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

1991 - 1992

Wow! What a season!

Boro were looking for a new manager after sacking Colin Todd. The man they chose was Charlton's Lennie Lawrence, who immediately set himself a target of getting Boro back into the top flight within two years.

He brought in defender Curtis Fleming, midfielder Willie Falconer, and striker Paul Wilkinson. Fleming pushed Gary Parkinson for the right-back slot. Falconer got off to a flying start, scoring four goals in his first 11 appearances, before being injured.

Tony Mowbray left to join Celtic for £1m in November 1991 after over ten years at the Boro. £750,000 of that money was spent on stiker Andy Payton, who scored and then got injured on his debut. We'll have a feature on Tony Mowbray's testimonal soon.

I had my first taste of a Tyne-Tees derby, when I ventured up to St James' Park on Boxing Day. A great game, with Wilkinson scoring the only goal. He ran from the half-way line, no other players in sight, and it seemed an eternity for him to put the ball in the back of the net. The celebrations were something I'd not experienced before!

Not only were Boro pushing for promotion to the newly formed Premier League, we were doing very well in the Cups too. We lost to Portsmouth in a fifth round FA Cup replay, and were in the semi-finals of the Rumbelows League Cup. The first leg at Ayresome finished 0-0, but I headed to Old Trafford with confidence. In the end, a Bernie Slaven strike wasn't enough, and we went out 2-1 after extra time.

Promotion was the target now, with Boro needing a win at Wolves on the last day of the season. There was drama both off and on the pitch, with damage to one of the stands at Molineux the day before, and shotgun cartridges found buried in the pitch. The match itself didn't disappoint. Pears was ruled out of his first game of the season, with Ian Ironside - another Lawrence signing - coming in for his debut. Nicky Mohan was sent off, and Wolves went 1-0 up. This wasn't going to plan! Defender Jon Gittens bundled over the equaliser, then five minutes later ever-present striker Wilkinson scored the winner.

Boro were officially founder members of the FA Premier League!

My Boro XI

1. Stephen Pears
2. Gary Parkinson
3. Jimmy Phillips
4. Alan Kernaghan
5. Nicky Mohan
6. Robbie Mustoe
7. Bernie Slaven
8. Mark Proctor
9. Paul Wilkinson
10. John Hendrie
11. Stuart Ripley

12. Curtis Fleming
14. Willie Falconer

Honourable Mentions:
John Gittens; Tony Mowbray; Andy Peake; Jamie Pollock

Manager:- Lennie Lawrence

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