Quite. There are perhaps half a dozen clubs in the Premier League who because of money and tradition (but mainly money) deserve to be called "big" and then there are the rest of us. And whether you're Middlesbrough, Leicester, QPR, Blackburn Rovers, Portsmouth or anyone else, you're just one of the pack trying to get above the rest. Sometimes you'll manage to do it (for a while) and start having grand ideas about the status of your club and then (unless you find a handy billionaire) you'll get slapped down. Like we were, like Manchester City (in their pre-money days), Forest, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday and plenty of others have been, like Wolves are about to be. Teams like Middlesbrough from small provincial towns rarely become big teams. They've no right to beat anyone or to think that they should beat anyone just because they once had a half decent run in the Premier League for a few seasons. And Mowbray didn't make his comment on the grounds that Middlesbrough had better players on higher wages than us or were playing better than us. The clear implication was that Middlesbrough is such an exalted club that they should be beating (small, unheralded) Charlton every day of the week. If that's what he really thinks, then he'd better wake up, because, as the great man said, the order is rapidly fading, the present now will later be past, the first one now will later be last and the times just keep on a-changin'.
I'm a bit non plussed by all these comments disagreeing with Mowbray. When they "murdered" us at The Valley, I thought they were heading for the automatics & we may struggle to survive. How Powell has turned it around & how they have fallen is quite startling. They have a far better squad of players than us & on on far bigger wages. He's right, they should be beating us at home. The fact that we are now the "better" team says everything about how Powell has got everyone playing for him. Outstanding effort by Powell, the players & the fans. I grant you that he could have said it in a more tactful way, but he's not exactly Mr Personality & lacks those type of skills :-)
Think he was really showing his frustration about the way his side have meekly capitulated in the second half of the season,and think your right we have progressed past them on a much smaller budget.something I think we should be all be proud of.
To be honest on basic value and investment in teams then Boro should be beating Charlton and half the Championship at home, but it just goes to prove that money isn't everything. Bit of a silly thing to say not so much disrespectful of Charlton as saying "I and my team are underachieving and should be doing a better job".
Boro have smaller gates than us. They are also located in a poor part of the country, where I can't imagine it's easy to get commercial income. Without their benefactor, and our Pardew/Parky slump to L1, they'd be a smaller club than us, paying lower wages.
Mowbrey apologises unconditionally for his lack of class and respect for Charlton Athletic.
"I would just like to say that on reflection, Charlton Athletic are not insignificant pond life that Boro should be beating whilst hopping around the pitch on one leg. My comments were made in the heat of the moment after yet another under performance from my top notch world beating squad of stars" - The Sun
Did I just hear him say on FLS 'We have been caught out by the harshness of this league' What after 4 years Tone? Do me a favour you blew it big time......On your bike son.
The thing is about what he said last week is that we were expecting to beat them. And would have done so comfortably without the help of that pesky linesman.
Charlton fans in "precious" shocker Who gives a flying what some norvern footy manager says , we know what we're about Do you think SCP is bovvered by it , I very much doubt it cos he is a class act who can rise above these under duress comments
Comments
"I would just like to say that on reflection, Charlton Athletic are not insignificant pond life that Boro should be beating whilst hopping around the pitch on one leg. My comments were made in the heat of the moment after yet another under performance from my top notch world beating squad of stars" - The Sun
Who gives a flying what some norvern footy manager says , we know what we're about
Do you think SCP is bovvered by it , I very much doubt it cos he is a class act who can rise above these under duress comments