pogi’s most memorable injuries include a broken nose and cheekbone suffered when he clashed heads with Basel’s Mladen Petric in the UEFA Cup in 2006.
He also fractured a cheekbone when he collided with Plymouth defender David Gray in 2009 which meant he had to play wearing a protective facemask for a few weeks.
And who can forget those iconic images of a bloodied and bandaged Pogi playing against Bolton at the Riverside in 2006. The wound resulted from a wayward Kevin Davies elbow that led to a furious confrontation between the pair.
Pogi took no prisoners
Fans love a tackler, a no-holds-barred battler, and that's how Pogatetz earned his ‘Mad Dog’ nickname.
“I can’t change the way I play,” Pogi insisted in 2009.
“Unfortunately, I hurt players and they hurt me – that’s just the way it is. I enjoy the way I play the game, and I’m not going to change it. I like to give 100% and, after the match, it’s important you can look in the mirror and say that.
Emanuel Pogatetz challenges Manchester United's Rodrigo Possebon at Old Trafford in 2008
“Anyone who knows me, knows how I play. They know it is part of me, and they wouldn’t waste their time telling me to be different.
“Tackling and challenging is a strong part of my game, and if you took that out of me, I wouldn’t be half the player. I have to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Pogi cared
Footballers are often pigeon-holed as selfish rich young men who live in an isolated bubble.
Frankly, that’s a lazy cliche. Pogatetz, for example, is a warm-hearted man who showed his caring side at Middlesbrough FC community events.
Boro donated £4,000 to the Rievaulx Resource Centre, in Billingham, and in September 2008 Pogi and his manager Gareth Southgate visited the project, which helps adults with learning difficulties.
They spent a couple of hours taking part in challenges such as making an omelette, attempting sign language and needlework.
Pogi and Southgate really threw themselves into the fun and games and, afterwards, the Austrian told the Gazette why he enjoyed taking part.
Emanuel Pogatetz with Rosewood Primary School pupils in 2007
“I really enjoyed those two hours and those events, we had a lot of fun with the people and it shows that with small things you can make people happy.
“For a club like us we really count on the local support - we’re not a global team like Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal - we have to give something back to the community and events like this are very important for the club and the people here.
“We see how happy they are that some footballers have paid them a visit and you could see they enjoyed it as much as we did. It costs nothing to put a smile on someone’s face and they also made us smile.
“If you have difficult times or don’t get the right result you come to see those people and you see there is more to life sometimes than football,” he added.
“You learn a lot from those experiences and sometimes you forget that there are other things in life. You can get so uptight about football, we live in a football bubble.”
He officially signed his first Boro contract 13 years ago on July 1, 2005, and with Middlesbrough currently in Austria, it seems as good a time as any to identify the reasons why Pogi proved so popular.
Pogi wasn’t a typical footballer
Footballers love a flashy motor. For proof, just take a look at any major stadium car park on a matchday.
And who can blame them? Who wouldn’t have a top of the range motor if they could afford one?
Pogatetz, however, preferred something more modest - and no doubt easier to park - than a huge 4x4 off-roader.
There was a time when the Austrian defender commuted to and from training at Rockliffe Park in a Mini.
Emanuel Pogatetz takes part in a signing session
And, to pass the time while he drove down the A19 and along the A66, he no doubt slipped a heavy metal CD into the player.
Back in 2007, Pogi wrote a pre-season diary exclusively for The Gazette and he made a point of touching on his musical preferences.
He wrote: “I like metal and that’s a problem because at home my children don’t like my music. For that reason I tend to listen to metal and hard rock when I go to training in my car or in the changing room if the lads allow me. I get some stick off the boys as you would expect.”
Pogi embraced the North-east lifestyle
Not all players arriving from abroad enjoy the English way of life, but Pogi certainly did.
He joined Boro from Bayer Leverkusen and soon put down roots in the region with his young family.
“When I get time off I like to travel around the area with my wife Mirjam and our little girl.
“We both love the countryside and the North-east is nearly all green. I know where the nice restaurants are, I’m getting used to the town and I feel part of it.
“I have friends at the club and friends around the town so it feels like home. If we have time on weekends we travel and we’ve visited loads of places.
Emanuel Pogatetz
“We’ve settled in and my daughter’s going to nursery and she’s started speaking English now. She’s starting to get a Teesside accent now and I like that.
“Everything is enjoyable - I really like being here.”
Pogi bled for the Boro cause - literally
It was uncanny how many times Pogi seemed to end up bruised and bloodied in a Boro shirt.
Yes he put himself about a bit, but so do many other players and they seem to avoid similar injuries.
Pogi admitted during his time at Boro that he may have had skin that was susceptible to cuts.
In his Austrian diary, he wrote: “I ended up with stitches in a cut on my eyebrow after one session. I had an accidental clash of heads with David Wheater and I don’t know what’s wrong with my skin but every time I seem to get cut. Defenders have to put up with that though.”
Emanuel Pogatetz
Pogi’s most memorable injuries include a broken nose and cheekbone suffered when he clashed heads with Basel’s Mladen Petric in the UEFA Cup in 2006.
He also fractured a cheekbone when he collided with Plymouth defender David Gray in 2009 which meant he had to play wearing a protective facemask for a few weeks.
And who can forget those iconic images of a bloodied and bandaged Pogi playing against Bolton at the Riverside in 2006. The wound resulted from a wayward Kevin Davies elbow that led to a furious confrontation between the pair.
Pogi took no prisoners
Fans love a tackler, a no-holds-barred battler, and that's how Pogatetz earned his ‘Mad Dog’ nickname.
“I can’t change the way I play,” Pogi insisted in 2009.
“Unfortunately, I hurt players and they hurt me – that’s just the way it is. I enjoy the way I play the game, and I’m not going to change it. I like to give 100% and, after the match, it’s important you can look in the mirror and say that.
Emanuel Pogatetz challenges Manchester United's Rodrigo Possebon at Old Trafford in 2008
“Anyone who knows me, knows how I play. They know it is part of me, and they wouldn’t waste their time telling me to be different.
“Tackling and challenging is a strong part of my game, and if you took that out of me, I wouldn’t be half the player. I have to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Pogi cared
Footballers are often pigeon-holed as selfish rich young men who live in an isolated bubble.
Frankly, that’s a lazy cliche. Pogatetz, for example, is a warm-hearted man who showed his caring side at Middlesbrough FC community events.
Boro donated £4,000 to the Rievaulx Resource Centre, in Billingham, and in September 2008 Pogi and his manager Gareth Southgate visited the project, which helps adults with learning difficulties.
They spent a couple of hours taking part in challenges such as making an omelette, attempting sign language and needlework.
Pogi and Southgate really threw themselves into the fun and games and, afterwards, the Austrian told the Gazette why he enjoyed taking part.
Emanuel Pogatetz with Rosewood Primary School pupils in 2007
“I really enjoyed those two hours and those events, we had a lot of fun with the people and it shows that with small things you can make people happy.
“For a club like us we really count on the local support - we’re not a global team like Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal - we have to give something back to the community and events like this are very important for the club and the people here.
“We see how happy they are that some footballers have paid them a visit and you could see they enjoyed it as much as we did. It costs nothing to put a smile on someone’s face and they also made us smile.
“If you have difficult times or don’t get the right result you come to see those people and you see there is more to life sometimes than football,” he added.
“You learn a lot from those experiences and sometimes you forget that there are other things in life. You can get so uptight about football, we live in a football bubble.”
Remembering Mad Dog: Minis, masks & bleeding for the Boro cause
Philip Tallentire takes a look at Emanuel Pogatetz's weird and wonderful five-year stay on Teesside
www.gazettelive.co.uk
Remembering Mad Dog: Minis, masks & bleeding for the Boro cause
Philip Tallentire takes a look at Emanuel Pogatetz's weird and wonderful five-year stay on Teesside
www.gazettelive.co.uk
Cardiffdaffs
Well-known member
I see the thread changed very quickly from Roofus the Boro dog cartoon to Pogatetz 
Hmmm it did.I see the thread changed very quickly from Roofus the Boro dog cartoon to Pogatetz
Anyway. An old dog has a new trick on Friday in fmttm. Only taken 635 issues...
Lemmy_kilmister
Well-known member
Midge the Darlo cat won't be happy Roofus is back...