Which club are the Boro most like?

I never said we’re a big club but we are definitely not a small one either.

Oh I know, I was just looking through the replies and there was talk about big clubs and small clubs and I just think it's difficult to determine the size of a club over a history, unless you're a Liverpool or Man U. I always find it interesting when I talk to fans of other clubs and they always talk of Boro as a big club.
 
I feel we're very similar to Southampton and Stoke.

We've all won one trophy each, averaged similar attendances over the years and spent roughly the same amount of seasons competing in the top flight.
 
I’ve always thought of us as similar to Blackburn, similar sized place, not particularly glamorous, not many supporters outside of the area a chairman that spent big in the late 80’s/90’s and the club is massively important to the town.
 
I’ve always thought of us as similar to Blackburn, similar sized place, not particularly glamorous, not many supporters outside of the area a chairman that spent big in the late 80’s/90’s and the club is massively important to the town.


Good post.
 
I just think we are a lot bigger than some give us credit for. Historically we are of the top 20 sides in the country. We are much bigger than charlton

We're probably the 21st/22nd biggest club in England. I think at the end of the day; trophies won, attendances, global fanbase and seasons spent in the top flight are big factors in defining a clubs' size.

It may feel as though we're a bigger club than clubs like Blackburn and Sheff Utd due to recent history, but when you compare our overall history with theirs it's hard to deny that they're bigger clubs.
 
Of course this is completely subjective

The Boro are a single club town with a big following that lurch between the top flight / second tier, have had the odd trophy win and in bad times slipping into the third tier for a period....So Norwich, Blackburn, Wolves, Stoke, Southampton for me...
 
Of course this is completely subjective

The Boro are a single club town with a big following that lurch between the top flight / second tier, have had the odd trophy win and in bad times slipping into the third tier for a period....So Norwich, Blackburn, Wolves, Stoke, Southampton for me...
I agree. And I’ve no issue with Blackburn stoke shef u Norwich comparisons it was that charlton one that I objected to.
 
Would Coventry City also be a fair comparison prior to their problems? Certainly a smaller top flight club for a long time. Back in the Championship next year.
 
Stoke City: 5 towns, one major industry, mostly gone; one 1940s superstar local hero; One big-spending era (1970s), One trophy. Self-made wealthy owner.
 
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We are not as big as Newcastle, Villa, Leeds, Everton and the so called big 6.

IMHO we are in the same bracket as Sheff Wed, Sheff U, Forest, Derby, Leicester, West Brom, Wolves, Coventry, Norwich, Southampton, Stoke, Sunderland. You can make a case why we are bigger than them, or smaller than them; depends upon the criteria you value most and timeframes you respect most.
Bristol City and Cardiff have the population to crack it, but never seem to sustain it.
Ipswich and Pompey have just disappeared and may never return.

Blackburn is the one I can't take - much smaller place than Teesside/our catchment and I class them like Burnley, Preston, Bolton, Huddersfield as clubs with proud old histories, but surrounded by big clubs and unable to grow. Even when they do well, they get poor crowds and poor level of interest.

I know Palace, Fulham, Watford, Reading, Brighton, Bournemouth are from more affluent areas, but I just see them as newbies, where their fans are new in or just don't seem to care as much.

It doesn't matter much anyway really as biggest matters a lot less than where we all actually are.
(Stoke is 6 towns by the way)
 
I agree. And I’ve no issue with Blackburn stoke shef u Norwich comparisons it was that charlton one that I objected to.

Charlton have spent a lot more time than us in the third tier, but they have also had sustained periods in the top flight like us, yoyo-ing between that and the second tier.

They have also won the FA Cup in the post-war era, and been runners-up in the top flight. Both things we've never achieved, albeit they were ages ago. Fair to say that either side of the war they had a very decent side. Since then we've had the upper hand I suppose.

I can understand you thinking Boro is a bigger club than Charlton, but the difference isn't so great as that they can't be compared, imho.
 
Ipswich for me...similar population, in a geographical backwater and not seen as a "glamour club" but still able to attract top players when in the ascendancy. Ipswich's purple patch was slightly better than ours (and they had more players in Escape To Victory than us) but they've spent time in the third tier and also gone into financial administration like the Boro have.
 
I'm really not getting the stoke one, what have they actually done?
 
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