Gate's Tough Tie Against The People's Choice
"HE'S COMING home, he's coming home; Mogga's coming home". Everyone's favourite iconic future-Boro-manager-to-be and the embodiment of the Spirit of '86 looks set for an emotional homecoming when - if! - West Brom come to the Riverside in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
It will be a strange night heavy with symbolism. Tony Mowbray's dugout debut against Boro will generate the loudest, warmest and most sincere reception any opposing boss is ever likely to recieve, unless Juninho ever returns in charge of anyone bar Newcastle or Sunderland. Mogga is unique. He is universally respected by fans as not just a playing legend and one of our own, a passionate Teessider who unequivocally loves the club, but also as the inspirational figure on the pitch as the team, the town, Bruce Rioch and the Steve Gibson consortium pulled together to haul Boro from the brink of oblivion. He is a man who crystalises a moment that many loyalists still regard as their touchstone as Boro fans.
And that stockpile of unconditional affection combined with the widespread unspoken understanding that one day he will be in the Boro dug-out could make the game a political minefield for Gareth Southgate.
Many fans would have chosen Mogga ahead of the Gate as boss in the Summer so the rookie - also a legend for lifting the cup at Cardiff - must win to prove Gibson picked the right former skipper to steer Boro to glory. Defeat and the Mowbray bandwagon may start to roll again.
Mogga's name has been bandied around for years. He was rashly suggested as boss after Bryan Robson left Boro when he was still just a promising young coach at Ipswich, sometimes in conjuction with elder statesman Rioch by sentimental nostalgista and sometimes as a pairing with his then manager George Burley.
His name came back with renewed vigour in the underpasses in January last year when the team were deep in trouble and support for Steve McClaren's regime was evaporating and by then there were strong arguments in his favour: his young Hibs team had been put together for a song and played, attractive attacking football that threatened to break the grip of the Old Firm. He was a man of integrity, a popular media-friendly figure who had the badges, understood the dynamics of the club and who could heal the bitter divisions that had opened up in the Boro crowd while pressing a lot of buttons in the collective psyche.
In so many ways he was perfect but the timing wasn't quite right. Maybe the job was just too soon for him on that occasion. He let it be known he still had a lot to learn in management, that he was ready to leave Hibs but didn't want to sour his relationship with the Boro crowd and that maybe he was better off advancing his career elsewhere. That humility and honesty won him even more credibility and reinforced the perception that next time he would be the one.
Which makes the coming cup clash a tricky one for Southgate. A win is expected. Boro are the Premiership form club at home to a team from a lower league so there is little real kudos to be gained from victory - yet defeat carries with it the disproportionate damaging possibility of a pub-talk political backlash and renewed support for the future claims of Mowbray.
On the plus side for Southgate he has already come through one similar test this season in fine style when Boro went away to then high-flying Aston Villa and took a deserved point in a sparkling second half display that scored tactical and political points against another widely-backed mooted rival for his job, Martin O'Neill. Since that day Villa have unravelled and are now below Boro in the table so one ghost has been laid to rest.
But Mogga's cause will not so easily be dented. His claims are based as much on complex historical and emotional factors that will never go away as on his managerial CV so Boro would have to demolish West Brom in a managerial masterclass with Mowbray left totally exposed for the Gate to take the plaudits - and even then there would be residual sympathy for the fallen hero and even a finger pointed at harm inflicted on a Holgate hero.
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Anthony Vickers
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AV
Slight technical problem in all this.
Before the 'visit' of the Baggies are two important matches aginst teams near the top of the table which if they go wrong could see our momentum slowed.
Oh, of course, nearly forgot that we have to beat Bristol City who know that if they get at us we can implode. They wont come like Hull and roll over for the first 45 mins, they will be at us.
So there is a chance we will be cheering Mogga but that it will be whilst we are concentrating on the league and the Baggies become 'our' team for the rest of the cup.
There are again a couple of good performances against Pompey and the Gunners wpould set us up for the replay where our superior skils should see us comfortably home. Then it will be an emotional return for Mogga and I am sure he will get a great reception.
**AV writes: Yes, there is a lot of football to be played. I stressed the "if" factor in the cup but a couple of sticky results in the league now could see a lot of the current feelgood factor evaporate going into the Baggies game. That would heap more pressure on Southgate to win.
Be positive, Boro will beat Pompey, Arsenal and Bristol City setting up Mogga's return.
WBA will also be rolled over by the Boro and the good times will continue.
Come on you Reds!!!
I'm not sure Mogga would be universally lauded. A lot of Boro fans only jumped on board the bandwagon with the shiny new Riverside or maybe with the arrival of big name Bryan Robson. They don't understand the debt of gratitude and enormous respect that is due to this man.
To the philistines and the young kids Mogga is a nobody. Some people think Boro is Real Madrid and expect big money signings and this mythical 'top drawer' manager we keep hearing about.
Next time, especially if Gareth is successful as we all hope he will be, the bandwagon will be for Capello, Mourinho, van Basten to take us to the next level. Who will want a Championship manager who never played in he Premiership?
I think Mogga has missed the boat. This summer was the opportunity for him. It may never come again.
Red_Rebel
I agree with your comments about Mogga and the massive contribution he made in saving the club.
I also agree that he might have missed the boat, because if GS is a success and moves on Colin Cooper will be in the prime position to take over as the next Boro boss.
I do think that Mogga will receive a heroes welcome on his return to the Riverside.
AV surely its more simple than that, if we win great, good to see Mogga and good result...perfect.
If we lose the impact on GS will depend on how well we did against Pompey and Arsenal. But lets face it if we loose all three games he won't be under any more pressure than he was earlier in the season and he coped with that well enough.
My prediction for tonight is 2-1 Boro!!
The FA cup has been very kind to boro in recent years. We have managed to avoid premiership sides and especially the big 4.
A club of our stature and quality of squad should be reaching the quarter finals as a minimum most seasons and with a favourable draw might even reach the final.
Reaching the cup final to most teams is like wining the damn thing. Because usually one of the big 4 is waiting to win it in the final and the losing finalist is guaranteed europe. makes a mockery of the competition that most teams now go to the final to make up the numbers.
When was the last time none of the big 4 teams made the final? Are football fans that bothered about watchinf the fa cup final anymore?
I dont think i would like to see mogga become a boro manager. Most managers leave a club under a cloud unless they are really successful. I would hate my memories of him as a player to be tarnished by a spell as the boro manager
I'm not interested if he becomes the Boro manager or not as we chose Southgate over him which in my opinion was a big mistake and now we have him for a fair while and just have to hope that he does well. Over the both of them I would have taken O' Neil all day long.
I will be there clapping and showing my sincere and heart felt appreciation for what Mogga did for the club. His contribution was huge and he is a real gent to boot. I wish him nothing but the very best in all that he does.
TB
I hope Mogga receives the plaudits he deserves for his heroics post 1986 ("if" we get past Bristol!!)
But that's where this fairy tale of the prodigal son returning to make us the new Liverpool has to stop.
Having watched Bernies "Lucky Slaven" DVD and managed to stay awake through the biographical stuff, the most interesting part for me were the interviews with Bruce Rioch and Tony Mowbrey.
Two men who having been thrown together in 1986 battling to save us from extinction, still hold a healthy respect and love for Boro, and it shows all the way through their little chat with Slaven.
Mowbrey never comes out and says he would love to be Boro boss, in fact why would he, he was at Hibs at the time with a good young SPL side to worry about. But it is patently obvious that he holds Boro very close to his heart.
The fact is he's not our manager and probably never will be, and only time will tell if he has the mettle to make it big in England at any level.
Make no mistake he is a professional and will be as delighted as any manager if his team makes the 6th round even at our the expense.
Mogga hasn't missed the boat to be our manager, he wasn't even offered the job, Gibbo obviously believing he wasn't his man, maybe he even thought Mogga would challenge the dynasty at MFC, who knows!!
So yes let's give him the welcome he deserves, then get on with the business of winning a football game.
Finally, a hyperthetical question for everyone: If you were asked to choose between, between erecting a statue in Albert Park or outside the Riverside, in recognition of Brian Clough or Tony Mowbrey, based on what they acheived for Boro and their fans, who would you pick?
A good result at Pompey, I see we've managed to creep into the top ten, if we're still there after the Arsenal match that will be excellent progress given where we were just before Christmas.
Still the minor point of beating Bristol City before we think of the return of Mogga.
Good point last night, a sign of the progress over recent weeks was the fact our result merited a throw away line 'and Portsmouth drew 0-0 with Middlesbrough' in the BBC sports slot on TV.
Before the Wigan game at home I posted that we needed 15 points from the nine games up to last night if we were to stay up. After last nights draw that is what Boro have achieved from these games.
However in that time half a dozen PL teams have imploded and instead of fighting for our survival we are looking at a mid table finish.
Most of the bottom teams have the top six and each other left to play and as such 40 points will definately make Boro safe. I predict we will get 46 points.
Those who still doubt Southgate's ability to make it as a PL manager are beginning to look more foolish as each game goes by. He seems to have created a tight knit squad and great team spirit.
Boro are no longer being labled the most boring team in the PL, and he has even managed to get rid of most of the players that are past their sell by date.
He has proved he can be ruthless in releasing Round and his big mate Ugo, so all in all I think the future is looking bright under Gareth's stewardship.
Lets face it he must be a legend in the making as Boro are unbeaten since Christmas, and all us Boro fans know that Boro go down with the decorations don't we?
Hey just a reply to Ians comment:
Its certain we are safe this season so whilst we have the momentum why not push for another european adventure or just a really good FA cup run.
After last nights performance i was quite happy but i think its all gonna depend on if we can take anything at all from aresnal and chelsea
Royston
Many of us were concerned at the run of games coming up starting with Bolton. So far we have taken 4 points out of 6. I regularly state that sometimes points come when you dont expect them so who knows.
I would like the club to concentrate on getting as many points as possible and and as far as they can in the cup. If Europe starts looming then that is the time to start talking about it. Same position relative to the rest after the Chelsea game would do me.
Neil - Brian Clough, because a striker who scores a goal a game over several years is sensational, in fact how many have ever done it? Not many. He was a footballing genius.
I also see no reason why a Middlesbrough born manager should not also be recognised for his achievements despite never managing the club. His achievements with Forest give the likes of Boro eternal hope.
Royston - All we need to do now is keeping playing with the same confidence and positive attitude for the remainder of the season if we do that a UEFA cup spot will take care of itself.
That said to maintain our current form until mid-May would be some achievement, something in fact we have never achieved in the prem. to date
Nigel
The current form if repeated over a season would put you on the edge of Uefa qualifying and probably missing out. We got in with a very low points total.
That sort of form would mean 51-52 points so europe is unlikely. A more probable rout would be through the FA Cup but the fact many of the bigger teams are missing each other make it difficult to get through to the semi as in last year.
A really great thread, keep em coming boys...,
TB
Mowbray has already made one return to the Riverside, I remember. He played for Ipswich in the mid to late 90s and received a good but not tremendous reception that day. Has absence made the heart grow even fonder? A good player from the past and part of the club's history but Southgate and Cooper are our future.
Anyone want to review their position or predictions following yet another no-show in the ttransfer window?
Giles, Mogga actually received a fantastic reception when he returned as a player with Ipswich. If in any doubt you should check out www.shaunkeogh.co.uk.
Shaun has put the interviews he did for the Middlesbrough Supporters South magazine on his website. There are two with Mogga but in the second one he talks about his return with Ipswich and the reception he got.
Some other great interviews too. Link to Shaun's Mogga article http://www.shaunkeogh.co.uk/MSS%20PDF%20Files/MSS%20127001.pdf
**AV writes: I'll have to get Shaun's archives added to my links.
John
I still predict that Boro will get 46 points