1989 - 1990 - 1991 - 1992 - 1993 - 1994 - 1995 - 1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999

1989 - 1990

"Blimey! Boro are at Wembley! They can't be that bad then. Shall we go to a game?" said my friend. And that was it. Hooked.

The first game back after my debut was against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday 17th March 1990. We'd tried to get tickets for the West Ham match a few weeks earlier, as this would've given us the opportunity to get a Wembley ticket. Sadly, the queue was snaked round the old General Hospital, and we missed out.

The Blackburn fixture was Colin Todd's first game in charge too, and it was my first taste of standing in the Holgate End. There wasn't much to cheer about as it ended in a three nil defeat, but there was a sense this time that we'd be back in the Holgate.

My first victory was a 1-0 defeat of Oldham on the 31st March 1990 - Bernie Slaven scoring the winner. But Boro were in trouble again, and needed a victory on the last day of the season in order to stay in the division.

The match was against local rivals Newcastle United, who needed to win to have any chance of being promoted to the First Division. Rituals and quickly gained superstitions weren't looking good. The spot in the Holgate I'd picked for my previous six games had been taken, so my brother and I had to stand in the corner. But we smashed it. 4-1 winners. What a game! And after Ian Baird's first goal - Boro's second - he runs to near where were stood and you can make out or legs jumping up and down!

Roll on August!!